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墨書 Inktalez
It was only when I went to pay the rent that I realized there was very little money left in my bank account. No wonder every time I asked Zhou Yan how much she had in her card, she always hesitated. It turned out she had taken that money home with her.
A surge of unnameable anger flared up in my mind. I took a deep breath, trying hard to calm myself down. I had endured enough over the years.
When Zhou Yan and I got married, it was her parents who prepared the house for us. In my opinion, we should have rented a place first. After all, Zhou Yan was an only child, and moving in meant I would be seen as an outsider. However, Zhou Yan disagreed, and her parents insisted we stay.
"You two just got married; how can you afford to rent?"
"Our home is spacious enough for you."
"Just stay here and save some money; you can buy your own house later."
The result of moving in was that I would forever be seen as inferior, labeled as an outsider for life.
I didn’t agree with the term "outsider." Although I did live in my wife's family home, "outsider" should be akin to "marriage into the family." The term "marriage into the family" means a man moves into his wife's home after marriage and takes on her surname.
I neither changed my surname nor received any bride price. Therefore, I did not consider myself an outsider. But others did not see it that way.
My parents were honest and simple small business owners, waking up early and working hard every day. To prepare a wedding house for me, they took out all their savings. However, Zhou Yan disagreed with renting a place, let alone buying one.
"Our house is spacious; we can just live at home," she insisted. "It's lively here; living outside would be too lonely."
"Besides, renting a place costs money. Why spend that?" her parents chimed in.
"Exactly, just stay at home comfortably," they added. "You young folks earn little and don’t know how to manage money; you’ll just waste it."
"We'll help you save money. Once you have kids, you'll need it."
I glanced at Zhou Yan, who seemed indifferent to the discussion.
"How about this," I proposed, "we stay here for a few years, and when we have more money, we can move out."
Zhou Yan's parents exchanged smiles. "Sure, sure, we'll talk about it later."
However, when I brought it up again a couple of times, Zhou Yan flatly refused.
"Doesn't renting cost money?"
"We're doing fine here; why must we move out?"
"It's close to your workplace too, saving you the hassle of commuting."
"If you want to move, you can do it yourself. The child and I are fine living here."
Her last statement sent a chill through me.
Child?
Where did the child come from?
Fei Fei was conceived in the third year after our marriage.
Before that, we had been unable to conceive. I had undergone tests, and I had no issues.
The problem should be with Zhou Yan.
However, she was unwilling to get checked.
"My health is so good; how could it possibly be me?"
"Are you implying that it's me who has the problem?"
She pointed at me, "If you think I'm not good enough, go find someone else!"
I sighed.
Such matters cannot be forced.
Since she was unwilling, I let it go.
After all, we were still young; waiting a couple more years was no big deal.
I never expected that while she couldn't conceive, her mother would end up pregnant.
Yang Fengping was nearly 50 years old.
With a shy expression, she told me and Zhou Yan, "I'm going to be a mom."
I was shocked at that moment.
I thought I must have misheard.
But seeing Zhou Yan's expression, I knew it was true.
"You're going to be a mom?"
Zhou Yan's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yes."
Yang Fengping touched her belly and said, "I'm going to be a mom."
"You..."
Zhou Yan opened his mouth but couldn't find the words to respond.
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