Chapter 7 — You demand justice, I'll show you what justice is

"I have never cheated. You have never asked me what I do. You just looked at the number on your salary card and concluded for yourself - my wife earns 20,000 yuan, which is not worth your 60,000 yuan."

"Let me finish. Two years ago, Tan Duyet chose to cooperate with Han Vu. Why do you think he chose you guys? It's not because your plan is good. It's because my husband works there, I want to help him get more achievements."

His pupils shrunk.

“What did you say?”

"The ladder that helped you get promoted and increase your salary... was put down by me."

His face turned even whiter.

“The stopping of cooperation… was also my—”

"Yes. The day you suggested dividing it in half, I stopped."

He stood there, as if his spine had been pulled out.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because I want to see… how long a person with a salary of 60,000 yuan, under the rule of ‘fairness’, can last.”

He opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. At that moment, a voice rang out next to me.

“General Lam!”

A middle-aged man wearing a gray suit walked quickly over. Tran Hao recognized him. That is general manager Han Vu - Zhou Kien Hoa. His superior's superior.

“General Chu.” I nodded slightly.

"President Lam, about the temporary suspension of cooperation, this time I personally came to discuss with you. Han Vu's side has carried out a comprehensive reform, this is a new plan—"

He brought out the documents, his attitude was so respectful that it was unbelievable. Tran Hao stood next to him. His superior's superior… was bowing before his wife. By this time, at least twenty people in the hall had seen this scene. Chu Kien Hoa noticed Tran Hao and turned to look at him.

"Oh? Tran Hao, are you here too? Do you know Mr. Lam?"

Tran Hao's throat moved slightly. He looked at me. I looked back at him. The lights, the noise, all receded. There was only a gap between us... so clear it was cold.

“President Lam—” Zhou Jianhua was still waiting for an answer.

Tran Hao's lips finally moved. He said:

“She is my wife.”

Zhou Jianhua was stunned. The whole body felt like it had acupuncture points. Three seconds later, he turned to look at me, wanting confirmation. I held the glass of water and gently nodded.

"Yes. But this has nothing to do with the temporary suspension of cooperation. President Chu, please leave the documents at the reception, I will have them appraised next week."

Chu Kien Hoa opened his mouth, looked at me and then looked at Tran Hao. In his head, he was probably piecing together the entire relationship. Reacting very quickly, he immediately smiled.

"Okay, okay, then I won't bother you two anymore. President Lam, I'll invite you to dinner another day."

As he passed by, he patted Tran Hao on the shoulder. That pat… had all sorts of meanings. Amazing. Exclamatory. And even things that don't need to be said. Tran Hao stood there, motionless.

“Now I know.” I put down the glass of water. “Anything else you want to ask?”

“You… how much money do you have?”

“Is that important?”

"Important."

"It's important to you. It's not important to me."

I picked up my bag.

"I'll go home first. You should go home early too. We'll talk properly tomorrow."

“What are we talking about?”

“It's a split story.”

I turned and left the hall. Behind him someone called his name, but he didn't respond. That night, Tran Hao came home very late. I finished showering and sat in the room reading a book. The door knocked twice. He stood outside.

“Can I come in?”

He closed the door and sat down on the edge of the bed. Silence for a long time.

“Three hundred million.” His voice hoarse.

“Three hundred and twenty million.”

“When did you open the company?”

“One year before getting married.”

"So when I married you... you were already the boss?"

“It can be understood that way.”

“Why didn't you tell me?”

"I don't hide it. In the three years of marriage, have you ever looked at my work phone? Have you ever looked through the documents in my office? Have you ever asked the question 'what do you really do during the day'?"

He doesn't. Not even once. He just looked at the five-digit number on my salary card.

"When you pursued me, you said your annual salary was 300,000 yuan, enough to support me. I didn't say anything. Later, when you increased your salary to 60,000 yuan a month, you began to feel terrible about yourself, that I wasn't worthy. The night you proposed to split it in half, the expression on your face... I remember it very clearly."

“What expression?”

“Up high, looking down.”

His hand tightened.

“I have never looked down on you.”

"You brought a family of seven into my house, then stood in front of the dining table and asked me 'why don't you cook rice' - isn't that disrespectful?"

He can't speak anymore.

"Tran Hao, when you suggested dividing it in half, you thought you were taking advantage. You had 60,000 yuan, I had 20,000 yuan, dividing it in half would save you more than 20,000 yuan each month. But you never counted one thing - this house is mine, you have never paid a penny of the loan. The food you eat, the electricity you use, the sofa you sit on, the bedsheets you sleep on... all of it is my money. Before dividing it in half, the person being raised... is... you.”

His hand loosened and then tightened again.