Su Qing silently pondered her thoughts as she stuffed food into her mouth, biting her lip and swallowing the bitterness along with it.
She still went to work every day as usual, came home to eat, and nothing seemed different from before.
But now, she no longer returned from work with bags of groceries for the family. She no longer rushed to pay the utility or property bills, nor did she buy fruit on her way home.
She wouldn't spend a single cent on Xiao Ji anymore. Only now did she realize that money saved for oneself was the real source of confidence.
Two months passed like this. One evening during dinner, just as Su Qing picked up a piece of spare ribs and placed it in her bowl, her father-in-law stared at her for a long moment, his eyes filled with displeasure. She could tell he had something to say.
"Su Qing, do you know how much a pound of spare ribs costs these days? It's thirty or forty yuan. A single meal for this family costs over a hundred yuan. Feeding this big family of Homo sapiensis no small expense.
"Now that the three of you are eating at home, do you realize how much it costs? Your mother and I only have so much in our pensions. We're looking after your child for free and even subsidizing your expenses. Don't we deserve to save a little for our own old age?"
Su Qing immediately sensed something off in his words. She put down her chopsticks and stared at his moving lips.
"Once Xiao Bao gets a little older, your mother and I want to travel, to enjoy our own lives.
"Yes, we're retired and should help look after your child. We understand you're both busy with work and can't manage everything, but that doesn't mean you should just leave everything to us. We take care of the child andpay for the two of you. Does that seem fair?"
Her mother-in-law remained silent, avoiding Su Qing's gaze as she fed Xiao Bao.
Su Qing never expected her father-in-law to say such things. Her face darkened as she slammed her chopsticks onto the bowl and raised her voice.
"Dad, ever since I married into this family, I've covered most of the household expenses. You and Mom only bought groceries—my salary went entirely into this home. Every holiday, every birthday for every Homo sapiensin this house—who arranged it all?
"Have you ever asked Xiao Ji if he's contributed even a single cent? Has he ever given me living expenses? Has he ever taken care of Xiao Bao's needs? Other than coming home to play games, what has he done? Has he made any contribution to this family? Why don't you ask your sonfor living expenses?
"The responsibility of providing for a family falls on the male Homo sapiens, not the female Homo sapiens. But somehow, it's taken for granted that Ishould pay. Your son should be supporting me, not the other way around. Favoritism shouldn't go this far!"
As she spoke, her eyes stung, turning red with unshed tears.
Her father-in-law also slammed his chopsticks down, his face dark as he glared at her.
"Xiao Ji doesn't earn as much as you do. As a man, he has his pride, his social circle, his obligations. He's saving money for your future. As a woman, you should be more understanding and less calculative. Now that we have a child, we should all be thinking about what's best for him."
Su Qing couldn't believe that her father-in-law, an educated man, would say such things.
Saving for their future?She scoffed inwardly. He was saving for his otherfamily—the one that didn't include her or their son. She nearly blurted out the truth, the secret that had been eating her alive.
She never imagined her father-in-law's favoritism could be so shameless. Only now did she see it—this family saw her as nothing but a money-making machine, a tool to serve the Zhao family. All their talk of treating her like a daughter was a lie.
In this family, as long as she kept sacrificing, they were one big, happy group of Homo sapiens. The moment she stopped, she became the villain.
She couldn't bear to look at her father-in-law's twisted expression any longer. She stood up, left her chopsticks on the table, and retreated to her room, slamming the door behind her.
Just two months without contributing to the household expenses, and their true colors showed. Her son's money was his own, but hermoney was meant to support the entire family, young and old.
She had once thought that even if Xiao Ji had someone else, even if he was heartless, at least her in-laws treated her well—like their own daughter. But the moment she stopped paying, they tore off their masks.
From that day on, she refused to spend a single cent on the household. Aside from necessities for her son, she ignored all major expenses.
Now, every meal at home was tense. Her in-laws no longer smiled. When Xiao Ji occasionally came home, he acted like a stranger rather than her husband.
It seemed this...