After the siblings changed their slippers, the family of four went to the living room.
Mrs. Su, Su Yanâs grandmother, was sitting on the sofa, peeling walnuts.
Ever since Su Yan entered the door, she hadnât looked up. She was holding a walnut in her left hand and a walnut clip in her right hand, carefully peeling the walnuts out of their shells and putting them in a transparent, airtight jar next to them.
Only when Su Yan came into the living room with her parents and brother, she glanced at Su Yan with a frown. âOh, isnât this the great hero of our family? Are you finally willing to come home?â
Su Yan, who was familiar with her grandmotherâs attitude towards her, didnât take her words to heart and pretended that she didnât hear them.
Unexpectedly, the younger brother and mother spoke at the same time.
âGrandma!â
âMom!â
Both of them were dissatisfied and even condemned.
The old woman became furious and abruptly tossed the walnut clip out of her hand. The iron clip hit the glass coffee table, making a dangerous muffled sound, but her anger was not directed at her precious grandson but at her daughter-in-law. âThis little loser you gave birth to canât win a manâs heart! Let our family lose such a big man! I canât say a few words about her.â
Once more, Liu Xiangâs eyes were hot, and she glared angrily at old lady Su, asking, âHow can you say that about Yanyan?â
The old lady, Su, snorted coldly. âThereâs nothing wrong with her grievances! After living for so many years, you canât even hold a man, useless trash!â
âMom! Donât say anything, please!â Su Jianan spoke at this point. Even though he had always followed the moral code that âthe grace of childbearing was bigger than the sky,â this time he truly felt sorry for his daughter, so he no longer could bear up with his motherâs constant reprimands. âYanyan is also feeling bad,â he said.
Su Zhan, who was no longer as patient as his father, said angrily to the old woman, âWhy do you scold my sister so often? In this matter, is my sister to blame?â
Mrs. Su was speechless.
Su Yan did not speak. She actually wanted to get into a heated argument with this irrational old woman, but she was worn out. She knew it would only make her exhausted at the end.
âIâm going upstairs first.â After she finished speaking, she walked towards the stairs.
Two rooms were located on the first floor, and three rooms were located upstairs in their duplex house. Grandma Su lived on the first floor with her parents, she and her younger brother lived on the second floor, and the remaining room upstairs was kept as a guest room.
There were only two bathrooms upstairs: one was in the master bedroom, and the other two rooms had to share the remaining bathroom.
The master bedroom with a bathroom and cloakroom was given to Su Zhan because he was a son. Although it was unreasonable, Suâs family didnât think that way.
Another thing was that, three years ago, their parents bought the younger brother a single-story villa of 200 square metres in a high-end community. Now that it had been renovated, they only bought her a single-story duplex of 120 square metres last year, and it still hadnât been handed over to her.
Compared to most people, she was already very lucky. After all, she had a house at a young age. Although her parents also favour Su Zhan more than her, she didnât feel very sad. At least her parents had bought her a house, and compared with many other patriarchal families that did not treat their daughters as human beings, she was lucky.
After closing the door, Su Yan changed into her pyjamas first and then threw herself on the bed. Smelling the familiar smell, she felt relieved, but also tired at the same time.
Remembering the things that happened in the past few days, she became reckless, so she closed her eyes to sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, there was a sudden knock on the door. âYanyan? What are you doing?â
It was her motherâs voice, with a cautious tone in her tone, as if she was afraid of irritating her.
âNothing.â Su Yan sat up from the bed at once, put on her slippers, and opened the door for her mother. âWhatâs the matter?â
After entering the room, Liu Xiang didnât talk right away and shut the door. Su Yan was dragged inside the room by the arm after the door was once again locked.
Su Yan was puzzled about her motherâs sudden change in demeanour and perplexing query. âWhatâs wrong with you?â
Liu Xiang pursed her lips, then stared at her seriously, and asked in a low voice, âYou and Xie Yu, is that done?â
âThat?â What is that?â
Su Yan was a little confused. âWhat?â
Liu Xiang was a little anxious, and her face was a little red. âIs it just that⊠have you done that thing?â
Su Yan was stunned for a moment, and when she understood her motherâs question, her face turned red. â No!â
After hearing her daughterâs answer, Liu Xiang was not relieved and asked again, âReally?â
In reality, her husband was also interested in knowing the answer to this question, but he decided to let her inquire because he felt too embarrassed to approach his daughter personally.
Su Yan was forced to emphatically respond. âNo!â
Even if she thought her motherâs way of thinking was outdated, she was still slightly affected by it. She had also lived in her hometown until she was fourteen, so she had developed a different view of sex. Somewhat conservative.
She actually wanted to do it several times when she was dating Xie Yu, but she vehemently objected and insisted on leaving for the first time after getting married. Thankfully, they never did it.
Liu Xiang exhaled in relief after receiving a conclusive response and remarked, âIf you didnât, thatâs okay too. Because of this, your father and I have been concerned that you wonât be accepted when you get married in the future.â
Su Yan was unable to cry or laugh. âOur family has outdated ideas.â
Liu Xiang retorted, âThatâs not necessarily true, what if you meet someone who cares? â
Su Yan sighed and stopped talking since she couldnât make sense of her mother anyway.
Liu Xiang continued to exhort: âIn any case, you should stay until you get married to do that kind of thing. Fortunately, you are obedient this time, otherwise, you will be ruined by Xie Yu?â
Su Yan: ââŠâ âIt makes senseâŠâ
âBe careful in the future. Donât hand yourself over easily. Girls are easy to suffer,â Liu Xiang emphasised once again.
âOkay, okay!â Su Yan said, âMom, is there anything else to ask? If not, I want to be alone.â
Liu Xiang: âWaitâŠ!â
Su Yan: âWhatâs the matter?â
Liu Xiang: âWhich friendâs house did you live in these days? Male or female? What does your friend do? Even given your brother a bear? Does your friend run a zoo?â