Chapter 2 — Marriage Book

Chu Khai Hang's hand paused in midair for a second, then quickly regained his smile.

"Yes, you should take a bath and feel comfortable. Call me if you're hungry."

I didn't say anything more, walked into the bedroom, closed the door, and locked it. With my back against the cold door, I closed my eyes. Outside the living room, the sound of him humming and singing was heard, and there was also the sound of bowls and chopsticks clashing. He ate very deliciously. After a while, I went into the bathroom and turned on the light in front of the mirror. The person in the mirror's face was slightly pale, the edges of his eyes were slightly red, but the bottom of his eyes were dry, without tears. I turned on the faucet, splashed a few cold water on my face, the cold feeling made my mind a little more alert. Drying my hands, I took out my phone and opened Chu Nhiem's chat frame pinned to my head. Zhou Ran is my best friend from college, currently working as a family lawyer in Hangzhou. I only sent two words.

“Is there?”

Chu Nhiem replied almost immediately.

"Eldest lady, it's only the second day of marriage and you're not at home with your husband, do you still remember me?"

Immediately after that, another message popped up with an evil smile icon.

“Don't tell me he got weak so quickly.”

Normally I would have sent a ton of stickers in response, but right now I can't laugh at all. I directly sent the photo of the agreement that I had just taken when Chu Khai Hang's back was turned. As soon as the photo was sent, Chu Nhiem's video call immediately popped up. I pressed accept, and on the screen immediately appeared her angry and surprised face.

“To Ninh, you got hit in the head by the car, you dare to sign this kind of damn agreement.”

Chu Nhiem's voice was both high and urgent, and through the screen one could feel the anger rising.

"He pays the house and car bills to increase his own assets, but you are responsible for all the household expenses, which is really burning money. Having a baby is AA, why doesn't he just get himself pregnant for ten months? I can hear this calculation of Chu Khai Hang, standing across the Tien Duong River, clearly."

I lowered the volume on the phone, waited for her to finish talking before slowly speaking, her voice unusually calm.

“I'm very alert.”

“I just wanted to see how much a person could calculate.”

Chu Nhiem was silent for a few seconds, the expression on his face gradually shrinking.

“Are you serious?”

“So how do you plan to handle it? No matter how unreasonable this agreement is, you have already signed it…”

“You will know tomorrow.”

I interrupted her, looking into her unwavering eyes in the mirror.

“I want you to help me prepare something.”

“Divorce petition, as quickly as possible, give it to me before noon tomorrow.”

Chu Nhiem was silent for a moment, then nodded vigorously.

“Okay, I understand, I'll bring it to you at noon tomorrow at the old place.”

"There's no politeness between us. Just wait, I'll write you a divorce so discreet that he won't be able to refute a single comma."

After hanging up the phone, I didn't immediately go take a shower. I got out of the bathroom, sat down in front of the dressing table, the table was full of skin care cosmetics and makeup that I bought myself, under the lamp radiating a soft light. It's all my money, Chu Khai Hang never asked the price. In his eyes, it's natural for women to take care of themselves, just like it's natural for women to cook, go to the market, and pay for living expenses. I pulled out the bottom drawer of the dressing table, placed one in the corner Wine red velvet box. Open the lid, two brand new marriage certificate rolls lie parallel inside. In the photo, Chu Khai Hang and I leaned our heads against each other, smiling brightly. At that time, the photographer also told us to get a little closer and smile a little sweeter. Looking back now, the smile in that photo is both sweet and a bit fake. I picked up a marriage certificate, opened it, stared at the two names next to each other, legally from yesterday we were husband and wife, a unit whose interests were closely tied together, but in my heart, something from tonight has been broken. I stuffed the registration paper back into the box, pushed it deep into the drawer, and opened the laptop. In the search box, I typed.

“Urgent moving service Guangzhou.”

Looking at a few companies with good reviews, I wrote down the phone number of one company. Next, I opened the cloud storage drive and found a PDF file called "Hai Duong Ly Apartment Purchase Contract." It was the house I bought before I got married, with money saved up during four years of working, plus some support from my mother, a small two-bedroom house in Thien Ha district, the old area, eighty square meters, two rooms and a living room, borrowed for twenty years, paying more than four thousand yuan each month. The house had just completed basic repairs three months ago. I originally planned to leave it empty for a while and then rent it out to make up for the loan. I didn't expect it to be used so quickly. I looked at the floor plan for a while, in my head I started to arrange how the furniture would be displayed, what color the curtains would be, it would be a place that belonged only to me, without calculations, without agreements, without Chu Khai Hang, and without a mother-in-law who likes to meddle in everything. There were footsteps outside the living room. Chu Khai Hang knocked on the door.

“To Ninh, have you finished bathing yet? Why don't you hear the sound of water?”

I quickly closed all open pages.

“Almost done.”

I replied, stood up, went back to the bathroom, and turned on the shower. Hot water poured down on his body, but it couldn't dispel the coldness in his heart. I showered mechanically, running a list in my head. What do I have to take away tomorrow? All clothes, shoes, bags are packed, books and documents are not missing, the things I bought with my own money such as pots and pans, coffee maker, oven, blankets, wall paintings, plants... all of my things are taken away, leaving no trace. As for the gift jewelry Chu Khai Hang bought, I didn't touch it, I just felt it was full of calculations and looked uncomfortable. After stepping out of the shower, Chu Khai Hang was lying on the main bed, with his back to the door, breathing evenly, with a very light snoring sound. I stood at the door for a few seconds, then turned around, grabbed a set of pajamas from the closet, and went to the spare bedroom. The extra room's bed sheet was new, just laid it yesterday. I lay down and turned off the light. In the darkness, I opened my eyes, not sleepy at all, repeating the dinner scene in my head, the agreement he pushed, the shrill voice of my mother-in-law on the phone, every detail was like small pebbles, rubbing forever in my heart. I remember the first year we loved each other, on my birthday, he gave me a bracelet that wasn't expensive but had a very special design, put it on me himself, and whispered in my ear that he would always be by my side every year from now on. On my second birthday, he gave me a scarf, which I later accidentally saw online, the price was less than two hundred. Third year birthday, him He said he worked overtime and didn't come home until late. Of course there was no gift. The next day, he took me out to eat hot pot and that was the end of the matter. Now that I think about it, I'm not really busy, I just feel that I'm certain and don't need to worry anymore. It wasn't until midnight that I fell asleep. I slept very fitfully and dreamed wildly. When I woke up, it was dawn outside the window. I stood up and opened the door to the spare bedroom. The living room was unusually quiet, the main room door was still closed, Chu Khai Hang hadn't gotten up yet. On the dining table, last night's leftovers were still there, the grease had solidified, making everything look both dark and greasy. I just glanced at it, then turned away, went to the kitchen to cook myself a bowl of clear noodles, added a little sesame oil, soy sauce, sprinkled green onions, the heat rose, and after eating, my stomach felt warmer. As soon as I put the bowl down, the main bedroom door opened, Chu Khai Hang rubbed his eyes and walked out. Seeing me, he immediately smiled.

“Wife, get up so early, where is my breakfast?”

I took the bowl and walked to the sink and turned on the faucet.

“Do it yourself, I have to catch the subway.”

My voice was very calm. Chu Khai Hang paused for a moment, then followed to the kitchen door.

“What's wrong with you, still upset about last night, that deal was really for the good of us both…”

“Nothing,” I interrupted, quickly washing the bowl, “I'm almost late, I'll talk later tonight.”

I pushed past him, went into the dressing room, put on my makeup, and didn't look at him again throughout the process. Before going out the door, Chu Khai Hang followed him out to the mysterious gate.