Chapter 7 — Unfair Marriage

“Mom, you came today… what do you want to say?”

She paused, smiled wryly twice.

"Mom is here... you see, the two of you have been cold to each other for four months. Tu Tinh An comes home every day like a withered eggplant, I feel sad when I look at it."

"Husband and wife, don't be tense anymore."

"That debt repayment agreement... forget it. One family, not two families, let's forget the past."

I looked at her. Four months ago, on this same sofa, she said:

“What's yours is ours.”

Today, she brought two boxes of candy and delivered them, saying:

"People from one family don't talk about two families."

What has changed? Every month, Tu Tinh An has to pay me 2,400, but he can't pay her 2,000, plus rent and living expenses - the salary he can't bear. He couldn't stand it anymore. Therefore, Vu Phuong Anh just arrived. Not here to apologize. It's about "cutting losses".

"Mom, this agreement was voluntarily signed by Tu Tinh An. He owes me, so he must pay."

“This girl—”

I interrupted her.

“The so-called 'let go of old things' that mom talked about... what specifically are they?"

“Is Tu Tinh An taking advantage of me for the past three years, let it go?

Or is it that the last time my mother sat in my house and said, 'I'm marrying into the Tu family', let it go?" Vu Phuong Anh's face stiffened.

“It's a deposit of 150,000 yuan, let it go?

House repair money, let it go? Or is it the jade bracelet on my mother's hand - I paid for it, so I'll let it go?" She reflexively withdrew her hand into her sleeve.

“Qi Niem, I—”

"Mom, I'm not an unreasonable person. But reason must speak both ways."

“The money Tu Tinh An owes me, even a single penny is indispensable.”

"As for husband and wife... wait until he pays all the money, then we'll continue talking."

Vu Phuong Anh sat for a while longer, then left. The two tall boxes he delivered are still on the tea table. I don't touch it. The next day, Tu Tinh An returned and took it himself. In the sixth month of repaying the debt, Tu Tinh An actively sought me out to talk. Not the living room type of argument. It's about sitting at the dinner table and talking properly. In front of him is a glass of water, a piece of paper, and a pen. The layout is exactly the same as six months ago. But people... are completely different. Thinner, darker skin, clear dark circles under the eyes.

“Qi Niem, I want to talk to you kindly.”

I sat down. He bowed his head and unscrewed the pen cap for a long time.

“This half year… I thought a lot.”

“When you made a fuss about the card, I found you unreasonable.

Then you made a table and made an agreement, but I saw you were cold."

“But in the past six months, every time I transferred money to you, opened my phone, entered 2400, confirmed…”

“At that moment, I thought about… how I treated you in the past three years.”

His voice was a bit hoarse.

"When I was calculating the electricity and water bills with you every cent, my mother called and said she was short of money. I didn't think she would transfer it right away."

“My mother was hospitalized, I borrowed 5,000 yuan from you, but you forced me to write a loan note.”

"I forgot your sister's birthday, and for my mother's birthday, I prepared a gift a week in advance."

He put down his pen.

"You don't know. You know everything."

"It's just... I thought you wouldn't leave. I thought you would always hold back."

“I'm used to relying on that.”

Speaking of this, he himself smiled bitterly. When I heard these words, a very complicated feeling arose in my heart. Not emotional. It's a kind of... belated confirmation. It's not like he doesn't know what he's doing. He knows. Just rely on concessions My tolerance, little by little... erodes the fairness in this marriage.

“Tu Tinh An, you say these words now… is it because I forced you to pay, or is it because you really think it through?”

He raised his head.

"At first it was because of money. Then... it was because of fear."

“Afraid of what?”