The male supporting character was actually myself.

"Hey, what's the rush?" Dong Muqian walked up to the secondhand rental essential he bought for forty yuan—a cloth wardrobe—unzipped it, glanced at the few clothes hanging inside, and frowned slightly. "We're not completely locked in yet. What if they run away?"

Therefore, we need to appease them appropriately at this stage.

Once I get her to have a few more kids, she won't be able to escape. Even if she wants a divorce, I can preemptively spread rumors at school that she's a gold digger who seduces men. With her reputation ruined and several kids around, where can she go?

Chapter Seven: He's panicking! He's panicking!

Liu Yingxiu pouted, looking impatient. "I just don't agree to you marrying her! She's dirt poor, and all she has is a pretty face. What good is that?"

Look at Teacher Liu, he married an only child from Lingnan City. His mother-in-law has prepared a house and a car for him. When the child is born, his mother-in-law will help take care of it. In the future, all the family property will belong to Teacher Liu!

Do you know what this is called?

In our village, this would be called "eating up someone's entire family fortune"!

Why can't you just find an only child from the city? According to you, you can sweet-talk a girl until she's happy and won't marry anyone else, then after marriage and two kids, you'll be completely tied down. The house and car will all be yours then, right? Why would we need to live in this tiny, shabby dorm room then?

"Mom, do you know that Mr. Liu is also an only child? He received a dowry of 300,000 yuan when he got married, and both sides paid for the wedding house. The woman's parents had already done a prenuptial agreement, so that money didn't end up in his hands."

Dong Muqian replied irritably, "Do you think only daughters from big cities are stupid? I have nothing, yet you're determined to be with me? Isn't that just wishful thinking?"

There are three reasons why I married Chuchu: First, she is beautiful, has a good figure, and a stable job. In the future, if we have children, she will have good genes and time to take care of them, so you won't have to be tired.

Secondly, she has no parents and a younger brother who can only take care of himself and can't control her. Chu Chu is a girl with a soft personality, and without anyone to support her, she can be easily manipulated by us.

If we can't have a boy, we'll keep having them! Other women would have family backing them up, but who gave us the right to do this?

Anyway, I absolutely need a son to carry on the family line; I don't want my family line to end!

I can't guarantee that with other women, but I've definitely managed to keep Yu Chuchu obedient and well-behaved, ensuring she'll obediently bear our children. Don't you see how she can even tolerate us sleeping next to each other?

Try having a pampered only child from the city? She'd probably flip your bed!

Third, she has a stable income and is a good family woman. I need to hurry up and study for my doctorate to have a better future and marry a wife who can earn money to support us and raise our children. Chu Chu is the best I can find at this stage.

If you don't like her, just put up with it for two years.

At least once I finish my PhD, get a raise, and have more and better job opportunities, I can easily find a reason to dump her. If she has a girl, so be it; but if she has a son, I'll have an advantage in a custody battle. After all, I have my mother who can help take care of the child, and she earns more than her.

Look how cost-effective this is! I can marry a wife who'll practically give herself to me, support me, and have kids without spending a penny. When I'm able, I can just go and have the baby, without delaying anything.

Otherwise, if I waste several years pursuing my PhD, what if I have trouble finding a wife later and end up a bachelor for a long time?

"Oh, you're right." Liu Yingxiu nodded and pouted her dry lips. "I just hate her. She always has a point, nitpicking every word she says, and she doesn't know how to respect her elders!"

"Mom, do as I say now."

No matter what Chuchu says, you should agree verbally but do what you're supposed to do. That's called passive-aggressive behavior; it just lets her sulk.

Don't just stay home watching TV all the time. Go out every few days and chat with other family members, school cleaning ladies, cafeteria ladies, etc., and tell them how good we are to her, and how she's still not satisfied.

Once she establishes a good public image, even if she suffers setbacks and goes out to talk about it, no one will believe her. On the contrary, they'll think she's being unreasonable and immature. Doesn't that mean we're in the right?

Dong Muqian held his phone, ready to dial, and muttered, "The shorts she wore when she went out were probably bought for her by Yu Jiangchen when she was a freshman in college. She's married now and still wears clothes that show her thighs. She's really not a virtuous wife. I'll definitely 'persuade' her to truly repent when she gets back."

He raised his index finger to signal silence and dialed Yu Chuchu's number.

"Ring ring..."

