The night was gentle, and under the faint light, Zhao Lei quietly looked at his sleeping wife Li Ting, and his sleeping face was filled with a gentle smile in his dream. Today is the 60th birthday of her mother-in-law, Li Ting's mother, Tingting was overworked during the day, and after settling everything, she fell asleep tiredly. Zhao Lei looked at the balance on the phone, and struggled several times in his heart. The young couple did not live well on Zhao Lei's salary in the company, but since he married Li Ting, he has always been full of respect for his mother-in-law.
Zhao Lei knew that his mother-in-law had worked hard all her life to take Da Tingting alone, and now her health is not as good as before, but she is still diligent and thrifty. He thought that this time he had to give his mother-in-law a special birthday gift.
He gently took Li Ting's mobile phone from her hand and held her phone in his hand. Skillfully turned on the red envelope function, entered the four numbers "8000", and then clicked send. 8,000 yuan is not a small amount for them, but Zhao Lei thinks that this heart, this filial piety, is definitely worth it.
The mobile phone screen suddenly lit up, and the mother-in-law's replies followed, which were particularly eye-catching in the dim light, "Tingting, you are really a sensible child, and the biggest luck in my mother's life is to have a daughter like you." The mother-in-law's words were warm and full of gratitude.
Zhao Lei looked at this news, although he knew in his heart that his mother-in-law had misunderstood, but he did not explain it immediately, but had a strange feeling in his heart. He replied softly: "Mom, it's me Zhao Lei, seeing that Tingting is too tired, I will help her send a red envelope, you have to take care of your body." "
The mother-in-law quickly replied: "Oh Lei Lei, you shouldn't be allowed to go out so much, Tingting mentioned to me that the family has been financially tight recently." There was apology and unbearability in his voice.
Zhao Lei smiled in his heart, his mother-in-law felt sorry for her daughter, but she never asked him for anything directly, this simple kindness and subtlety made him more determined to make this decision. He replied: "Mom, don't worry, Tingting and I are doing well, we have to live well today, after all, 60 years are not easy, I am willing to spend this money for you." "
In the next quiet time, Zhao Lei began to think again and again, his mother-in-law is an ordinary old man, a simple life, and her need for money has never been outspoken, and today's red envelope, although it was his idea, but her mother-in-law firmly believed that it was his wife Li Ting.
A strange premonition gradually rose in Zhao Lei's heart, as if there was some secret hidden in it that he didn't know. His brow furrowed slightly, and he decided that he had to figure out the story behind it.
Although Zhao Lei was calm on the surface, the confusion in his heart was biting his heart like an ant. He began to pay attention to the family's financial situation, especially the money exchanges between his wife Li Ting and his mother-in-law.
A few days later, Zhao Lei took advantage of the weekend to pretend to rummage through some old items and inadvertently opened Li Ting's drawer. He hesitated, but then rummaged through the contents. Receipts and ledgers are grouped into drawers. He looked at the ledgers carefully, and found that there were many large amounts of expenses recorded in them, and they were obviously all going to his mother-in-law.
The discovery made Zhao Lei's heart wrench, but he decided he needed more evidence. He carefully took Li Ting's mobile phone again and started to check the transfer records, those frequent transfers made Zhao Lei's brows furrow.
"Tingting, are you transferring a sum of money to your mother every month?" Zhao Lei asked tentatively at dinner.
Li Ting's face was stunned, and then she looked back with a puzzled look, "Where is it? Are you mistaken? My monthly salary is only 10,000 yuan, how can I still send money to my family?"
Zhao Lei's heart sank to the bottom, obviously Li Ting didn't want to admit all this. He felt cheated, but he decided to give Li Ting another chance.
"Then what's going on with these transfer records? What did you do with all this money?" Zhao Lei quietly asked the question in his heart.
Li Ting was silent, and after a long while, she whispered, "I ...... that money." She paused, as if searching for a suitable answer.
Looking at his wife's hesitation, Zhao Lei understood in his heart that the money relationship between Tingting and his mother-in-law was not simple, and it might even hide secrets that he could not imagine.
In the next few days, Zhao Lei decided to work overtime, and at the same time let himself have more time to investigate the matter. He found Tingting's colleague to understand the situation and asked Tingting if she had any financial difficulties or special expenses.
"Tingting, she is a model of our company's economy, how can there be any big expenses? Why do you ask that?" The colleague's words made Zhao Lei even more convinced that Tingting's hidden secret may be far beyond his expectations.
In the middle of the night, Zhao Lei secretly went to his mother-in-law's house to try to find more clues. He observed that his mother-in-law had recently bought some new furniture and even had someone repaint the house, all of which seemed so abrupt.
"Lei Lei, why are you coming here so late?" The mother-in-law's surprised voice brought Zhao Lei back to his senses.
