The CEO's Little Wife

The exhausted young woman dragged her tired feet back to her dilapidated, cheap boarding room. Her room was tucked deep within the distinctive Hao Si Phuong alley. Flanked by two rows of old, Chinese-style tenement buildings facing each other so closely there was no space in between, the second-floor balcony served as a shared walkway for everyone. When she arrived, the clock had already ticked past midnight. Everyone had long since fallen asleep. Along the long corridor, only a few dim, flickering yellow bulbs barely lit the path, leaving her no choice but to use her old mobile phone's flashlight to guide the way. She tried to tiptoe, stepping as lightly as possible for fear of disturbing the sleep of the surrounding households. Dry leaves crinkled beneath her feet, and a few clothes hangers on the balcony rattled incessantly as the night wind swept past. Gusts of cold air whipped through the alley's crevices, and occasionally the haunting, desolate call of a cuckoo echoed through the mournful midnight air. As she walked, a black cat suddenly darted out from a dark corner. Had she not been completely used to this daily sight, anyone else would have burst into tears long ago. She merely let out a calm sigh, clutched her shirt tightly, and continued on her way. Reaching the silver-blue iron door of her room, she gently fished an old key from her pocket. The moment she turned the knob and stepped inside, a pungent smell of alcohol instantly assaulted her nose. Her addicted brother was dead drunk, sprawled out on the sofa watching a football match; upon seeing her return, he threw her a single glance before indifferently looking away. Sunflower seed shells were scattered everywhere, and empty beer bottles lay in disarray across the table, on the floor, and even on the sofa. This sofa had once been a keepsake from their parents, a place that held countless warm family laughs. But at this moment, it looked no better than an open-air garbage dump. The leather covering was ragged, scuffed, and soaked in the sour stench of stale alcohol from countless drinking binges. Her heart tightened at the sight, but she no longer had the energy to speak up or feel regret, for any tears shed now would be utterly futile. She silently lowered her head, gathering the empty beer bottles into a corner. Just as she reached out to grab a broom to clean the floor, her brother's harsh voice barked out: — Transfer me two million tomorrow to pay for Mom's hospital fees. The doctor just called to chase for it. She froze, staring blankly at him, her voice choking with sheer exhaustion: — Brother! What kind of nonsense are you talking about? Didn't I just give you money for hospital fees two days ago? — I spent it all! — he replied nonchalantly. Unable to maintain her composure any longer, she flew into a rage and shouted: — Are you out of your mind?! Mom's hospital fees are only two million, and I gave you four million flat! It's only been two days! Did you go and dump the money into those delusional stock market games again? All of Mom's life-saving money is gone, do you have any conscience left at all? Slap! A sharp sound cut through the space. He swung his hand and delivered a brutal slap straight across her face. The force of the blow sent her staggering and crashing down onto the cold floor. He spat a wad of phlegm onto the ground, rolled his eyes, and scolded: — What the hell do you know! I'm only doing this to change this family's fortunes! If I get lucky this time, I'll make back three or five times as much. When that time comes, I'll bring Mom and you back to days of glory, and no one will ever dare look down on our family again! Do you understand or not?! Clutching her burning cheek, hot tears streamed down as she choked out defiantly: — I don't understand any of your delusional get-rich-quick schemes! I only know that if you keep burning money like this, even if I work myself to death, it won't be enough for you to squander! — Then why don't you be a little clever?! Just burying your head doing menial waitressing and cleaning chores at some cheap bar—when will you ever get ahead? Why don't you just hook up with some rich tycoon to lean on and let him keep you! Wouldn't your life be comfortable instead of suffering like this? — You... you went too far! — she cried out in despair. Knock! Knock! Knock! Outside the door, rapid knocking rang out, accompanied by the familiar scolding voice of Aunt Ha, the neighborhood leader: — Are you two trying to turn this alley upside down? What time is do you think it is, you little brats! Do you want a beating or what, making noise and not letting people sleep?! Panicking, she sprang to her feet, hurried to open the door, and bowed repeatedly in apology: — I'm so sorry, Auntie! Please understand for us, we'll keep it quiet right now! Without a shred of sympathy, the neighborhood leader raised her hand and flicked her forcefully on the forehead: — Look at you, born to bring misery! Live properly! If there's a next time, your whole family can pack up and live under the overpass, you hear me? After scolding her, before turning away, she curled her lip in a cold huff and muttered as she looked back: "Such an ungrateful wretch, like family, like spawn." Seeing this, her brother flopped back onto the sofa, curled his lip with a hum, and grumbled: — Did you see that? Hung, her precious son, is utterly infatuated with you. If you had just been smart enough to sweet-talk him with a few polite greetings, wouldn't we have avoided all this worry about rent and money? She looked at her own flesh and blood with utter disappointment, her voice trembling with bitter anguish: — Brother! You're my biological brother! First you push me to hang out with this guy, now you're forcing me to be a mistress to someone else... What do you take me for? Where is my dignity? — Poor as dirt and you still have the cheek to talk about dignity. You're such a fool! Let me tell you, I'll give you exactly two days to throw two million in my face. If you don't have it, don't blame your brother for being ruthless! With that, he stomped off, slamming the door behind him and leaving her stranded in the chilly boarding room with a flood of tears streaming down her face. She turned to look up at the altar portrait of her late father, whose one-year death anniversary had just passed, and her tears burst forth into sobs. Ever since he passed away, all the family's burdens had fallen onto her slender shoulders. She broke down crying, then laughed at herself in mockery of her own miserable fate. — Ha... What a tragic comedy of miseries! Wiping away the sorrowful tears in her heart, she rushed into the bathroom to change her clothes, then hurried off to the hospital to see her ailing mother.