Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

  Marriage is never easy.

  When Zhou Zheng and Qiao Zijin got married, the Zhou family spent a fortune on Qiao Zijin. Gold and diamond accessories were all given to her. The wedding gown was not rented but bought. Including the other full-dresses, there were four dresses in total.

  Others would rent the outfits, but the Zhou family was wealthy enough to buy them.

  Of course, Zhou Zheng’s ex-girlfriend wouldn’t receive the same treatment as Qiao Zijin once did. No matter her doings, Qiao Zijin was still a youthful girl when she married into the Zhou family and later gave birth to a daughter. Most importantly, the Zhou family did receive benefits from marrying Qiao Zijin.

  Zhou Zheng’s mother treated Qiao Zijin well only to return the favor. Moreover, she didn’t want to make it too awkward with Qiao Zijin as they would be living in the same family.

  Things did go as she thought for ten years before Qiao Zijin was caught cheating.

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  If it were someone else, her attitude would have been very different.

  To avoid rumors of marital fraud, Zhou Zheng’s father made things clear before his second marriage. “Your mother and I will let you pay for your wedding gifts. You are thirty-odds, and you haven’t bought anything for your parents. Now that you are having a second wife, you will have to take care of your family.”

  Zhou Zheng’s mother had clear boundaries. If she were fond of the daughter-in-law, she would pay for her expenses. Of course, she wouldn’t oppose her son’s choice if the daughter-in-law didn’t meet her expectations.

  However, don’t expect her to pay a single cent for the wedding. Zhou Zheng would have to pay for whatever the bride needed as well.

  In her mind, raising a child meant watching him grow and leaving him a house to stay.

  The Zhou parents were renovating a second house at the moment. The new house was bigger and tidier than the current one, and it would be ready to stay in another two or three months.

  Typical parents would leave the new house to their son’s family, but the Zhou family didn’t work that way. Why should they give him the new home when they were the ones who worked for it?

  Initially, the elders wanted to give the house to Qiao Zijin. Words were going around that the country had plans to allow a second child. On top of that, Zhou Zheng’s mother was registered as a countryside resident. If they reallocated Qiao Zijin’s origin to her, Qiao Zijin would be allowed to have a second child.

  If there were two kids at home, the current house would have been too cramped.

  She would never allow her grandchildren to suffer. Therefore, she bought the second house without hesitation, only to find out about Qiao Zijin cheating with Chen Jun.

  When Zhou Zheng heard that he was not getting anything for his wedding, his face sank. That was equivalent to disagreeing with his second marriage.

  His ex-girlfriend had already done her research before marrying Zhou Zheng. If a cheater like Qiao Zijin could receive so many gifts, there was no reason for her to have any less.

  She demanded to have everything that Qiao Zijin had, and maybe more. In short, her wedding had to be better than Qiao Zijin’s.

  Zhou Zheng knew that this wouldn’t be easy, and he figured that it would take some time before his parents would agree.

  However, Zhou Zheng’s father made it clear that there was no room for negotiation regarding this matter. “Dad, Mom, you are killing my marriage!”

  His mother smirked. “What do you mean? We have given you your residence certificate, and you can get married whenever you like. Ying Ying is already ten years old, and she would have to hold her wedding in a decade. Are you planning to have us pay for her wedding too? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The money that we worked for belongs to us, and you have to wait until our death to claim it. Otherwise, don’t even bother trying.”

  No one could lay hands on her money, not even her son.

  Zhou Zheng was pissed, but there was nothing he could do. “Dad, you…… you have to help me out here. I’ve told you about my ex-girlfriend’s personality, and she will never marry me at this rate. Do I have to stay single for the rest of my life because Qiao Zijin cheated on me?”

  The marriage had cracked the family from within.

  Even if he did hold the wedding, his ex-girlfriend would bug him for the rest of his life. Things might even turn out worse than before.

  “How can I help you? You know your mother better than anyone. All you had to do was find a girl that she likes. Since you’ve decided to go against it, you have to face the consequences. Do you really want us to take care of you forever?”

  Zhou Zheng’s father stood by his wife without a moment of hesitation. Every word that she said was almost obligatory. “Don’t get angry just yet. If you want, I can settle the account with you. You have been married for ten years and have been working for over a decade.”