Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Zhou Qingtong, what nonsense did you post in the family group? Delete it right now!” my mom screeched.

While she was at it, she smacked my dad. “And what are you doing joining in?”

My dad was angry but did not dare say a word.

I ignored my mom and tagged her in the group chat again. [Mom, see? No one is laughing at you.]

New private messages kept popping up on my phone. My younger cousins were laughing themselves sick.

[Qingtong, did you get beaten? Hahahaha.]

[Hang in there this year, sis. We’re counting on you to tank all the damage.]

[…]

As the oldest unmarried person on both sides of the family, I had been pressured to marry since I was twenty-five.

At first, it was gentle. As the years went by, it gradually became more intense.

I was thirty this year.

Thirty was supposed to be the age when one stood on one’s own, and I felt it was the best stage of my life.

I had a successful career, a home, a car, and freedom.

A few years ago, when they urged me to date and get married, I had been completely lost about the future.

In these years when the marriage pressure never missed a single gathering, I got promoted and received raises.

I had no idea where the men were, but my income was certainly looking gorgeous.

The message had long passed the time limit for deletion.

My mom began muttering endlessly.

“I must have owed you father and daughter in my past life. Neither one of you gives me any peace.”

“Zhou Qingtong, I am your mother. Would I ever hurt you?”

“I am urging you to marry so you will have someone to rely on when you are old. Otherwise, when your father and I are gone, what will you do?”

“…”

I looked at our downtown apartment, worth over a hundred thousand yuan per square meter, then at my parents’ pensions, then at my own annual salary and savings. I truly could not imagine a tragic future for myself.

At that moment, my dad chimed in. “Your mom is right. There are many benefits to marriage.”

“Dad, could you list the specific benefits?”

My dad answered with genuine feeling. “When you come home from work, there is a hot meal waiting. Someone takes care of everything inside and outside the home. And there are children. You have been outstanding since you were little. As your parents, your mom and I are very proud of you.”

“Dad, Mom cooks the meals. Mom takes care of the home inside and out. And Mom was the one who gave birth to me.”

My dad suddenly froze.

It seemed to be the first time he had truly realized that in a marriage, his daughter would not become the role he played. She would become the role his wife played.

Those very real benefits all required me to give something.

At least, that was how it worked under traditional family values.

In truth, my dad was not the kind of man who never lifted a finger. He did not smoke or drink, handed over his salary, helped with chores, and never ordered my mom around.

By traditional standards, he counted as a good man.

But after so many years, I could still see all kinds of resentment my mom carried inside her marriage.

Still, my dad was an educated man, and he quickly found another angle. “Qingtong, you are already part of upper management at your company. If you want to rise higher, a stable marriage is very necessary.”

My dad knew I cared about my career, and he had aimed right at my weak spot.

“Besides, times have changed. Your income is higher than many men’s,” my dad said. “Find yourself a virtuous man.”

My mom seized the chance. “Exactly. Mom will find you a man who can cook and manage the house. Why don’t you meet him?”

“Mom, I don’t only want someone who does housework. He also has to be handsome, have a good figure, be faithful, and not be more than three years older than me,” I paused, then slowly added, “Oh, and his income has to be at least half of mine.”

My mom exploded the moment she heard that. “Being handsome will not put food on the table. And you want him to make seven or eight hundred thousand a year?”

I was no longer the shy young girl I had been a few years ago. Now I spoke much more directly.

“If he is ugly, I won’t be able to kiss him. I won’t feel any desire. I will cheat.”

My mom was speechless.