Chapter Seven: It’s Just Acting, Who Can’t Do That?

The Mu family villa was vast. Only when I stepped outside did I truly feel the warmth of the sunlight, and even the air seemed fresh and invigorating.

“You’re wrong. Mother stopped loving you long ago.”

I knew my mother’s nature well. No matter how much she had loved Mu Xianghua before, once she discovered his infidelity, that love would have turned to hatred.

I got into the car, still hearing Mu Xianghua stomping and cursing.

Let him curse and scream.

I understood my mother. If she were still alive, she would never want to remain in this suffocating, disgusting place.

I took my mother’s spirit tablet back to our old family home.

I placed the tablet in the ancestral hall, which had been untouched for years. The hall had weathered time and was quite old, though not collapsing—just filthy inside.

The village chief found two men to help me clean it up.

He looked at the tablet with a sigh.

“Back in the day, your mother’s wedding was grand and splendid. I never imagined that the next time I’d see her, it would be under these circumstances.”

A bitter ache settled in my heart.

My mother had chosen to leave her home with Mu Xianghua to build a life elsewhere, yet this was how things ended…

Tragic and lamentable.

I had anticipated Mu Xianghua wouldn’t easily let me take the tablet away.

But I hadn’t expected him to stubbornly chase me here.

That afternoon, just as I was about to leave, I heard the gate being slammed loudly.

The noise drew a crowd of villagers.

Mu Xianghua kicked the door open. “Mu Yan, you unfilial daughter!”

Mu Ya sneered beside him, “You’re really something. You want to divorce the Zhou family for some wild man outside, and when Dad disagrees, you threaten him with your mother’s spirit tablet.”

Mu Xianghua lunged at me, ready to strike.

But I was no longer the soft target who took blows silently. I dodged without hesitation.

He hadn’t expected me to evade and missed, nearly falling over.

Regaining his footing, his face flushed with rage.

“You run around causing trouble, then come back here to hide when the husband’s family is unhappy. I tell you to go home, but you insist on defying me. Mu Yan, are you trying to kill me with anger?”

Lies and slander!

Yet the watching villagers believed him.

“That’s why she suddenly came back. Who wants to live the hard life in the countryside? Turns out she got into trouble and came back to hide.”

“Shameless! Does she think we’re trash collectors? Bringing all that filth back here!”

“Go back to the city and don’t dirty our land.”

Mu Ya turned her back to the villagers, smirking triumphantly. “I advise you to listen to Dad and stop making a scene. What’s so great about some wild man outside? Zhou Chenyan treated you well, you should be grateful!”

“Go back right now! Don’t embarrass yourself here.”

Mu Xianghua grabbed me forcibly and tried to drag me out.

I sneered and yanked away fiercely.

Meeting Mu Xianghua’s shocked gaze, my hatred surged to its peak.

Acting, slandering.

Who doesn’t know how to do that?

Choking back tears, I cried out, “Father, how can you slander me with such words?”

“Shut up! Don’t you—”

Mu Xianghua’s eyelid twitched, trying to stop me.

I gave him no chance and shouted louder, “You betrayed Mother, cheated and raised a mistress, even brought a bastard daughter into the house! All these years, when have you ever cared about me and my brother?”

“When my brother was sick in the hospital, you refused to give me money but bought jewelry for Mu Ya!”

“My husband flirts with other women, stays out all night. When I wanted to come home and have you intervene, you kicked me and Mother’s spirit tablet out. And now you say I’m immoral?”

My accusations poured out with tears and anguish.

At first, it was mostly an act, but as I spoke, genuine feelings overwhelmed me. Tears fell in torrents.

Resentment and grievance intertwined.

Mu Xianghua trembled with fury, “You’re talking nonsense!”

“I want a divorce now only because my husband followed your old ways. If you disagree, is it because you’re afraid no one will want me or that the Zhou family won’t cooperate with you?”

I was far more convincing than he ever was.

“Bah! What kind of father is this? He’s pushing his daughter to the edge!”

“Men change once they have money; they’re no longer human.”

“No wonder I saw Mu Yan return alone, clutching the tablet. She must have been badly bullied; otherwise, who would want to come back to the countryside when everyone else is fleeing to the city?”

The villagers immediately turned against Mu Xianghua.

Though some rural folks were simple-minded, they were honest and straightforward.

They only cared about who was weak and who was right, not about corporate interests or whether the group leader could be offended.

Mu Xianghua, who had long been pampered outside, could not stand this.

Mu Ya didn’t even dare to argue, as the villagers’ spit nearly drenched her face.

Watching father and daughter, a surge of satisfaction warmed me.

The commotion soon attracted the village chief, who came over with a headache, hoping to mediate.

“Stop fighting. You’re all family; if there are issues, discuss them properly. Don’t make a laughingstock of yourselves.”

I keenly sensed he was siding with Mu Xianghua, so I covered my face and began to weep.

“Village chief, you don’t know how biased my father is. Since Mother’s passing, he hasn’t given me or my brother a penny. I won’t complain about that. I just want a divorce and to live peacefully here, but he insists I go back. I’d rather die.”

I cried and wailed dramatically.

The villagers grew even more outraged, almost drowning Mu Xianghua in their spit.

The village chief broke out in a cold sweat. “Calm down, everyone. This is a family matter; we don’t know the full story. Don’t stir up trouble.”

It took great effort to get everyone to disperse.

He looked at me helplessly.

“Mu Yan…”

With the onlookers gone, I grew tired of pretending.

“Village chief, no need to say more. My mind is made up.”

He was speechless.

Mu Xianghua ground his teeth fiercely. “Mu Yan, you’re determined not to go back?”

“No.”

“You’re crazy!”

Mu Xianghua probably had never seen me like this. His gaze was as if staring at a ghost.

But I felt liberated.

“Father, you’d better leave now. If you come here causing trouble again, I’ll have no choice but to tell everyone your ‘glorious’ story—how you built your fortune thanks to Mother, then cheated and raised a mistress after achieving success!”

The veins in Mu Xianghua’s temple twitched. Furious, he cursed thrice and stormed off.

Mu Ya glared at me fiercely, “Just you wait!”

“Before you leave, make sure someone fixes the door.”

That poor door had been kicked once each by the two of them.

How could I not ask for compensation?

Mu Xianghua paused briefly, then quickened his pace.

The village chief sighed, looking at me. “I didn’t realize you suffered so much outside. Since you won’t go back, stay here. After all, your mother grew up here, and for her sake, I’ll look after you.”

“Thank you, village chief.”

“You’re welcome. By the way, there’s no food at home—rice, flour, oil—so come eat at my place tonight. Your aunt has been wanting to see you.”

I wanted to stay here, so it was necessary to maintain good relations with the village chief’s family.

Therefore, I didn’t refuse.

But I hadn’t expected this to be a trap.