Chapter Six: Do You Dare Touch Her Memorial Tablet?

Before putting any plan into action, there was one thing I absolutely had to do.

I needed to see my little brother.

In my previous life, after my brother was sent to northern Myanmar, I tried every possible way to see him once more, only to be stopped each time by Zhou Chenyan.

Until his death, I never got the chance to see him.

The boy lay on the bed, idly fiddling with a paper crane.

I gently pushed the door open.

“...Ah Hang.”

My voice was hoarse and choked with emotion.

Mu Hang looked up and saw me, his face lighting up with joy. “Sister, you came to see me!”

“...Sister, what’s wrong with you?” Mu Hang noticed the unusual expression on my face, worry etched on his features. “Is it that brother-in-law is treating you badly?”

“No, nothing like that. Don’t overthink it.”

I ruffled my brother’s soft, fuzzy hair. He obediently leaned his head forward, his eyes full of longing as he held the paper crane tightly in his hand.

That was a gift from me.

Mu Xianghua ignored both me and my brother. Our pockets were emptier than our faces were clean, so I had no choice but to take on part-time jobs to earn money.

But that meant I couldn’t stay with him in the hospital.

Afraid that he would feel lonely, I used my part-time opportunities to learn crafts, folding many paper cranes, little frogs, and other toys to give to him.

Though still young, he treasured these cheap little things I gave him as if they were priceless.

“As long as no one’s bullying you, it’s good. Sister, you look much thinner than last time.”

He tenderly touched my face.

I held his hand. The boy’s fingers were long and slender, but years of medication and illness had left them nothing but skin and bones.

“Have you been listening to the doctors? Taking your medicine properly?”

“Yes!”

His hand was cold as he grasped my fingertips, his voice tinged with an unspoken sadness.

“It’s all my fault for causing trouble for you, sister. Mom told me to protect you, but all along, you’ve been the one taking care of me...”

“We’re family.”

Hearing the word ‘Mom’ made my heart ache.

“Tell me, what else did Mom say to you?”

Mu Hang thought carefully.

“I remember Mom was very unhappy back then. She was always distracted, and once she said something scary.”

I pressed him urgently. “What did she say?”

“Mom said that if one day she wasn’t here anymore, we should rely on each other, that I should protect you well, take good care of you...”

I remembered Mom died in a car accident. The police at the scene found medication for depression in her car.

Mu Xianghua also testified that Mom had been emotionally unwell due to company troubles, suffering from depression and constantly taking medication.

The final conclusion was that Mom’s overdose led to her losing control while driving, causing the crash.

That was how the case was closed in my previous life as well.

Now, it seemed full of holes.

Mom came from humble beginnings but had fought her way from a small mountain village to the big city, building a career alongside Mu Xianghua. What hardships had she not faced? How could she suddenly develop depression?

Suddenly, I recalled that before Mom died, she left a will.

All the shares she owned were left to me and my brother.

At the time, I thought it was strange. Who normally thinks to leave a will unless they foresee danger?

Unfortunately, I was trapped in a troubled marriage. Even if I had sensed something, I couldn’t investigate. When I considered divorce, Mu Xianghua deceived me.

He forged the share transfer documents as a divorce agreement and made me sign it.

I pinched my brother’s ear gently.

“You stay here and get better. I have some matters to settle; once they’re done, I’ll come see you.”

Mu Hang was very sensible and didn’t ask me to stay.

“Okay, I’ll listen to you, sister.”

He handed me a paper crane.

“Sister, let this be with you instead of me.”

I thought again of the last life, of the shattered jar of paper cranes I found in the hospital after my brother was taken away. My fingers trembled.

Not wanting to show any weakness in front of him, I hurriedly left the hospital with the paper crane.

I returned to the Mu family.

The Mu family living room was full of warmth and laughter.

The moment I stepped in, I saw the scene.

Mu Xianghua and his mistress, Gong Yue, sat on the sofa, while Mu Ya sat opposite them, smiling brightly and chatting. The couple looked utterly doting.

What a perfect little family.

My arrival felt like a stone thrown into a still lake, breaking the peace.

Mu Xianghua snapped irritably, “So you still know how to come back.”

Gong Yue gently nudged him, “Don’t say that. Yanyan wanting a divorce must have been wronged. Now that she’s come to her senses, she’s back.”

“Marrying into the Zhou family, what grievances could she have? Do you think they’d abuse her? She’s just like her mother, so pretentious!” Mu Xianghua’s usual disdain was evident.

Whenever he spoke of me or Mom, his face twisted with disgust, as if the devoted father who once swore loyalty and vowed to carry me on his shoulders never existed.

I had long seen through their true colors and refused to waste words on them. I walked past them directly and headed for the backyard.

“What are you doing?” Mu Xianghua’s question was left far behind my back.

In the Mu family backyard stood an ancestral hall, built after Mu Xianghua made his fortune. Inside were the ancestral tablets of the Mu family forebears.

Among them was my mother’s memorial tablet.

In the dim, cold hall, I spotted the tablet bearing my mother’s name, thickly coated in dust.

I wrapped it carefully in my coat and held it close.

Only then did my heart feel settled.

“Put that down!” Mu Xianghua’s face darkened as he stormed over. “Who let you come here and cause trouble? Put it back this instant!”

“I’m taking Mom with me.”

I stood inside the hall while Mu Xianghua stayed outside.

He refused to step in, disgusted, afraid the dust would soil him.

“I won’t allow it! Your mother was my wife. Her tablet belongs here, in the Mu family.”

His face flushed with anger, as if he truly cared for Mom.

But I knew better.

He was a selfish, possessive man who couldn’t bear to lose control of Mom, whether in life or death.

Mu Ya mocked from the side, “I told you you’re crazy. It’s just a broken tablet; where do you want to take it? This family’s so hateful to you? You come back and start trouble right away!”

Gong Yue also advised, “Yanyan, even if you’re angry, don’t torment your mother like this. Your father’s worried sick about you. Stop this and give him some peace.”

Holding the tablet close, I walked step by step toward the exit.

Mu Xianghua retreated, as if I were carrying a live bomb.

“Are you going to touch it?”

He hesitated, then snapped irritably, “Why would I touch something so unlucky?”

“You don’t even dare touch it, yet you want me to leave Mom here... Dream on.”

I carefully pulled down my fallen coat hem to cover the tablet.

“How dare you talk to me like that? Have you gone mad? Do you even acknowledge me as your father?”

Mu Xianghua was incredulous.

In my previous life, no matter how rebellious I was, I still regarded him as my father.

But he never truly saw me as his daughter.

“I only have Mom and my brother.”

I clutched the tablet and walked out.

“Mu Yan, what’s wrong with you? You must know how much your mother loved me while alive. Even in death, she wanted to stay by my side. If you take her away now, you won’t let her rest in peace!”

Mu Xianghua’s words were harsh, but he never dared to come near me.

He wasn’t afraid of me.

He was afraid of the tablet.