Yu Chuchu, who was chatting and laughing with her younger brother while preparing dinner, glanced at the caller ID, her face turning slightly pale. She whispered, "It's Dong Muqian calling. What should we do?"

"Receive; record; say what we agreed on." Jiang Chen gave her a reassuring look.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, pressed the record button, and then answered the phone.

"Hey, where are you? Why aren't you home yet, it's so late?"

The other person's voice was unhurried and unreadable. Yu Chuchu sighed and replied, "I'm feeling very upset. I'm taking a walk in the park. My brother came over today but went back. He had some business problems and lost a lot of money. He wants to borrow some money from me to tide him over, but I don't have much to give him. I can only transfer the 50,000 yuan I had in the bank to him first."

I calculated that earning this little bit of money each month is really not enough. We have nothing now, and we won't have much capital to buy a house in the future. So I was thinking, why don't we take advantage of the fact that we're still young and have a good foundation after graduation, and go on to pursue doctoral studies together?

Anyway, we've earned enough for ourselves now. In a few years, after we both finish our PhDs, our income will double. Then we'll work together to save money to buy a house and raise children..."

"What did you say?!" Before she could finish speaking, Dong Muqian's eyes turned red with anger as he roared back, "You gave him all 50,000 yuan? Why should you do that?!"

Yu Chuchu, are you out of your mind?

I'm your husband, and after we got married, we're a family! How could you give our family's money to someone else without my consent?

It would be one thing if it were an investment, but Yu Jiangchen used it to pay off debts!

Can your brain even understand the difference between the two?

Paying off debts means he can't make a comeback, and that money will be wasted! I'm doing this for your own good, Chuchu. Think about it. Our little family is just starting out and we need money right now. How can you be so inconsiderate of your family?

Your behavior is what you call being a brother-obsessed demon, you know?

This is incorrect and problematic, and judging from your brother's behavior of borrowing money, there are serious issues with his character.

Doesn't he know you just got married and don't even have a house yet?

As your younger brother who you raised from childhood, you know he's been spoiled? He should be proactively sharing your burdens; that's the right thing for a grateful person to do. You, as his older sister, have no obligation to support him for life. Your current obligation is to build our family, take care of our elders, and prepare to raise our children!

Yu Chuchu's phone was on speakerphone, and Dong Muqian's roaring voice could be faintly heard echoing in the new house.

"He's panicking, he's panicking!" The little white cat stuck out its tongue and sneered. "How disgusting~ What kind of scum protagonist is this? Host, please kill him already! Keeping someone like this around is a waste of air!"

"Dong Muqian, please understand this before you criticize me—first, Jiang Chen is my younger brother, my only family."

Just as you never allow me to say that your mother is unhygienic or that sleeping next to you is wrong, I also don't allow you to interfere in the affairs between my siblings and me.

Secondly, that 50,000 yuan was money I had saved up little by little over the years. Even when we were dating, I didn't take advantage of you in the slightest. It was my premarital property, and I had the right to decide how to use it.

The first thing you did was confiscate my premarital property, saying things like "our family's money"? What does that have to do with you?

Did you put any of your pre-marital savings into the household? You gave it all to your mother! You even let her manage your salary card. Since we got married, the whole family's food, drink, and daily expenses have been covered by my money! I'm the one supporting you and your child!

Third, if I lend money to my younger brother for business purposes, does that make me a "brother-supporting demon"? Then when I got married, my brother gave me a 20,000 yuan red envelope, which was then handed over to your mother along with all the other wedding gifts. Does that make him a "sister-supporting demon"? Stop showing off your intelligence and logic. You're always saying that this person is no good or that person is no good.

"Dong Muqian, do you really think you're the best in the world?"

Chapter Eight: Yu Chuchu's Counterattack

"If you're really going to do this, then return my share of the wedding gift money!"

I'm keeping track of the accounts. The total of 48,000 yuan came from red envelopes given by my relatives and friends. Your favors only amounted to less than 20,000 yuan. So where did your mother hide the total of 60,000 to 70,000 yuan?

Did you secretly give the money to your half-siblings back in your hometown again?

Are you calling me a brother-supporting demon?

I think you're the vampire! You suck the blood of my brother and me to support your whole family!

Yu Chuchu became more and more excited as she spoke, and her tongue became more and more fluent. She blurted out all the things she had been keeping to herself but dared not say, "So you only stayed in the staff dormitory for your wedding."

