I thought I was being considerate by asking my parents from the countryside to come and take care of my wife after she gave birth. But she was unhappy with the elderly couple and complained about everything. She even accused them of abusing her and insisted on kicking them out. After my parents left, she went back to work, but her monthly salary wasn’t even enough to cover the nanny’s fees. Yet she still constantly suspected me of having an affair with the nanny. I couldn’t take it anymore and divorced her. Until I woke up in her body and realized how terribly wrong I had been. A baby’s cry pierced the air. My body felt like it was in an oven. I opened my heavy eyelids and instinctively called out to my wife, “Iris, what are you doing? Come and soothe the baby—” As soon as the words left my mouth, I froze. Why was I speaking in my wife’s—no, my ex-wife’s voice? Just yesterday, we had a huge fight and got divorced. We were college classmates and got married soon after graduation. Our relationship was great until Iris gave birth. After that, she became increasingly extreme. I thought I was being considerate by asking my parents from the countryside to come and take care of her, but she was unhappy with the elderly couple and complained about everything. She even told me they were abusing her and insisted on kicking them out. After my parents left, she went back to work, but her monthly salary wasn’t even enough to cover the nanny’s fees. Yet she still constantly suspected me of having an affair with the nanny. Thinking about how I no longer had to face her bitter expression, I was so happy that I booked a luxurious private room and called my friends out for drinks to celebrate finally getting rid of her. … I gasped and quickly looked down at my arms. The smooth, fair skin was unmistakably Iris’s. Then I glanced at the baby girl lying next to me, not even as long as my arm. An absurd thought struck me. Not only had I transmigrated into Iris’s body, but I had also gone back to when we had just given birth to our daughter. Could it be that Iris had transmigrated into my body? With this thought, I quickly unlocked Iris’s phone and called myself. After a moment, the other end picked up. I tentatively asked, “Iris?” Iris also asked, “Hugo?” Well, it seemed we had indeed swapped bodies. Compared to my gloom, Iris didn’t seem worried at all. In fact, she sounded excited and eager. “We don’t know when we’ll switch back, but since I just gave birth, why don’t you stay at home and take care of the baby for a while? Honey, leave the money-making to me. Don’t worry, I promise to keep you and our daughter well-fed and happy.” That sweet “honey” startled me. She hadn’t called me that affectionately since our daughter turned one. Yesterday during the divorce, she even scratched my face, leaving bloody marks. “You haven’t worked in so long. Can you handle it? Don’t mess things up.” “Hmph, don’t look down on me. It’s only been a year since I stopped working. If it weren’t for Ulla, I might be your boss by now.” Iris hung up the phone briskly. Thankfully, she didn’t have memories of the future. Otherwise, who knows how she might seek revenge. I wiped the sticky sweat off my body and resigned myself to picking up the wailing baby girl to bathe her. In the living room, my mom was nowhere to be seen. My dad was watching a football game on the couch while eating watermelon, with a large fan blowing directly at him. He looked utterly comfortable. I complained, “Dad, can you check if the air conditioner in my room is broken? I just turned it on but there’s no response.” He glanced back at me indifferently, “Your mom said you use the air conditioner too much and the electricity bill is skyrocketing. She unplugged it.” “…” What a joke. Although my mom was an old lady from the countryside, she was only stingy with herself and quite generous with her family. The unpleasant sweat sticking to my body made me too impatient to argue. I hurriedly took my daughter, who looked like she had just been fished out of water, to bathe. Iris loved beauty and stayed slim throughout her pregnancy and after giving birth. Compared to women who became as fat as pigs after having children, I was secretly pleased. However, when I tried to breastfeed the baby and she couldn’t suck out much milk even after a long time, crying loudly in frustration, my excitement turned into resentment. She was too selfish. Couldn’t she have waited until the baby was weaned before losing weight? I put on some underwear and carried the baby out of the bathroom, feeling full of resentment. Seeing my dad sitting casually in the living room, the heavy yet clear feeling on my chest reminded me that I had forgotten to put on a shirt. I screamed and quickly ran back to the bathroom, awkwardly putting on a nightgown. The thought of my wife’s body being seen by my dad made me indescribably embarrassed. Just as I was about to walk past pretending nothing had happened, he suddenly spoke up. “Iris, don’t worry. I didn’t see anything.” I had made eye contact with him at that moment. Him saying this seemed more like deliberately reminding me. It would have been better if he hadn’t said anything. I glanced at my dad’s smiling face and felt his smile was a bit lewd and uncomfortable. Maybe it was due to Iris’s body lacking sleep, making it easy to overthink things. I carried my daughter back to the bedroom, clumsily preparing formula milk and changing diapers. Finally, I managed to soothe the little ancestor to sleep. I wiped off my sweat and let out a long sigh. When mom comes back from grocery shopping, I can just hand the baby to her to take care of.
