1 Let me show you filial piety

On the outskirts of a small city, a loud commotion could be heard from streets away. It consisted of a woman shrilly shouting accusations and the curious whispers of onlookers.

"Lei Yinying! What do you mean?! We raised you for eighteen years when you would've been left forgotten on the streets!" The shrill voice exclaimed as she was forced to look up towards a balcony where a young woman stood.

The woman was wearing a school uniform which belonged to one of the worst schools in the area. A place known to house the delinquents of the poorer districts and those destined to be little more than the scum of society.

Yet despite such a terrible reputation, the woman was attractive to the onlookers. It wasn't her looks alone that drew them to feel sympathy that she was subjected to such terrible shouting, but it was the gentleness that radiated from her as she cared for a collection of red, white and purple blooms. Occasionally, she would reach out her thin fingers to caress the petals and a few wondered why she frowned before she continued.

This out of place portrait of elegance was broken by the shrill shout increasing in volume. "Lei Yinying, listen to your mother!"

The woman in question paused in her care for the flowers and the soft smile was directed to the shrill woman below. "Mother? I wasn't aware you considered me your daughter. Isn't your precious Ling'er the only daughter of the Xiao household?"

That gentleness was used like a rapier aimed at Mrs Xiao's weak point. "After all…"

"After what?" Lei Yinying raised a brow, her hand setting down the watering can. "After I spent my time helping her study, after I gave her what little was left of my paycheck, after I let her pursue the boy who liked me first, after I moved out of the house for her. Knowing all this, having our entire block know this. What do you have to accuse me of?" Her voice never rose louder than it took for Mrs Xiao to hear, but everyone's attention was drawn to her.

The partially open window above the Lei Yinying opened further and Mr Lian poked his head out like an old turtle. "Little Yingying, are they bothering you again?"

Lei Yinying braced herself on the balcony rail and looked up. "I'm not afraid of them bothering me as much as them bothering you. You told me that I had already given them enough filial piety by using my savings for school to repay my sister's debt. But Mrs Xiao still came for more money. I didn't want to cause a fuss, so I refused to open the door to her. I didn't expect her to wake you with her shouting." She explained in a doting tone, one that grandchildren would use with their grandfathers.

Mr Lian had only recently moved into the apartment building, but everyone felt endeared to him. He often offered life guidance to unruly youths, calmed worried mothers and kept an eye out for trouble. However, everyone knew that he had a few favorites. One of them was the pretty young high school student who lived directly below him. Now, everyone knew her name thanks to the shouting of Mrs Xiao.

"Lei Yinying, come down here this instance?! What are you doing buttering up some stranger? Was that part time job just a lie and you've been sleeping around again?!" Mrs Xiao truly had no shame as she shouted more obscene things.

Mr Lian looked down at her and back at Lei Yinying. She had an exasperated smile on her face and she nonchalantly held up a phone. It was some unknown model, but a flash of acknowledgement went through Mr Lian's eyes. [Who would've expected for the girl to have access to something like that,] he thought and went to stroke his beard. His fingers instead brushed against his rough skin and he frowned. [Oh? I shaved last week.]

Lei Yinying didn't hesitate as she dialed Mrs Xiao's number. Some of the onlookers waited as the shrill woman picked up her phone. They all experienced a measure of disappointment. It seemed that the public scene ended and Lei Yinying was forced to confront Mrs Xiao privately.

And that was what she did, but it was less of a confrontation and more a stern reprimand. "Mrs Xiao, I would remind you about that paper you signed. I agreed to loan you the money to repay Ling'er's debt and in exchange you signed away your parental rights to me. That was six years ago and the papers are legally binding. You cannot force me to do anything and should you push it." A pause. "I will be forced to demand the money be paid back because that was also in the contract."

With each word that Mrs Xiao heard, her face alternated between white and red. It happened so fast that a few were worried the blood would rush to her head and kill her. "You…" she exclaimed and gripped the phone tightly in her hands.

"I would suggest you be quiet and leave me be, Mrs Xiao," Lei Yinying finished and hung up the phone. She disappeared from the balcony and into the apartment behind her.

Many of the onlookers dispersed, uninterested in the forlorn woman staring at her phone. Mrs Xiao tried to figure out what had happened in the past year. Lei Yinying used to be obedient and unable to say a negative word to her. But one day, she suddenly requested for them to sign away their parental rights in exchange for all her savings. Mrs Xiao had been more concerned with helping her Ling'er repay the debt she had taken out for her big shot boyfriend. She signed it without a second thought. It was, partially, because in the back of her mind, Mrs Xiao believed that she would be able to scare Lei Yinying into paying her more money when they needed it.

However, that was no longer possible. The Lei Yinying that Mrs Xiao talked to the night she signed and that afternoon were completely different from the girl she had raised for seventeen years. She had raised her to be a source of additional income, so she could more easily afford to support her Ling'er. This Lei Yinying felt more like someone who had merely given her some money out of charity and no longer deemed the Xiao family worthy of sponsorship. She had severed the ties between them long ago according to her words.

[It would be best for Ling'er to marry him, so I can stop worrying,] Mrs Xiao stuffed her phone into her purse. She would have to tell her daughter that she couldn't afford to send her any additional cash. And, that it was time for her to start planning for her own future.