Chapter 1

My wife is famous for being a devoted daughter.

The moment her paycheck came in each month, she transferred every last cent of it to her mother.

But that meant every household expense fell on me.

I paid the mortgage myself.

When my wife went out for social dinners, it cost several thousand each time.

On top of that, at every holiday I had to prepare gifts for her parents and her brother.

Looking at our savings, which were nearly zero, I sighed and asked my wife whether we could keep a little money at home.

She didn't even think about it. She just shook her head and refused.

"Absolutely not. I transfer thirty thousand every month. If it suddenly dropped, the relatives would say I forgot my own family the moment I got married."

"Being good to your parents is a child's duty. You're my husband, so you should support me even more."

"Stop fixating on my money. You should look at yourself and figure out the reason. Maybe you spend loosely and waste too much on useless things."

I thought it over and decided she made a lot of sense.

So right then, I transferred my entire paycheck to my mother.

...

My mom called back almost immediately, her voice full of surprise.

"Son, why did you suddenly send over so much money? Aren't you going to keep enough to live on?"

I didn't explain much. I just laughed and reassured her a little, saying I'd finally come to my senses and wanted to take good care of her from now on.

After I hung up, I looked at the few hundred dollars left in my bank card and felt strangely at ease.

When I got off work that evening, I didn't go to the market. Instead, I signed up for a meal card at the company, ate dinner there, and only then went home.

Back when we first got married, Marina had a bad stomach and couldn't handle eating out.

I felt sorry for her, so every day after work I bought groceries myself and cooked her all kinds of delicious meals.

Little by little, her stomach got better under my care.

Now that I thought about it, that was another expense I ought to cut.

When Marina got home from work, she kicked off her high heels and headed for the dining room out of habit.

Seeing the empty table, she frowned, her voice full of displeasure.

"Why haven't you cooked yet today?"

I was curled up on the couch scrolling my phone, not even looking up.

"No money to buy groceries."

Marina froze for a moment, then walked over and stared at me.

"Didn't you get paid today? Where's the money?"

I answered in the same tone she always used, perfectly self-assured.

"I did some reflecting, and I think you're absolutely right."

"Being good to my parents is my duty too, so I sent my whole paycheck to my mother, as money for her retirement."

"You're my wife, so you'll support me too, right?"

Marina's face darkened instantly.

"Are you insane? If you transfer all the money to your mother, how do we cover the household expenses?"

"Who pays the mortgage? Who pays the utilities? I have to take a client out to dinner tomorrow!"

I spread my hands.

"Didn't you say being good to your parents matters most?"

"Now everyone's being dutiful. Isn't that great?"

"As for food, you earn so much. Why don't you ask your mom for some living expenses?"

Marina's face went livid with anger.

"Stop being unreasonable! What I do is being good to my mother. You're just doing this to spite me!"

I ignored her and kept scrolling my phone.

But right then, at the worst possible moment, Marina's stomach growled loudly.

She paced around the living room a couple of times, then gritted her teeth, picked up her phone, and dialed her mother.

"Mom, um... could you transfer me two hundred first? I want to buy something to eat."

On the other end, Mrs. Abbott's voice shot up.

"What? Two hundred?"

"Do you think money grows on trees around here?"

"Let me tell you, the money I've saved is for something very important. Not a single cent can be touched!"

"What is Adrian doing? Hurry up and have him cook for you!"

And with that, she hung up.

The air went suddenly quiet.

Looking at Marina's face, blacker than the bottom of a pot, I nearly couldn't hold back my laughter.

She shot me a vicious glare, and in the end all she could do was go dig a packet of instant noodles out of the kitchen and eat it with a grim expression.