Working as a food delivery man for five years, I, Patrick Dempster supported my girlfriend, who could not afford tuition fees, from her second year to her third year of graduate school.

Later on, I also provided for her living needs well with a salary of thousands of dollars.

My girlfriend, Eloise Shaquille, who had successfully completed her education well, told me, "We are no longer people of the same class. How can a graduate student be the girlfriend of a food delivery man?"

I trembled and asked her, "What do you mean by saying this?"

"I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore ... I want to be your wife."

In the hot Oakenvale.

After delivering seven orders, I found a shady spot to rest and casually opened WhatsApp to see if my Little Cat missed me.

[Are you there?]

She was not very enthusiastic today and I thought maybe she was short of money again, so I gave her two hundred eighty dollars.

[I won't take it. I'm not short of money now. You know, I'm making over one thousand four hundred dollars per month now.]

[That's great, the salary for graduate students is high.]

[Uh-huh ....]

She fell silent.

I asked in confusion, [What's wrong? You seem a little unhappy today.]

[Nothing, I just encountered some problems and and felt frustrated.]

[Tell me, I'll give you some advices.]

[Aren't you delivering now? Chatting with me won't affect you, right?]

A hint of sweetness rose in my heart, always thinking for me.

[It's okay, I'm taking a break now.]

[Well ... I'll tell you, the manager of the company is pursuing me.]

My hands trembled as I typed. [Did he harass you? I'll go and talk to him.]

[No, no, you can't even get into the company. I don't want to talk to you about this. What I want to talk to you is that he is very rich, highly respected in the company and has a luxury house and a luxury car in the Oakenvale. He said that as long as I am with him, he will give me a house.]

Reading her reply, my heart was like falling into an ice cave. I suddenly understand what she meant.

The first sword he swung, the first drawn to a loved one.

[I see. So, what do you mean?]

[Listen to me first, do you know how much the house he gave me is worth? It can save me twenty years of hard work.]

[What the hell do you mean?]

My hands started trembling. I had been paying for her tuition and living expenses for five years. Why did it end like this?

So, I was just a stepping stone for her!

[Patrick, I am very grateful for your help over the past five years. Thank you for paying for my tuition and living expenses. I calculated that I owe you twenty-five thousand three hundred dollars. I will pay you back.]

[What the hell do you mean! Just tell me the fucking truth!]

I could not wait to get right in front of her and tell her to get it straight.

Was this a matter of money? Five years! Was all this love in these five years fake?

Was it just for my money? Was the bond between us all about money?

If it was for money, then you should have told me clearly that you were after my money, instead of telling me you loved me when I was sad, instead of making a good meal for me when I was tired, instead of making an official announcement and taking me to meet your friends!

You really ... are too good at acting. You really don't have to act like this for the sake of money. You made me get too deeply fell in love with you.

[Damn it!]

I laid my head on the front of the electric bike to hide the tears in my eyes.

Why are you crying? You are such a loser.

[Patrick, I am a graduate student and you are a delivery man. We are no longer of the same class. Do you understand what I mean?]

[Just tell me, I can handle it.]

[Then, I'll be frank. I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore.]

Although I had expected this sentence a long time ago, it was still heartbreaking to hear her say it in person.

I took a deep breath and held back my tears.

[Okay, you don't have to pay me back. Just think of it as pocket money I gave you during our relationship the past few years. Let's break up on good terms.]

Looking at this line of text, I hesitated to press the send button for a long time.

I really did not want to give up on her.

I really, still wanted to fight for that girl.

In my tear-blurred vision, she sent another line of words.

[So? When will you marry me? I don't want to be your girlfriend anymore, I want to be your wife.]

What？

My eyes widened.

[What do you mean? Can you please stop teasing me like a fool? Just tell me whether you want to break up or not?]

I tried to calm myself down in a few second, then confirmed the truth again.

She sent a letter of permission for leave.

[I've already taken three days off. Let's go home. I will take you to meet my parents, prepare the marriage documents and we'll get married.]

[You're not lying me, right?]

[I swear, I'm not lying to you.]

Seeing this sentence, I laid down on the front of the electric bike in frustration, still feeling scared.

[Do you want to get married with me or not? Give me an answer.] She asked.

[I've already asked for leave.] I replied in a second.

She made a video call and my red eyes appeared on the screen.

Looking at the familiar face on the other side of the video call, my eyes welled up again.

"Don't make such a joke next time, I'm scared."

The trembling voice after crying surprised her a bit. "Honey, are you crying?"

"I didn't cry. There was sand in my eyes. It's windy on the roadside."

Eloise was taken aback for a moment, then she also cried.

"I'm sorry, Honey. I didn't mean to play such a joke on you."

Suddenly, three faces entered the screen.

"Bro, please don't be angry. It was us who gave Eloise the idea to blow you up. It's all our fault."

"But, why haven't you proposed her yet? It's been five years. If you don't propose her now, are you waiting for the marriage certificate to print out by itself?"

"We'll give your love and career a boost, thank us, Bro."

Looking at her group of "advisors", I really did not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Thank you, I'll treat you guys to a meal later.”

"Okay! After you get married, you must treat us to a meal ... haha ...."

After exchanging pleasantries, I quickly took a leave of absence and went to pick her up at the entrance of the company where she worked, then took a plane to her hometown.

A dilapidated countryside with small houses.

Seeing this scene, I could hardly imagine how difficult Eloise’s life was.

When she was in college, she did not have much money and could not even afford the tuition and living expenses.

In order to make a living, she went out to work every week.

She and I met at a milk tea shop.

