After four years of living alone after marrying far away, he went back to his parents' home and

Lan Yujuan said calmly, "Can't you tell? I'm packing my luggage."

"You're going back to Beijing tomorrow, and I'll bring Xiaoman with me."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiyuan immediately became agitated. "What? Who gave you permission to come back to Beijing with me? I don't agree!"

As Lan Yujuan packed her luggage, she calmly said, "I have legs, I can go wherever I want."

"When we got married, all I agreed to was to go back to your hometown to have our child, so the three of us could be together."

"I'm not being sold to your Liu family. Why should I stay in our hometown alone with the child, working like a slave, taking care of your parents and living like a widow while you live a carefree life in Beijing?"

Feeling guilty, Liu Zhiyuan immediately retorted, "Lan Yujuan, what do you mean?"

"I work myself to the bone all year round to earn money, and I rarely come home at the end of the year. I just want to be close to you, but you won't let me!"

"You just need to take care of the kids, enjoy your retirement at home, and don't have to worry about anything, yet you turn around and accuse me of hiding out there having a good time?"

"With your attitude towards me, I'm starting to suspect you have another lover at home!"

"Thump!" Lan Yujuan threw the clothes in her hand into the suitcase and looked coldly at Liu Zhiyuan.

"That's perfect!"

"I'll bring the child and go to Beijing with you. The three of us can be together, which will save us from being suspicious of each other."

Liu Zhiyuan's eyes flickered slightly, and seeing that he could not suppress her, his tone immediately softened.

"Honey, that's not what I meant."

"You called me out of the blue in the middle of the night, catching me completely off guard. Besides, it's the Spring Festival travel rush now, and tickets are hard to buy!"

"I also want to reunite with my family and take you and Xiaoman back to Beijing. But tickets are scarce during the Spring Festival travel rush, and we simply can't get them!"

Looking at her seemingly affectionate but hypocritical husband across from her, Lan Yujuan felt nothing but disgust and revulsion.

Is it because he can't buy tickets? Or is he afraid I'll expose his lie?

Lan Yujuan took out her phone and opened the ticket she had just bought: "Look, the ticket is ready!"

"It is indeed the Spring Festival travel rush now, but before the third day of the Lunar New Year, only a minority of people are leaving home. Tickets only start to become scarce after the third day of the Lunar New Year."

"Don't worry, we bought tickets for the same trip as you, both for the evening of the first day of the lunar new year."

"We'll briefly explain things to our families tomorrow during the day; there'll be enough time!"

When Liu Zhiyuan saw the ticket clearly, his face turned deathly pale. Any remaining drowsiness vanished in fright.

He sat down, supporting himself on the edge of the bed, and frowned as he stared at Lan Yujuan. "Is it really that you absolutely have to go?"

"What's so special about Beijing anyway! You're married with a three-year-old child, and you still can't forget it?"

Lan Yujuan also looked at him, and their eyes met.

"I want to go to Beijing to see what kind of life my husband has been living alone there all these years since we separated."

"I also want to visit my former colleagues. If I hadn't quit my job and gone back to your hometown with you, how much would my annual salary be now?"

"I'd rather go to your workplace and ask your boss! Why hasn't my man, such an outstanding programmer, received a raise in four years?"

"The juniors who worked on projects with you during university are now earning over 500,000 yuan a year after graduation!"

Liu Zhiyuan raised his hand, touched his nose, and then looked away with a flicker in his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"They're all so strong now..."

Liu Zhiyuan's ethereal voice still carried a hint of pride and smugness.

"Honey, let's just focus on living our lives peacefully and not compare ourselves to others!"

As Liu Zhiyuan spoke, he leaned over and took Lan Yujuan's hand. The look in his eyes as he looked at her became noticeably ambiguous.

Unexpectedly, just as his hand was about to touch Lan Yujuan, it was ruthlessly brushed away by her.

Am I just prone to comparing myself to others?

"It's your relatives, neighbors, and childhood friends who don't respect you at all!"

"Do you know what they say about you behind your back?"

Liu Zhiyuan stiffened, slowly withdrawing his hand, clearly displeased, and said, "Oh? What did they say?"

Lan Yujuan had known this man for eight years and knew that he was inherently insecure and extremely proud.

In the past, she always couldn't bear to part with him and would protect him in front of others and behind their backs.

But today, she deliberately poked at his sore spot: "What else can I say? That you're useless and incompetent!"

"You wasted your university education, and while you say you work in Beijing, you're actually doing worse than your childhood friend back home!"

Sure enough, Liu Zhiyuan's expression changed instantly upon hearing this, turning frighteningly cold.

"Why are they talking about me behind my back for no reason? What did I do to offend them?"

Lan Yujuan squatted down, closed her suitcase, pushed it aside, and began packing her backpack.

"Let's just chat during the New Year holiday, everyone's got nothing else to do!"

"Liu Meiling next door, your childhood friend Zhou Tian's wife, just got a new phone at the end of the year. I heard it cost 13,000 yuan."

"I bought a mink coat for the Chinese New Year. I heard it cost more than 20,000 yuan."

