Chapter 2 — After Seeing Through It, I No Longer Love You

When 500,000 yuan was deducted from the blue card, my hand was still very steady. But there was a feeling of unreality in my heart. It wasn't until I held the red-stamped confirmation in my hand, walked out of the sales room, and was hit by the sunlight outside, that I truly realized— I had already bought it. A house worth more than 600 thousand yuan. One-time payment. Half a month later, I almost lived in a state of both excitement and busyness. Pay the remaining amount, run the bank, complete name transfer procedures, and pay all taxes and fees. The day I got the certificate of ownership, I held that red book with a red cover and looked at it for a long time. There was only my name on it. I took a photo and sent it to my dad. My father called back very quickly: "Did you buy it? Where did you buy it?"

"Jiang Yuetfu, dad, along the Qiantang River, Duc Tai primary school district and Hangzhou No. 2 high school." My voice couldn't hide my joy.

The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds. Dad said: "That project, I know, isn't cheap. Did you pay it all at once?"

“Yes, 680 thousand yuan, almost enough.”

"YES." Dad's voice sounded very calm. "Once you buy it, it's okay. If you feel comfortable in it, keep the documents carefully, don't lose them."

“I know.” My heart warmed, "Thank you, Dad."

“No thanks, what you gave me is mine.” My father paused for a moment, "Does Tu Ngang know about this?"

I stopped. This past half month I've been busy with procedures and wanted to surprise Tham Tu Ngang, so I haven't talked about it in detail. Just mentioning that I'm looking at houses these days, maybe I'll put a deposit down. At that time, he was busy receiving guests, so he just casually said, "If it suits you, that's fine. Anyway, the deposit is in our joint account, you can arrange it yourself", and didn't ask any more questions.

“I… I wanted to surprise him.” I said, “No details yet.”

My father sighed on the other end of the phone: "Ninh Ninh, I'll remind you one more thing. The money is yours, the house is also yours. How the two of you will live in the future, you decide for yourself. But there are some things, it's better to say it clearly in advance than to argue later."

“Dad, Tu Ngang is not that type of person.” I reflexively defended my boyfriend. "Our relationship is very good, he knows he will be happy for me too. With this house, we won't have to worry about a place to live anymore when we get married. After the children go to school, it will be resolved, how good."

“I hope so.” My father did not say more. “Okay, go work, remember to eat on time.”

Hanging up the phone, I looked at the red book in my hand. The slight insecurity that my father had just reminded me gently aroused, was quickly overwhelmed by the joy of having a new home. I plan to wait for Tham Tu Ngang to return from a business trip this week and take him to see the house. Then tell him, from now on we don't need to calculate every penny of debt repayment. Thinking about his expression at that time, I couldn't help but laugh. I just didn't expect it, what was waiting for me was not a surprise. Which is another shock. Tham Tu Ngang returned on Thursday night. After going on a business trip for a week, he looked a bit tired, but in good spirits. He said the project was progressing very well and would probably receive a decent commission. I helped him pack his luggage, then brought the prepared late-night food to the table. The two sat opposite each other, he ate and told interesting stories on the road. The atmosphere is gentle and pleasant. I planned to wait until he finished eating before talking about the house. At that moment, his phone vibrated, it was a text message change account from the bank. He conveniently picked it up and looked over. His face changed at that moment. His finger stopped on the screen. The smile on his face disappeared little by little. I realized the difference, my heart suddenly sank.

"What's up?" I asked.

He raised his head to look at me, his eyes suddenly becoming strange.

“Ninh Ninh, the money in our joint account… did you touch it?” His voice was very calm, so calm that it sent chills down people's spines.

At this moment I suddenly remembered that the day I made the deposit, because of the new card's transfer limit, I temporarily transferred a few thousand yuan from the joint account to make up for it. After that, I was so busy that I forgot and didn't transfer it back.

“Ah, that's right, I used 50,000 yuan.” I hastily explained, "I bought... some things that day. I didn't have enough money on hand, so I temporarily took it from the joint account. I'll transfer it back tomorrow."

“What do you need 50,000 yuan to buy?” Tham Tu Ngang put down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair, "Furthermore, why don't you use my money instead of having to touch the joint account?"

