Chapter 1 — Two Million Yuan Ends Eight Years of Marriage

In the middle of the night, my phone vibrated, the screen lit up with a transfer notification from the bank, the amount of 2,000,000 yuan, and in the blink of an eye, my account returned to zero. The transferor was my husband, the recipient was his sister. I asked him, and he answered with a calm expression, even with a hint of righteousness.

“My sister needs money to save her life, I'm the older brother, I can't help but worry.”

Looking at his dignified appearance as if I were doing something big, I didn't argue or make a fuss. I just quietly held the phone and finished the things that I had been hesitant to do for many years. When he returned home, the only thing waiting for him on the table was a signed agreement. In the middle of the night, my phone vibrated slightly, the screen lit up, and a transfer notice from the bank appeared. Amount transferred: 2,000,000 yuan. Remaining balance: 0.32 yuan. My breathing stopped for a second. That is the joint account of me and Chu Van Bac, all of our accumulation over the years is in there. I opened the details, my eyes stopped at the recipient section, where a familiar name appeared. Chu Van Ky. My husband's sister. My heart felt like it was being squeezed by a cold hand, squeezing little by little, making my whole body cold from the inside out. I picked up the phone and walked into the office. Chu Van Bac was wearing headphones, intently playing the game, the light from the screen reflected on his excited face. I pulled out his headphone cord. The deafening sound of the game immediately filled the room. He was startled and turned around to look at me with an annoyed expression.

"Kha Tinh, what are you doing? I'm about to win this game!"

I held the phone screen in front of him, the numbers on it looked like they were covered in blood. His eyes stopped on the screen, the discomfort on his face instantly froze. But he didn't feel guilty at all, he quickly regained his composure, and even had a matter-of-fact expression.

“I see.”

he said. My voice was so calm and flat that even I felt strange. He frowned, seemingly unfamiliar with my composure, as if I should have shouted a question.

"Van Ky's company has lost its cash flow and needs this money urgently to save its life."

“That's all our money.” I repeat.

“I know.” His voice became tough, "But that's my biological sister! She's about to go bankrupt, you're the older brother, shouldn't you worry?"

“So, you don't think about having a word with me?”

"What's the use of discussing it with me? I definitely won't agree."

He looked at me, with a look of judgment and contempt in his eyes that I was so used to.

“Kha Tinh, I know you have opinions about my family, but you can't be that selfish.”

"If Van Ky collapses, what should my parents do? What face do I have left?"

"This is life-saving money. It's such a big deal. I don't have time to argue with you."

He stood up, looking down at me from above, his tone full of the feeling of standing above reason.

“We are husband and wife, my money is yours, so isn't your money also mine?”

“It's only natural that you use our money to save your sister.”

After speaking, he looked at me, as if waiting for me to refute, waiting for me to cry and make a mess. I just quietly looked at the man Been in love for eight years. The face is still the same face, but in my eyes it is strange and scary. Over the past years, each story flashed through my mind as quickly as a rewind movie. His mother-in-law said she wanted to fix the house in the countryside, but without saying a word, he immediately transferred 200,000 yuan. His sister said she wanted to buy a car, so he secretly gave her 100,000 yuan. When people are close to him, as long as he opens his mouth, he has never refused. What about me? My mother was hospitalized, I wanted 50,000 yuan, he argued with me for three days, saying his family had no obligations. My younger brother got married and bought a house. I used my pre-marital savings to make up 100,000 yuan. When he found out, he scolded me for favoring my maternal family, and the cold war lasted for a month. He said, since I married him, I was a member of the Chu family and had to think wholeheartedly for his family. I was stupid for eight years. Looking at his face full of righteousness, I suddenly burst out laughing, laughing so much that tears almost came out. It turns out, it only takes a moment to die for the heart. I said, just one word. Chu Van Bac was stunned, clearly not expecting me to react like that.

“What… do you mean?”

"Nothing." I put the phone away, the smile on my face disappeared, "You're right, there should be no distinction between husband and wife's money."

My calmness made him start to feel uneasy.

"Kha Tinh, don't talk like that. I tell you, this money is to save people, don't do anything."

“What tricks can I play?”

I turned around and walked towards the bedroom.

“I'm tired, go to sleep first.”

Behind me, Chu Van Bac looked at me for a long time with suspicious eyes, then finally put his headphones back on and continued to immerse himself in his gaming world. He thought, this is over. I will still be patient as before. Returning to the room, I closed the door, separating him from the outside. I didn't turn on the light, just sat quietly in the dark for a long time. Until the cold moonlight outside the window fell on me. I took out another phone and turned it on. The light from the screen shined on my cold face. Eight years of marriage, 2,000,000 yuan of savings, he gave me zero. Then, I should also help him recalculate clearly. I don't cry. There wasn't even a bit of anger. My heart is as calm as a dead puddle. It turns out that the saying "the greatest sadness is a dead heart" is indeed not wrong. I opened the laptop, plugged it in, and the screen light in the dark room became strangely dazzling. The first thing I did was log in to Chu Van Bac's credit card account. The password was still his date of birth, so simple that he never thought to be on guard against me. Under his name there are three credit cards, with a total limit of about 500,000 yuan, all of which have been managed by me over the years, and have never been late even once. I opened online consumer platforms, started withdrawing each limit, operating so fluently that it was almost unconscious, because before, when I helped his sister's company turn around capital, I did exactly the same. The only difference is that when the money was withdrawn, it went into her pocket, but now, it will go to a completely different place. 500,000 yuan, not a penny missing, I transferred all into a savings account that I had prepared a long time ago. That card was opened with the information of a distant relative who passed away when I was in college, and it lay silently all the time. Many years, just waiting for this right moment. Once finished, I logged out of my account, erasing all traces of my login, leaving no loopholes. Next is the car loan. The car in the house is a BMW I used his information to log into the car loan platform, chose to pay in full at once, then immediately opened a used car trading page and listed the car for sale. I don't charge a high price, but lower it by 50,000 yuan than the market, because I know that a buyer will contact me very quickly. This car must turn into cash before he even realizes it, then disappear as cleanly as if it never existed. Then comes my money. My salary card, investments, and the money my parents secretly gave me alone, totaled about 1,200,000 yuan. Over the past years, I have lived frugally. I could not bear to buy even an item worth more than a thousand yuan, just because Chu Van Bac always said to save for the small family, for the future of the children. Now that I think about it, it's really funny. I did not hesitate, divided the entire amount, transferred it through many different channels to that safe account. Looking at each number in my account gradually going to 0, I have no regrets. That was originally a retreat that I should have kept for myself a long time ago. It's just that I woke up too late. In the office, the sound of Chu Van Bac's game still echoed continuously, sometimes mixed with the sound of him shouting excitedly. He was probably thinking that I was lying in my room crying silently, swallowing all my frustrations. He would never know, in just one short hour, his world began to crumble little by little. By the time I finished it all, it was three in the morning. I opened a text file and started drafting an agreement. The title is “Divorce Agreement.” I didn't hire a lawyer, because the terms were very simple. I, Kha Tinh, voluntarily give up all of our common property. House, car, savings, I didn't take a penny. I have only one request. The right to raise Chu Niem's son must belong to me.