Yang's mother felt something was amiss when she returned home that day, feeling groggy. She developed a high fever in the middle of the night, and hospital treatments were useless.
Lying down, she felt the bed spinning and was constantly nauseous. When she opened her eyes, the walls seemed to sway. Her throat was dry, hoarse, and painful, and she felt as if someone was slapping her periodically.
The physical torment caused her to lose a lot of weight. She was always restless and suspicious, jumpy, and convinced her husband was up to something.
She spent her days at home complaining and scolding, and when she missed her son, she'd go to the hospital and cry. She became erratic, her temper easily triggered, and she'd argue with her husband multiple times a day.
If he wasn't home, she couldn't help but argue. If he stayed out a moment longer, she'd check his phone, with the time recorded to the second. Yang's father was driven to the brink of distraction by her, making frequent errors at work.
"What more do you want from me? I'm also very upset that our son is in trouble. But is being upset enough? I also have to earn money to support the family, or would you and our son prefer to starve?"
"Well, you're complaining now that I don't earn money. Who am I not earning money for? Isn't it for our family? Can't you show me some concern? I really feel like I'm dying every day."
"I'm suffering too. Where have I not shown you concern? I think this is all retribution. I told you before we shouldn't have done this. You kept saying it was fine, it was fine. Now that something has happened, who are you going to blame?"
"Am I blaming you? Can you at least have some conscience? I just want you to spend more time with me. I'm sick now and I really need your care."
"You refuse to stay in the hospital when I tell you to. Can you stop pretending? They can't find anything wrong with you. You just want to torment me."
"Hahaha, torment you. You say I torment you. Do you think I want to be sick? Don't you have any part in this? You're just criticizing me after the fact. What's the use of educating me after the problem has occurred? I need problem-solving, not you constantly accusing me. How did I end up marrying such a useless man? Not only can you not get justice for me and our son, but you also constantly anger me."
"Yes, yes, yes, I'm useless, alright? Then let's get divorced. This useless husband won't hold you back. You can find someone better, and I won't say another word."
"Wuwuwu, damn you. You want to divorce me? I'll beat you to death, beat you to death."
As she spoke, she struck Yang's father's body mercilessly. Yang's father could only dodge, unable to retaliate.
A short while later, Yang's father was pushed onto the sofa by Yang's mother, his face buried in the cushions. He began to cough incessantly. Yang's mother sensed something was wrong.
She stopped her actions, quickly pulled him up, and began patting his back, helping him breathe.
"Husband, what's wrong? Don't scare me. I'll get you medicine and water right away. Stop coughing." kuAiδugg
Yang's father seemed as if he was coughing up his lungs, unable to stop. All the little tricks he learned on Tomato couldn't help, and pressing various acupoints was also useless.
He went to the hospital for treatment, was prescribed medicine, and told to drink plenty of hot water. He coughed for a full two hours, feeling like he had lost half his life.
His limbs ached and felt weak. He wanted to ask Yang's mother for a cup of hot water but found he couldn't even make a sound. At first, he thought it was just due to prolonged coughing.
It wasn't until the next day that he realized something was wrong. He seemed to have become mute. He immediately went back to the hospital. After a series of examinations, the doctors were all helpless.
He went to several more hospitals with the same results. Yang's mother cried all the way, and Yang's father felt as if the sky had fallen.
He had become mute, so how would he manage his work? He thought about it all day without finding a good solution, eventually resigning.
These past few days, he stayed at home, utterly dejected, not daring to tell his friends that he had become mute.
"Husband, get up quickly. I've made you some porridge."
Yang's mother gently and solicitously brought the porridge into the bedroom, intending to feed Yang's father. Yang's father avoided her, and when she offered the spoon again from the other side, he waved it away with his hand.
The hot porridge spilled all over Yang's mother. She immediately stood up and shook off the remaining porridge. Lifting her clothes, she saw a large red patch on her skin.
"Yang, what do you mean by this? I'm trying my best to serve you, and this is how you treat me."
"Why are you turning your head away? Are you afraid to look at me? I know you must hate me, thinking I caused you to lose your job. Let me tell you, this is retribution, hahaha. Who told you not to discipline your son properly?"
"I'm not serving you from today onwards. Do you think you're some kind of VIP? I'll treat you exactly how you treated me when I was sick. Humph, let's see how long your arrogance lasts."
After saying this, she stomped out of the room in anger. Yang's father clenched his fists, tears uncontrollably streaming down his face. He wondered what kind of karma had led him to this.
After Jiang Bin and the other two troublemakers finished their self-criticism, they were hospitalized that same day after school for breaking their legs in a motorcycle accident.
During class meetings, homeroom teachers lectured on the dangers of riding motorcycles, warning everyone not to ride them or take unlicensed rides.
People at school thought Jun Jiuli was somewhat uncanny and dared not offend or provoke her. Everyone found it best to maintain the status quo.
Jun Jiuli rented a place near the school: one kitchen, one bathroom, and one bedroom. It was a small apartment without a living room, but perfectly comfortable for one person.
There was a wet market nearby, so she mostly bought groceries and cooked for herself. Zhao Chunyan's eyes couldn't hide her excitement; she looked forward to living together with Jun Jiuli.
In these past few days, she had learned to use the water heater, the range hood, buy groceries, cook, and use her phone to browse the internet. She no longer yearned for familial affection, finding she could live independently.
The events on Tomato spread widely, and many people learned about Jun Jiuli's family situation. When they wanted to donate money to her, Jun Jiuli refused all offers.
Zhao Bei and Wang Ermei were so ashamed they didn't dare to go out, naturally unable to find trouble with Jun Jiuli.