Chapter 15 — Marriage Book

The day I left Chengdu, the weather was overcast. The train station square was crowded with people, suitcase wheels stretched out in thin streaks on the ground. I wore a mask, dragged a medium-sized suitcase, a backpack on my shoulder, and a beige jacket I bought two years ago in the fall. The style is no longer new, but the cut is still neat. Chu Nhiem insisted on sending me to the door to check my ticket.

“Are you really okay alone?” She helped me put my suitcase on the conveyor belt, then gave me the papers, "This time I went there, I didn't know anyone, I was a complete stranger."

“The better.” I smiled softly, my eyes slightly damp from the wind blowing, “No one knows me, I can start over as a completely new person.”

Chu Nhiem looked at me for a few seconds and suddenly asked.

“Do you regret it?”

“Regret something.” I asked again.

“Regret agreeing to get married, regret signing that agreement, regret it ending like this.” Zhou Ran said, “If you could go back to the day he offered the so-called ‘AA agreement’, would you have punched him in the face and then turned around and walked away?”

I was silent for a bit. In the waiting hall, the sound of loudspeakers repeated over and over, evenly like a machine.

"Are not." I shook my head.

"Why." Chu Nhiem frowned, "You could have stopped sooner."

“People have to stumble a few times to know which path not to take.” I looked at the electronic screen in the distance, my voice was very light, "If I was really that decisive that day, maybe now I wouldn't have learned how to read and re-read each clause before signing, nor understand clearly that it turns out that a person can escape a bad relationship on his own without needing anyone to save him."

I paused, then added.

"Before, I always thought that marriage was a matter of two people, but later I understood that there are times when it is just a journey of maturity for one person."

Chu Nhiem looked at me, her eyes red.

“If you talk like this, go write a book.”

“Who said I don't plan to write?” I laughed, "There has to be a place to release all this stuff."

In my head, I already had a name for that book. Not "traitor", not "adultery", nor "revenge". It's a seemingly calm name, but coldly sharp.

“The marriage book.”

Not to count money, but to count people's hearts and choices. Chu Nhiem suddenly remembered something.

“Ah, there's something I have to tell you.” She lowered her voice, "The person who sent the evidence was anonymous, I guessed it."

My hand placed on my side unconsciously clenched.

“It's Hua Tinh.” I asked.

Chu Nhiem nodded.

"She used to intern at the law side, then suddenly quit and switched to legal work for a company. In that set of anonymous documents, I saw a scanned file format that previously only insiders knew, so..."

“So you must be her.” I continued.

Chu Nhiem looked at my expression and tried to ask.

“What are you planning to do? Do you need me to ask her out and confront her directly?”

"No need." I shook my head.

A few days ago, I went to see Hua Tinh myself. It was a coffee shop near the courthouse, outside was the main road with vehicles slowly passing by, the coffee machine buzzing, the air smelled faintly of roasted beans. Hua Tinh sat next to the window, wearing a neatly tailored vest, her hair tied in a bun at the back of her head, and light makeup that couldn't hide the tiredness in her eyes. Next to her was a bag of documents, revealing the corner of the contract familiar.

“You're here.” She raised her head to look at me, the corner of her lips curled up in a faint smile, "Sit down."

I sat down opposite, not in a hurry to speak. Between us is a cup of white coffee, a thin ring of water forming on the rim. A moment later, she herself broke the silence.

“You probably guessed it, the things about Chu Khai Hang were sent to your lawyer by me.” She said bluntly, "Consider it a small favor."

"Why." I asked, "The thing between you and him, I heard Chu Nhiem mention it, but that is a grudge between the two of you, it has nothing to do with me."

“You're right, it's inherently unrelated.” Hua Tinh chuckled, her voice very low, "But there are people who always like to drag others into their chess game."

She started talking. During college, she and Chu Khai Hang were in the same club, and because of some projects, they gradually became close and ended up together. At that time, he was enthusiastic, bright, always talking about the future, full of plans. She risked her life studying for the legal certification exam, and he waited outside the library, eating a boxed lunch while holding her things. During those years, she truly believed that the two of them would enter marriage naturally. It wasn't until graduation year that his mother appeared in their small rented room. The woman's face turned cold as soon as she entered, her eyes assessing her as if she were choosing goods at the market. Ask every question about your parents' family, income, and work, then silently deny every little bit.

“Your father is a worker, your mother is a worker who lost her job.” She said right in front of her, then turned to her son, "My family doesn't need other people's money, but we can't marry someone who drags our feet down. In the future, you still have to buy a house, a car in a big city, a bride price, a wedding that doesn't cost money, where will the family get it?"

At that time, Hua Tinh wanted to refute. But Chu Khai Hang... remained silent.