The male supporting character was actually myself.

Can Dong Muqian and her mother-in-law really be moved and influenced by her gentleness and thoughtfulness, and change their personalities so that they don't become arrogant or conceited?

Yu Chuchu wasn't stupid; she was naive before marriage and hadn't considered how she would live her life in the future.

Not long after the marriage, she had already come to understand what a hastily decided marriage was like because of all the trivial troubles. She now knew that the mother and son too well, and that letting them manipulate her would not end well!

"After taking everything into consideration, I think you should take advantage of the fact that there is still time to test the waters and find out more about the other party."

Jiang Chen added some of her sister's favorite ingredients to the pot and suggested in a slightly lowered voice, "After dinner, I'll take you to buy some daily necessities. Don't tell Dong Muqian, just move into our newly bought house."

Then call him and tell him that after careful consideration, you've also decided to study for a PhD, since you don't have children or any burdens right now. You two can each earn money to support yourselves, and once you've both passed your PhDs and have higher incomes, you can buy a house and have children. Let's see how he reacts then.

Her mind was in turmoil for a moment.

So much has happened today, the impact is too great. Yu Chuchu asked nervously, "Then, how do we analyze his response?"

"Isn't that simple? If Dong Muqian truly loves you and cares about you, and knows that you want to pursue a doctorate and have a general plan for your future life, he will definitely support you wholeheartedly!"

After all, apart from that marriage certificate, your lives haven't really intersected.

The financial interests were not mixed up; it was just a matter of postponing the plan to have children.

Women have the right to decide on childbirth in marriage! Considering you're only 24 and not in a rush to have children, why not take this opportunity to enhance your family's collective strength, earn your own money, pursue further education, and encourage and support each other? Isn't that a good thing?

Don't forget what I just said: marriage is about two people becoming better by being tolerant, helpful, and understanding of each other, not about holding each other back.

If Dong Muqian doesn't support you, then the first thing to be sure of is that he doesn't love you enough.

As a man, I can tell you with certainty that if you truly love someone, you will want to fulfill her wishes and help her become a better version of herself, no matter how hard or tiring it is.

Once it's confirmed that Dong Muqian is a man who doesn't love you, the rest of the analysis becomes much easier.

If I don't love you, why should I marry you?

Because you were too cheap in the game of marriage, you gave him the illusion that I, Dong Muqian, am too outstanding, and the most beautiful girl in the department doesn't need anything and just throws herself at him.

I, Dong Muqian, am a promising stock. Yu Chuchu is cunning and wants to trap me so that I can live a life of luxury with her in the future.

"Yu Chuchu is unwanted after leaving me. Even if I dump her, there will be more beautiful women throwing themselves at me!"

Jiang Chen handed over two tissues and continued to urge on her, "Now cry as hard as you can, cry out all the nonsense that got into your head before the wedding, and you'll be able to see things more clearly and think things through more clearly."

Let me give you a simple example—you buy a T-shirt for ten yuan at the night market, and then you wear it to eat hot pot and it gets dirty and you can't wash it clean. What do you do? You throw it away, since it's not worth much anyway, and you might even find it unusable as a rag;

If you were wearing a dress that cost 100,000 yuan, would you be worried about getting it dirty while eating hot pot?

Even if it gets dirty, you'll quickly try to wash it clean, and even if you can't wash it clean, you'll try every possible way to salvage it, because you don't have any other clothes as luxurious as this one to make a statement.

People are the same.

Do you remember our neighbor, Auntie San, when we were little?

His son married a girl from a neighboring town after a free-love relationship. He didn't ask for a dowry and happily married her. But what did the girl get in return for her sincere feelings?

The third aunt was beaming with joy. Instead of praising her daughter-in-law for being sensible, she boasted about how well she had raised her son and how capable he was.

When they argued, they pointed at the girl and cursed her, saying she was cheap and no one would want her even if she paid money. They said their son was kind enough to marry her, and that she was crazy for not being able to have a son. They said that the girl was crazy and that's why she was paying money.

In the end, the divorced woman left with nothing but her 100-day-old daughter.

Later, my third aunt arranged for her son to get married. The second girl was dark-skinned and strong. She ate and slept all day, and when she woke up, she watched TV. Every few days, she would beat my third aunt, the widow, until her face was bruised and swollen. Did she dare to make a sound?

Why was he so arrogant and domineering before, but later became as docile as a lamb?

It's all about the different costs involved!

