Chapter 2 — The Day I Stopped Fasting, They Lost Everything

The entire hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were like headlights, shining straight at me, Chu Hao and the agreement in his hand. Chu Hao's face was sometimes red and sometimes white, like a color palette. He tightened his grip on the thin paper, his knuckles turning white from the force.

“Hua Tinh, what are you doing?”

His voice was low, carrying a threat, clearly wanting to save some pitiful "face".

"In front of so many people, you make me lose face. Is it fun?"

I looked at him calmly, even smiled.

“It was you who made me lose face first.”

“When you and your mother discussed adding the name Chu Le to our wedding house, did you ever think about my feelings?”

“You didn't even say a word to me first.”

“You just put the results in front of me and forced me to accept it.”

He was blocked by me and couldn't say anything for a while.

“I… that's not the same!” he argued, "Le Le is my sister! We are family!"

"Really?" I retracted my smile, my eyes turned cold, "But the deposit for this house, 500,000 yuan, was paid by me."

“My family put in 50,000 yuan.”

“The remaining loan is 950,000 yuan, which we both pay together.”

"Your sister didn't spend a dime, but directly took over one-third of the ownership of the house worth 1,500,000 yuan."

“Chu Hao, tell me, what kind of family is this?”

My voice wasn't loud, but each word was like a nail hitting his chest. Also pin it in the ears of those around you. Whispers began to spread, eyes turned from watching the show to disdain. Chu Hao completely lost face. He was so embarrassed that he became angry and spoke without thinking.

"Your house money? Isn't your house money also our money?"

"We're about to get married, what about the division between you and me?"

“Besides, where will I get more than 600,000 yuan to buy another house?”

He finally asked the right question. He grabbed the agreement I signed, pointed to the number on it and questioned it.

“Did you take this money from our joint money to prepare for marriage?”

“Hua Tinh, I tell you, I saved that money so hard, don't you dare try touching it!”

He thought he knew my weakness. Thought we could turn the situation around. He miscalculated.

“Shared money?” I burst out laughing like I heard the most ridiculous thing in my life, "Chu Hao, are you talking about the 30,000 yuan in your card?"

“In the three years we've been together, has the total amount of money you spent on me exceeded 5,000 yuan?”

His face immediately turned white. I looked at him, word by word, exposing everything.

“To buy this wedding house, my parents took almost all of their life savings and gave me 500,000 yuan.”

“That money, before going to the trading room, was always in my private account.”

"I used to think that it was the starting capital for our future home, so I was willing to bring it out."

“But now it seems like I'm thinking too much.”

“And the deposit for apartment 102, 630,000 yuan.”

I stopped for a moment, looking at his shy, guilty eyes.

“Yesterday afternoon, my parents sent me more.”

“They said, it was a support specifically for their daughter.”

"This money is clearly given to me, not a penny related to Mr. Chu Hao, nor related to his family."

"So So I used my own money to buy my own house, what right do you have to stand here and yell at me?

Chu Hao was completely dumbfounded. He opened his mouth like a fish out of water, unable to utter a single sentence for half a day. Perhaps he never thought that I - who was always gentle - not only resisted, but also calculated clearly to this extent. I didn't expect my family to leave me such a "retreat" amount. In his perception, everything that belongs to me inherently belongs to him. My money, my house, even my whole being. In the hall, the chatter became louder and louder.

“Oh my god, it turns out the deposit was paid by the bride's family.”

"The groom's family only contributed 50,000 yuan but they still want to add the sister's name, what a thick skin."

“To think that people are spending their money, it's really funny.”

Those words were like a resounding slap, hitting Chu Hao straight in the face. His self-esteem was trampled and crushed by me. Finally he collapsed. He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed the number with shaking hands. He screamed into the phone like a child suffering great injustice.

“Mom, go to the transaction office quickly!”

“Hua Tinh… she is crazy!”

“She wants to annul the marriage! And secretly bought another house behind our back!”

I coldly looked at that boring, weak appearance. The last trace of affection in my heart also completely disappeared. I gave the bank card to Ms. Vuong, who was still patiently waiting.

“Miss Vuong, please help me swipe my card.”

She looked at me with sympathetic eyes, then glanced at Chu Hao with disdain. She received the card and quickly entered the amount into the machine.

“Miss Hua, please enter your password.”

I dialed the familiar number. The machine prints out a long strip of receipts. Successful transaction. From this moment, the house located in the heart of the city, worth more than 1,500,000 yuan, belongs to me alone. It is the beginning of a new life, also the end of the past. I put away the contract and invoice, turned around and left this nauseating place. Chu Hao seemed crazy, rushing to block in front of me.

“Hua Tinh! You can't go!”

“My mother is coming soon, you have to explain clearly to her!”

“Want to annul the marriage? It's not easy!”

I looked at his distorted face and felt strange and scary. This is the man I loved for three years and wanted to spend the rest of my life with? Pitiful. I was just about to open my mouth. My phone rang. I picked up the phone. On the other end of the line was a middle-aged woman's voice, angry and distorted. Chu Hao's mother, Luu Ngoc Mai.

“Hua Tinh! You're very good, aren't you?!”

"I'm telling you, if you don't want to marry this kiss today, you still have to marry it!"

“The Chu family is not a place where you can come and go if you want!”

Her voice was shrill and shrill. I quietly listened to everything. Waiting for her to finish screaming, I calmly spoke up.

“Auntie, it seems you forgot something.”

“What?”

“When discussing the wedding, I personally promised a bride price of 300,000 yuan.”

"I said I would give it after the engagement, but until now I haven't seen any sign of that money."

"Auntie now... are you planning to lie?"

The other end of the line immediately fell silent. On the other end of the line, Luu Ngoc Mai was clearly choked by my sudden question. She must have thought I would cry, riot, and lose control like Chu Hao. In her mind, she must have prepared a belly of morality like "for the good of the child", "the young must reasonable." It's just a pity that I didn't accept the trick. I went straight to the point. 300,000 yuan in bride price. That was the second time the family sat down, writing clearly every word on paper. Wanting to cheat, it's not that easy. After a few seconds of silence, Luu Ngoc Mai's voice rang out again, but this time it was clearly lacking confidence.

“You… why did you mention that?”

"Didn't we say that when you two get married, you can bring them to our house?"

“That's money from the Chu family. Now you don't want to get married anymore, so you still want money?”

I almost burst out laughing at that blatant logic.

“Auntie, maybe you misunderstood.”

“The bride price is the pre-marital property that my parents gave me personally.”

“That money is for me to have support after getting married, not to give to the Chu family.”

"I made it clear that I would give it after the engagement, but now I have to do it."

"As for whether to get married or not, that's another matter."

"Whatever happens happens, do you think I'm wrong?"

"Miss!" Luu Ngoc Mai was so angry that she was speechless on the other end of the line.

I don't want to waste any more time with her.

“Auntie, I have work to do, hang up first.”

“Regarding money, my lawyer will contact you.”

After speaking, I didn't wait for a response and directly hung up. The whole world immediately became quiet. Chu Hao stood there dumbfounded looking at me.

“You…when did you hire a lawyer?”