They even brought your mother over and put her bed right next to yours, so that at night the mother and son could sleep in the same quilt;

Your mom even made me kneel down to greet you when you get off work and change your slippers for you;

She expects me to do her laundry, cook for her, wash her feet, and massage her back after a day of classes. She didn't give birth to me or raise me, so why should she treat me like a slave?

Did we forget to inform you and your daughter when the new flower planting project was established?

"I'm telling you, Dong Muqian, I'm going to take the doctoral entrance exam! And starting today, I'm not going back until your mother moves out. Let her sleep with you! I'm fed up with being watched by that old lady every night, this disgusting life where we don't even have any time for our newlywed bliss!"

Dong Muqian never expected that she would suddenly change so much!

Could it be that Yu Jiangchen said something when she came over today?

Or perhaps, Yu Chuchu's previous docility and meekness were because he hadn't touched her sore spot—her own younger brother, Yu Jiangchen?

"Chuchu, you've changed." He took a deep breath and tried the same tactic he'd always used before, speaking with deep regret and affection: "You weren't like this before. You were gentle, considerate, and understanding, like an angel. But now... are you really such a shallow person?"

Is this how you talk about your husband for money?

Chuchu, when did you become so mercenary? Don't be angry out of shame. I'm speaking frankly for your own good. We have a long life ahead of us, and this is just the beginning. I will work hard to earn money, and you will definitely have what others have in the future!

As for my mother, she's so old, it wasn't easy for her to give birth to and raise me. Now that we've finally gotten through the hard times, I definitely don't want her to suffer in a poor mountain village.

She's getting older, so her thinking might be a bit outdated. You can't be completely impatient with your elders.

If the situation were reversed, and you brought your dad or mom over, I would never talk back to them. Put yourself in their shoes, Chuchu, how can you be so lacking in filial piety and love?

Even if it's a homeless person begging on the street, you'd still give them a dollar or two. This is my own mother, your mother-in-law, why can't you have a little more compassion?

Dong Muqian didn't hear the other party's rebuttal and subconsciously revealed a cunning smile.

All those years of brainwashing haven't been in vain; Yu Chuchu really isn't very bright. Every time I change the subject and make her feel that the problem lies with her, and make her reflect on herself, she always complies.

This time it was the same as always!

"Take today for example. You knew I had to go to the library to prepare for my doctoral entrance exam, and I was very tired and exhausted. You had nothing to do on Saturday and Sunday, but you left Mom at home all day. She didn't even get to eat lunch and went hungry!"

Is this how you treat the elderly?

If you're not coming back to cook, at least call and tell me, right? You go somewhere and do nothing without a word, and you transfer money to others without even consulting me. Do you understand what I mean by disrespectful?

Marriage and the relationship between husband and wife also need to be maintained and managed. You do things without considering my feelings. Where did the understanding, gentle and considerate Chu Chu from before go?

Back to the matter of borrowing money, did Jiang Chen bring you anything when he came over? I think he probably didn't.

When he was running his successful company in Senhai, did he ever offer you any help or repay your kindness in raising him? Never!

On the contrary, he only remembered that he had a sister like you when he lost money. He borrowed money, packed his bags, and left. Did he ever consider how you would live?

You're only three years older than him, and you raised him and supported his education. How can he not even have this much conscience...?

On the phone, Dong Muqian was still skillfully changing the subject, deliberately stirring up trouble and trying to cause conflict between the siblings.

Jiang Chen, however, was writing furiously, quickly listing out rebuttals on the paper.

Yu Chuchu nodded as she read, and gave her younger brother a thumbs-up.

I'm not good with words and my brain isn't quick to react, but my brother, being a seasoned businessman and negotiator, clearly articulated his points and explained the facts. I'll keep the recording as evidence!

"Don't change the subject." After reading the list on the paper, she took a deep breath and interrupted the other person's incessant criticism of her character, and said bluntly, "You know that my parents died a long time ago, what do you mean by saying such things?"

And you're subtly reminding me that without my parents' help and support, no one else will want me if I don't follow you, right?

Your mother gave birth to you and raised you, what does that have to do with me?

Besides, she's only in her fifties, she's got arms and legs, she's not stupid or dull-witted, can't she even cook? Will she starve to death if I don't go home and cook? You, her own son, don't even care about her, so what right do you have to criticize me?

Your mother's hardships are your father's fault, not mine. If you want to stand up for your mother, go find your father. Go ask her three ex-husbands why they didn't want her, instead of using the guise of filial piety to make me her slave and raise the child she had with another man!