Her reputation for being fierce and abusive towards her daughter-in-law was known far and wide, and no girl was willing to marry her. In order to find a wife for her son, she gave a dowry of 60,000 yuan.

That was so many years ago?

Sixty thousand yuan could buy a house in the county town back then. If the girl divorced her son after spending so much money, he would be a bachelor for life if he couldn't afford to marry a third woman. So the mother and son, who had been calculating and scheming, treated their daughter-in-law like royalty.

Sister, human nature is too complicated.

Your kindness, thoughtfulness, and understanding will attract the right people, who will treat you with all their hearts.

But if you encounter someone who lacks manners, or even a bully who preys on the weak and schemes against you, they'll only treat you like a free nanny, a sex slave, or a breeding machine, while acting superior and as if you owe them something.

Yu Chuchu cried uncontrollably. She never imagined that the man she loved so deeply could be so heartless!

"Chenchen, what you said today really woke me up." She sobbed, "While there's still time, I really need to see if the person next to me is someone who can share joys and sorrows."

During this probing, I mustn't let him know about the house's existence; otherwise, money can be a powerful motivator, and Dong Muqian might easily try to cheat me for it!

At this point, Yu Chuchu suddenly realized, "Oh no! I told you the house couldn't be in my name. If we get divorced, Dong Muqian might be okay, but his mother is no pushover and will definitely try every means to get a share of the house!"

"Don't be so nervous. We'll go to the notary office after dinner to discuss the house. The money for the house came from my bank account. I'll have it notarized so that this house is only a gift to you, not marital property. No one can take a single penny." Jiang Chen then lit the pot again and put the ingredients in to continue cooking.

Looking at the steaming hot pot, Yu Chuchu began to seriously reflect on the way she and Dong Muqian had been getting along over the long period of time they had been together.

It must be admitted that Dong Muqian is very smart and hardworking.

Perhaps because he was a skilled writer, he always carried a touch of intellectual arrogance.

I think I was attracted by his outstanding talent and unique pride, but my brother just said that true love makes both people better.

Dong Muqian seems to have too many negative emotions, and things are always a bit off when the two of them are together.

Chapter Six: Awakening and Dong Muqian's Plan

Whenever I enthusiastically discussed some issues with him, Dong Muqian would always criticize my childish and immature ideas with a sense of superiority.

Whenever someone develops an interest in learning a musical instrument, dance, or art, or wants to pursue more hobbies, Dong Muqian never expresses support but instead uses a dialectical approach to discourage their enthusiasm.

It makes you feel inadequate, not perfect enough, not smart enough, not gentle or considerate enough, and not attentive enough to everyone's feelings, etc.

Even if she painstakingly saved up money from long hours of work to buy a favorite piece of clothing and happily wore it for him to admire, he would be stingy with praise, instead complaining that she didn't know how to manage money. But Dong Muqian had a silver tongue; he could make the impossible seem possible, and only when she felt ashamed and admitted her extravagant and competitive "bad habits" would he be satisfied…

"Hey bro, something feels off." Yu Chuchu felt increasingly uneasy and asked in a low voice, "Do you think I've been manipulated by Dong Muqian?"

The little white cat's ears perked up immediately, its eyes gleamed, and it excitedly raised its right paw with a thumbs up, saying, "Host, tell me the truth: before you were alive—no, before you transmigrated—were you a member of the Strategic Deception Bureau?"

This is the Nth person you've fooled!

That doesn't quite add up. It's not exactly deception, emmmm, you're calling it persuasion! Making Yu Chuchu understand herself that scumbags are unreliable, and that self-reflection is the only way to generate genuine resistance!

Jiang Chen pretended to be surprised and asked her urgently, "The consequences of being manipulated are terrible! Sister, think carefully, what has been your relationship with Dong Muqian like all this time since you got together?"

Does he constantly criticize and deny you, making you feel insecure and doubt your own worth, and causing you to be completely obedient to him?

When he criticizes you, does he criticize some of your real flaws or deny everything about you?

Have you ever extrapolated from a small flaw or mistake to conclusions like "you're no good," "you have a problem," or "others don't approve of you"?

When he says things that deny you, do you have the right to refute them?

If you don't accept it, will Dong Muqian continue to attack and suppress you, using excuses like "it's for your own good" or "I only say this because I love you" to force you to admit your mistakes?

Have you become happier, more confident, and more fulfilled since you got together with Dong Muqian?

As I said before, dating and marriage are about having warm companionship. If being with someone makes you insecure, unhappy, and doubtful, then you've definitely been manipulated!

