Chapter 1 — Marriage Book

On the wedding night, my husband pushed a copy of the "AA agreement" in front of me, his voice soft as if he was ordering food.

"Wife, sign it, from now on everyone takes care of the money, no one owes anyone else."

He calculated clearly, he took care of the house debt, the car debt, I took care of the household expenses, and later the children would divide it in half. It sounds fair, but every clause is in his favor. I glanced at the contract, then looked at his phone, the call on speakerphone still hadn't turned off. The mother-in-law was "directing from afar", talking for more than ten minutes without stopping. I smiled softly.

“Okay, I sign.”

He immediately appeared happy, thinking that he had married an understanding and reasonable wife. The next day, he left work especially early and brought a cake home. He wants to celebrate what he calls “happy cooperation.” But as soon as the door opened, he stood dumbfounded in the mysterious entrance. My whole body felt like someone had pressed the stop button, unable to take another step. I picked up a piece of steamed sea bass, the heat brought a fragrant scent to my face. I blinked and slowly put the fish into my mouth. Sitting opposite, Chu Khai Hang suddenly coughed lightly, his fingers tapped twice on the mirror-shiny table top. A square folded A4 piece of paper was pushed by him with his fingertips, slid a bit and stopped next to my rice bowl. My movements stopped in mid-air, my chopsticks hovered before they could be lowered. I raised my head to look at my newlywed husband, with some confusion in my eyes. Chu Khai Hang avoided my gaze, lowered his head, picked up a piece of broccoli, put it in his mouth, chewed it a few times before speaking.

“Ninh Ninh, please sign this, just consider it a formality, it will be good for both of you in the future.”

His tone was light as if he was discussing where to go for the weekend, but my heart slightly sank. I put down my chopsticks, opened the paper, and the bold black title caught my eye.

“Agreement on financial independence and division of expenses after marriage.”

I read every line. The first article clearly states that the house Chu Khai Hang bought before marriage, the loan continues to be paid by himself, and the ownership is only in his name. The second thing is the installment payment for the off-road vehicle, which is also his sole responsibility. The third article lists all living expenses in the family, from electricity, water, gas, management fees, market fees, meat and fish, household appliances, and even money for weddings and weddings, all of which are charged to me. The fourth article stipulates that the income of two people is completely independent and does not interfere with each other's accounts and spending. The fifth article clearly states that if there is a large expense in the house such as changing electrical appliances or going on a trip, the two people will split it in half. The sixth thing is the most glaring: if you have children in the future, all costs of raising, educating, and medical examination and treatment must be absolutely divided in half. At the end of the agreement there is also a small line.

"In order to maintain the financial independence of the couple and avoid money conflicts, both parties voluntarily comply with the principle of fairness."

My eyes stopped at the words "voluntary" for a long time. Until Chu Khai Hang couldn't help but knock on the table.

“What are you doing sitting there, sign quickly, the food will be cold later, I'll cook all day, it's a waste.”

He said as he picked up a piece of sweet and sour fried ribs, eating and praising my skills, which were still as delicious as before. I glanced around the dining table. Stir-fried sweet and sour ribs are greasy, steamed sea bass This morning, I went to the market to pick up live fish to bring home, stir-fried broccoli with green garlic, fried eggs with tomatoes made according to the recipe my mother taught me, and next to it was a pot of tofu and crucian carp soup simmering. Before the wedding registration day, Chu Khai Hang hugged me and said he missed the food my family cooked the most. Today I specially took half a day off, from afternoon to evening I stayed in the kitchen. As for him, he spent the whole afternoon hiding in the office, typing on the keyboard, not knowing if he was working overtime or playing games.

“Chu Khai Hang, how do you explain this?”

I heard my voice soften slightly, as if blocked by a layer of air. Chu Khai Hang swallowed the meat, took out a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth, his face full of confidence.

"It's true on paper, what era is it now? If a marriage wants to be stable, it must be financially independent, so there won't be arguments about money in the future."

He leaned back in his chair, raised his hands and began calculating, talking as if he were making a report.

"Let's see, the rent and car payment are nearly 10,000 a month, I'm responsible for it all, your salary is not low, it's reasonable to take care of living expenses."

"Besides, the house and car were all my pre-marital assets, and I didn't ask you to pay them back, so I've already thought about it for you."

