My Wife Livestreamed for Tips at My Mother’s Funeral—After the Divorce, She Killed Our Daughter for Views!

On the day my mom died, my wife livestreamed the whole vigil. While chatting and laughing with viewers, she kept asking for tips. I couldn’t take it anymore and asked her for a divorce. Her only demand was that she get custody of our daughter. Some time later, I saw her on a livestream platform crying her eyes out at a funeral. And the photo on the altar was my daughter’s. ...... When I learned that my mom had been killed in a car accident, my mind went completely blank. In the hospital morgue, the doctor couldn’t bear to let me see the body. “From the injuries, your mother was run over by a truck, so...” I understood. Her death must have been horrific. Even as her own son, I didn’t have the courage to lift that white sheet. “Mom!” After the doctors left, I finally broke down and cried. I gently lifted the sheet, and just one look was enough for me to cover it back up. It was too horrific to describe, just a mangled mess of flesh and blood. I forced myself to hold back my grief and had her moved to the funeral home. I wanted the funeral to be as dignified as possible, and I also wanted to restore my mom’s appearance as much as I could. I wanted her to leave this world in one piece. After everything was arranged, I called Mia again. “Honey, please come over as soon as you can.” My mom’s funeral would have some relatives and friends attending, and as the daughter-in-law, she should have been there even more. That night I stayed at the funeral home to keep vigil. By the time it was fully dark, Mia arrived. She had on delicate makeup, and even though she tried hard to look sorrowful, her bright red lips still looked especially out of place. “Honey, go rest for a while. I’ll keep watch here.” I hadn’t rested all day, I was in the worst mood, and I was on the verge of breaking down. My eyes were so swollen from crying that they were nearly shut. “Okay.” I didn’t refuse. There would be a lot of people at the funeral tomorrow, and I needed to recover some strength. Just as I leaned against the wall and started dozing off, I saw her pull out her phone, set it up somewhere, and start a livestream. “Hey, everyone. My mother-in-law passed away, and today I’m keeping vigil here, so I can only livestream from the funeral home. I hope you understand.” Hearing that, I almost lost my temper. This was a funeral parlor. My mom was already gone, and she still had the mood to livestream. “Mia, turn it off right now. What time do you think it is? Do you really think this is appropriate?” She quickly made a shushing gesture at me and whispered, “A lot of viewers have never seen a funeral home before. I’m pulling in followers!” “She’s dead anyway, and this is just for outsiders to see. This is a great chance to gain followers. Don’t drag me down!” The incense was almost burned out, and I didn’t have time to argue with her. I hurried over to relight it. Only when I turned around did I notice that her camera was pointed right at me. “Guys, while you’re keeping vigil, this incense can’t go out, or that would be disrespectful to the deceased.” “Look, this is the funeral home. Tomorrow we’ll have the body farewell here, and then cremation...” Before she could finish, I snatched her phone away and ended the livestream.“Mia, don’t push it! The whole point of keeping vigil is to let the dead rest and leave this world peacefully. Do you really think this stunt is respectful?” “The one who died was my mom, your mother-in-law. You’re treating her death like entertainment, like a tool to get followers. Do you even have a conscience?” Seeing that I’d shut off the livestream, she immediately jumped up and shoved me hard. “Are you crazy? I’m livestreaming! So many people are watching!” “I finally got to a hundred thousand followers. If I lose followers, that’s a lot of money!” Mia shoved me so hard that I staggered and crashed into the offering table, knocking over the candle stand. The incense fell to the floor and snapped in half. In that instant, something inside me snapped too. My mom had died such a horrible death, and as the daughter-in-law, she wasn’t even sad. Instead, she pulled a stunt like this. She wouldn’t even let my mom rest in peace, not even in death. “Mia, have you lost your mind? This is a funeral!” I could feel my hands shaking, and I fought hard against the urge to slap her. “You’re here to keep vigil. My mom never wronged you while she was alive, and as her daughter-in-law, you should be sending her off respectfully!” “Go wash your face. If I see you livestreaming again, I’ll throw you and your phone out together!” I rarely got this angry, and I rarely raised my voice at her like this. She stared at me in a daze for a moment. Once she realized I was serious, she just rolled her eyes and left in her high heels. I bent down and picked up the incense from the floor, then cleaned up the offering table. Looking at my mom’s portrait, where she was smiling at me, guilt suddenly surged through me. “Mom, I’m sorry!” I knelt on the floor and cried until I couldn’t breathe, filled with regret. Mia was a very vain woman. I’d known that since I was pursuing her. But fortunately, my career was going pretty well, and I had some money. She was young and pretty, and she was gentle and considerate toward me. I was willing to spend money on her, and I also wanted to marry her. Not long after we got married, we had a child. She said she didn’t want to look after a kid because it was too tiring, so my mom had been raising our daughter all along. Later, when livestreaming took off, she used her pretty face to attract a lot of followers. She often filmed our family life, and viewers loved it. Some sent her gifts, and some bought stuff from her livestream. Within a year, she had earned some money herself and tasted the benefits of livestreaming. I never cared when she filmed those things