Chapter 5 — Married 8 days, I bought a house in my own name

He snorted softly.

“This girl, she really reads too many books so she thinks everything is complicated.”

“Dad, I just asked one question.”

“If we switched positions…”

“If our family spends 880,000 yuan, in the end, everyone's name won't be on the house book…”

“Do you accept?”

The other end of the line was silent for three seconds.

“Not the same.”

He replied.

“My family spent most of the money.”

“So the person who spent more money…”

I slowly asked again.

“Do you have the right to put the name of the person who spent less money out of that house?”

He didn't speak anymore.

“Thank you for your good intentions, Dad.”

I calmly ended the conversation.

“But I won't pay for this apartment.”

After hanging up the phone, I sat in front of the small book table I had just bought and rearranged everything from beginning to end. Very clear. What the Hua family wants is not just that house book. What they want is absolute control in this relationship. As for the name on the papers... It's just the first card. Things began to change unexpectedly on the tenth day. My company has a new customer. This project is to redesign the entire brand identity for a chain hotel group, with a huge budget, so much so that their boss personally came to discuss. I sat in the meeting room, opposite the project manager and the client's brand manager. The meeting lasted nearly two hours. I edited the plan three times. Finally, the customer concluded with one sentence:

“Sign the contract.”

After the meeting ended, my boss Luc Binh chased me in the hallway.

“Thieu Hoa, great job.”

I replied a word of thanks. He looked at me:

“I heard there's been a bit of trouble at your house lately?”

I nodded:

“I'm handling it.”

“Don't let it affect your work.”

he said.

"I'll take charge of this project. I'll add more staff for you. I'll send you the list later."

"I know."

I returned to my seat when my phone vibrated. It's a text message from an unknown number. Phone number in inner city. The content has only one line:

"Miss Tong, if it's convenient, let's meet up a bit. I'm your husband's colleague, there's something I want to tell you."

I stared at that message for a long time. Signed by sender: I've heard this name before. Last week Tran Chi Vien said:

“My colleague Wei Han, her husband said…”

I replied back:

“Meet where?”

She met me at a tea shop downstairs at the company during lunch break the next day. When we met, I realized why she wanted to find me. Wei Han is thirty-two years old, married, and works as a human resources officer at the technology company where Tran Chi Vien works. She showed me a screenshot of her phone. It was a post on an internal company forum. Posted anonymously. The content is that Tran Chi Vien lamented to a few close colleagues that his wife was too arbitrary, and not long after getting married, she "arbitrarily used the wedding money to buy her own apartment". He said there was a problem in their relationship. Said he was very "resentful". I finished reading the photo and then raised my head.

“He used the word ‘voluntary’.”

I said softly. Nguy Han nodded:

"When I saw that post, I felt like I should tell you. As for it, just say it yourself."

“Thank you.”

Nguy Han was silent for a moment then spoke again:

“There's one more thing.”

“It may not be related to you, but I think should still speak.”

“Last year at the company year-end party…”

She stopped. I looked at her:

“Just keep talking.”

Wei Han took a deep breath and then finished the rest. Leaving the tea shop, I stood on the side of the road for a long time. The wind blows from the Cam River, bringing with it a bit of cold. I suddenly remembered the day of marriage registration. In front of the Civil Affairs Department, Tran Chi Vien once picked me up and smiled and said:

“I can't run away.”

It's only been eight days. The thing he said "couldn't escape"... What was it all about? I repeated the last words Wei Han had just said in my head again. The person Tran Chi Vien brought to the company's year-end party last year... Not me. By that time, we had been in love for nearly five years.