My hands clenched the chopsticks, my knuckles turned white from the force. Is that reasonable?

"What's more, are you trying to change the deal? When we were in love, didn't you always say that women must have their own economic capacity and cannot live on men?"

“When it's your turn, you falter.”

I didn't answer right away, just quietly looked at the familiar face that suddenly became strange before my eyes. During the three years of their relationship, Chu Khai Hang always built an image of being generous and thoughtful. When they were dating, they had to pay, there was never a shortage of gifts on Tet holidays, and the phrase "mine is also mine" was always hanging on his lips. So when he proposed, I nodded without hesitation and agreed, "getting married is too troublesome, just register first, consider it later." Yesterday, as soon as he walked out of the Civil Affairs Department, the red book had not yet cooled down, he hugged me and said.

“Wife, this house will be given to you from now on.”

At that moment, my heart softened to the point of confusion, thinking it was absolute trust, two people sharing the responsibility. Now I understand that the phrase "leave it to you" is actually pushing all the petty expenses in the house towards me.

“Did you come up with this agreement yourself, or did someone present it to you?”

My voice was very calm, as if I was asking about something that had nothing to do with me. Chu Khai Hang's eyes wavered slightly, and he instinctively sat up straighter.

"Of course I thought about it, who else, but I also told my parents, they all think this method is very good, making it clear from the beginning will save you trouble later."

As soon as he finished speaking, a shrill female voice suddenly rang out from the phone placed on the table, the words "Mom" lit up on the screen, the call had lasted more than fifteen minutes.

“Khai Hang is right, Ninh Ninh, mom is an experienced person, money must be clear for life to be peaceful, nowadays divorce is not all about money.”

The voice on the other side through the speakerphone was still resounding, carrying an uncomfortable feeling of oppression. I stared at the bright screen, watching the time increase by the second, suddenly feeling funny.

“You've been on speakerphone all this time.”

My voice is still calm bland. Chu Khai Hang was startled and frantically picked up the phone to turn off the speaker.

"Mom, we're eating, we'll talk later..."

"What to eat, this matter must be clearly stated on the spot."

The volume on the other side immediately increased.

"Ninh Ninh, I'll tell you, I'm doing this for the good of both of you. You've understood before and will definitely sympathize with our parents' hearts, right?"

I was silent for a few seconds, then nodded slightly.

“Okay, I understand.”

Chu Khai Hang's face immediately relaxed. On the other side of the phone, her mother-in-law also smiled and gave a few more instructions before hanging up. The dining room became quiet, only the sound of water flowing softly in the heating pipe remained. Chu Khai Hang breathed a sigh of relief, took out a black pen from his pocket, and pushed the agreement towards me.

“Then… sign, my pen is ready.”

I took the still-warm pen from his hand, opened the cap, and the tip of the pen stopped on the paper.

“Chu Khai Hang, what if I don't sign?”

I raised my head and looked straight at him. The smile on Chu Khai Hang's face immediately stiffened.

“Ninh Ninh, don't make it difficult for me, I've already told my family, if you don't sign, they'll say you don't understand.”

"I just signed up, don't be stressed over this small matter. Besides, you have nothing to lose from this matter, I've already taken on the heaviest part."

He spoke as if he had all the arguments in his hand, as if if I didn't agree, I would become an unreasonable person, greedy for his property. I glanced at the small text at the end of the agreement, "both parties voluntarily comply", a cold and tired feeling arose in my heart. I took a deep breath, then on the signature line on side B, stroke by stroke I wrote down my name. After signing, I gently put down the pen, my finger pulled away from the edge of the paper. Each stroke of the pen is steady and slow, as if completing a cold procedure, as well as burying something with one's own hands. After signing, I pushed the papers back towards him.

"Done."

Chu Khai Hang immediately took the agreement, bowed his head to look closely at each signature, clearly breathed a sigh of relief, and his smile became much brighter.

"That's good, my wife understands the most."

He folded the agreement twice, stuffed it into the document in the coffee table drawer, then stood up and walked towards me, raising his hand to put it on his shoulder.

"I'm done, eat your rice, it's cold, let me warm it up for you."

I leaned away, his hand fell into space, the movement was not large but decisive.

“I'm not hungry, please eat.”

I stood up and went straight to the master bedroom.

“I'm going to take a shower.”