before. When I heard people say our family was happy and our daughter was adorable, I even felt a little proud. I never imagined that while my mom was still alive, Mia would make her take care of the kid and do the housework, and after she died, Mia would still try to squeeze out her last bit of value. The dead deserve respect. I couldn’t forgive what she’d just done. But even so, for my daughter’s sake, I had never thought about divorcing her. After keeping vigil all night, and with all that grief on top of it, my spirit had been completely drained. But there would be a lot of relatives and friends at the funeral soon, and I had to force myself to stay strong and handle my mom’s affairs. Some relatives had already arrived, but I still hadn’t seen Mia anywhere. By the time the funeral was about to begin, Mia finally showed up late. From far away, I saw her holding up her phone. She wasn’t wearing makeup, but she still looked good.“Guys, today is my mother-in-law’s funeral, and I’ll be livestreaming the whole thing for you.” I suppressed the anger in my heart and entered her livestream room. I really hadn’t expected that so many people would be interested in a funeral. While saying this was part of Chinese tradition, they were also curious about what a funeral looked like. Some viewers even tipped Mia, thanking her for letting them witness something so unusual. The relatives all looked over, watching Mia flutter around in front of the funeral hall like a butterfly. She held up her phone and introduced everything to the viewers, even pointing the camera at my mom’s coffin. “Guys, today is my mother-in-law’s funeral, and we chose the highest standard to show our filial respect.” “We invited a lot of family and friends to come and keep things lively. My mother-in-law would be happy too.” “We’re one big family, so if you think this funeral is exciting, remember to tip me!” The relatives beside me sneered at everything she said. My cousin even rolled up his sleeves, ready to beat her, but my aunt held him back. I walked over to her with a dark face, trying to grab the phone, but she was already prepared and dodged me. From a short distance away, she kept talking to the viewers. “This is my husband. Look how swollen his eyes are from crying.” “My mother-in-law died in a car accident. It was really horrible.” Listening to her endless introduction, I felt flames burning in my chest. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, and I wanted nothing more than to tear Mia apart right then and there. But because this was a funeral and so many people were watching, I couldn’t make a scene with her. I could only walk up beside her, take a few deep breaths, and finally find my voice. “Mia, turn off the livestream right now. This is my mom’s funeral, not some place for entertainment!” She didn’t take it seriously. Certain that I wouldn’t dare to fight with her at a time like this, she became even more reckless. Just then, a viewer commented that they had never seen a dead body before. Mia’s eyes lit up, and she immediately walked up to my mom’s coffin, then without hesitation pulled back the cloth covering her body. “This is my mother-in-law. I heard her death was really awful.” As she spoke, she turned back to look, and then she was so frightened that she stumbled backward several steps and screamed. “Ah! Why is it so terrifying!” I saw it too. I saw my mom, who had already been made up by the mortician. But because the impact had been so severe, her face could no longer be restored and could only be pieced together. Her slightly sallow face was covered in signs of reconstruction, and her features didn’t even fit together properly. For the past two days, even though she had been right in front of me, I hadn’t had the courage to look at her. I was afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to control my emotions. But with Mia making a scene like this, everyone saw her. My mom, who was already dead, was exposed by Mia in broad daylight, and everyone was commenting on the horrific state she had died in. My lips pressed tightly together, trembling nonstop, as if I were suppressing an explosion inside me. Mia had gone too far. The relatives and friends all started criticizing her. My aunt couldn’t take seeing her sister die like this and fainted on the spot from crying. My clenched knuckles turned white, but it seemed Mia couldn’t hear anything from the outside world. She was still completely absorbed in her livestream. She even moved her phone closer to my mom and showed the viewers how the mortician had stitched her up.“Mia, you’re absolutely insane!” My chest rose and fell violently with every breath, and I could no longer hold back. I grabbed her long hair and slapped her several times in a row. “My mom is already dead, and you’re desecrating her body like this!” “Are you even human? This is a funeral. What the hell do you think this place is?” Every time I spoke, I hit her once, until her face visibly swelled up like a steamed bun. Before she could even react, I picked her up and threw her out into the open space outside. The phone was still clutched tightly in her hand, and everyone saw it. “Hey, why are you hitting a woman?” “Exactly. What kind of man are you?” The screen was full of viewers criticizing me, and I, like a madman, cursed them all out. “You people are all animals!” “When your own parents die, do you want people gawking at them like this, treating it like some kind of show?” “The person is already dead, and you still do this to her. Aren’t you afraid karma will get you?” After I finished yelling, I turned off the livestream. Mia was still on the ground, glaring at me with eyes full of hatred. “Grant, you hit me!” I snapped and kicked her hard. “Not only did I hit you, I fucking want to kill you!” As I said that, I hauled Mia up and put my hand around her neck. At that moment, I had completely lost my mind. Last night during the vigil, she was