There was obvious doubt in his voice. I felt a bit uncomfortable, but still tried to be patient: "That day my card had a transfer limit, so I temporarily used a joint account. I also deposited a large amount of money there, I used 50,000 yuan, you don't have to..."

“No need?” He interrupted, a cold smile curled up at the corner of his mouth, "Lin Ninh, that's our joint account, every penny in it is to prepare for marriage. You can use it if you want, without even saying a word?"

I stood still. I didn't expect him to react like that. 50,000 yuan, for more than 80,000 yuan in the account, is really not much. Besides, I also said I would make up for it.

“I was in a hurry at that time, and you were on a business trip, so I didn't say anything.” My voice became lower and lower, "It was me who was wrong. Next time I will discuss it with you first, okay?"

He looked at me for a few seconds, then suddenly asked:

“What did you buy in such a hurry that you had to spend 50,000 yuan?”

I opened my mouth. About buying a house, I originally planned to choose the right time to tell you. But the atmosphere right now... I hesitated a bit, but finally decided to speak out. Maybe if you say it clearly, you will understand.

“Tham Tu Ngang, I have something to tell you.” I took a deep breath, trying to force a smile, "I bought a house."

He raised his eyebrows: "House? Where? Did you take money from the joint account to pay the deposit?"

“No, I pay once.” I said, my voice carrying a bit of expectation, "My dad gave me some money, I bought an apartment in Giang Duyet Phu, which is the area we passed last time, Duc Tai elementary school district and Hang Chau No. 2 high school..."

Before I finished speaking, I was interrupted. Because his face had completely darkened.

“One-time payment?” His voice was very low, each word seemed cold, "How much money did your father give you?"

A little bit of insecurity arose in my heart. I remembered my father's advice, paused for a moment and then said: "Anyway... it's enough to buy that house outright. Look, we don't need to take on debt anymore, it will be convenient for our children to go to school in the future, isn't that great..."

“I asked you, how much money did your father give you!” He suddenly raised his voice.

I was startled. In the three years we've known each other, he's never yelled at me like that. I reflexively replied: "5... 500 thousand yuan." The living room immediately became eerily quiet. So quiet that you can clearly hear the second hand on the clock wall mounted. Tick…tick…tick…tick… He sat there, not moving. Under the light, his face stiffened a bit, his eyes staring at me as if seeing me for the first time. It took more than half a minute. He slowly opened his mouth, his voice hoarse: "5 million yuan?" I nodded, not daring to look directly at him.

“You paid one time to buy a house in Giang Duyet Phu?” He asked again.

“Um, 680 thousand yuan, nearly a hundred square meters, very beautiful layout, I'll take you to see…”

“Lin Ninh.” He interrupted, his voice suppressing something that sent chills down my spine, "Do you know what that money was originally used for?"

I looked at him, confused: "What do you mean? My father said it was my dowry, let me arrange it myself..."

“Dowry?” He laughed, a cold smile, "Is the dowry just for you, or for the two of us?"

I was stunned.

“We are about to register our marriage, we are one family.” He stood up, looked at me from above, "Your father gave you 500,000 yuan, such a big matter, why didn't you discuss it with me? Why didn't you ask for my opinion?"

“I… I wanted to surprise you…” My voice got quieter and quieter.

"Surprise?" He repeated those two words, with an expression as if he heard something funny, "Do you know that my parents are old, not in good health, and still crowded into the old house on the top floor? Do you know that I planned early on that after we get married, I will save money and exchange them for a better house to take care of their old age?"

I opened my mouth, but couldn't say anything. He once mentioned that his parents' house was old, but I never knew he had such a specific plan.

"That joint account of more than 800,000 yuan is every penny I have saved, preparing for our small family." His voice began to tremble slightly, not knowing whether it was because of anger or something else, "But my original plan, when I had a little more money, would take care of my parents first. It's not easy for them to raise me, I can't let them still live in such cramped conditions when they get old."

He took a step forward, pressing close to me:

"Now it's good, my dad gave me 5000,000 yuan, I didn't blink, I directly smashed it all into the school district's house. The house book only has my name on it. Lam Ninh, you're really good. Have you ever thought of me? Have you thought of my parents? That 5000,000 yuan, once it passed through your hands, immediately turned into my personal property before marriage. What about my parents? What will they take care of in the future? What is your plan?"

My mind exploded.