Chapter 3

Karla froze on the spot.

I grabbed Mom by the arm and tried to pull her out of the room.

"Mom, stop spouting nonsense. Just go, okay? I want to have a private chat with Karla."

Mom shook off my hand and shot me a glare.

"What's your problem? I'm just telling the truth. Besides, I'm sure Karla isn't that petty."

Then, she turned right back to Karla and said, "You've got terrible features. Even if you do get married someday, you'd just bring misfortune to your husband. But then again, with you looking like that, I doubt any man would want to marry you in the first place."

I couldn't hold it in anymore and snapped at her, "Mom, can you just shut up? Karla is a wonderful person, and she and her boyfriend are perfectly happy together. You don't know anything. Can you stop running your mouth?"

Mom just shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"I'm only telling the truth. She does have a mean face—am I not even allowed to say that?"

Karla burst into tears and ran off without looking back.

In that moment, I was both physically and mentally exhausted. I screamed at Mom, "What is wrong with you? I've told you over and over to stop running your mouth! Can't you think before you speak? Will you only be happy when you've gotten me shunned and abandoned by everyone?"

Seeing me completely lose it, Mom lowered her voice considerably.

"I didn't know she'd get upset. All I did was tell her the truth—who knew she'd be so petty?"

Dad was angry too. He reprimanded Mom loudly, "Don't you know there's a time and place for telling the truth? You speak without any regard for who you're talking to or what the occasion calls for. Instead, you just blurt out whatever pops into your head! There's something seriously wrong with you."

Seeing how furious Dad and I both were, Mom fell silent for the first time.

After all these blowups, I threw myself entirely into studying for the civil service exam. I spent my days holed up at home. From the moment I woke up, all I did was study.

I'd made up my mind. The moment I landed a stable job, I was moving out. I wanted as little contact with Mom as possible.

Finally, half a year later, I passed the civil service exam with flying colors. I got first place in both the written test and the interview and advanced smoothly to the personnel vetting stage.

But the moment I learned that the vetting process would involve speaking with my family members, my heart clenched with dread.

Knowing Mom's personality, I honestly had no idea what earth-shattering things might fly out of her mouth.

However, I had worked my butt off for six months to get this opportunity, so there was no way I was going to let anything go wrong at the vetting stage.

Yet again, I warned Mom repeatedly, leaving nothing to chance.

"Mom, this vetting stage is incredibly important to me. When the officer asks you questions, just answer what's asked and try to say as many good things about me as you can."

Mom waved me off impatiently.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You worked so hard to pass the exam—you think I'd just run my mouth and ruin it for you? Relax. When the time comes, I'll say exactly what needs to be said. I won't cause you any trouble."

But I still couldn't shake the unease.

"Mom, when they come, please just stick to what we discussed. Don't get carried away and just say whatever pops into—"

I hadn't even finished when Mom snapped, "Didn't I already say I got it? How many times are you going to nag me about this? Should I just sew my mouth shut so you can finally relax?"

Seeing her react like that, I figured I shouldn't push it any further, even though my heart was still pounding with anxiety.

The day of the personnel vetting soon arrived.

Mom sat face to face with the officers. For the first few questions, she handled herself pretty smoothly, and I quietly let out a breath of relief.

Then, one of the officers asked, "What would you say Tiffany's shortcomings are in your day-to-day experience with her?"

Mom furrowed her brow, deep in thought. And as I watched her, my heart instantly leapt into my throat.

After a few seconds of silence, Mom slapped the table.

"If you want to talk about shortcomings, Tiffany's got quite a few. Frankly, I think she has questionable character. For one thing, she's been fond of lying ever since she was little.

"When she was in first grade, there was a time she didn't want to go to school, so she actually pretended to have a stomachache. You'll all need to stay on your toes around her—she might just lie to you too."

The officers frowned.

In that instant, my breath caught in my throat. I quietly poked Mom's arm, signaling her to cut it off. But to my horror, she was only getting started.

"And she's disrespectful to me too. Just a few days ago, she got into a huge fight with me all because I spoke a few truths. Oh, and by the way, when she found out you were coming today for the vetting, she told me specifically to only say nice things about her. Isn't that just plain dishonest?"

The officers exchanged glances. After conferring briefly among themselves in low voices, they marked a big, fat X on my vetting form.

In that moment, something inside me just died.