“Iris, you lazy woman! It’s mealtime, can’t you come out to eat by yourself? Do you really think you’re a queen waiting to be served?” My mom’s loud voice woke me up. My eyes brightened, “Mom, you’re back just in time. Ulla…” Before I could finish, she unleashed a torrent of scolding. “Well, well, you wasteful woman! It’s so cool early in the morning, yet you’re hiding in your room using the air conditioner again. The electricity bill is hundreds of dollars a month. Do you think Jack’s money grows on trees? Sooner or later he’ll divorce you.” I was stunned by the scolding. Remembering how Iris once said that her mother-in-law was polite on the surface but treated her badly behind my back, I had thought it was just a lie she made up to drive my mom away. Now that I had become Iris, I truly experienced it firsthand. My feelings were mixed. “Mom, how can you say that? Babies are afraid of heat. You didn’t see how sweaty Ulla was after turning off the air conditioner.” I tried to reason with her, but my mom pressed the air conditioner switch and spat directly in my face. “What’s so hot? You’re just spoiled!” I wiped the saliva off my face, feeling complicated. In the past, when I came home from work, my mom would always rush to hold Ulla, calling her “sweetheart” and “darling”, seeming to love her so much. I never thought she was just putting on an act for me… I reluctantly followed her to the living room for dinner. The chicken soup emitted a rich aroma that would usually make my appetite soar, but now my stomach was churning. I tried to suppress my nausea and reach for the filled bowl, but my mom suddenly hit the back of my hand hard with her chopsticks. I sucked in a cold breath from the pain. She showed no remorse and pushed a small bowl of chicken soup towards me. “Don’t you know the rules? Jack works so hard, and you’re trying to steal his food? If it weren’t for him working hard to earn money outside, you’d be begging on the streets by now. Don’t you know how to be grateful?” So the big bowl of chicken soup was for “me”. Iris had a small stomach and ate less, so this arrangement seemed reasonable. I endured the pain and tried to pick up some chicken, but after searching for a while, all I could find were chicken butts and necks. When I saw the chicken head, I couldn’t hold back my nausea anymore. “I’m not eating!” Doesn’t she know she’s abusing her own son right now! I angrily ran back to the room and vindictively ordered a big takeout meal. Estimating the time, Iris should have received the lunch my mom sent over. I couldn’t help but text Iris, “Did you eat the chicken soup my mom made?” “Mmhmm, it tastes okay. You should eat more too, don’t let Ulla go hungry.” “It’s too fishy, I can’t eat it.” “You have to eat even if you can’t. Formula isn’t safe, breast milk is best – healthy and economical.” I opened my mouth, but Iris was impatient to hear my complaints. She casually said, “I went through the same thing back then. I survived giving birth, which was so dangerous. You’re a grown man, surely you can handle eating? Your mom is your own mother after all. Alright, I’m busy with work, can’t chat with you anymore.” These words sounded harsh and familiar. I suddenly remembered that when Iris used to complain to me about things at home, I always thought she was being too delicate. I told her not to make a fuss over nothing, after all, didn’t all women go through this? Besides, my mom treated her like her own daughter. It was only now that I understood Iris’s difficulties. My heart felt like it was weighed down by a heavy stone. Half an hour later, the takeout arrived. As I sat at the dining table eating, my hair was suddenly yanked back hard. The hot soup spilled onto my leg, followed by a stinging slap across my face. I was stunned by the blow and cried out in pain, “Mom, what are you doing?” “You ungrateful brat! I made such good chicken soup for you and you won’t eat it, but you order such expensive takeout instead. My poor Jack is working so hard in the hot sun to earn money. I’ll make him divorce you sooner or later and marry a virtuous wife!” My scalp hurt, my thigh hurt, and my cheek was burning. The one who had reduced me to this miserable state was my own mother with an angry face. Thinking of how good she used to be to me, and all the grievances Iris had suffered that I didn’t know about, I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with sadness. My eyes involuntarily welled up with tears. Choking back sobs, I said, “Mom, I’m Jack, your own son.” “Did the slap make you stupid?” she muttered, ignoring the mess on the floor and slamming the door as she went into her room.
