Chapter 1: An 18,000 yuan bride price cost my whole family their lives!
"Xingxing, please understand me. My parents are just ordinary farmers. It's not easy for them to save up enough money to buy a house. You don't need to be so fussy about whose name is on the property certificate. After we get married, won't we be the ones living in the house anyway?"
Qiao Xing sat on a park bench, listening to Lin Yu's endless persuasion without saying a word.
I've been dating Lin Yu for two years. Lin Yu is 29 this year, and his parents are anxious about his marriage, so they've been discussing marriage plans recently.
Unexpectedly, everything went smoothly until the conflict arose when it came to the house and the bride price.
"Star……"
Qiao Xing looked up and interrupted him, "Lin Yu, I also contributed 200,000 yuan to the house, why should it be in your father's name? It would be better if it were in your name as well. Does this mean that you're already planning to divorce before you're even married?"
Lin Yu was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly explained, "How can you think like that? What does it matter who's on the deed? As long as we live a good life, that's all that matters. Buying a house has emptied their savings of half their lives. All they want is peace of mind. Why are you arguing with the elderly?"
Qiao Xing found it somewhat amusing. She looked at Lin Yu and said, "They're relieved now, but what about me? What am I to you? Your whole family only contributed 300,000 yuan, and I only contributed 200,000 yuan. The property is in their names, and there's still a mortgage to pay after the wedding. Will they pay it?"
"No, why are you comparing yourself to them? How can they be the same? Besides, how can they afford to pay their mortgage? Don't worry about the mortgage, I'll pay it. You just stay home, be a good wife and mother, and take good care of your parents."
"Will I be a good wife and mother or a slave to you? Lin Yu, how come I never realized you were such a calculating person? You said you bought a house and didn't have money for a dowry, so I told you to give 18,000 as a token amount. You said 18,000 would kill your whole family, and you bargained me down to 8,800. I tolerated it for the sake of our two years of relationship."
“I was short of money for the down payment on the house, so I used all my savings to buy it. Now you want your dad’s name on the property certificate, and they want to move in with us. You want me to quit my job and stay home to take care of them.”
At this point, Qiao Xing couldn't help but curl a self-deprecating smile, "So, I used all my savings to hire myself a full-time nanny?"
She felt she had been blind to his true nature, because she thought Lin Yu was a reliable man because of his small acts of kindness towards her.
Now she realized that time was the least valuable resource for Lin Yu. He had plenty of time to study her preferences, pay attention to every detail about her, and be considerate of her in order to win her favor.
However, when it came to interests, he revealed his true colors. Qiao Xing felt as if she were being pricked by needles, and the dense pain made it hard for her to breathe.
She was in a daze when she left his house, but the wind finally brought her back to her senses.
Lin Yu was still trying his best to persuade her. He held Qiao Xing's hand and said, "Xingxing, don't say that. Things will get better and better for us. I'm about to get promoted. I'll earn money to support you from now on. I love you. I really want to marry you. I've always been working hard for you."
Qiao Xing broke free from his hand and stood up abruptly. "Don't I truly want to marry you?"
"Then why..."
Before Lin Yu could finish speaking, Qiao Xing added, "But it's not like that now. We won't get married, and there won't be a future. Don't say anything about it being for my sake. Even without me, would you not work hard? Would you not make money?"
Qiao Xing took out her phone, opened WeChat, and transferred 8,800 yuan to Lin Yu. "I've returned the bride price to you. Give me back the 200,000 yuan for the house. Let's break up."
Lin Yu froze, staring at Qiao Xing in astonishment. "Are you serious? We've been together for two years, and you want to break up with me just because of the house? How have you become so materialistic!"
His words stabbed Qiao Xing in the heart again. She held back her tears and said, word by word, "Yes, I am materialistic. I'll give you a month to return the money to me, or we'll see each other in court."
Qiao Xing suppressed her emotions, turned around and left. She didn't want to stay with Lin Yu for another second.
Lin Yu caught up with her, grabbing her arm and preventing her from leaving. "We've already bought the house, where am I supposed to find the money to give you? Please don't do this."
"That's your problem, you can handle it yourself. We've broken up now." Qiao Xing shook him off again and walked out of the park without looking back.
Lin Yu, still unwilling to give up, chased after her again, but Qiao Xing simply hailed a taxi on the roadside and left him behind.
As Lin Yu watched her taxi drive away, the warmth on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a fierce expression that made his features contorted with rage.
He truly couldn't bear to part with Qiao Xing. It wasn't that he loved her that much, but rather that she was cheap. Other women's dowries were hundreds of thousands of yuan, but she didn't ask for one and was even willing to use the money to buy him a house.
She's beautiful, several years younger than him, and doesn't waste money. Where can you find a woman like that these days?
If Qiao Xing knew what he was thinking now, he would be even more disappointed, but everything his family had done so far was enough to make Qiao Xing disheartened.
Half of that 200,000 yuan came from her grandmother, and the other 100,000 yuan was what she had saved up over the years through frugality. Little did she know that while she was wholeheartedly planning for the future, Lin Yu was racking his brains to scheme against her.
Qiao Xing closed her eyes, trying to stop thinking about those messy things.
On her way home, she bought some fruit to visit Grandpa Qin next door.
Grandpa Qin is an elderly man living alone. His children are all abroad. When his maternal grandmother was still alive, he often came to Qiao Xing's house to play. He would bring her any good things he could find and was very kind to Qiao Xing.
Now that Grandma is gone, Grandpa hardly ever comes out anymore; it's Qiao Xing who visits him every few days.
When Qiao Xing arrived at her destination, she got out of the car carrying fruit and headed straight for Grandpa Qin's house.
This is an old residential area without elevators, and the buildings are all only six stories high. Grandpa Qin lives on the second floor.
She knocked on the door and waited for a little over a minute. Grandpa Qin opened the door a crack, and when he saw it was Qiao Xing, his face immediately lit up with a smile. He then opened the door wide.
"Xingxing's here?" The old man, leaning on his cane, made way for Qiao Xing. "Come in quickly."
Qiao Xing smiled and nodded, "You mentioned a few days ago that the water pipes in your bathroom were leaking. I happened to have some free time today, so I came to take a look."
She went inside, closed the door, and heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. Was the leak that bad?
But after a few seconds, the sound of water stopped again.
But what Qiao Xing was more concerned about was that there was a girl in the living room, who looked to be in her twenties, with curly hair, exquisite makeup, and dressed very fashionably.
"Grandpa Qin, do you have guests at your home?" Qiao Xing was a little embarrassed to continue walking inside.
Grandpa Qin turned around to speak, but the woman spoke first, "I'm leaving right away, Grandpa Qin. To avoid wasting our time, I'll just get straight to the point."
She looked around the house with disdain. "Your grandson doesn't even have a house. Do you expect the whole family to squeeze into this shabby place after he gets married? If you want me to marry him, it has to be a four-bedroom apartment in the city center, plus an 880,000 yuan dowry. If you can do that, then we can talk."
Her bluntness made Grandpa Qin's face darken.
"Little Wu..."
Before Grandpa Qin could finish speaking, another magnetic voice came from the bathroom, "Miss Wu, you may have misunderstood. I don't think I've said I want to marry you yet."
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