Chapter 1 — Life is Finally Gentle to Me

At the dining table, my mother-in-law extended her chubby hands, her nails painted bright red, to receive the salary card from my husband - Lam Vi. The smug smile on her face was so thick that it made me nauseous. She glanced at me, her eyes full of provocation and boastfulness, almost overflowing.

"To Nhien, look, men must have a mother to manage the money, otherwise they will waste it and won't be able to keep any money."

Lam Vi stood next to me and smiled wryly, giving me a piece of ribs.

“Mom is also for our good.”

I don't move my chopsticks. Just quietly watching the two of them perfectly play the role of a good mother and daughter, watching that salary card disappear from her wallet. When everything was settled, I slowly raised my head. The corners of his lips curled slightly, pulling out a cold smile.

“That's fine.”

“In that case… I also have something to say.”

“From today, my money will be kept by my mother.”

“And my money…”

“I let my mother take care of it.”

“That's fair.”

"If you like managing money, then let's... manage it together."

The eyes of Lam Vi and her mother-in-law stopped on me at the same time, one side was suspicious, the other side was questioning. I gently wiped the corner of my mouth, moving slowly and calmly.

“From next month, my salary card and all supplementary cards... will also be managed by my mother.”

The air immediately froze. The smile on her mother-in-law's face stopped, stiffening like a cheap wax statue.

“What did you say?”

The chopsticks in Lam Vi's hand "clicked" and fell on the table. He frowned.

“Nien Nhien, stop joking.”

“I'm not joking.”

I looked at him, my eyes as calm as a lake in late autumn.

"You entrusted your income to your mother, saying it was for our small family. I was very touched and learned."

“As a wife, I should also contribute.”

“So I decided… to give all my income to a more trustworthy elder — my mother — for unified management.”

"So, both of us 'contribute impartially', which is both fair and reasonable."

Mother-in-law banged on the table, her voice was high-pitched.

"You gave your money to your mother? So what does this family eat and use? Who pays the house money?"

"The rent was agreed upon before the wedding, half for each person."

I took out my phone and opened the computer.

"Lin Wei's monthly salary is 12,000 yuan, minus the rent of 4,000 yuan, leaving 8,000 yuan."

“My salary after tax is 10,000 yuan, minus 4,000 yuan, leaving 6,000 yuan.”

"In the past, when the two people combined their money, living, relationships, and expenses were all abundant."

“Now mom takes 8,000 yuan from you, I give 6,000 yuan to my mom, so we both… have no money left.”

“What to eat, what to use…”

I smiled softly.

“We have to see two mothers… who loves us more.”

Lam Vi's face was sometimes red, sometimes white. He never thought that I - who is always patient - could say such words.

“To Nhien, can you stop causing trouble?”

He lowered his voice, carrying a hint of pleading.

"Your mother is old. If she likes to manage money, let her manage it. We'll just listen."

“I'm not causing trouble.”

I put my phone away and stood up.

“I'm also very obedient.”

“You listen to your mother, I follow your example.”

"I'm tired, go back to your room first. You two just talk slowly."

I turned around and left, not looking back. Behind him was the mother-in-law's scolding and Lam Vi's helpless comforting voice, as noisy as a bee's hive. Returning to my room, I locked the door, leaned my back against the door, and let out a long breath. My heart was still beating fast, my palms were cold. This is not impulsive. But... after three years of patience, I finally saved myself. Lam Vi and I were college friends. After graduating, we stayed in this city. We used to be so sweet. He once waited in line for several hours to buy me cakes, and drove to pick me up at midnight when I worked overtime. I used to think I was married to love. Until she got married, her mother-in-law moved in to live with her. At first, she only scrutinized my living habits. Criticize me for cooking salty food, criticize me for not cleaning the house cleanly, criticize me for buying too expensive clothes. I think it's a generational difference, if you can endure it, you can endure it. Then she started interfering with our finances. Every expense must go through her hands. If the electricity and water bills are just a little bit higher, she can nag for three days. Lam Vi always said:

“Mom is used to living hard, saving money is good.”

She bought a massage chair for 5,000 yuan without blinking an eye. And I bought a dress for 300 yuan... and was told it was a waste of money. The conflict really exploded when we were about to have children. I suggested moving to a house near the school to take care of the future. The two of us's savings combined with the sale of our current house is enough for a deposit. But her mother-in-law firmly objected.

“The house is in good condition, why change it? It's a waste of money.”

She sneaked behind my back, every day pouring instigative words into Lam Vi's ears, saying I was still young, there was no need to rush into having children, saying raising a child costs money like water, and would reduce the quality of life. The funny thing is, when she turned her back, she took the couple's shared savings and used it to pay a deposit to buy a house for her brother-in-law's son, who is also Lam Vi's cousin. Round 300,000 yuan. After I found out about it, Lam Vi and I had an argument that broke the ground for the first time.

"That's my cousin! He's my mother's only nephew! He's getting married, so what's wrong with me being your cousin to help?" Lam Vi's face turned red and he screamed at me.

"That's the money we saved to buy a house! It's what you promised me!" I was so angry that I was shaking all over.

"Can't I get it back later? Do I have to be so stingy?"

That day, I looked at the man in front of me and felt extremely strange. The boy who loved me many years ago, I don't know when... has turned into a person who does not distinguish between right and wrong, only knows how to listen to his mother. I propose a divorce. Lam Vi panicked, her mother-in-law was also scared. She ran straight to my mother's house, cried loudly, said she knew she was wrong, and assured her that she would not interfere in our affairs again in the future. Lam Vi also wrote a commitment letter, swearing that he would listen to me in the future. I'm soft-hearted. My mother advised me that marriage is not easy, so I should give him another chance. I naively thought… they would change. But countries are easy to change, nature is difficult to change. After half a year of peace, the mother-in-law returned to her old habits. This time she was smarter, not directly asking for money anymore, but instead incited Lam Vi to voluntarily give her his salary card to "keep for her".

"Mom is right, we are still young, we spend money without a plan. Mom keeps it for us, it will still be ours in the future."

Lam Vi held his salary card and spoke to me with a sincere expression. At that moment, my heart was as cold as ashes. I finally understand, waiting for them to change... is like hugging a tree and waiting for a rabbit. In this house, as long as my mother-in-law is still there, as long as Lam Vi continues to blindly obey, I will forever be just an outsider. A money-making machine, a child-making tool. If logic doesn't work, then... use methods theirs to solve. Isn't that "mutual hurt"? I took out my phone and dialed my mother.

"Mom, are you free tomorrow? I'll bring my salary card for you to keep."