Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Before long, my phone began buzzing. I ignored it and let it vibrate until the call ended on its own.
I always kept my phone on vibrate.
A moment later, it started buzzing again.
Even through the phone, I could practically feel the caller’s fury.
But none of that had anything to do with me anymore.
After all, I was still “unconscious.”
How could an unconscious person possibly answer the phone?
I had no idea how much time passed before I heard voices nearby, followed by someone shouting.
“Someone fell into the sewer!”
I was “rescued.”
A kind passerby called both the fire department and an ambulance. Still “barely conscious,” I was lifted onto a stretcher, loaded into the ambulance, and taken to the hospital.
My leg was put in a cast, my head was wrapped in gauze, and an IV needle was inserted into the back of my left hand.
A nurse handed me my phone, sympathy written all over her face.
“You were unconscious, and your phone kept ringing. There were over a hundred missed calls, so we finally answered. The caller said she was your mother-in-law. I told her what happened to you, so she should be here soon.”
“Thank you,” I said gratefully. “How much longer until this IV is finished? My husband is still waiting at home for me to bring back the Chinese yam for the pork rib stew.”
The nurse looked at me with even more pity. “Another hour. You have a broken leg and a concussion. Get some rest and forget about the pork ribs.”
I knew why she was looking at me like that. The moment the call connected, my dear mother-in-law had probably launched into a vicious tirade against me.
She had probably even mentioned that something had happened to my husband, but the nurse couldn’t bear to tell me in my current condition.
I was dying to know how everything had turned out too.
After all, I had gone to so much trouble and even reduced myself to this miserable state.
If it hadn’t worked, I would curse the heavens.
It didn’t take long for me to get the answer I’d been anxiously awaiting.
Ignoring the nurse’s attempts to stop her, my mother-in-law charged straight into the room and slapped me twice across the face.
My face instantly swelled, blood trickled from the corner of my mouth, and my head spun. Even the wound on my forehead began seeping blood again.
That old woman still hit as hard as ever!
Stunned by the blows, I called out, “Mom,” and burst into aggrieved tears.
In an instant, the scene was perfectly clear to the other patients and nurses: a vicious, cruel mother-in-law and a meek daughter-in-law who had endured endless abuse.
When they restrained her and she could no longer hit me, she began screaming abuse instead.
“You jinx! You shameless bitch! You killed my son!
“I’ll kill you! Why did you have to go out and leave my son home alone, you bitch?
“Now he’s dead! It’s all your fault! I’ll kill you and make you follow my son to the grave!”
I froze, then blurted out in panic, “Mom, what are you talking about? Who died? What happened to Ah Chao?”
He Chao was my husband’s name.
My mother-in-law collapsed onto the floor and wailed, cursing me all the while.
“My husband…”
I yanked the IV needle from the back of my hand and tried to get up, but with my leg in a cast, I immediately fell in front of my mother-in-law.
Crying, I begged her, “Mom, tell me! What happened to Ah Chao?”
My mother-in-law’s fists and palms rained down on me again.
But I seemed oblivious to the pain. Ignoring the nurses’ objections, I grabbed my phone and began hopping toward the door on one leg.
This was the orthopedics ward, and someone had left a crutch by the entrance. I silently apologized, stole it, and hobbled out of the hospital as fast as I could.
I had to hurry.
I stumbled along on the crutch, crying as I went, with my mother-in-law following behind me.
To anyone watching, it looked as though something so terrible had happened that I was ready to risk my life in my desperation.
Only I knew I was desperate to see the fruits of my labor.
Until I saw it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t be able to rest easy.