Chapter 2 — This House, I Will Not Give Up

Using my own house, using my entire future life... to support that younger sister who spends her days playing around? But I bowed my head, gently placed my hand on my stomach, and finally felt soft. Because of this child, and because I want to have a stable home soon, I don't want to argue with my husband's parents anymore because of money. It just makes things more stressful.

“Okay, no more talking.”

I took a deep breath and made a decision that, thinking about it later, I just wanted to slap myself.

"There's no need to bother your parents about renovating the house anymore. I still have some money left on my salary card from the past few years, combined with the money we've accumulated, we can barely manage it. I want to start right away, the baby can't wait."

Chu Khai felt like he had relieved himself of a burden and immediately hugged me and kissed me repeatedly.

"Wife, you are so kind! You are truly the most understanding person! From now on, I will definitely treat you twice as much!"

At that time, I didn't know— In their eyes, my so-called "understanding" meant that I could easily be caught. Being a fat prey that lets others control it. Three months of renovating the house was like a battle. Because my budget is tight, I don't dare hire a large company, I can only contact small teams of workers myself. Even though I was pregnant, I still had to wander into the material market, haggling over each item with the sharp-tongued sellers. Just to make each square meter of tiles cheaper by a few coins, I almost went all over the market. What about Chu Khai? He only appeared once in a while, just went around for a while and then withdrew, saying there was too much dust, afraid it would affect his health, and also afraid it wouldn't be good for the fetus.

"It's hard for you, wife. I don't understand these things. I'm afraid that helping will end in failure."

He spoke very naturally, gently brushing off his responsibilities. One time, a worker tiling the living room discovered that there were not enough tiles. I called Chu Khai and told him to quickly deliver more. He on the other end of the phone said in an annoyed voice:

"I'm drinking with a customer. You can take a taxi to get it yourself, you might not be able to carry it."

I hung up the phone, my eyes immediately stinging. That day, I took a taxi to the material market alone, holding each box of bricks, almost twisting my back. Finally, both the rough and the finished parts are completed. Looking at the bright house, completely different from before, my heart felt filled. That's what I built little by little, the home I prepared for my children. To eliminate the smell, I intentionally left it empty for more than a month, every day after work I stopped by to open the window for ventilation. Friday afternoon, I asked to leave early, intending to go see how the potted plants on the balcony had grown. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I froze on the spot. In front of my house... there are two people standing. One person is Chu Kien Quoc's father-in-law, next to him is a man wearing a dark blue worker's outfit, carrying a tool bag, bending down to fix the lock.

“Worker, replace me with the best lock core, the highest anti-theft level.”

Father-in-law stood with his hands behind his back, his voice as if giving orders.

“Don't worry, this class C lock, without the key, no one can get in.” The worker did not raise his head.

I reflexively retreated towards the emergency stairs, my heart beating so fast it felt like it was about to explode. That's the house I bought, the door I installed...on what basis does he want to change it? At that moment, Chu Khai's phone called. My father-in-law took out his phone and turned on the speaker. I stood behind the door, hearing every sentence clearly.

“Dad, done Not yet?" Chu Khai's voice on the other end was full of flattery.

“Done a long time ago! This key will only be given to Diem Diem in the future, it cannot be allowed to let To Niem enter as he pleases.”

The father-in-law's voice was full of satisfaction.

“This house was left to Diem Diem as a wedding house. Only when they have children will they be counted as the roots of the Chu family.”

“Dad… what about Niem Niem side…” Chu Khai's voice was a bit guilty.

“Say what! She's already pregnant, does she still dare to ask for a divorce? Tell him to go back to his mother's house to stay temporarily for a few days! After all, there's a baby in the belly, it can't run. When Diem Diem moves in, this house will naturally become the Chu family's."

I tightened my grip on the emergency exit door handle, my nails digging deep into my palms without feeling any pain. It turns out... that's it. It turns out that in their eyes, I am not a family member, nor a wife— Just a tool to give birth to children... walking in the door with assets. The house that I poured my heart and soul into building— In their eyes, it was nothing more than a lucrative bait for their young son. At that moment, I just felt the blood in my body... cold to the bone. I didn't rush out to question. Doing so will only make the situation even more dilapidated. Besides, in my current situation, I can't stand arguing. If I have a miscarriage, the real person will still be me. I took a deep breath, trying to force my heart rate to slow down. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes, but I stubbornly swallowed them back. Crying doesn't solve anything. Crying cannot make a red book, and it cannot awaken the conscience of that family. I turned around and pressed the elevator button to go down. Sitting in the car, looking in the rearview mirror and seeing my pale face, I felt both strange and funny. This is the husband I chose myself. This is the house my husband walked into on his own. I picked up the phone, my hand shaking so much that I couldn't even touch the screen properly. I texted Chu Khai:

"Husband, I've had so much morning sickness lately, I want to go back to Chengdu and go to my mother's house for a few days to rest."

The other party responded almost immediately.

“Okay, wife, you can rest assured that you are pregnant. The new house still smells, don't worry about it. Rest well, kiss me."

Looking at that "kiss" icon, I just feel nauseous. My stomach rolled, I had to hold the steering wheel, vomiting several times. He was worried about how to push me away to make it easier for his younger brother to move in. My message was nothing more than an excuse given to me. He was even lazy to say "I'll take you home". Perhaps right now, he is like his calculating father, immersed in the feeling of about to take over the house. I turned the key, stepped on the gas and left. The street scene outside the window quickly receded, just like the years I had wasted. I won't turn back anymore. I will let them understand, there are things... you can't just reach out and get them. Returning to my mother's house in Chengdu, my mother was sitting in the yard picking beans. Seeing me with a pale face, holding my bag and standing at the door, she was so startled that she dropped the entire basket of vegetables.

“Nien Niem, what's wrong? Is Chu Khai angry with you again?”

I shook my head, didn't say anything, just changed my shoes and went straight into the inner room.

“Mom, I'm a little tired, I'll lie down for a while.”

Closing the door, I collapsed onto the bed. The blanket still smells of sunlight, probably my mother just hung it out to dry in the morning. I curled up, tears finally overflowing uncontrollably. I cried until my eyes were swollen, then I slowly sat up and wiped away my tears. Not now It's time to fall. I opened my laptop and logged into mine and Chu Khai's joint financial account. This account is created after marriage registration. Every month, the two of us transfer an amount to use for installment payments and as a reserve fund. The password is his date of birth plus my date of birth. During the few seconds I waited for the website to load, my heart felt like it was hanging in my throat. I had a premonition of something bad. But when the number appeared— My chest still felt like someone had punched me hard. Account balance: 0.00 That cold zero, like a black hole, poked fun at my naivety. Hands shaking, I opened the transaction details. May 3, transferred 5 thousand, note: temporary rotation. May 15, transfer 3 thousand, note: you need it urgently. June 1, transferred 80,000, notes: deposit to buy car... While I was pregnant, because of a few hundred yuan of wages, I had to bargain with the construction team. While I'm frugal, I can't afford to buy even a decent maternity outfit.