Chapter 5 — This House, I Will Not Give Up

"So what? What does it have to do with the money we use at home?"

“The problem lies in those four words 'your money'.” Chu Khai's voice was low, "It's a joint property between husband and wife, understand? The house hasn't even started paying installments yet, the money in the account has already been withdrawn by you. She saw the statement, immediately found a lawyer, and took the evidence to report, saying that you intentionally dispersed the assets."

“Scattered what?” Chu Kien Quoc was not satisfied, "After getting married, isn't he from the Chu family? The money is all from the Chu family."

“The law doesn't see it that way.” Chu Khai's voice was cold, "Her lawyer said that the red book is in her name, and the money is mainly transferred by her every month. Your side is just the salary, looking at it, you know which side is the loser."

"Currently, she has asked for property preservation measures, and the court has agreed. As long as the case is not over, no one can touch this house."

In the hallway, even Hao Hao's normally smooth face stiffened. Chu Diem's just-finished makeup looked like someone had splashed water on her, her eyeshadow smudged into a patch.

“I… what about your baby?” Her voice tightened, "The baby in my belly, do I have to follow you to rent a house? Didn't you say that as long as the house is in your name, I can live wherever I want?"

“You never said the house was in your name.” Chu Khai was extremely frustrated, "You guys only listen to what you want to hear."

“So what about the wedding house I promised you?” Chu Diem almost shouted, "I said this house was prepared for you."

“Preparation is one thing, ownership is another.” Chu Khai tried to suppress his anger, "It's okay now, she directly put the knife on your neck."

When Chu Kien Quoc heard this, he suddenly stopped speaking. His entire body leaned against the hallway wall, as if his spine had been stripped out.

“Khai…” After a while, he spoke up, his voice hoarse, “Tell me the truth, besides this house, what else is involved outside?”

The other end of the line was silent for a moment.

“Dad, do you remember ‘Van Tuc Tieu Truc’?” Chu Khai finally said that name.

“It's the homestay Hao Hao and his group opened on Tay Ho.”

Hao Hao was startled, his feet unconsciously tightened in his shoes.

“What about homestay?” He tried to force a smile, "The procedures are complete, it's just a little lacking in capital."

"So lacking that we have to ask relatives and friends to contribute money and promise high interest rates?" Chu Khai's voice was cold, "The police came to me because 'Van Tuc Tieu Truc' was suspected of having signs of illegally raising capital. There was a large amount of money in there, which I borrowed as mortgage for this house."

Zhou Kien Quoc's eyes were dark.

“You… you mortgaged the house?” He seemed to have just grasped the key point, "When did you get a mortgage?"

“Late last year.” Chu Khai said, "At that time, Hao Hao called me out for a drink, saying that the project was about to be listed on the hot platform's homepage. There was only one last payment missing. Once the turnaround was completed, it would be paid immediately."

"I thought this house was something I paid to fix anyway, To Niem's side didn't spend much, so I temporarily took it for a spin. She was pregnant at that time, I didn't say anything clearly."

Chu Kien Quoc hugged his chest and breathed heavily. Chu Diem's face turned pale, he held Hao Hao's hand tightly and did not let go.

“So… this time the police are looking for you because of that money?” her voice was dry.

“Just a part.” Chu Khai laughed dryly, "The important thing is that 'Van Tuc Tieu Truc''s books are not clean, money goes in and out too fast. Canh Suspected that Hao Hao's group had signs of gathering money and running away, followed them to me."

"My side just checked and discovered that I transferred the marital property and transferred it to Chu Diem's account. To Niem's side also filed a complaint. With so many things overlapping, who still considers me innocent?

“Is everyone satisfied now?”

Chu Khai's voice on the other end of the line finally couldn't help but explode. The hallway was so quiet that you could hear every pin drop. No one said anything. Chu Diem's eyes were red and his lips were trembling.

“I… so what should I do?” she choked, "I'm about to give birth, the baby doesn't even have a place to live."

“You ask me, who do I ask?” Chu Khai's voice turned cold, "When you took the money to open the homestay, why didn't you think about this in advance?"

“I know it's awkward for you too.” he paused, then as if saying to Zhou Jianguo, “But now is not the time to blame.”

“Dad, first take Chu Diem and Hao Hao to find another place to live. Don't touch this house again. The court is already sealed, if you still try to barge in, you'll be getting yourself into trouble."

“Wait until I finish meeting with the lawyer, then consider further.”

“To Niem's lawyer... is his uncle, right?” Chu Kien Quoc seemed to suddenly remember something, his eyes darkened.

"The person she invited you to is Truong Cuong, my side is looking for someone else." Chu Khai replied, "Dad, absolutely don't call and scold her. The more you make a fuss, the more disadvantageous it will be for me."

“Okay, I have to go.”

It seemed like someone was calling from the other side, his voice was low.

“Dad, just like that. Everyone, stop standing at the door, be careful of people taking pictures and posting them online."

The call ended.

“Clack” a soft sound rang out, as if something broke in the air.

The set of keys in Chu Kien Quoc's hand fell to the tile floor. The cold piece of metal rolled twice, stopping right under the sealed decision.

“Dad…” Chu Diem called softly.

“Just shut up for me.” Chu Kien Quoc suddenly raised his hand to stop him, "Everyone shut up."

He raised his head, his eyes gloomy.

“This… isn't over yet.”

After speaking, he turned around and went straight to press the elevator. In the hallway, there was only the tightly closed anti-theft door left, and two white sheets of paper stuck on it, lying there silently like a cold statement. Everything happened at that time, I was sitting in the living room of his house in Chengdu. Outside the window, the afternoon sunlight shines in at an angle, making the wooden floor glow with a layer of golden light. On the tea table were several sets of printed documents, the corners of the paper I pressed until they were slightly bent. Truong Cuong wore gold-rimmed glasses, flipping through each page of the file in his hand, reading it very carefully. He is my mother's younger brother. He has worked as a marriage and family lawyer in Chengdu for more than ten years and has witnessed too many scenes of husband and wife turning on each other.

“To Niem, when you bought the house before, the source of the money was said to be paid by your parents, right?” he looked up and asked.

“Yes.” I nodded, "Your parents give you all the deposit, then you pay the loan yourself."

“In the loan contract, is the person in whose name the loan is your child?”

"Correct." I took the contract from the file bag and gave it to him, "Chu Khai did not sign anything."

After Truong Cuong finished watching, the corner of his mouth showed a hint of satisfaction.

“So the nature of this house is very clear.” He gathered the documents together, "Before the marriage, I paid the deposit, after the marriage I paid the debt myself, on the red book there is only my name, legally it is determined. It is the child's private property and has more advantages than a house purchased during marriage."

"So the fact that he arbitrarily mortgaged the house..." I unconsciously put my hand on my stomach, "is it considered a violation of the law?"

“Must see specific documents.” He picked up another copy, which was the real estate mortgage contract I had just obtained from the bank.

Two days ago, following your instructions, I personally flew back to Hangzhou to go to the bank to check in. At first, the bank staff refused, saying it was related to customer privacy and it was inconvenient to provide it to a third party. It wasn't until I presented the marriage certificate and red book, proving that I was the owner, and the other party called to verify many times, that he reluctantly agreed to give me copies.