"I...I feel like he's brainwashing me!"

The more Yu Chuchu thought about it, the more certain she became. "After we got married, when Dong Muqian discussed pursuing a doctorate, he immediately laid out the major premise—he said he had better grades and was smarter, so it was worth the investment; he said I was stupid and that I would definitely not pass the doctoral entrance exam and would be wasting my time..."

She wiped away her snot and tears, her heart burning with anger. "That guy surnamed Dong kept implying that I was poor, that I had no parents to rely on, and that I didn't deserve a better boyfriend and a better life. Then he hypocritically promised that he would always be good to me."

I'm so stupid, I'm so stupid!

How could a university professor be so stupid?!

"This isn't your fault. Being manipulated has nothing to do with education or intelligence. It's because Dong Muqian is too good at pretending. He hides his true intentions with sweet words and then uses verbal violence to persecute you under the guise of doing what's best for you."

Jiang Chen grasped Yu Chuchu's hand and said solemnly, "Sister, Dong Muqian is trying to persecute you into becoming a slave who will serve and dedicate himself to him wholeheartedly. What he said is completely wrong."

We don't have a mom and dad, but we have each other!

I used to rely on you to survive and move forward; now I'm leading you to break free from my shackles and achieve a better life.

You are young, beautiful, capable, and intelligent; you deserve all the good things in this world!

The siblings clasped hands tightly, once again forming a firm united front.

After dinner, Jiang Chen took Yu Chuchu to the notary office. After completing the notarization of the property gift to a personal individual, he separately notarized the disposition of his own property—in the event of an accidental death, all property would be donated to the Lingnan City Charity Organization, and no one would have the right to inherit it.

Then I went to the biggest shopping mall and did some shopping...

It wasn't until nightfall that the siblings finished setting up their new room.

Dong Muqian, who was completely unaware of this, had just returned from the library and pushed open the narrow door of the staff dormitory to see his mother, Liu Yingxiu, lounging on the sofa watching TV.

"What kind of wife did you marry? She doesn't even know how to cook, so I have to eat takeout for lunch. She's never home, and she dresses so provocatively. She's probably out there flirting with other men!"

When Liu Yingxiu heard the door open, she thought it was her daughter-in-law returning. She was about to put on a stern face and scold her for not being a proper wife when she realized that it was her son who had returned.

She was even more dissatisfied, slapping her thigh and shouting, "What kind of daughter-in-law does this?"

If you ask me, it's all because you spoiled him!

When I was your wife, I was pregnant with you and about to give birth, yet I was still working in the fields. Forget about eating and drinking to my heart's content; I didn't even have the right to sit at the table to eat after I cooked!

Yu Chuchu is something else. When she comes home from get off work, she just sits there and refuses to even wash my feet or massage my legs. When I talk to her about it, she dares to talk back.

If it were me, I would have been slapped in the face by your dad if I dared to talk back!

It's because you, your incompetent son, that brat doesn't respect her old mother at all! What sins have I committed? After years of being a daughter-in-law, I've finally become a mother-in-law and still have to suffer every day..."

As Liu Yingxiu spoke, she became more and more excited, slapping her thigh and wailing.

"What was she wearing when she went out?" Dong Muqian was also anxious when he heard this, but then he breathed a sigh of relief when he remembered that Yu Jiangchen was coming. "She hasn't come back all day? Why didn't you call me earlier?"

Yesterday, Chu Chu said her brother was coming over today... Mom, you don't know, Yu Jiangchen and I don't get along very well.

He always felt that I wasn't good enough for his sister and had always been against it.

But that guy is too busy with work to deal with it. Chu Chu knows he doesn't like me and I'm also too busy, so she doesn't like to talk about us. Never mind him, Chu Chu listens to me the most..."

Hearing her son say this, Liu Yingxiu, whose thin eyelids drooped down to form triangular eyes, rolled her eyes and spat, "You're a grown man! The wife you married isn't even willing to change your slippers or wash your feet, and she listens to you?"

If she were really that obedient, why would she talk back to me every other day?

How could she just leave your mother at home, not even bothering to check on her or cook for her all day? It's not even hot outside yet, and she goes out wearing such short shorts, showing off her bare thighs. She must be out flirting with some guy and cheating on you.

Why don't you call her and ask her to come back and cook?

"Are you trying to starve your mother? You just wait and see, women like her won't behave unless you beat them. The moment Yu Chuchu walks into the house, slap her until she knows shame—that's the only way to discipline her!"