One day, I heard some strange noises coming from my mother-in-law’s room. I thought my father-in-law had come home. Little did I know, my mother-in-law was actually having an affair! My mother-in-law was confident I wouldn’t dare reveal this, and continued to treat me rudely! But a few days later, my mother-in-law was suddenly diagnosed with AIDS! And her affair partner had died… It was the height of summer, and the cicadas were chirping loudly outside. I rolled over groggily in bed, but was jolted awake by a stinging pain in my fingertip. Feeling irritated, I finally woke up fully. Today had been such an unlucky day. In the afternoon when I went grocery shopping, some mischievous kid had apparently stuck a needle in the seat of the shared bike I used. I got pricked when I sat down. Then when I got home, my mother-in-law criticized me for not buying the right groceries. In my flustered state, I accidentally cut my hand while cooking. The cicadas outside were getting louder and louder. Having lost all desire to sleep, I decided to get up and use the bathroom. As soon as I stepped out of my room, I heard intense female moaning coming from my mother-in-law’s bedroom. I could even faintly make out the sound of flesh slapping against flesh. I was startled. Looking more closely, I saw an old pair of men’s leather shoes in the entryway. The shoes were quite worn, with traces of dirt still on them. It must be my father-in-law who had come home. My father-in-law was often away on business trips. Even though my mother-in-law lived alone, she always kept up her appearance. She even had a more complete collection of makeup than I did. It was understandable that my father-in-law couldn’t resist her charms. Not wanting to linger, I quickly ducked into the bathroom. When I came out, my mother-in-law’s voice hadn’t quieted down at all. In fact, it had become even more uninhibited. Too embarrassed to stay outside any longer, I hurried back to my room without even getting a drink of water. Looking at the pitch-black room, listening to the moans that even the closed door couldn’t fully muffle, I suddenly felt a strange emptiness inside. I also couldn’t help but wonder – Daniel and my father-in-law both worked at the same research institute. They usually came home together from work trips. Why had only my father-in-law returned this time? The warmth on the other side of our double bed was long gone. Outside, the cicadas gradually quieted down. I drifted back to sleep. The next morning, I purposely woke up extra early. Sometimes my father-in-law had to leave in a hurry for work. Worried he might have another urgent assignment, I specifically got up early to make breakfast. Although my mother-in-law and I didn’t get along well, my father-in-law had always been kind to me. The relationship between my mother-in-law and me was largely mediated by my father-in-law and Daniel. I was very grateful to my father-in-law. After I had set all the breakfast dishes on the table and turned to get my mother-in-law’s soy milk, I heard her start yelling from outside again. “Other people’s daughters-in-law are frugal homemakers. But look at you, making such an extravagant breakfast! People from the countryside really have no sense!” My anger instantly flared up. I was abandoned at an orphanage as a baby and adopted by a kind couple in the countryside when I was 10. After graduating college, I came to work in the city and married my husband Daniel. After marriage, Daniel and my father-in-law were often away on business trips. My mother-in-law used the excuse of poor health to force me to quit my job and be a full-time housewife. I gave in to her wishes, but her criticisms didn’t stop there. In the years since, things were okay when Daniel was home. But whenever he went away for work, my mother-in-law would find endless faults with me at home, saying I just ate without doing any real work no matter what I did. I walked out of the kitchen and set down the milk forcefully, about to argue back. But then I caught sight of my wedding ring, and the anger slowly dissipated. Although my mother-in-law had always looked down on me, I could see how much Daniel cared for and loved me over the years. Moreover, before he left last time, he told me to wait just one more month. Once he finished his current work, he would take me to move out and live on our own. I took a deep breath and patiently explained: “I didn’t mean to make so much food. I just heard Father-in-law come home last night, so this extra portion of breakfast…” Before I could finish speaking, my mother-in-law suddenly stood up, grabbed the glass of milk I had just set on the table, and splashed it in my face. “You little hussy! You haven’t even given our family a child yet, and you’re already trying to manipulate me? Let me tell you, you’d better behave yourself. Otherwise, I’ll make Daniel kick you out of this house sooner or later!” Over the years, my mother-in-law had inexplicably given me a hard time before, but she had rarely been this directly aggressive. I stood there stunned for a moment. My mother-in-law sat back down smugly, picking at the breakfast as if she had just won a victory. I gritted my teeth and swallowed my anger. Forget it. In just one more month, Daniel would take me to move out. There was no point in burning bridges with my mother-in-law now. I suppressed my anger and went back to my room to change clothes. Behind me, I heard my mother-in-law let out a cold snort, as if she was certain I wouldn’t dare do anything to her.