"Sitting in the courtyard eating sunflower seeds, a large gold bracelet was showing on her wrist."

"I heard it weighs over 40 grams. She bought it for over 30,000 yuan last year, and by the end of the year, the price had almost doubled. Everyone praised her for her foresight and good investment skills!"

"Then they asked me what I bought for me for the New Year. I just smiled and said that it was inconvenient to wear jewelry while taking care of the child, and I didn't say anything else."

"It's just a few hundred thousand, what's there to brag about!"

"When I was working in Beijing, I could earn 25,000 yuan a month during my internship."

"Even with the current poor job market, earning 10,000 to 20,000 yuan a month back in Beijing should be no problem!"

"If no one buys it for me, I'll earn the money and buy it myself!"

Liu Zhiyuan's eyes darted around, and he suddenly burst out laughing.

"I was wondering what was going on with me in the middle of the night. First, she wanted my salary card, and now she wants to take our daughter to Beijing with me."

"So, you're just jealous of other people's new clothes and jewelry, and you're subtly asking your man for pocket money?"

At this point, Liu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow at her and then patted the bed next to him.

"Isn't that simple? Come here!"

Lan Yujuan stood still, sneering, "Pocket money? You're really bragging!"

"Those items together would cost over 100,000 now!"

Liu Zhiyuan had originally wanted to boast a bit, but Lan Yujuan embarrassed him on the spot, and he immediately felt a little ashamed.

He frowned, got up, pulled her onto the bed, expertly flipped her over and pinned her down, then turned off the light.

In the darkness, Lan Yujuan struggled as she touched the ground.

"You're insane! Let me go!"

But her resistance only fueled Liu Zhiyuan's enthusiasm, his voice low, husky, and fiery, tinged with excitement.

"I won't!"

"You're my wife, it's only natural for me to sleep with you!"

"Perfect timing! Mom and Dad have been wanting a grandson for ages. Make sure you take good care of your man tonight, and we'll buy him whatever he wants when we go to town tomorrow!"

Lan Yujuan stopped struggling and said coldly in the darkness, "Buy me everything you like? What a big mouth you have!"

"Why don't you tell me first where the money came from?"

Liu Zhiyuan's breathing became labored, and he said indistinctly, "Last year, I secretly partnered with someone to take on a project and made several hundred thousand yuan, but I haven't had a chance to tell you yet."

Lan Yujuan pressed further, "Several hundred thousand? How much exactly?"

Remembering what his juniors had just said—that they were now earning 500,000 yuan a year—Liu Zhiyuan, determined to compete, gritted his teeth and gave a figure: "A little over 600,000 yuan."

Lan Yujuan shook her head: "Judging from your tone, it's definitely more than that! Do you think I don't know your capabilities? Tell the truth!"

Liu Zhiyuan paused for a moment, feeling a little elated, and his lower body began to feel restless.

On second thought, since she's his wife and she's always been frugal and easy to manage, he confidently raised the price a little more.

"Okay, you're smart! Actually, it's 800,000, really!"

"I've thought it all through, I'll give you the card tomorrow!"

"You can buy an apartment in the county town, renovate it in the first half of the year, and move in in the second half. You can stay at home and move to the county town with your parents to enjoy a comfortable life. It will also be more convenient for Xiaoman to go to school there!"

Lan Yujuan stared at him and asked, "Really?"

"I don't believe you! Unless you transfer it to me via your phone right now!"

Liu Zhiyuan's desire to conquer was immediately aroused. He jumped out of bed and reached for his phone.

"Hmph, still don't believe me? Share it now!"

"Whoosh~" The sound of gold coins arriving in Lan Yujuan's phone rang out.

Lan Yujuan also picked up her phone, checked it, and after confirming that she had received 800,000 yuan, immediately replied:

Thank you, husband, for the New Year's red envelope!

Liu Zhiyuan smiled smugly at his phone and immediately replied:

Sweetie~, your husband will always love you!

However, the smile on his face lasted less than three seconds. He was stunned when he saw Lan Yujuan get out of bed so nimbly.

"Yujuan, where are you going?"

Lan Yujuan put on her coat and said without turning her head:

"I've started my period and need to go to the restroom. You go to sleep first, don't wait for me."

At this point, Liu Zhiyuan's smile vanished completely.

In the bathroom, Lan Yujuan used a hot towel to wipe the skin that Liu Zhiyuan had touched, over and over again.

After she finished reading Liu Zhiyuan's conversation with the man in the room, which was "almost certainly true," she felt utterly disgusted by him.

Her first reaction was to give up everything. Since they weren't legally married, she simply took her child and went back to her parents' home!

However, after calming down, her thoughts changed.

First of all, the child's household registration is still with the Liu family.

Taking the child away is easy, but legally transferring the child's household registration and fighting for custody is a complicated matter.

Secondly, this gamble of marrying far away wasted four years of her youth, caused her to give up her career prospects, and even made her betray her parents.

Why should she lose everything?

Lan Yujuan looked at herself in the mirror and secretly made a vow:

"If you can't hold onto a relationship, at least grab onto something else!"

"As for that treacherous man who broke his promise, he deserves to go to hell!"