That day, she was so hungry that she hid in the kitchen and cried secretly. When I found out, I took out half of my living expenses and gave it to her.

After a few interactions, the two of us got together. Later, when I learned about her financial situation, I gave her my salary so that she could pay her tuition.

Five years had passed quickly and I felt a sense of pride in my heart when I saw her now with a knowledgeable and dignified appearance.

Which man could take care of his girlfriend as well as I did?

Seeing her current appearance, my mother-in-law would probably be happy to marry her to me.

However, what greeted us was not a smiling face, but a bucket of cold water.

Really, a bucket of cold water?

As soon as I opened the door, a bucket of water was suddenly poured over me.

Luckily, I stood in front of Eloise and blocked the water for her in time. I, on the other hand, got drenched in a bucket of cold water.

Since it was summer, the cooling sensation of this bucket of cold water was not particularly strong.

But on the first day I met my in-laws, I was given a bucket of cold water for no reason. It was a really uncomfortable feeling.

A short middle-aged woman in front of me looked at Eloise and me and spat at us fiercely.

My temper flared up instantly.

Who is she? Why is she so sick?

I was just about to go up and argue, but Eloise grabbed me.

She shouted in anger. "Mom ...."

I was stunned on the spot.

Is this harsh woman my future mother-in-law?

The middle-aged woman named Catherina Shaquille did not answer, just glared at us, then pushed us out of the door and locked it.

Eloise cried and banged on the door. "Mom ... didn't you agree? I just transferred two hundred eighty dollars to you. Didn't you say that this money can let us sit inside?"

I hugged her and told her to calm down, so we would think of a solution.

Although I had long anticipated that Eloise's family conditions must be poor. I was not afraid of poverty, but I was afraid of my relatives stealing.

Eloise's family was not only poor, but they also looked like they were favoring son over daughter and selling daughter.

I took out several envelopes that I had prepared myself and stuffed them through the crack in the door.

"Mom, Eloise and I came to see you. There is one hundred forty thousand dollars in here. Please let us come in first."

The door finally opened.

A simple house with a broken door.

The dim room was covered in thick dust and the light bulb above was covered in a thick layer of dust.

There was only one room that was habitable, but there was already someone lying on the bed.

He was a big and chubby boy with a lot of fat all over his body, lying on a shiny black blanket and playing games.

I suddenly felt at a loss.

They would meet their son-in-law, but they did not do any house cleaning at all?

Eloise looked at me with some apology and inferiority, which made my heart ache.

I exchanged a few pleasantries with Catherina and she instructed me to start cleaning up.

There was no way I could do anything but suffer this dumb loss.

The floor, window sills, tables ... were all covered with a thick layer of dust that had to be scraped off with a shovel.

I went out to buy a new light bulb and installed it so that I could sit at the room and talk to my mother-in-law.

After being busy for an afternoon, I might not feel tired, but I really felt anxious.

I met a strange in-laws!

Sitting in the room, Catherina asked for a huge amount of money.

"Finally, someone has taken this money-losing item. I've been raising her for so many years and now I'm selling it to you. I don't want much, just give me one hundred forty thousand dollars."

What? One hundred forty thousand dollars? That's fucking crazy.

I suppressed my anger and tactfully expressed that it was impossible.

This middle-aged woman went crazy.

"What's so expensive? This is the price for marrying a girl now. If you don't give me one hundred forty thousand dollars, where will we get the money for my baby to marry a girl in the future?"

The corners of my mouth twitched as I looked at the pile of rotten meat on the bed. Oh, that pile of rotten meat was not wearing underwear and still had a butt groove exposed.

In order to stabilize my crazy future mother-in-law, I could only nod my head in agreement and tell her that I needed to go home and gather some.

With my promise, she kicked us out of the room directly.

She was going to catch fleas for her precious son.

People like us were not allowed to see her son's beautiful body.

However, there was only one bed. Where were we going to sleep so late at night?

Catherina pointed casually.

Was the direction of her finger a sheep pen? What!

In the dark night, the little lamb and I stared at each other with big eyes.

Eloise pulled my sleeve and said, "This is really a room. I used to live here."

"You used to live here with the sheeps before?"

She nodded.

I almost had a heart attack. What kind of life did my future wife live before?

There was indeed a bed in the sheep pen, but it was covered with dust.

We cleaned it until midnight before we were finally able to get on the bed.

Luckily, it was not winter. I held Eloise in my arm, feeling warm all over my body and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, I was awakened by the sound of a quarrel.

It was Eloise who was arguing with Catherina.

I was speechless hearing what they were arguing about.

The stinky fat guy pooped in the house and Catherina insisted on Eloise cleaning up his poop.

Eloise was so angry that she started crying and her mother went up to her and scolded her for being a money-loser.

This middle-aged woman had really broken my bottom line again and again.

I rushed up to argue with her, but Catherina immediately picked up the urine bucket and threw it at me.

Fortunately, I dodged it in time.

The poop and urine were mixed together on the floor, which made me want to throw up. I could even smell the stench with just one breath.

"Are you crazy? You want your daughter to clean up your giant baby boy's ass? Is your brain full of shit?"

Catherina went crazy and picked up a stick to beat us both out.

"Give me the documents now! We need to get the marriage certificate."

"One hundred forty thousand dollars! Give me one hundred forty thousand dollars!"

"I'll write you an IOU now, take out the documents!"

"You have to give me cash!"

Standing at the closed door, I wish I could kick open it directly.

Eloise held my arm with teary eyes.

I could not help but clench my fists as I looked at her face.

I wanted to take revenge for the bullying Eloise suffered all this time