Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I majored in finance, and due to the high intensity and pressure of my job, I had resigned early when I decided to prepare for pregnancy. The financial market changes rapidly, and returning to the workforce now posed certain challenges. However, my resume was quite impressive, and I had included some market analysis based on my past life's experience, so I believed finding a job wouldn't be an issue.

But when I checked my messages the next day, I hadn't received a single interview invitation. Instead, I was met with insults.

"Our company doesn't need someone who lacks respect for family. You're not good enough for us."

"Aren't you the daughter-in-law who bullied her mother-in-law recently? With such a bad temper, I can't handle you."

Reading these messages left me puzzled until someone mentioned pickles. Then I remembered what Makenna had said yesterday. I quickly opened her social media account.

Since short videos became popular among older adults, Makenna had become obsessed with making videos. She often posted videos portraying herself as an ideal mother-in-law, gaining quite a following among middle-aged married women who were also struggling with difficult mothers-in-law. Little did they know, the ideal mother-in-law they admired in the videos was no different from an ordinary wicked mother-in-law in real life, if not worse.

As soon as I opened the short video app, a reposted video of Makenna appeared. In the video, she was covered in vegetables, with several strips of pickles stuffed in her mouth, vividly describing how I had bullied her. It was a tearful and dramatic performance.

I opened the comments section, and it was filled with people sympathizing with Makenna and cursing me. Only a few comments questioned her video, but they were quickly silenced by other netizens.

Reading these comments made me clench my fists in anger, trembling. It wasn't until the pain in my palms brought me back to my senses that I slowly relaxed my fists.

"Alright, if this is how you want to play, I'll play along," I thought to myself.

After calming down, I watched several more videos, all reposts of Makenna's video by various marketing accounts. I opened Makenna's profile and saw that her followers had grown from a few thousand to over a million. She had even posted several advertisements this morning.

With such a large following, it would be a waste not to take advantage of it. I turned off my phone and left my room. As soon as I stepped out, I saw Makenna grinning foolishly at her phone.

I ignored her and went out to get a pinhole camera. Then I prepared a large table of dishes for Makenna. Looking at the hidden cameras around the room, I smiled with satisfaction.

"Mom, dinner's ready. I made your favorite braised pork and pigeon soup," I said, using all my acting skills to appear harmless.

"Hmph! At least you know what's good for you."

Makenna saw the table full of dishes but didn't record a video to show off as she usually did. She must have benefited from her pitiful mother-in-law persona and no longer felt the need to maintain her previous image.

"All this meat? You shouldn't eat it. Don't waste it. Save it for my son when he gets home," Makenna said as usual.

"Mom, I made all this food, and I'm hungry too. Can I have a little?" I asked, pretending to be pitiful.

"Then go eat pickles. If you dare eat my son's meat, I'll expose you online again. Let's see how you survive then. A worthless woman like you doesn't deserve to eat meat. You're a waste of food. A woman who can't bear a son should starve to death..."

Hearing Makenna's last words, I was overjoyed. With the current gender issues and women's empowerment online, her words were sure to incite public outrage.

Seeing that my goal was achieved, I dropped the act completely.

"Why can't I eat? I will eat," I said, picking up a piece of meat and putting it in my mouth.

Makenna lunged at me, trying to snatch the meat from my mouth. I jabbed her eye with my chopsticks, causing her to cry out in pain and clutch her eye as she lunged at me again. I dodged, and she stumbled several times, unable to catch me. I then pulled the tablecloth, spilling all the dishes onto her, hitting her already injured spots from yesterday.

Makenna screamed in rage, and the living room turned into a mess. I ignored her and ran straight to my room.