Chapter 2 — The School District House and the Ruined Marriage

"Can I transfer the name to my mother in three days?"

Lam Man on the other side immediately cursed.

“Are you really going to play big?”

“Where is the money?”

"My uncle left me a commercial premises, which I can mortgage. Chu Khai Minh doesn't know the real value of his pre-marital assets."

On the other end of the line, the sound of typing on the keyboard was heard.

"Okay, I'll go force the process for you. Give the broker 80,000 yuan in hush money to keep him quiet."

I raised my head and looked at the living room. The entire Chu family was surrounding the Porsche catalog, laughing and chatting. I lowered my voice:

“Man Man… this house, I want to transfer it directly to my mother's pocket.”

The speed of selling the house was faster than I thought. Lam Man found the stork from that house. At first, he still pretended to be arrogant.

“I do business with integrity, right?”

Lam Man turned on the speakerphone and chuckled.

"If you bought a school district house for 500,000 yuan, do you still have the face to talk to me about trust? 80,000 yuan in cash, sign the transfer today. If you don't sign, I'll let the landlord know you're planning to turn it over to make a profit."

The stork immediately changed his voice.

“Sister, we can negotiate everything slowly.”

That evening, Chu Khai Minh received a text message informing him that 500,000 yuan had been deposited into his account. It's very rare that he buys half a roast duck to take home. Before the duck could be placed on the table, the mother-in-law immediately picked up two thighs and put them in Chu Khai Hang's bowl.

"Lately, Khai Hang has to go discuss business matters, so he has to eat a lot of food."

Duong Duong looked at the greasy duck skin and swallowed his saliva. Chu Khai Hang picked up a bone and conveniently threw it next to her bowl.

“Eat this, children gnaw bones, they taste the best.”

I picked up the bone and threw it straight into the trash. The mother-in-law immediately glared.

"Tham Tri Y, are you starting to waste money again? Is it easy for my son to earn money?"

I don't argue. I gave Duong Duong a piece of duck breast meat. Chu Khai Minh glanced at him and said nothing. His phone rang again. Chu Khai Hang stopped by to see, his eyes shining.

“The money has arrived?”

Zhou Kaiming nodded. Chu Khai Hang immediately stood up.

“Get the car tomorrow!”

Mother-in-law clapped her hands and grinned.

“My son is about to drive a Porsche, let's see who dares to say that our Chu family doesn't have the ability anymore.”

I took a tissue to wipe Duong Duong's hands. Then calmly spoke:

"Tang Duong's kindergarten tuition is still 20,000 yuan short, I have to pay it tomorrow to reserve a spot."

The whole dining table immediately fell silent. The smile on Chu Khai Minh's face also disappeared.

“I told you, you can learn it in public schools too.”

"That school has classes with foreign teachers. Duong Duong passed the interview, and the teacher even praised her for her very good performance."

Mother-in-law slammed her chopsticks on the table.

"What's the use of expressing yourself well? You'll just marry someone else later."

Chu Khai Hang's laugh became even harsher.

"Sister-in-law is really calculating. As soon as the house was sold, she already remembered money."

I looked at Zhou Kaiming.

“I only need 20,000 yuan.”

He avoided my eyes.

"Khai Hang needs money to buy a car, he also has to buy insurance, make furniture, and have social dinners."

“Is your brother's party more important than your daughter going to school?”

Chu Khai Minh frowned.

"Don't let small things become big things."

The spoon in Duong Duong's hand fell to the ground. The child accidentally knocked over the ceramic bowl. With a bang, the bowl shattered. Duong Duong was so scared immediately squatted down to pick it up. Before I could stop, my mother-in-law shouted first:

"Pick it all up! You can't even eat a meal in peace, you're such an unlucky loser."

Duong Duong's hand touched a piece of broken porcelain. Blood immediately gushed out. The girl did not cry, but raised her head to look at Chu Khai Minh first. Chu Khai Minh just glanced at it.

“Tri Y, take the baby to wash.”

After speaking, he bowed his head and continued calculating the car loan for Chu Khai Hang.

“The down payment is enough, the rest in installments is not too much pressure.”

At that moment, my chest was tight. Not the burning pain of my previous life. It's the feeling of emptiness when finally seeing clearly a person's true nature. I carried Duong Duong to the bathroom. Water flowed through the wound, and the little girl took a painful breath.

“Mom… is it because I'm not your little brother that dad doesn't like me?”

I turned off the faucet. No reply. There are answers that are so dirty that a mother should not be told to her child. I bandaged her wound, took pictures of the cuts, and took pictures of the pile of ceramic pieces on the ground. Returning to the room, I locked the door. Duong Duong lay on the edge of the bed, looking at his hand.

“Mom… does raising a child cost a lot of money?”

I pulled the baby into my arms.

"You are not a burden. You are the most worthy thing in this world."

She didn't really understand, so she just quietly buried her face in my arms. I turned on the computer and started backing up data. Messages about selling a house. Video of Chu Khai Minh forcing me to sign. Recording file of mother-in-law scolding Duong Duong. Family account transaction history. The more I checked, the colder my hands became. In the past half year, Zhou Kaiming secretly transferred a total of 120,000 yuan to Zhou Kaihang. The content of the transfer sounds extremely dignified. Start the project. Brothers rotate capital. Temporary rescue. As for me, he will always only have sentences like:

"We're out of money. Duong Duong's health check-up will be delayed later."

“Don't choose such an expensive kindergarten.”

“Isn't there still someone in your grandmother's family?”

I looked at those money transfers and laughed. In my previous life, I always thought that marriage was about feelings. I'm just saying evidence. The phone lights up. Lam Man sent a message. 【The broker has received the money, tomorrow your mother will sign it.】 I answered exactly one word. Outside the door, Chu Khai Hang was still boasting loudly.

"Honey, wait until I drive a Porsche to go on a blind date, the bride's family will definitely look at me with different eyes."

Mother-in-law smiled from ear to ear.

"In the future, remember to marry someone who can give birth to a son, don't be like your sister-in-law."

Duong Duong moved in my heart. The child heard everything.