Chapter 1: The ‘Dowry of Eighteen’ Took the Life of My Entire Family
"Qiao Xing, you should understand my situation. My parents are merely ordinary farmers, saving money to buy a house isn't easy for them. You shouldn't cling to whose name is written on the deed. After we're married, won't the house belong to us?"
Qiao Xing sat on a park bench, listening to Lin Yu's incessant pleading, not uttering a word.
They had been dating for two years. This year, Lin Yu turned 29, and his parents were anxious about his marital status. Therefore, they've been discussing marriage matters lately.
However, they didn't anticipate that conflicts would arise when it came to the house and the dowry negotiations.
"Qiao Xing…"
Qiao Xing raised her head to interrupt him. "Lin Yu, why should we put your father's name on the deed when I also contributed two hundred thousand? Even if it were your name, it would be better. Are you planning on a divorce even before we get married?"
Lin Yu was stunned, and hurriedly tried to explain. "How could you think like that? Does it matter whose name is on the deed? As long as we live together peacefully, it's fine. They emptied their life savings to buy this house, they just want some peace of mind. Why do you insist on making an issue with the elderly?"
Qiao Xing felt amused. She looked at Lin Yu, "So they have peace of mind, what about me? Where do I stand in your eyes? Your entire family only contributed three hundred thousand, and I alone provided two hundred thousand. With their name on the deed and a mortgage to pay after the wedding, who will be responsible?"
"No, why are you comparing to them? Is it the same thing? Besides, where would they get the money to pay the mortgage? You don't have to worry about that, I'll handle it. You just need to focus on taking care of your parents."
"Am I just expected to serve your entire family as a dutiful wife? Lin Yu, how didn't I realize you were so calculating? You claimed not to have the means to provide a dowry because of the house purchase. I humbly asked for only eighteen thousand as a token, yet you said it would cost your entire family their lives, bargaining me down to eight thousand eight hundred. Because we've been together for two years, I bore it."
"When the down payment is insufficient, I dig into my savings to purchase the house. Now you insist that we inscribe your father's name on the deed and that they move in with us after marriage. You expect me to quit my job and take care of them."
Speaking to this point, Qiao Xing couldn't help but smirk self-deprecatingly, "So it seems I spent all my savings to find myself a full-time nanny?"
She felt that she was truly blind back then. Because of some small kindness from Lin Yu, she felt that he was a reliable man.
Only now did she know that to Lin Yu, time was the lowest cost, and he spent plenty of it studying her hobbies, paying attention to all her details, and being attentive to win her heart.
However, as soon as their interests became entangled, he showed his true colors. Qiao Xing felt as if she had been pricked by a needle, the searing pain causing her to almost gasp for air.
Since she left his house, her mind had been in a daze, but at this moment as the wind blew past, she finally woke up.
Lin Yu was still trying to persuade her, gripping Qiao Xing's hand tightly and said, "Xingxing, don't say that, we will get better and better. I am about to get a promotion soon, and in the future I will earn money to support you. I like you, I genuinely want to marry you, I've always been striving for you."
Qiao Xing pulled her hand back and suddenly stood up, "Wasn't I genuinely wanting to marry you too?"
"But you still...."
Before Lin Yu could finish, Qiao Xing interjected, "But not anymore, we aren't getting married, and there won't be a future for us. Don't say you're doing everything for me, without me, wouldn't you strive too? Wouldn't you still earn money?"
Qiao Xing took out her phone, opened WeChat, and transferred 8,800 yuan to Lin Yu, "Here's your dowry money back. The 200,000 yuan for the house, give it back to me. Let's break up."
Lin Yu was dumbstruck, he looked at Qiao Xing in bewilderment, "Are you serious? We've been together for two years, and you want to break up with me just because of the house? How did you become so materialistic?"
His words were another stab in Qiao Xing's heart. She choked back her tears and said word by word: "Yes, indeed I am materialistic. I give you one month to return my money, or else I'll see you in court."
Suppressing her emotions, she turned and left; she didn’t want to spend another second with Lin Yu.
However, Lin Yu chased after her, grabbing her arm and preventing her from leaving, "The house is already bought, where am I going to get money to give you, can you just don't be like this?"
"This is your problem, figure it out by yourself. We've already broken up," Qiao Xing said, once again freeing herself and walked out of the park without looking back.
Lin Yu, still unwilling to give up, chased her again, But Qiao Xing simply hailed a taxi at the side of the road and left him behind.
As Lin Yu watched the departing taxi, the warmth on his face vanished in an instant, replaced by anger that distorted his features somewhat.
It's not that he can't let go of Qiao Xing. He wasn't so much in love with her, rather, she was just cheap. Other women demanded a dowry in the hundreds of thousands, only she didn't ask for one and was even willing to provide him money to buy a house.
She's quite beautiful, several years younger than him, and doesn't spend money frivolously. Where could you find such a woman these days?
If Qiao Xing knew his current way of thinking, her disappointment would only deepen further. But at present, everything his family has done is enough to leave Qiao Xing demoralized.
That two hundred thousand, half of it was given to her by her grandmother, the other hundred thousand was the money she saved from scrimping and saving over the years. Unexpectedly, while she was wholeheartedly planning for the future, Lin Yu was racking his brains to count her.
Qiao Xing closed her eyes, no longer thinking about all these messy things.
On her way home, she bought some fruits to visit Old Man Qin next door.
Old Man Qin is an elderly person living alone, his children are all abroad. In the past when her grandmother was still alive, he often visited Qiao Xing's house, bringing any good things he had to her house and treating Qiao Xing very well.
Now that her grandmother is no longer around, the old man barely comes out, it's Qiao Xing who visits him every now and then.
Arriving at the destination, Qiao Xing got off the car with the fruits and headed straight to Old Man Qin's house.
This neighborhood is old and there are no elevators. The buildings only have six floors and Old Man Qin lives on the second floor.
She knocked at the door, and after more than a minute, Old Man Qin opened the door a crack. Upon seeing Qiao Xing, he instantly had a wide smile on his face and opened the door wide.
"Xing Xing's here?" The old man leaning on a cane, made way for Qiao Xing, "Come in quickly."
Qiao Xing nodded with a smile, "You mentioned a few days ago that there was a water leakage in your bathroom. I happened to be free today, so I came to check it out."
She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, hearing the gushing sound of water from the bathroom. Was the leakage this severe?
However, after a few seconds, the sound of water stopped.
But what caught Qiao Xing's attention even more was the girl in the living room. In her early twenties, with curly hair, elaborate makeup, and a fashionable outfit.
"Grandfather Qin, do you have guests in your house?" Qiao Xing was rather hesitant to proceed further inside.
Before Grandfather Qin could turn around and respond, the woman surprisingly spoke first, "I'll be leaving soon, Mr. Qin, to not hold up our time, I will just get straight to the point."
She looked around the house with an air of contempt, "Your grandson doesn't even have a house. Are you expecting a whole family to squeeze into such a shabby place once he's married? If you want me to marry him, he must have a four-bedroom and one-living room apartment downtown, in addition, a betrothal gift of 880,000 RMB. Only if these requirements are met will we further discuss."
Her blunt words drew an unpleasant look on Grandfather Qin's face.
"Miss Wu..."
Before Grandfather Qin could finish speaking, a rich and magnetic voice came from the bathroom, "Miss Wu, it seems you might be mistaken, I didn't recall saying that I wanted to marry you."