The wooden chopsticks rolled slowly along the edge of the table and hit the floor with a crisp "smack."
Chang Xuyu looked up at the angry woman, her eyes filled with exhaustion.
"Chang Xuyu, can't you have any conscience?"
In front of Chang Yanyan, their mother directly pointed at Chang Xuyu and scolded.
Chang Xuyu let out a soft breath, feeling a chill spreading from her palms to her limbs, inch by inch taking over her body.
"What's wrong?"
"How dare you ask 'what's wrong'?" Their mother let out a cold laugh. "You're about to turn twenty-five, and Yanyan is still so young. If you divorce, what are you going to do? With your measly salary every month, do you expect the family to support you?"
The woman clenched her fists and pounded the air a few times.
"With Yi Zhuo's excellent conditions, the fact that he married you should make you grateful that your Chang family ancestors' graves are smoking!"
Back then, their mother was also surprised that Zhang Cuifen from the next building, who liked to play matchmaker, would introduce a man like Yi Zhuo to Chang Xuyu.
Good-looking and rich, able to offer nearly a million in betrothal gifts, and he actually went through with marrying their daughter! They had struck gold meeting such a "golden son-in-law."
"I don't agree with the divorce! Don't even think about it!" The woman waved her hand and turned away.
Chang Xuyu felt a flash of blankness before her eyes.
Since childhood, her mother had never respected her wishes. She had anticipated this outcome before coming, but facing it now, she still didn't know what to do.
"Mom, this is between him and me. The divorce... he agreed to it."
"What?"
Their mother was stunned, turning back.
"Chang Xuyu, what did you do wrong to make him want a divorce?" The woman was furious, dizzy with rage.
How could she have given birth to such a disappointing daughter! She actually managed to end up divorcing?
When she married Chang Qingshan back then, he had nothing—couldn't even afford a sewing machine. And now Chang Xuyu, married to such a good man, wanted a divorce—she simply didn't know when she was well off.
Chang Xuyu frowned. "Mom, what do you mean? I didn't do anything wrong to him."
Their mother sneered. "I could tell from the matchmaking. He's a high-quality person, and wealthy. With your character, if you hadn't offended him, would he be heartless enough to propose divorce?"
Back then, she shouldn't have let her hang out with Chang Hong, insisting on learning that useless art—it was all for nothing. It would have been better not to have given birth to her!
Their mother gritted her teeth.
Chang Xuyu's eyes reddened. She didn't understand why, in her mother's eyes, her own daughter always seemed so inadequate.
"Mom, in your eyes, am I never good enough?"
Even if she said now that the divorce was her idea, her mother would never believe it.
"A girl, if you don't get married, what else do you want? You were obedient when you were little, but these years with Chang Hong, you've learned bad habits!"
The woman lowered her brows and scolded in a deep voice.
Chang Xuyu struggled to swallow the tears that were about to fall. She put down her bowl and chopsticks and stood up.
"Auntie has had a hard time these years. At least she calls you 'sister-in-law,' and she never comes empty-handed during holidays. She even signed Yanyan up for math classes. Mom, you can criticize me, but can you stop bringing up Auntie?"
The woman said nothing, picked up her chopsticks, and slurped her noodles.
Just as she was about to leave, Chang Yanyan grabbed the corner of her clothes. His eyes, like black grapes, looked at her helplessly, and he murmured, "Sis..."
"Don't call her 'sis.' You don't have a sister like her!"
The woman stopped and interrupted him fiercely.
"I'm telling you, Chang Xuyu, the betrothal gift Yi Zhuo gave, I've already planned to use it to buy an apartment in the city center for Yanyan. Even if you divorce him, don't think about getting that money back."
The woman lifted her eyes, a cold glint in them, devoid of emotion.
Chang Xuyu was stunned upon hearing this. She felt as if all the blood in her body had reversed, a chill running down her spine. She staggered backward a step.
She steadied herself by grabbing the back of a chair and turned around, looking at her mother, who was giving her a cold stare. She asked, disbelief punctuating every word: "Are you saying that all that money... you spent it all on buying a house?"
The woman finished her noodles, looked up, and narrowed her eyes at her.
"I've raised you for nothing all these years?" she raised her voice. "What's wrong with spending some money on your brother? At least he calls you 'sis.' Chang Xuyu, can't you be a little less selfish?"
Chang Xuyu closed her eyes, and finally, tears fell.
"Mom, was I born just to be a safety net for my brother?"
"You're the older sister, you..."
"Enough! Don't say anymore!"
She screamed, interrupting the woman.
Chang Xuyu wiped her tears clean, shouldered her bag, and left.
Their mother didn't stop her, just watched her retreating coldly.
Chang Yanyan ran over and hugged her from behind, crying, "Sis, when are you coming back..."
Chang Xuyu paused in her steps.