Chapter 3 — Three Keys, One Broken Marriage

Trieu Quoc Cuong did not wait for me to finish speaking before interrupting.

"The water is strong, how comfortable it is to bathe. Both of us work during the day, so the house is empty. It's a waste. Dao Dao and the others come over to take a bath tonight, so what's wrong with it?"

"That's right."

Liu Que Lan immediately chimed in.

“It's such a small thing, it also helps them save money on electricity and water.”

I gently put down my chopsticks.

“Dad, mom… isn't that very appropriate?”

“What is inappropriate?”

Trieu Quoc Cuong looked straight at me.

“If you're from the same family, you're still so polite?”

“That's right, sister-in-law.”

Dao Dao couldn't help but interject, her voice full of sarcasm.

"You're not that petty, are you? Just taking a shower, I don't use much water."

Luong Hao finally raised his head and smiled.

“If my sister-in-law regrets paying for electricity and water, we can pay according to the meter.”

The fire in my chest immediately flared up.

“What I pay attention to is not the electricity and water bills.”

“So what do you pay attention to?”

Dao Dao immediately asked back.

“I care about privacy.”

I say every word clearly.

“It's mine and Trieu Vu's house, not a public bathroom.”

The sound on the dining table immediately disappeared. Trieu Quoc Cuong's face slowly darkened. Dao Dao pouted and muttered a sentence in a low voice:

“Really colored.”

The voice is not loud. But enough for everyone to hear clearly. Trieu Vu suddenly stood up.

“Tham Thanh, stop it!”

He glared at me, his eyes full of blame.

“Dao Dao, they just came to take a bath, so what?”

"We're all one family, what do you plan to do?"

“If it spreads out, people will laugh at our family for having a petty sister-in-law, without any generosity!”

There is no generosity. Those three words hit my ears again. I looked at Trieu Vu, looking at his angry but somewhat fierce face. Suddenly it felt ridiculous.

“Trieu Vu.”

I slowly stood up.

“In your eyes, me protecting my family is petty.”

“I don't want others to freely enter and leave our house without being generous.”

“So tell me…”

“What is called generosity?”

"Welcoming your parents to live with us, is that considered generous?"

“And then welcoming your sister and brother-in-law to live with you, is that considered generous?”

“Or we can definitely turn this house into a public hotel for the Trieu family…”

“Do you call it generosity?”

“Tham Thanh!”

Trieu Vu shouted loudly.

“Stop it!”

Trieu Quoc Cuong slammed on the table, the bowl and chopsticks rattled. He pointed straight at me, his fingertips shaking with anger.

“Tham Thanh, today I will speak frankly!”

"This family has the surname Trieu! It's not yet the turn of an outsider like you to stand here and point five fingers!"

"Dao Dao, they want to come and bathe, they want to come and stay, they can do it all! If you don't want to, you have to endure it!"

“If you can't stand it, get out!”

That word "get out" was like a cold knife, stabbing straight into my heart. I looked at Trieu Quoc Cuong's red face from anger. Look at the proud look on Dao Dao's face. Look at Luong Hao's gloating eyes watching the funny show. My eyes stopped on Trieu Vu. He stood there, his lips moving slightly, but in the end he still couldn't say a word. Even deliberately avoiding my eyes. I laughed. Laughing so much that tears silently slid down my cheeks. I spoke up.

“Now I understand.”

I picked up my bag and walked straight out the door.

“Thanh Thanh!”

Trieu Vu called out from behind. But I didn't stop walking. Not even turning around to look back once. I walked out of my husband's parents' house, went into the elevator, and pressed the first floor button. The elevator slowly went down. In the mirror, my pale face and red, swollen eyes were reflected. I suddenly remembered what my mother said before I got married.

"Thanh Thanh, Trieu Vu is really not bad... but that family of his... if you marry there, I'm afraid you will suffer a lot of self-pity."

At that time I didn't care. I just think Trieu Vu truly loves me, that's enough. Only today do I understand... My mother never exaggerates. Marriage has never been just about two people. It's two families tied together. From the beginning, the Trieu family was never considered a real family. What they valued was the 600,000 yuan down payment I paid. It's my income. Is my ability to repay the loan on time. As for myself… My feelings… My self-esteem… Not worth anything. The elevator door opens. I walked out. The sun outside is beautiful. But my whole body was so cold that I was shaking. The phone suddenly rang. It was Trieu Vu calling. I don't answer the phone. The bell rang over and over again. Finally he sent a WeChat message.

“Thanh Thanh, you go home first, let's talk properly.”

"Dad was just angry so he said that, don't take it to heart."

"I'll tell my dad about the key, and I'll definitely not let them come in and out arbitrarily anymore."

I looked at those words for a long time. Still no answer in the end. I stood on the side of the road and called a taxi, giving the company address. Today is Saturday, the office is empty. I sat back at my work place, staring at the computer screen in a daze. I don't know how long it took, the phone rang again. This time it's my mother.