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墨書 Inktalez
I have always held the belief that family and career are the two pillars of life. You can break one, but you absolutely cannot break both. When a person finds themselves in trouble with both family and career, you must stabilize one; only by securing one half can you properly deal with the crumbling other half.
My career is already in tatters, and if my family falls apart too, I will have no hope left! I grit my teeth as the woman I have shared a bed with for over ten years drives a knife into my heart.
"You’re just a nice guy. You treat people like brothers, but they see you as a fool!" Liu Fei rolled her eyes and continued applying her lipstick. "So, what’s the plan for the days ahead?"
That question felt heavy.
I couldn’t answer her and turned to walk into the room.
Once I closed the door, I leaned weakly against the wall and let out a long sigh. The feelings of disappointment, anxiety, confusion, and frustration weighed down on me like a mountain, making it hard to breathe.
I don’t know how long it was before Liu Fei's voice came from outside: "I’m going out. Don’t wait up for me tonight."
I stepped out of the room to see she had already changed clothes and was grabbing her bag to leave.
"Where are you going?" I couldn’t help but ask.
"You’re not doing anything; I have to go out and hustle, right? Or should our family of three just starve?" When did this beautiful woman, who once made me so proud, become so sharp-tongued and bitter?
She slammed the door behind her.
Standing at the doorway, an inexplicable sadness surged within me. We used to love each other so much, yet now we’ve become like this. This must be what they call the sorrow of poor couples.
With her gone to hustle, as a man, I needed to pull myself together.
I scrolled through job ads online, one after another. My job expectations had dropped from Vice President to Department Manager, then to ordinary employee… yet still no one wanted to hire me. I’m thirty-five; this is a threshold.
Liu Fei has been spending less time at home. She dresses up extravagantly every day and comes back late. When I ask where she’s been, she doesn’t answer; she just looks at me with cold indifference.
Brother Xiong, who shared a dorm with me in college, returned from Beautiful Country and immediately invited me out for skewers. "Old Hu, how come you didn’t tell me about such a big issue? You’re not treating me like a brother!"
I am the one who has been hurt the most by my brother!
A card was pushed in front of me: "There’s 500,000 in here. Use it to start a business or something. Pay me back when you’re back on your feet!" Seeing my despondency, he added, "Don’t let your wife do that kind of work anymore."
Then he patted my shoulder and walked away silently.
What kind of work is Liu Fei doing? Brother Xiong clearly meant something, but I felt lost and confused.
With no job prospects, taking care of the kids and household chores had become my entire life. Meanwhile, Liu Fei was different; she dressed up extravagantly every day, wearing heavy perfume.
"What are you so busy with? You come home so late every day," I asked cautiously.
"Tch!" She dismissed me with a scoff and went to the mirror to remove her makeup.
Though Liu Fei refused to tell me about her job, she was increasingly generous with our child: "Son, here’s some money from Mom. If you want to eat or play something, let him take you. He has plenty of time; Mommy is just really busy with work right now..."
A mix of emotions swirled within me.
She used to be pure and lovely, hardly using any makeup at all. Back then, even though I earned a decent living, she always counted every penny. Now, she had changed so much.
The distance between us grew wider, and our hearts drifted further apart.
"I’ll tell you this!" She shot me a sideways glance. "I can earn my own money now; I don’t have to rely on your approval anymore!"
With that, she turned and slammed the door behind her.
When did I ever give you a hard time?
I stood there, overwhelmed by sadness and anger. We once loved each other so deeply, but now…
I knew where the problem lay but had no idea how to fix it.
In the days that followed, Liu Fei became even more distant. No matter what I asked her, she would only look at me with cold eyes filled with mockery and disdain.
Whenever our son asked about his mother, I could only fabricate lies to comfort him: "Mommy is working at a really big company now; she's a leader managing many people and doesn’t have time for us right now!"
I didn’t know how much longer this would continue. Brother Xiong's words took root in my heart, growing wildly like weeds and stirring up my unease.
When my son came back from school, he had a bruise on his face and threw himself into my arms, crying loudly.
I was startled and quickly asked what had happened.
"We have a new homeroom teacher, and everyone had to share what their parents do for a living. When it was my turn, Ding Jiahao jumped in and said my mom is a vixen! He also said my mom is an online beggar who relies on flaunting herself to beg for money! He claimed that because of my mom, his dad and mom fight every day... and that his dad is the one supporting my mom!"
After he finished sobbing through his words, my mind went blank.
Perhaps this was the truth that had been troubling me for days!
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