Chapter 9 — Three-Year Savings Book and Fraudulent Marriage

Three o'clock the next afternoon. The meeting place is a tea shop on the second floor. Private room. Phuong Vien is thinner than in the photo. She was wearing a black turtleneck sweater. Makeup is very light. Dark circles under the eyes are especially obvious.

“I'm here.”

She stood up. Don't show your hand. I also have no intention of shaking hands. Sit down.

“I'm listening.”

Phuong Vien poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards me.

“Ms. Tri Y.”

“First I want to make one thing clear.”

"There has never been a male-female relationship between me and Chu Thuy."

“What about the posts on your circle of friends?”

“He told me to post it.”

My finger stopped.

“What do you mean?”

Phuong Vien bowed her head. Both hands clasped the cup of tea.

“Previously I worked as a loan officer at that loan company.”

“When Chu Thuy came to borrow money, the person who welcomed him was me.”

“Then he said he would recommend me a better job.”

“Then put me in his company.”

“So you owe him a favor?”

“It's not just a favor.”

Phuong Vien raised her head to look at me.

“Ms. Tri Y.”

“That lending company is not clean.”

“The actual interest rate is three times higher than what is stated in the contract.”

“Chu Thuy knows this very well.”

“He used that to threaten you?”

“If I don't cooperate with him.”

“He will denounce the whole thing.”

“And pulled me into the water too.”

I looked straight into her eyes.

“What did he ask you to cooperate with?”

Phuong Vien's fingers tightened around the teacup.

“He told me to post on his friends circle, told me to go out to eat with him and take pictures, and told me to appear very close to him in front of my colleagues.”

“But he has never let me have personal contact with you.”

"He said he did this so that in the future, if she took the initiative to ask for a divorce, he could turn around and say she was 'following the wind and guessing the rain' and 'fabricating evidence'."

“Because those posts don't have any substance.”

“No holding hands, no kissing, no rental records.”

"That's right."

I leaned back in the chair. Not adultery. It's a meticulously arranged fake affair. The purpose is not to have fun. It's to control the initiative in divorce. If I bring those so-called "evidence of adultery" to court, Chu Thuy can completely deny it. There is no hard evidence. Once the court thinks that my evidence is not enough, on the contrary, I may fall into a passive position when dividing divorce assets.

“Why would he do that?”

Phuong Vien smiled bitterly.

"Because Trieu Phuong told him, if you want a divorce, you have to find a way to hold your leg back."

“Pull until the other 1,500,000 yuan term deposit matures.”

My nails dug deep into my palms.

“What happens after maturity?”

"Trieu Phuong said a sentence, verbatim: 'When the money matures, that amount will become a joint deposit between husband and wife. Even if they divorce, they still have to divide it in half.'"

At that moment, all the strings in my head tightened at the same time. I finally understand. From the beginning, they prepared two options. The first option: after registering the marriage, withdraw money directly. The second option: keep me from getting a divorce for three years, wait for the term deposit to mature, then use the name "spousal property" to divide half of it. That's why Chu Thuy said he did not agree to divorce. It's not because you can't bear to leave me. But is for 750,000 yuan. Phuong Vien looked at me.

“Miss Lam, I have said everything I should say.”

“I know I'm not a nice person.”

“But I don't want to continue being his tool.”

“You came to see me today, does he know?”

"Don't know."

“If he knew, how would he deal with you?”

“That's my problem.”

I stood up and looked at her.

“Thank you.”

She shook her head.

“No need to thank me.”

“I just... don't want to owe anyone anymore.”

I left the tea shop and stood on the side of the road. The sunlight shines on my face, a bit dazzling. They calculated very carefully. Trieu Phuong calculated. Chu Thuy calculated. Even Phuong Vien was included in their chess game. But they forgot to count one thing. I'm not an ordinary accountant with a monthly salary of eight thousand yuan. I am someone who can read and understand an asset restructuring plan worth 80 million yuan. Your chess board is too small. Leaving the tea shop, I called Tran Kien Minh.

“Revise the divorce agreement.”

“How to fix it?”

"Trieu Phuong's side is aiming for after the 1,500,000 yuan term deposit matures, they will use the name of marital property to divide."

“Help me confirm something.”

"Personal property before marriage generates interest after marriage. Is it considered personal property or common property?"

Tran Kien Minh burst out laughing.

“Tri Y, you come from the finance industry, you know this better than me.”

“The natural increase in value of personal property before marriage is not part of community property.”

“Interest on bank deposits belongs to the natural increase in value.”

"I know."

“But I need an official legal opinion, in black and white.”

“When is it needed?”

“Before Wednesday.”