20 – Borrowing your room for a moment, why so stingy?
“You still look down on me? Why don’t you take a look at how much older you are than me? Isn’t it you who’s climbing up by being with me?”
Ruan Tiantian’s footsteps halted as she stood by the door, listening to the argument inside.
Crash—
The sound of shattering glass came from inside the room. It must have been An Meirong throwing things again.
Whenever she got angry, she had this habit of smashing things. They were already short on money, yet she still clung to this terrible habit.
Ruan Tiantian rolled her eyes in exasperation.
“You were just a poor guy back then. If I hadn’t agreed to marry you, do you think that little girlfriend of yours from those days would have really wanted to be with you?”
“If it weren’t for you, I would have married her long ago. Why would I have married you?”
“Weren’t you just after my money back then?”
“Pah! As if I cared about your measly money!”
Ruan Tiantian crossed her arms, listening to the insults being hurled back and forth, her lips curling in disdain.
Then, she took out her keys from her bag and unlocked the door.
As soon as she stepped inside, a beer bottle came flying toward her.
She tilted her head and shifted her feet, narrowly avoiding it.
Her expression darkened, and deep-seated resentment flickered in her clear, bright eyes, though she masked it well.
Without any change in expression, she uttered a few words, “I’m back.”
Then, she glanced at the empty dark brown dining table in the living room.
She sneered. Were they expecting her to come back and eat air?
She walked straight to her room, completely ignoring the two people confronting each other in the living room.
Ruan Guoqiang and An Meirong were utterly disregarded by her.
Both of them froze, sensing that something was off about her today.
Usually, whenever they argued, Ruan Tiantian would step in to mediate. Today, however, she had done nothing at all. It was truly strange.
She pushed open the door to her room and found it filled with piles of cardboard boxes, leaving no space to even step inside.
She closed her eyes, clenched her fists at her sides, took a deep breath, and then reopened her eyes.
Turning back to the living room, she glared at the two stunned figures and asked through gritted teeth, “Who filled my room with all these boxes?”
Ruan Guoqiang reeked of alcohol, wearing a white undershirt, his beer belly prominent and his face shiny with grease.
He smiled at Ruan Tiantian and said, “Sweetie, you’re back. Let me take you out for a meal.”
Ignoring him, she repeated coldly, “Who filled my room with boxes?”
Seeing her accusatory tone, An Meirong spoke up.
“It’s just a few things. Is it worth getting so angry about?”
“You live at school, so your room is naturally empty. The house is small—where else are we supposed to put things if not in your room?”
She glared at An Meirong. “Did you put them there?”
Just then, Ruan Han walked out of her room, wearing a face mask and slippers.
She said nonchalantly, “I put them there. What’s the big deal?”
Her tone made it sound as if it were her own room, as if she could do whatever she pleased.
Ruan Tiantian sneered, ran her tongue over her back teeth, and turned to command Ruan Han.
“Move your things out of my room.”
“Didn’t you hear what Mom said? There’s no space left in the house. You live at school—what’s the harm in using your room for a bit? Why are you being so stingy?”
“Yes, I am stingy. Why don’t you put them in your own room?”
“I’m home every day, it’s not convenient to keep it in my room.”
“You know it’s inconvenient too, so where am I supposed to sleep when I come home?”
An Meirong chimed in, “Why are you coming home anyway? Just sleep at school at night. Really, is it necessary to make such a fuss?”
At that moment, Ruan Han grabbed Ruan Guoqiang’s hand and began to throw a tantrum unreasonably.
“Dad, look at my sister. She doesn’t know how to give in to me, her older sister.”
As she spoke, tears slowly welled up in her eyes.
“I have a heart condition, and she still doesn’t know how to yield to me.”
Ruan Guoqiang looked at Ruan Han. She had been born with a congenital heart condition, and the doctors had said she wouldn’t live past thirty.
Over the years, they had always spoiled her. Even when the family’s circumstances were tough, they never treated her poorly.
“Tiantian, your sister has a weak heart and a short life. Just give in to her a little more.”
Ruan Tiantian smiled bitterly in resignation. Her own biological father always used this line to brush her off.
She had lost count of how many times she had heard it growing up.
Even though she was the youngest in the family, she always had to give in to her sister with the heart condition.
Thinking of how her previous life had ended, her heart turned completely cold.
She looked directly into Ruan Han’s eyes and asked, “Are you moving it or not?”
Ruan Han glared back at her. “No!”
Ruan Tiantian nodded. “Fine.”
Then, without hesitation, she turned around, walked to the doorway of the room, picked up a cardboard box in front of her, and threw it into the living room.
Bang—
The box hit the floor hard, and the face masks inside spilled out instantly.
Ruan Guoqiang, An Meirong, and Ruan Han stared at her actions, frozen in shock, unable to react.
They hadn’t expected Ruan Tiantian, who had always been soft-spoken, to suddenly change like this.
Ruan Han and An Meirong were the first to snap out of it. They stepped forward and grabbed Ruan Tiantian’s hands.
Ruan Han yelled at her, “Don’t touch my things! Those face masks are for me to sell!”
Ruan Tiantian, held by the two of them, couldn’t move.
She straightened up, her eyes cold, and stared at the mother and daughter blocking her way and gripping her arms.
“Let go of me!”
Ruan Han: “I won’t. If I let go, you’ll just throw my things again.”
Ruan Tiantian smiled at them softly. “Let go of me first, and I promise I won’t touch your things.”
Ruan Guoqiang walked over, pried An Meirong and Ruan Han’s hands away, and pulled them aside.
“What’s wrong with you two? Tiantian has finally come home. Don’t cause trouble with her.”
Ruan Tiantian looked at the towering pile of cardboard boxes in the room.
She had wanted to come back today to get some of her clothes, but now even getting inside was a problem.
She turned around and saw the mother and daughter glaring at her.
With cold eyes, she glanced at them and walked straight out the door.
Bang—
She slammed the door so hard that the entire house shook.
As she walked down the stairwell, she could hear An Meirong’s cursing voice from inside the house.
“Doors don’t cost money! How can you treat them like that!”
Ruan Tiantian was speechless. When An Meirong threw tantrums and smashed things, she never said a word.
The doors in the house weren’t so fragile that they’d break from a single slam. Yet An Meirong smashed bowls every day, deliberately choosing things that could break.
She went downstairs, walked through the alley, and reached the main road.
On the street, people walked in groups, while she was alone, moving against the flow of the crowd, wandering aimlessly.
She didn’t know where to go either. After a busy day, she had even forgotten to eat.
She thought that returning home would at least allow her to have a warm meal, but it turned out to be a waste of her two-yuan bus fare.