livestreaming, and I thought she’d rein herself in after I warned her. I never expected her to pull something like this at the funeral today. This was an insult to my mom, and I couldn’t forgive it. Thinking of that, I looked at her with grief and fury, at the woman I once wanted to spend my life with. “Why would you do this? That was my mom, your mother-in-law, Sweetie’s grandma.” “She’s dead, dead! Why would you humiliate her like this? Why, exactly?” It felt like my chest had been smashed hard with a hammer, and a taste of blood rose in my throat. Mia was scared out of her wits. She trembled and tried to run, but I had her firmly in my grip. “Go apologize to my mom!” I yanked her by the hair and dragged her over to the coffin. My mom had already been covered back up. Without the viewers in the livestream egging her on, Mia finally realized she was facing a dead person, right up close. She shrieked and tried to run, but I held her tightly. “Apologize!” I kicked her, and she lost her balance and dropped to her knees. When she looked up and saw my mom’s portrait, the black-and-white photo was right in front of her, smiling at her. Mia panicked. She fought desperately to break free from my grip and screamed as she ran out. It was time. I had no time to deal with her anymore. I followed the procedure, knelt down, and kowtowed three times before sending my mom to the crematorium. Only when I was holding her ashes in my hands did my mom’s earthly journey truly end. After placing her ashes together with my dad’s, I returned home. Mia was curled up on the sofa, livestreaming and pitifully telling the viewers about what she’d gone through today. “My husband doesn’t support my career at all. He hit me over something this small today, and I...” When she saw me come back, she immediately sat up straight and ended the livestream, looking at me with eyes full of resentment. “Grant, you actually hit me today. Do you not want this marriage anymore? If you don’t, just say it. Let’s get divorced!” I looked at her calmly, like I was looking at a stranger. “Sure.”“What?” “I said okay. Divorce.” Mia fell silent. We’d had arguments before, and whenever she got upset, she’d use divorce to scare me. It always worked. She thought this time would be the same, that as soon as she mentioned divorce, I would immediately soften up, apologize, and coax her like I always had. But she was wrong. Our old little fights were never anything serious. I loved her, and I was willing to indulge her and put up with her unreasonable behavior. But this time was different. She’d made a scene at my mom’s funeral, and that had brought our marriage to an end. “Divorce. The house is my premarital property. Savings get split fifty-fifty. Sweetie stays with me.” Mia’s eyes rolled around. She knew I wasn’t joking. Even if she regretted it, it was too late now. “Sweetie has to stay with me. She’s still little and can’t be without her mom. Besides, I don’t want my daughter living with a stepmother.” She discussed it with me very seriously, and I didn’t bring up the funeral again. I let her finish everything she had to say. What she said made sense too. I was usually busy with work, and overtime was common. Now that my mom was gone, there was no one to help take care of the child, so it really wasn’t appropriate for her to stay with me. “Fine. Sweetie stays with you. I’ll visit her every week, and I’ll send child support at the beginning of each month.” I hadn’t expected Mia to agree to the divorce so easily, or to not make much of a fuss over the property split. When I got the divorce certificate, it still felt unreal. Although I couldn’t forgive what she’d done to my mom, for my daughter’s sake, I still rented her a pretty decent place. I paid the rent too. She only needed to take care of the child. Once everything was settled, I wasn’t sad about Mia leaving. I just felt a little empty sometimes when I came home and saw how deserted the house was. We’d been divorced for a while when one night I had nothing to do and lay in bed scrolling through videos. After a few swipes, I saw that Mia was livestreaming. I didn’t expect that after my mom’s funeral, her follower count would actually shoot up so much that it was already close to two hundred thousand. She was livestreaming Sweetie playing the piano. Sweetie was dressed up like a little princess, sitting in front of the piano and playing a piece she had just learned. The scene felt warm, and it looked like she really was raising our daughter properly. Then a viewer complained. “Pretty lady, that funeral livestream you did last time was insane. Way more interesting than your family life.” “Yeah, I followed you because of that stream. One time wasn’t enough.” “Exactly. So many people livestream family life, and it’s so boring. If you keep doing this, I’m unfollowing.” More and more viewers started chiming in, and Mia, who had originally been smiling happily, began to look nervous. “No, don’t, darlings. That was a one-time thing. How could I possibly livestream funerals every day?” “That was my mother-in-law, so I had the chance to show everyone. How could I be there if someone else’s family member died?” For some reason, I suddenly felt a bellyful of anger. Are all these people’s brains messed up or what? When someone in the family dies, that’s already awful enough. And they’re treating it like entertainment. If you were going to livestream funerals every day, that would mean someone had to die every day. Why would anyone keep hoping for somebody else’s family member to die? I left the livestream room, only feeling that the world had really changed. As I was leaving, I noticed Mia’s follower count visibly dropping. But that wasn’t my problem anymore. The viewers’ request had been way too much to begin with. I just hadn’t expected Mia to actually start thinking about it. When she asked me several times in a row to take Sweetie to school, I realized something was wrong.