Chapter 2

I covered my ears and tried to block out those voices.

But the louder they spoke, the louder they became.

They pointed at me and laughed with malicious faces.

I could not understand a single word.

But they were clearly insulting me by pretending to talk about something else.

“Who are you cursing? If you’ve got guts, say it to my face! Speak standard English!”

I could not take it anymore and slapped my wife across the face.

My wife froze.

She roared at me, “Ethan, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“I only said a couple of things about you, and you had to hit me?”

The hallucinations disappeared.

I stared at my own hands in disbelief.

There was a clear slap mark on my wife’s face.

“Clara, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

I hurriedly apologized and said, “Does it hurt? I’ll get some ice for you.”

My wife shoved me away, her face dark.

“Stop pretending, will you? You think you can slap me and then offer me a treat?”

“I’m not falling for that.”

“You can sleep in the guest room this week.”

Filled with guilt, I awkwardly walked out of the master bedroom and hid in the guest room.

That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

When exactly had my relationship with my wife become like this?

Everything started after we got married and I moved into her family’s home.

One extra person had come between us, and one extra language had appeared between us.

The next day was the weekend, and I got up early.

I went downstairs to buy three portions of local breakfast and waited for my mother-in-law and wife to wake up so we could eat together.

But my mother-in-law only glanced at it before turning and going into the kitchen.

I reminded her, “Mom, I bought breakfast...”

My mother-in-law did not look at me and said, “I’m not used to eating food from outside.”

After finally waiting for my wife to wake up, I handed her the steaming chicken sticky rice wrap.

My wife looked at it with disgust, then turned her gaze away.

“My mom makes breakfast, so why waste money on this?”

I explained, “I was worried she’d be tired, so I...”

Before I could finish, my wife went into the kitchen to help my mother-in-law.

The two of them talked and laughed, still using dialect.

Then they brought breakfast out, and there were only two portions.

They had not prepared anything for me.

Ironically, what my mother-in-law made that day was chicken sticky rice wraps.

They were exactly the same as the ones I had bought.

I was so angry that my whole body trembled.

The problem was not the breakfast, but the people.

They did not notice me at all and ate with relish while chatting happily.

They were still speaking the dialect I could not join in on.

It was not until I threw the extra breakfast into the trash can that something happened.

My movements were a little too loud.

My wife finally looked up at me.

“Next time, just buy your own so you don’t waste food.”

Seeing the slap mark that had not faded from my wife’s face, I felt a little guilty.

To make it up to her, I swallowed the unhappiness from breakfast and planned to spend the day with her properly.

My wife loved watching sports channels.

I sat beside her and watched soccer with her all morning.

The host’s lines were very funny, and my wife and I laughed together.

My mother-in-law came over and said something in dialect by my wife’s ear.

My wife immediately stopped laughing and looked at me with dissatisfaction.

The two of them started muttering again, as if they were discussing something.

I suddenly realized that whatever they were discussing had something to do with me.

I could not help asking, “What’s wrong?”

My wife shook her head and said, “Nothing.”

“We’re going to the mall, do you want to come?”

I nodded and said, “I’ll come.”

My wife and mother-in-law both froze.

It seemed what she had said just now was only out of politeness, and they had not planned to really invite me.

I gave an awkward smile and said, “Is it inconvenient? Then I won’t go.”

My wife patted my head and said, “We’re family, what could be inconvenient?”

“Let’s go together.”