By the time I changed and came back out, my mother-in-law had already left. The breakfast table looked like it had been hit by a bomb. I kept telling myself there was only one month left before we could move out. After cleaning up the table, I went to tidy up Daniel’s clothes. The weather had turned colder lately. Daniel had only packed seasonal clothes when he left last time. I was worried he might catch a cold. After a busy morning, I had just finished making lunch when my mother-in-law called. “Have you made lunch yet? Hurry up and bring it to the club.” Before I could say anything, she had already hung up. My mother-in-law had been treating me like the family’s maid for years. But for Daniel’s sake, I still packed up lunch for her. I barely had two bites myself before rushing off to the club. “You’re so slow even just delivering food. What else can you do?” My mother-in-law glared at me as she took the lunchbox. The aunties next to her couldn’t help speaking up for me. “Margaret, your daughter-in-law is already very good. She even brings you lunch every day.” My mother-in-law ate big mouthfuls while glancing at me sideways with a cold smile. “She’s just a country bumpkin from some village. She’s living off my son’s money. Bringing me lunch after eating her fill first – that’s nothing special!” By this point, I was no longer listening to what my mother-in-law was saying about me. Because I had spotted those familiar old men’s leather shoes with traces of dirt – the ones I saw in our entryway last night. They were now on the feet of Mr. Johnson standing next to my mother-in-law! The person in my mother-in-law’s bedroom last night wasn’t my father-in-law at all, but Mr. Johnson who often played at the club with her! My mother-in-law was brazenly having an affair at home! “What are you staring at? Didn’t you hear what I said?” My mother-in-law slammed down the lunchbox. Her tone was fierce, but her eyes couldn’t quite meet mine. My mother-in-law shoved the lunchbox at me. “Forget it! I’m sick of looking at your face! Hurry up and get out of here!” I took the lunchbox and stumbled home in a daze. I never imagined that my mother-in-law, with her strong traditional values, would actually have an affair! This was Daniel’s mother after all. It wasn’t my place to deal with this. But Daniel’s greatest wish was for family harmony. If I told him about this, who knows what kind of storm it would stir up in the family. I don’t know how long I sat lost in thought. The sky outside had already grown dark when my phone suddenly rang. It was a video call from Daniel. I answered the call and saw his handsome but clearly exhausted face on the screen. In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. “Honey, I got the clothes you sent me this morning. I hadn’t even noticed the weather changing. You’re always so thoughtful.” I managed a weak smile, but Daniel sensed something was off. “Honey, did something happen at home? Or did Mom say something to you again? You look so troubled.” Once Daniel said that, I felt even more guilty. But I still forced myself to deny it: “No, everything’s fine. Don’t worry about things here, just focus on your work.” I had barely finished speaking when I heard the sound of the front door – my mother-in-law was back. Afraid she might say something unpleasant that would distract Daniel, I quickly hung up the call. My mother-in-law seemed to be in a good mood. She came in humming a little tune. After thinking it over, I decided I should still say something to warn her. “Mother, Father will be retiring and coming home in a few months. Daniel will be transferring back then too. We should all try to live together harmoniously.” I had meant to remind her not to keep messing around with Mr. Johnson. But as soon as I said this, my mother-in-law glared at me with her hands on her hips and started cursing. “Live harmoniously? You dare talk to me about living harmoniously? Our family took in a freeloader like you, and you think we can live harmoniously? Fat chance!” “I saw you acting all sneaky earlier. Don’t tell me you can’t stand the loneliness and you’ve been flirting with some guy online?” My mother-in-law was the one having an affair, yet she had the nerve to accuse me of impropriety? “Daniel has been living at work for so long. If I could get pregnant now, it would most likely be from cheating with another man!” As soon as she heard the word “cheating”, my mother-in-law’s expression changed. She glared at me fiercely before turning and stomping back to her room, slamming the door shut.
I don’t know if it was because my words had struck a nerve, or if she felt guilty knowing I had discovered her affair with Mr. Johnson. But I actually enjoyed a peaceful month after that. My mother-in-law would leave right after breakfast every day. She no longer asked me to bring her lunch. When she came home, she would just lock herself in her room. We barely even crossed paths. On my birthday, Daniel called early in the morning to apologize for not being able to come back due to work. In the afternoon, I received flowers he had sent. The card on the flowers had our favorite poem from college. Reading it brought back all the sweet memories from those days. “You shameless woman! Daniel’s not home, don’t tell me these flowers are from some lover of yours!” My mother-in-law was looking for trouble again, but I wasn’t worried at all this time. “Mom, Daniel had these delivered to me.” Margaret sneered, “Hmph, making my son waste money buying you flowers!” I couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. I picked up the flowers, intending to go back to my room, when she called out again: “You ungrateful girl, you don’t even care that I’ve been made sick from all your nonsense! Hurry up and take me to the hospital!” I immediately became concerned. She had seemed fine earlier – how could she suddenly say she was sick and needed to go to the hospital? “Mom, are you okay? Where are you feeling unwell? I’ll go get the car keys right away!” “What car? Gas is so expensive these days. The hospital’s not far anyway, just push me there in the wheelchair!” My mother-in-law insisted, so I had no choice but to take her in the wheelchair. On the way, she said she had diarrhea and an on-and-off fever. The symptoms sounded like the flu to me, but I didn’t dare take any chances. Elderly people have weaker immune systems after all. If it developed into something more serious, Daniel would be so worried. At the hospital, after hearing about the symptoms, the doctor had an odd expression. He told me to take my mother-in-law for a blood test first. A few hours later, when I saw the test results, I was shocked. It was AIDS.
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