"Mom, I'm just coming to see you. Zhao Lei reluctantly squeezed out a smile and replied, "This new sofa and TV are very good, why do you suddenly want to change to a new one?"
The mother-in-law replied casually: "Hey, I just think the old one is too old, and Tingting is also very filial, saying that she will use her year-end bonus to help me change my home." "
Zhao Lei's heart was shocked, the year-end bonus? This is obviously because he gave Tingting all the bonuses distributed by the company in advance, how did it become Tingting's filial piety in the mouth of his mother-in-law?
Tired mixed with sadness, Zhao Lei didn't ask any more, and returned home after saying goodbye, knowing that he had to find out the truth of everything as soon as possible.
A few days later, late one night, Zhao Lei pretended to sleep on the sofa. He listened with his eyes closed until he heard the text message prompt on Li Ting's mobile phone ringing. She walked out of the room softly, lowered her voice and began to talk. Zhao Lei's heart was beating faster, this was the time to find the truth.
Zhao Lei got up from the sofa silently and peeked into the room through the half-hidden door. Li Ting was sideways in front of the window, holding a mobile phone in her hand, with a rare happy smile on her face.
"Mom, Zhao Lei got a big bonus this time, don't worry, we can live more comfortably in the future. Li Ting's words made Zhao Lei feel cold behind him.
"That kid is working too hard, we can't let him find out..." The mother-in-law whispered on the other end of the phone, sounding a little weak-hearted.
Li Ting chuckled and responded: "Mom, you are too careful, Zhao Lei is stupid, as long as we don't say it, he will never know." "
Zhao Lei's heart was like a knife, it turned out that he was such an existence in Li Ting's heart, he trusted his wife so much, but he didn't expect to be used in exchange. He felt like a complete fool. But he knew that this was not the time to get angry, and what he needed was more evidence.
The next day, Zhao Lei went to work as usual, but a plan was brewing in his heart. After work, he didn't go home directly, but went directly to the aunt's house who had been doing housework for Tingting's family for a long time.
"Lei Lei, why do you have time to come to me?" Auntie greeted him warmly.
Zhao Lei pretended to be calm and asked, "Auntie, I want to ask, do Tingting and her mother often let you buy some valuable things?"
The aunt looked a little surprised, hesitated for a moment and said, "I shouldn't have said this, but you are a good person, and I don't want to hide it from you." Indeed, Li Ting's mother often gave me money to help me buy some designer clothes and jewelry. "
All this hit Zhao Lei like a thunderbolt from the blue, and he was grateful for his aunt's confession, and at the same time a sense of powerlessness surged in his heart. On the way home, Zhao Lei's mood was extremely complicated, he couldn't imagine that his hard work was exchanged for his wife and mother-in-law living a luxurious life behind him.
The decision was made, Zhao Lei did not evade this time, but straightforwardly took his aunt's testimony to find Li Ting and her mother-in-law.
"Tingting, we need to have a good talk. Zhao Lei said in a deep voice that he didn't want to play any tricks anymore, all he wanted was a clear answer.
Facing Zhao Lei's questioning, Li Ting's face turned pale, she knew that all this could no longer be hidden.
Zhao Lei looked at Li Ting and his mother-in-law, his eyes were not as gentle as before, only disappointed and firm.
"What are you doing this for? Isn't the family's money enough for you?" Zhao Lei's voice was calm and powerful.
Li Ting bit her lip tightly, and after a long time, she said in a trembling voice: "I... I didn't want to do that either, but at first my mom was a little difficult, and I wanted to help her, and then I just... Just..."
"I can't control it, do you? You think my salary is just a number and can be squandered at will?" Zhao Lei interrupted her.
The mother-in-law was no longer hiding at this time, with helpless tears on her face: "Lei Lei, we were wrong, but our mother and daughter have a difficult life, and we always want to live better..."
"If you are doing better, do you have to deceive your family and try to cover up the truth?" Zhao Lei asked coldly.
For Zhao Lei's questioning, Li Ting and her mother-in-law couldn't meet his gaze, and their silence already represented everything. Zhao Lei understood that there was no explanation that could make up for the wounds in his heart.
"I still love you, but I can't tolerate this kind of life, I can't tolerate such disrespect for me. Zhao Lei's tone carried a hint of sadness.
"Lei Lei, I'm sorry..." Li Ting's voice choked again, but this time, Zhao Lei did not give any more comfort.
"I think we end this marriage and I need time to find my true life. Zhao Lei's voice no longer trembled, only resolute.
At the last moment, Zhao Lei ended the relationship between the two with a divorce agreement. Although he has an indescribable love in his heart, he knows better that his future should not be built on lies.
Zhao Lei was packing his things alone, and those good memories were like foam, shattering at the touch of a light. Before going out, he left Li Ting with a deep look, and there was no more words.
Walking on the road to a new life, Zhao Lei silently asked himself in his heart: family, trust, money, love, what does all this mean?