UM CH 07

Unending Memories — Chapter 7

I already knew Yu Jin would say something like that.
So instead of arguing, I simply gathered my pillow and blanket and went to sleep in the guest room.
That night, I probably slept better than I had in a long time.
I didn’t want to share a roof with that man anymore. Just thinking of him made my skin crawl.

***

The next morning, I got up planning to make breakfast, but when I stepped out, I found that my mother-in-law had already gone out early and bought food from outside.
By the time I woke up, everyone was already sitting around the table, nearly done eating.

No one had bothered to call me.
When they saw me come out, they even looked a little surprised.

I was about to sit down when my mother-in-law said coldly,

“Yan Shuang, you should move out.”

“What? Why?”

“Why? You should ask yourself that,” Yu Jin cut in. “You’ve got a contagious disease, and you still want to live here? What if you infect all of us?”

“But—”

“No ‘buts.’ Pack your things and move out today,” my mother-in-law said in her usual commanding tone.

I had no desire to stay anyway, but for appearance’s sake, I forced myself to look heartbroken and quietly nodded.

Within minutes I packed my luggage.
I didn’t even touch breakfast.
I lingered at the doorway, hesitating for a few minutes just to make it look convincing — but no one tried to stop me.

With a sigh, I opened the door and left, hiding the small, relieved smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

***

I moved back into my old rented apartment.
It was small, but everything inside was familiar — my furniture, my little decorations.
Even though I’d only moved out recently, nothing had changed.
For the first time in a while, I felt peaceful.

***

The next day, just to avoid suspicion, I went back to the Yu house.
As soon as my mother-in-law saw me, her expression turned sour and she stepped back in disgust.

“Why are you back again?”

“Mom… I don’t have anywhere else to stay. My wallet was stolen. Please, let me come back.”

I reached for her sleeve, but she dodged as if avoiding a plague.

“Then go to your mother’s house,” she snapped.

“She won’t let me. She said I’d infect my little brother…”

I forced tears into my eyes, my voice trembling pitifully.

My mother-in-law just snorted.
Then, without another word, she shoved me out the door and slammed it shut with a loud bang.

I sat outside for over ten minutes, but she never opened the door again.
I knew she was watching me from the window until I walked away.

***

Finally, I could live quietly on my own again.
The bitterness that had been building inside me for days began to ease a little.

I had barely lain down on my bed to rest when my phone rang.
It was my stepmother.

“Yan Shuang, transfer me 5,000 yuan.”

Straight to the point — no greeting, no explanation.

My stomach turned with disgust.
I clenched my teeth to stop myself from yelling.

“Mom, I’m not an ATM.”

She paused for a second, then said sharply,

“Don’t you dare talk back to your mother. Your brother, Ji Zhihao, got into another fight. He’s in the hospital now. You know I don’t have any savings — if you don’t help, he might not make it.”

I was silent for a long moment, thinking.
Finally, I said,

“Send me a picture of him. Once I see it, I’ll decide whether to send you money.”

She agreed immediately and hung up.

A few minutes later, a photo came through.
My half-brother Ji Zhihao was lying in a hospital bed, his head wrapped in bandages, eyes closed tightly.

So she hadn’t lied.

I stared at the picture for a long time.
No matter what had happened, he was still the boy who used to run after me calling me sister.
And even though we didn’t share blood, I remembered how our father had always cared for him the most.