Chapter 4

Zhao Xue’s phone stopped in midair.

I emailed myself a copy of the security footage.

“Keep recording.”

Zhao Ming let go of my wrist.

Several red marks had appeared on it.

The moment my mother-in-law saw them, she dropped to the floor.

“She hit me! Mingming, she’s trying to kill me!”

Zhao Ming turned to look at me.

“Apologize to Mom.”

“She just smashed a teacup. Tell her to pay for it.”

“Do you have a conscience at all?”

“I do. That’s why I haven’t kept score with your mother for twelve years.”

“You live in my house, spend my money, and use my time to raise your children. What gives you the right to lecture me about conscience?”

Zhao Ming’s chest heaved.

I took out my phone and called the building management office and the police, one after the other.

Zhao Xue rushed over to snatch the phone from my hand.

I leaned aside to avoid her.

“Touch me again and I’ll hand the security footage from a moment ago to the police.”

She stopped.

My mother-in-law suddenly began wailing.

“I can’t go on! My son married a vicious daughter-in-law who won’t even let me have a place to retire!”

The neighbors outside began asking what was going on.

Zhao Ming’s face darkened as he pulled my mother-in-law to her feet.

“Let’s go home for now.”

Zhao Xue reluctantly put away her phone.

At the door, she turned and glared at me.

“Sister-in-law, the children will always have their father’s surname. Don’t think that holding on to the house means you can win forever.”

After the door closed, Zhao Ming still didn’t leave.

He stood in the living room, staring at the red marks on my wrist.

“Wanqing, things have come to this. Do you really have no affection left for our marriage?”

I locked the door.

“When you brought your mother here, did you think about me?”

Zhao Ming didn’t answer.

Half an hour later, he sent me a picture.

It was a complaint filed with the court.

The plaintiff was Zhao Ming.

The suit made just one claim:

That the house be recognized as marital property.

I stared at the picture for a long time before setting my phone down.

Zhao Ming hadn’t served me the lawsuit directly. He’d only sent a picture. Clearly, he wanted me to back down first.

I replied with four words:

“See you in court.”

He called immediately.

“Wanqing, do you really want to sue me?”

“You’re the one suing me.”

“I just want you to take this family seriously.”

“Are you using the court to threaten me?”

Zhao Ming was silent for a moment.

“Give me half the house, and Mom won’t need to move in.”

I laughed.

“You’re using my house to buy your mother a place to retire. That’s quite the calculation.”

“We’re married.”

“Marital property doesn’t include the separate home I owned before we married.”

“Who knows whether the money your father used to buy it was actually a gift to you after you married?”

“Bring evidence.”

He had nothing more to say.

The next day, the court summons arrived at the house.

My mother-in-law even called me specially.

“You really took my son to court?”

“He’s the one suing me.”

“Mingming only wants you to understand what you did wrong. You insist on making everyone lose face.”

“Tell him to withdraw the lawsuit.”

“I raised my son. Of course I’ll decide for him.”

Then she hung up.

I filed the summons in my folder and went to the bank to print transaction records from more than ten years ago.

Around that time, my father had just been diagnosed with a leg injury, but he still insisted on transferring the money from selling our home to me.

The transfer memo was clear:

“Daughter’s house purchase before marriage.”

The real-estate company’s receipts, the purchase contract, and the payment records were all in my hands.

Zhao Ming knew all of this too.

He had filed suit because my mother-in-law was putting too much pressure on him.

More precisely, he wanted to use a lawsuit to force me to give in.

But before the hearing date arrived, my mother-in-law brought Zhao Xue to the school gates.

That day, I had gone to drop off a water bottle my child had forgotten. As I reached the entrance, I saw my mother-in-law gripping Zhao Nian’s arm.

Zhao Nian struggled and stepped backward.

“Grandma, I have to get back to class.”

“I’m your real grandmother. Why are you avoiding me?”

Zhao Hang stood beside her, blocking his sister.

“Let go of her first.”

Zhao Xue raised a hand and shoved him.

“Is that how you speak to an adult?”

Zhao Hang staggered and struck the fire-equipment cabinet against the wall.

I rushed over and pulled the children behind me.

“What are you doing at the school?”

Zhao Xue sneered.

“We came to visit the kids. So what?”

“Don’t come to the school to see them without my permission.”

My mother-in-law immediately began to cry.

“Do I need your permission to see my own grandchildren?”

“They’re in class.”

“You teach the children to avoid me, and now I’m wrong to come see them?”

Parents at the school gate stopped to watch.

Zhao Xue took out her phone.

“Everyone, come judge this! She won’t let her children acknowledge their own grandmother!”