In the small house, the sound of the couple arguing echoed everywhere.
"You married me 18 years ago, and now your illegitimate child with your mistress is 15 years old. When did you betray me, huh??"
"You were pregnant at the time, so out of consideration for you and our child, I spent money to support the two of you until now. Now that it's come to this, I have nothing left to hide. Let's get a divorce!"
"Fine, if it's a divorce, then it's a divorce. Xuân Nghi will come with me."
With that said, Mrs. Lý signed the divorce papers, placed them on the table, and walked into the room to pack her luggage.
Mr. Phong, on the other hand, felt a great sense of relief and satisfaction at having divorced his old and ugly wife.
Just then, Xuân Nghi returned from school and saw her mother packing luggage: two huge suitcases and a handbag. She asked her mother, puzzled:
"Are we going on a trip, Mom??"
Her mother's face was blank, her red-rimmed eyes from earlier had now softened a bit. Mrs. Lý forced a smile and replied to her:
"We're going to live at Grandma's house. Mom's already arranged for a car."
"Why are we going back to Grandma's house? Did you and Dad argue again?" she asked her mother, tilting her head.
"Dad and Mom... are divorced."
She was a little surprised at first, but a few seconds later, she calmed down. She knew for sure that her parents would divorce someday; they argued every single day.
She loved her mother dearly. Sometimes her mother was even beaten by her father, and she tried to intervene, but all she received were her father's brutal beatings.
She hated her father fiercely. It would be better to divorce and for the two of them to live at Grandma's house; that would be happier than being beaten by her father every single day.
It wasn't exactly Grandma's house; it was just a small house that someone rented out to Grandma. Her family was very poor. When her mother married her father, their family was well-off, but a few years later, the money vanished into thin air. Her mother loved her father, so she gave him money to do business, but only now did her mother realize that all the money she had given him, he had spent on supporting his mistress and his illegitimate child.
"Yes, let's go, Mom, we might miss the car now," she said, forcing a faint smile and urging her mother. It seemed she didn't dare to ask more, afraid of upsetting her mother.
Her mother also felt a great sense of relief in her heart to have such an obedient and understanding daughter. Xuân Nghi carried one suitcase for her mother, and the two of them headed to the bus station together.
Her house was in a secluded place, and her school was also very small and dilapidated. Her mother said she would call the teacher later to arrange for Xuân Nghi to transfer schools, as she would now be living at Grandma's house and attending school there.
Grandma's house, on the other hand, was in a bustling, lively city, with lots of traffic, towering buildings, and luxurious villas.
It took nearly four hours by car to reach Grandma's house. The mother and daughter, with their suitcases, got out of the car. Her grandmother was already waiting for them. As soon as she saw them get out of the car, the old woman quickly ran over and took the suitcases from their hands:
"Give me the suitcases, I'll carry them for you. You two must be tired from the long journey, right? Hurry, go inside, I'll bring the things in for you."
"I can carry them myself. You go inside first."
Grandma's rented house was an old wooden house, with sparse and old furniture. In the living room, there was a small, old TV and a sofa with peeling fabric, along with a small kitchen and two bedrooms.
Normally, when they came here, her mother and grandmother would sleep together, while she slept in one room. So, as soon as she entered the house and greeted her grandmother, she ran into her room, arranged her belongings, and lay down on the bed.
When her mother and she weren't there, Grandma still often cleaned the bedroom, so Xuân Nghi didn't need to clean it.
Lying on the bed, too tired, she fell asleep.