Chapter 2 — 38 Million Yuan and Family Drama

“That's just the company's internal policy, it's like an advance bonus, you don't understand the business... why do you think it's a real salary?”

Hua Dao's voice on the phone sounded both innocent and gentle. She gently brushed off the 750,000 yuan figure as if it was just a "complicated business commission", you don't understand. Then she changed her tone and began to change the direction of her attack:

"Are you and Giang Triet arguing again? Because of this?"

"Sister, why are you so stubborn? Tomorrow is the wedding, why are you angry over such a small thing?"

“You're too impulsive.”

Each sentence was like pouring honey, sweet - but implicitly placed all the blame on me: It was me being unreasonable. It's because I don't understand. It's me who causes chaos right when peace is needed the most. I listened to her play the role of green tea and just felt nauseous. Want to manipulate my emotions? Are you worthy too? A series of memories that I had deliberately forgotten were now rushing back like waves. When she was young, she ranked first in her class, her parents held a grand celebration party at the most luxurious restaurant in the city, inviting all relatives and friends to attend. As for me - the day I received my admission notice to the top key high school in the entire city, they just casually let out one sentence:

"You have to know this when entering a new environment, don't make your sister lose face."

Hua Dao had just graduated from college and hadn't even found a job yet. Her parents immediately bought a red Porsche for her to "travel conveniently". As for me, working for 3 years, commuting 4 hours a day and squeezing on the subway, they advised me:

“Young people should exercise a lot, having good health is good.”

With all those biases, I tried to console myself by saying:

“My sister is better than me, my parents just want to encourage her…”

But now that I think about it, it just seems ridiculous. On the other end of the line, Hua Dao was still sighing with regret, acting like the eldest sister was so worried about me that her hair turned gray:

"Sister, your parents transferred 3,800,000 yuan to you, just because they want you to live in peace for the next half of your life. Why don't you understand their suffering?"

I let out a cold laugh in my heart. This amount of money, now that I think about it, looks more like a hush fee. It's the price to buy off my right to know the truth.

“Understand?” I finally spoke, my voice surprisingly calm.

“So should I thank you all, for working together to trick me like an idiot?”

The other end of the line immediately went silent. I didn't give her another chance to continue, so I hung up immediately. The whole world suddenly became strangely quiet. I stood up, without looking at Giang Triet one more time, turned around and left. It seemed like he had just regained his composure and quickly chased after me, intending to pull me back.

"Hua Niem! What kind of attitude do you have? Stop for me!"

I pushed his hand away, turned my head and looked straight, my voice cold as ice:

"Don't touch me. I feel dirty."

Returning to the apartment to prepare for the wedding, there were bright red letters of joy and fresh flowers everywhere. Looking at it now, I just felt sad and sad. Without hesitation, I sent Giang Triet the last message: Before 12 noon tomorrow, return all the bride price and engagement tokens, including the BMW in your name. If not, my lawyer will contact you. After sending, I blocked his phone number and WeChat. Not leaving any way out. Then I dialed home. The person who answered the phone was my mother, her voice clearly showing confusion and guilty:

“Nem Nhi, why aren't you with Giang Triet at this late hour?”

I don't beat around the bush:

“The engagement is canceled.”

"What?!" My mother's voice immediately rose.

"What nonsense are you talking about? The wedding is tomorrow, relatives and friends have all informed, so what do you mean by cancellation? Are you crazy!"

“I'm not crazy.” I speak slowly.

“I just don't want to continue being a blindsided idiot anymore.”

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. Then my father's voice grabbed the phone, trying to suppress his anger:

"Hua Niem! Don't cause trouble anymore! Hurry up and apologize to Giang Triet! Why wait until the wedding is over before talking!"

That sentence again. It's always "don't cause trouble". Always telling me "the big picture is important". The last bit of hope I had for them... also completely disappeared.

"Sorry?" – I laughed softly.

"What do you think, Dad? If you send me 38 million yuan, should I be extremely grateful and turn a blind eye to all of everyone's lies and calculations?"

My father's throat was choked, he couldn't say a word, only angry gasps rang out from the other end of the phone. Everyone's reaction... only leads to one conclusion: Behind this there is a very big secret. A secret that concerns me, but I'm the only one who doesn't know anything. I hung up. Conveniently block your parents' phone numbers. After that, I opened the flight booking app and chose the earliest flight back home. It is the headquarters of my family corporation. And it is also the place where all the hidden truths will be revealed.