When Tan Li woke up, four men were standing beside her hospital bed.
They all called her "baby."
One wore a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, with a draft divorce agreement pinched between his fingers.
One wore a workout tank top, his exposed arms thicker than her thighs.
One had naturally wavy brown hair, and his blue eyes glistened with tears.
The youngest had red-rimmed eyes as he called her "sis" and said she hadn't replied to his messages in three days.
"You've got the wrong person." Tan Li pulled the blanket up to her chin and huddled against the headboard. "My husband will be here any minute."
The air fell silent for a second.
Then the lawyer pushed up his glasses. "Your husband is seeing someone else. You saw it with your own eyes."
The fitness trainer took a step forward. "You called me in the middle of the night and said you'd finally made up your mind to divorce him."
The mixed-race painter leaned against the window. "Just last week, you said he was the most boring man alive."
Her cousin lowered his head. "Sis, have you forgotten? Every time he made you cry, I was the one who stayed by your side."
Tan Li shook her head.
She remembered being the most proper woman in town, getting up early to cook porridge for her husband and ironing his shirts in the evening. Everyone said she'd married well, and she thought their arrangement was a perfect balance, too.
A university professor and a virtuous, devoted wife: a match made in heaven.
--
Blurb saved on 2026.06.22
Theme: People have two sides.
