All the chopsticks paused mid-air. It was as if everyone had been struck by a "pause button."
"What extortion? You 'voluntarily' offered us compensation," Zheng Xiangmei was the first to snap back, her shrill voice grating on everyone's eardrums.
Mu Yuting let out a cold, mocking laugh. So, in her past life, when Du Dawei had drained her mother-in-law’s million-yuan retirement fund and shamelessly refused to pay back a single cent, telling her, "You gave it to me willingly," it was all inherited from this shrewd mother of his.
Everyone carries the imprint of their family of origin. Du Dawei’s personality—half violent, impulsive, and domineering from his father, and half selfish, cunning, and deceptive from his mother.
This is why later generations concluded that before marriage, one should observe the man’s parents, understand his family background, and how his parents interact. That pattern is most likely how the man will treat his wife after marriage. Genetic inheritance and environmental influence are powerful enough to become ingrained in one’s bones.
"Why would we voluntarily compensate your family? Has your son contributed anything to this relationship or marriage? If he hasn’t given anything, what right does he have to demand such a high return? If this isn’t extortion, what is?" Mu Yuting’s words rang out firmly.
"My son didn’t get you pregnant or make you have an abortion—that’s the biggest favor he’s done you! Shouldn’t your family be compensating us?" Zheng Xiangmei said with a look of contempt.
"If my son had gotten you pregnant, huh, do you think you’d dare break off the engagement so boldly today? You’d be on your knees begging our family to hold the wedding sooner!"
Mu Yaojia trembled with rage, her lips quivering. This family was truly shameless! Thank goodness her daughter had always been obedient since childhood, heeding her elders and sticking to her principles, never letting that scoundrel take advantage of her before marriage. Otherwise...
Du Daqiang, tall and burly but lacking brains and education, had always been unreasonable and only parroted others. Inspired by his wife, he immediately chimed in: "If my son Dawei had left a dead person in your belly (an abortion), who would want a damaged goods like you? Your life would be over. So, asking you to compensate 200,000—no, 400,000 yuan—is actually doing you a favor!"
Mu Yuting was instantly reminded of Du Dawei’s first love, another pitiful girl. During college, that girl worked to support him and even had several abortions for him. When they discussed marriage after graduation, he dumped her because her family was poor.
In her past life, even after marriage, Du Dawei had kept in touch with that first love, meeting her secretly countless times. Yet after the divorce, he never married her. He said, "No matter how old a man is, he only likes pure young girls. Especially successful men—why would they choose a worn-out shoe who’s had multiple abortions?" Even though he knew those abortions were all because of him.
"That marital home your family bought is worth about 400,000 yuan, right? If you don’t have that much cash, you can hand over the apartment instead. We’re not picky," Du Xiaowei added with a grin. He had long coveted that apartment. Without a degree and stuck in a poor job, having a house would make it easier for him to find a wife.
"With all this talk, is it just because Du Dawei has a dick? A powerful, exceptionally precious one? Since his dick is so valuable, why not have him sell it? He could easily make tens of millions. Why bother extorting a few hundred thousand from me? I'm poor," Mu Yuting sneered. The words were indeed vulgar and harsh, but they felt incredibly satisfying!
Mu Yaojia's eyes widened in disbelief that her well-behaved daughter could utter such crude language.
The Du parents were momentarily speechless. They had indeed hoped to use their son's "asset" to win over some official offspring or wealthy beauties, but unfortunately, not a single one had taken the bait...
Du Dawei felt as if he had been stripped naked and exposed in public, utterly humiliated yet forced to accept that this was exactly the kind of family he came from. He had always hidden behind the facade of a warm, caring man, terrified that others would discover the truth about his parents and family. He kept it all under wraps, even deceiving his fiancée, essentially trapping her into marriage through fraud.
In their previous life, before the wedding, the parents from both sides had met only once, for just half an hour. Du Dawei had arranged everything perfectly, ensuring his future mother-in-law saw his "simple and honest" parents. After all, some pretense was necessary before marriage. Once married, he planned to quickly get his wife pregnant—children being the ultimate leverage to secure the marriage—so he could drop the act.
"Mu Yuting, can you please stop?" Du Dawei suddenly stood up, agitated. "I've already agreed to everything you asked, signed the agreement. Can't you just quietly spare me some dignity?"
"When your whole family was humiliating and extorting me, you stayed silent, turned a deaf ear. The moment I start fighting back, you tell me to shut up to save your face? How dare you!" Mu Yuting rebuked him mercilessly. This man truly was a hypocritical, double-standard piece of work, incapable of change.
"What agreement? How come I don't know about this? Dawei, tell me right now," Zheng Xiangmei was the first to catch on.
Caught between both sides, Du Dawei had no idea how to explain his way out of this suffocatingly awkward dinner. He could only sigh heavily and sit back down.
With a cold laugh, Mu Yuting tossed out a sheet of paper—the handwritten "Marriage Termination Agreement" from Du Dawei.
Zheng Xiangmei, too far to reach it, shot a look, and her younger son Du Xiaowei immediately rushed over to pick it up.
After scanning it himself, Du Xiaowei's mouth fell open in a stunned "O," unable to close it.
"Xiaowei, bring it here for me to see!" Zheng Xiangmei shouted.
Snapping out of his daze, Du Xiaowei hurriedly handed it to his mother. The Du parents huddled together to read it; though only elementary school educated, they could recognize common characters.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Du Daqiang erupted in fury. Why was it all about paying compensation?!
After reading it twice, Zheng Xiangmei turned to her son, "Dawei, did you really write this? You were forced, weren't you?" She recognized her son's messy handwriting signature, but the content couldn't possibly be something he would write. Their family always stuck together, seizing advantages and avoiding losses—how could he have drafted such an agreement?
Amid the frantic questioning from his family, Du Dawei closed his eyes, leaned heavily against the chair back, and said dejectedly, "I wrote it."
"How could you... Bro, are you out of your mind? Writing an agreement that only makes us lose money?" Du Xiaowei, his dream of getting a house shattered, also roared in anger.
Du Daqiang had always been a hot-tempered and impulsive brute. Hearing his younger son’s words, his rage peaked, and he slapped Du Dawei hard across the face.
With a thump, Du Dawei fell from his chair, knocked over by the overwhelmingly strong Du Daqiang.
Zheng Xiangmei rushed over, helping her son up. "Son, are you alright? Oh, your mouth is bleeding, and your face is swollen... You damned Du Daqiang, why hit our son? All of this is Mu Yuting’s fault, that poisonous woman! She must have tricked our son into signing that agreement. If you want to hit someone, hit her!"
Hearing that Mu Yuting might be hit, Du Dawei immediately looked at Du Daqiang, ready to take another blow if it meant stopping him. No one else in the family could afford to go to detention—they were drowning in debt and had no money left to pay fines!
"I tore up the agreement! Haha. Once it’s torn, it’s gone. No more compensation needed. We’ll draft a new one—you’ll pay us 400,000! And hand over the marital home."
Everyone turned toward the voice. Du Xiaowei raised his hand, and a flurry of shredded paper fluttered down like dancing butterflies, landing right in the dishes.
Du Daqiang was overjoyed. "That’s my clever boy! Xiaowei is brilliant."
Zheng Xiangmei’s anger turned to delight. Du Dawei, face swollen and bleeding, stood dumbfounded in disbelief.
Mu Yuting glanced around, taking in each of their expressions, then clapped and cheered, "Your whole family is truly impressive!"
"Too bad you only tore up a copy."
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