Whims

Chen Xiaoning had been troubled lately. When she told her aunt about two tenants badmouthing her, her aunt refused to believe it. Instead, she sided firmly with the outsiders: "I trust them. You must have misheard. They gossip about others too, but never about me. Stop this—I don’t want arguments." Xiaoning’s voice trembled. "So you think I’m lying?" "Not lying," her aunt countered. "Just mistaken." The words pierced Xiaoning’s heart.How could Auntie trust strangers over her own niece? Swallowing her pride, she apologized to end the fight. Yet her aunt continued lecturing her, disappointment etched into every word. Memories of childhood warmth with her aunt clashed violently with this coldness. Worse, her aunt immediately reported the accusation to the tenants—sisters Huang Yanling (in her twenties) and Huang Jingya (around twenty). The duo denied everything theatrically: "Auntie Chen! We’d never curse you after delivering lunch! We’re not ungrateful wretches!" They twisted the narrative: "That brat just resents us for managing her screen time and meals. She’s lying to humiliate us!" Xiaoning, overhearing from her room, stormed out. "You *did* complain in the kitchen after delivering food! You said Auntie was troublesome and wished her dead!" Yanling’s eyes flickered with guilt but her tone dripped defiance: "The walls are soundproof! How could you hear us from your room? We’d never curse over trivial things!" Jingya added, avoiding eye contact: "Why would we insult someone who treats us so kindly?" When Xiaoning tried to press further, her aunt restrained her. "No arguments in this house." The plea felt like betrayal. Yanling seized the moment, slamming a chair down. "What motive would we have? Auntie’s been nothing but good to us!" To Xiaoning’s devastation, her aunt doubled down: "I trust them. I’ve watched them grow up—they’re not backstabbers." The repeated "I believe them" shattered Xiaoning’s last hope. She apologized again, swallowing her truth to end the farce. Her hair fell disheveled as she bowed—a portrait of forced submission. The tenants gloated, spinning her into a "spiteful, scheming girl" while her aunt preached hollow morals. That night, Xiaoning overheard Yanling’s venomous epilogue: "That slutty brat—who does she think she is?" Bitter laughter rose in her throat.They’ve won. I’m the villain now. Memories flashed—her childhood in this aunt’s care, before being returned to her birth family during financial ruin. The Huangs’ two-faced behavior (sweet to Auntie, tyrannical when alone) had worn her down. They enjoyed subsidized rent and free utilities, clinging to their cushy setup through flattery. Xiaoning, labeled "spoiled" for resisting their commands, realized truth was irrelevant where convenience ruled. "Don’t cry for these lunatics," she told herself. Yet childhood echoes haunted her—"Xiaoning’s so honest!"—now a cruel joke. The next day, she feigned peace to survive. The Huangs’ sneers continued, but indifference became her armor. Where teenage Xiaoning might have contemplated suicide, adult Xiaoning vowed:If I die, they’ll cheer. I’ll outlive their pettiness. Years later, Dr. Chen Xiaoning stood in her luxury apartment abroad—a renowned surgeon. Time had crystallized her clarity: Her aunt, childless and lonely, had needed the Huangs’ sycophantic companionship. The sisters, products of strict upbringings, masked insecurity with false superiority. Xiaoning’s "duty" now was detached care, not love. Visiting her elderly aunt, she played AI-forged recordings of the Huangs’ past insults. Her aunt erupted: "Ancient history! You’ve grown bold, huh?" Xiaoning smiled bitterly. "Just proving I was right. Not for justice—I’ve moved on." Later, under starlight, she reflected. The aunt who once cherished her had chosen willful blindness. The Huangs’ "soundproof wall" excuse? A lie—Xiaoning’s bedroom had paper-thin partitions. But truth required willingness to listen, and her aunt had none. She’d considered revenge, yet found freedom in indifference. Let them rot in their pettiness; her success was revenge enough. The synthetic recordings? A test. Her aunt’s reaction confirmed old wounds needed no reopening. Epilogue***"When did my kindness turn to coldness? The day kinship betrayed me." —Chen Xiaoning ——————— （This is a novel about the family dynamics within a segment of the Chinese diaspora.）