Chapter 5: The Partial Grandmother
1237 Words
Back in college, many people thought that Sophia Shen and Alexander Qin would end up together. They were the perfect match, a couple everyone admired. However, in their third year, Alexander Qin quickly entered a high-profile relationship with the campus queen from a nearby university, and over the next few years, countless people would secretly or openly mock Sophia Shen.
Only her close friend, Bella Jiang, knew the details behind it.
"He has a girlfriend now, Bella. Honestly, I never truly liked him—at most, I admired him," Sophia Shen said, trying to mask her bitterness.
"Exactly. Our Sophia is so exceptional, why would she settle for someone who didn’t want her? If you can let go, that's all that matters. Don’t dwell on it," Bella Jiang said with a gentle smile, her eyes filled with a sense of liberation. She was upset on behalf of her friend, but she remained composed.
"However, I think you should talk to your parents about this whole arranged dating thing," Bella Jiang suggested, unable to watch her friend suffer from her grandmother’s biased treatment.
"You know how it is. My grandmother is getting old—she's almost ninety and had surgery recently…" Sophia Shen trailed off.
"Why worry about it? Your grandmother may call you her granddaughter, but does she treat you like one? She seems determined to push you into a corner. First, it was the household register, next who knows what she'll do. Just think about how she acted in the past. If you don’t say something now, next time, she might even involve the authorities," Bella Jiang said, her words not unfounded.
Sophia Shen thought about the past. Back when she was in college, her grandmother had secretly thrown away her admission letter, and it was only thanks to technological advancements that she could attend school without it.
Sophia Shen hesitated, a bitter smile forming on her lips. "I’ll deal with it when I get home tonight."
She quickly shifted the conversation, trying to distract herself.
"Alright, no more talking about that. Let’s play some games! Let me take you on a wild ride through the online world," Bella Jiang said, trying to cheer her up.
"Sure, thank you, Daddy!" Sophia Shen responded with a teasing smile.
"You better not bring that pesky little kid along today," Bella Jiang added quickly.
"Okay, okay, I’ll listen to you," Sophia Shen agreed.
They spent the evening playing games and grabbing dinner at the nearby food street before Sophia Shen headed back home.
As she entered, the family had already finished dinner, but to her surprise, her grandmother, who usually took walks at this time, was sitting on the couch, clutching her chest. Richard Shen was gently trying to comfort her.
The moment Sophia Shen entered, the three family members all looked her way.
"You came back? Are you trying to make me die of anger, old woman?" her grandmother snapped. "Little Qin just called, saying you embarrassed him in front of everyone."
Sophia Shen took a deep breath. Normally, she would have let things slide, but not this time. She forced back her feelings of hurt.
"Did he say why?" Sophia Shen asked.
Her grandmother's face turned cold as she glared at Sophia Shen. "What reason could there be? It’s because you’re too spoiled. Little Qin is a decent teacher, but you not only looked down on him, you even embarrassed him in front of others."
Sophia Shen looked down, a cold smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
Seeing Sophia Shen not rebutting her, her grandmother became even more enraged. "I’ve introduced so many potential suitors to you. Each one is handpicked—stable jobs, good families. And you? You find one excuse after another to reject them. Do you think you’re a goddess and can afford to stay single forever?"
Her grandmother's rant continued, getting more intense, and her chest heaved with anger.
"Mom, Sophia Shen is not like that. There must be some misunderstanding," Richard Shen tried to mediate, shooting Sophia Shen a pleading look.
Grace Shen nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the whole neighborhood praises Sophia Shen. It must be the man who has problems."
But her grandmother rolled her eyes.
"I’ve always said, what's the point of girls going to school so much? Now, you’ve raised your standards so high that no one is good enough for you. Even I, your own grandmother, can’t get your respect anymore," she muttered, showing her displeasure.
"Well, honestly, you two should just leave the money to Jason Shen. Sophia Shen doesn’t care about family, and she’ll just end up married to someone else. Jason Shen is the only one who will carry on the family name. That’s the right thing to do," Lillian Li finally voiced her true intention.
The whole room fell silent.
Sophia Shen clenched her fists tightly.
"So, I’m an outsider, but Jason Shen is the real family?" Sophia Shen lifted her head, locking eyes with her grandmother. "Is that why you’re so eager to get me married off, so that I can move out and you can encourage my parents to give all the money to Jason Shen?"
Her grandmother’s face flashed with panic.
"How dare you speak to me like that? I’m your grandmother! How could I possibly want to harm you?" her grandmother retorted, trying to cover her unease.
Sophia Shen scoffed, fully aware of her grandmother’s true intentions.
Richard Shen took a deep breath and calmly spoke. "The money will go to Sophia Shen from now on."
Her grandmother’s face flushed with discomfort, but she didn’t respond.
Sophia Shen exhaled deeply and walked over, pulling the household register out of her bag and tossing it onto the coffee table.
"This is the household register that Franky Qin gave me today. He said Lillian Li had already promised me to him," she said, her voice steady but cutting.
Her words caused a storm in the room.
Her grandmother was stunned. Richard Shen’s face turned red with anger. Grace Shen was seething with rage.
"Sophia Shen, tell us, what’s going on?" Grace Shen forced the words out, barely containing her fury. She turned to Lillian Li, her eyes blazing.
Sophia Shen wasn’t holding back now. "That so-called 'talented young man' your grandmother introduced me to is just a lazy freeloader. His age is about the same as my father’s. He has a receding hairline, a beer belly, and stands at just about 5'3"."
"That’s just the one from today. The last one had a leg injury, and the one before him worked as a bricklayer in the next neighborhood. The one before him was a divorcee, and—"
"Enough—" Grace Shen couldn’t bear to hear any more. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she stopped Sophia Shen.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at her daughter. "I’m sorry, Sophia Shen... I never wanted you to suffer like this."
Richard Shen stepped forward, trying to comfort his wife, but she pushed him away.
"I thought your mom would care about you, but now she’s just as bad as your grandmother. If you don’t fix this, we’re getting a divorce," Grace Shen spat out, her eyes wild with frustration. "You only care about Jason Shen and let Sophia Shen suffer. Is this the family we’ve become?"
- Writer
