Chapter 11
Edward Quan ·
That message stopped me for a long time.
From the very beginning, she had treated my apartment as the Zhao family’s property.
Zhao Ming had known.
Only when he needed it did he change his story and call it a marital asset.
I gave all the records to my lawyer.
“These will show that the other side’s statements contradict one another.”
The day before the hearing, Zhao Ming went to collect the children from school.
Following my instructions, their teacher wouldn’t let him simply take them away.
He waited for me at the gate.
“Wanqing, let’s talk.”
“Withdraw your custody application, and I can make the visits less contentious.”
“How far do you have to push me?”
“You used the children and my apartment to pressure me first.”
He looked exhausted.
“Mom is renting a room near the hospital now. Zhao Xue won’t take her in.”
“Why can’t she stay at Zhao Xue’s?”
“Zhou Kaichuan won’t allow it.”
“Then rent her a place.”
“I don’t earn enough.”
“Sell your car.”
He had bought it for himself the year before last. It had cost more than two hundred thousand yuan on the road.
“That wouldn’t be enough either.”
“Ask Zhao Xue to repay what she owes.”
“She says she doesn’t have it.”
I looked at him.
“You all pass the responsibility around until it lands on me.”
He said nothing.
I thought he would keep arguing, but he asked only one question.
“Does our marriage really mean nothing to you anymore?”
“Marriage doesn’t erase boundaries.”
He looked at me for a long time.
“The children will suffer with you.”
“With your family, they can’t even keep their own rooms.”
His face went dark.
“One day you’ll understand how hard it is for a woman to raise two children.”
“Then I’ll face that hardship myself.”
He left.
The hearing began the next day.
His lawyer first submitted the chat records, stressing that I was emotionally unstable and disrespectful toward the elderly.
Mine submitted the complete exchanges.
In the full record, his mother had messaged first:
“This apartment will belong to my son sooner or later. An outsider like you should mind her own business.”
I had replied:
“Mine is the only name on the certificate. You have no right to decide what happens to it.”
Only afterward came the insult the other side had submitted.
The judge asked Zhao Ming whether he acknowledged that this was the complete conversation.
He didn’t answer.
We then submitted the children’s birth certificates, vaccination records, tuition receipts, parent-teacher attendance sheets, records of hospital visits I had accompanied them on, and statements of their living expenses.
My name appeared on almost every receipt.
His lawyer argued that he had also contributed financially.
We submitted his transfer records.
Most of those payments had gone to Zhao Xue and his mother.
The judge asked him:
“You claim to have sufficient time to look after the children. Please explain your proposed arrangements.”
“My mother can help.”
The judge looked up.
“Where is your mother living now?”
He hesitated for several seconds.
“She’s in poor health.”
“Then who will care for the children?”
No answer.
The judge continued:
“Is your custody application based on your ability to care for them, or is it connected to the property dispute?”
His lawyer immediately said, “It has nothing to do with the apartment.”
We submitted the photograph of the agreement Zhao Ming had sent me.
Its terms were explicit.
Add his name to the property certificate, and he would withdraw the custody application.
The courtroom fell silent.
He turned sharply toward me.
“How did you get that?”
“You sent it.”
My lawyer produced the original record on my phone, showing that the photograph had indeed come from Zhao Ming’s account.
His lawyer requested an adjournment.
The judge allowed a fifteen-minute recess.
Zhao Ming came over and lowered his voice.
“Did you have to submit that?”
“It’s evidence you sent me.”
“I only wanted to reach an agreement.”
“On condition that I hand over my home.”
“Can’t you give the children a whole family?”
“A whole family isn’t something you buy with their mother’s property.”
He covered his face. After a few seconds, he spoke.
“Wanqing, I admit Mom went too far. But she’s still the woman who gave birth to me.”
“I’ve never stopped you from looking after her.”
“Why can’t you help me?”
“I cared for our children for twelve years, and you took it for granted. Then you demanded my apartment. And you still ask why I won’t keep doing it.”
He raised his head.
“I thought we were a family.”
“But when you wanted my apartment, I was an outsider.”
I turned and went back to my seat.
After the recess, the hearing resumed.
Zhao Ming’s custody application was rejected.