My Daughter Called Me Auntie in Front of Everyone

At my in-laws' 60th birthday banquet.

I stood by the kitchen door, my apron covered in grease, holding a platter of freshly cut fruit.

In the living room, my daughter had her arm linked through my son-in-law's as she smiled and toasted the relatives.

My daughter's mother-in-law sat in the seat of honor, her face glowing as she accepted everyone's congratulations.

A woman in a qipao came over and asked my daughter, "Xu Meng, why isn't your mother here?"

My daughter's hand paused around her wineglass. Then she smiled and shook her head.

"My mom passed away when I was little. My uncle raised me."

As she said it, she didn't even glance toward the kitchen.

And I was standing less than five meters away.

In the pocket beneath my apron was a bank card with eight million yuan on it.

It was everything I had, earned from selling steamed buns for thirty years and the compensation from the demolition of my shop.

I'd planned to give her half.

But now, I just wanted to turn around and leave without giving her a single cent.