After enduring for several hours, I finally waited for Iris to get off work. The child’s own mother surely wouldn’t refuse to take care of her! I eagerly shoved our daughter into her arms, about to whistle in relief when my shoulder was suddenly patted by my mom. “I’ll hold the baby. Jack has been working all day outside, while you’ve been doing nothing at home. Go give him a shoulder massage.” I frowned. Taking care of a baby was much more tiring than going to work. It was already good enough that I didn’t ask Iris to rub my back. I couldn’t help but retort, “How can you say I didn’t do anything? Ulla can’t be left alone for a moment. You didn’t hold her at all during the day, I was the only one taking care of her.” As soon as I finished speaking, my mom actually started crying, complaining tearfully to Iris, “I’ve been busy all day, cooking, washing clothes, cleaning the house, doing everything. Now you’re finding fault with me. I shouldn’t be alive, I shouldn’t be in your way.” I was stunned for a moment. My mom had cried in front of me several times before, and I thought Iris was being horrible. I became increasingly impatient with her, never imagining that my mom could be two-faced… Come to think of it, I used to love Iris very much. The vows I made when proposing were sincere. It was only later, worn out by the constant tug-of-war at home, that my love gradually faded. How much of this was due to my mother? Iris raised an eyebrow and plopped down on the sofa with a look of amusement. “How dare you talk to my mom like that, Iris? She came all this way to take care of you, and this is how you treat her? Apologize to Mom right now.” Iris’s words hit me hard. This was exactly how I used to speak to her. She had remembered all along… I closed my eyes and resigned myself to giving her a shoulder massage. At night, after the whole family had showered, Iris sat in the living room working. I quickly walked over, feeling I finally had something useful to contribute. “How was your first day at work? Was there a lot you didn’t understand? I can teach you.” Iris shifted her gaze from the screen to my face. Her eyes sparkled with unprecedented brilliance as she smiled and patted her chest. “I was a bit unfamiliar in the morning, but I got much better in the afternoon. Don’t worry, I didn’t slack off during my pregnancy. I haven’t lost my professional knowledge. Remember when we were in college? I was top of our major. Which project have I ever lost to you at the company? If it weren’t for preparing to get pregnant and have Ulla, I would have been the one promoted that time.” Seeing Iris’s proud expression, I felt somewhat embarrassed. She was an only child from the city, with academic and work abilities no less than mine. To be honest, I was the one who married up. If she could strive forward even while pregnant, surely I, a man with several more years of work experience, could do even better. “When my maternity leave is over, I’ll go back to work. We can hire a nanny to take care of Ulla.” Iris gave me a strange look, smiling sarcastically, “Didn’t you say your mom is Ulla’s grandmother and loves her more than anyone? Why waste money on a nanny? Mom won’t agree.” I gave a bitter smile. “Stop mocking me. I know I was wrong, honey.” If I hadn’t transmigrated into my wife’s body, I probably would have thought my mom was a kind-hearted old lady until the day I died. Our daughter woke up hungry every two hours, crying loudly. I had to force open my heavy eyelids to get up and feed her. After two feedings, I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up our daughter, and with huge dark circles under my eyes, I woke up Iris sleeping in the living room. “She’s so noisy, how am I supposed to sleep? I’m having a mental breakdown! Please, you take care of the baby. I’ll go to work.” Iris had slept through the baby’s loud crying earlier, but as soon as I complained, my mom immediately pushed open her bedroom door and came out. Holding Iris’s hand, tears streamed down her face like broken strings of pearls. “My poor son, married to a wife who doesn’t know how to care for others. And she’s a graduate from a top university in the city, not even as good as a country girl.” In the past, when I heard these words, I would be moved to tears, thinking my mom was the most sensible person in the world. But now I wanted to slap her. You never feel the pain until the knife cuts your own flesh. I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since taking care of Ulla, yet I was still being compared unfavorably. But she was my own mother after all, so I held back. Iris pulled her hand away. “Honey, be strong for your child. You’ll get through this.”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “294976”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance #惊悚Thriller #励志Inspiring #狼人werewolf #魔幻Magic
Leave a Reply