My wife's WhatsApp profile picture was a cartoon character. I teased her for being childish at over thirty, but she mocked me for not understanding fashion.

Recently, she suddenly changed all her social media profile pictures to sexy photos.

I jokingly asked if she was having an affair, and she blushed and stammered, saying I was being paranoid.

Later, it occurred to me that this must be related to her recent newfound passion for fitness.

***

When I got home from work, Rudy Rogers was in the shower.

Her muffled voice came from the bathroom.

"Max, the takeout is in the microwave. Heat it up yourself. I'm going to the gym tonight, so I won't be home for dinner."

I agreed and slipped into the bedroom.

Her phone was charging on the nightstand. I carefully picked it up and unlocked it with the password.

I quickly scanned her WhatsApp messages, and everything seemed normal.

Just as I was about to check other social media apps, the sound of the shower stopped.

I hurriedly put the phone back and pretended to look for clothes in the closet.

A minute later, the bedroom door opened.

Rudy, with her wet hair, quickly walked in, unplugged the charger, and gave me a suspicious glance.

Seeing that my expression was normal, she sighed in relief, forced a smile, and said in a sickly sweet tone, "Honey, my coach set a new workout goal for me tonight, so I might be working out a bit later.

"When you're done, clean the house and do the laundry. Go to bed early tonight; you don't need to wait for me."

After saying this, she gave me a quick peck on the cheek and headed to the closet to do her makeup.

I sat on the bed and started scrolling through Rudy's WhatsApp posts. The more I looked, the colder my heart felt.

After over a year of marriage, Rudy had never been keen on posting on social media. Even her WhatsApp profile picture was a cartoon character.

I used to tease her for trying to look cute at her age, and she'd disdainfully say I didn't understand fashion.

But recently, her WhatsApp profile picture had suddenly changed to a sexy selfie, and she was updating her social media more frequently.

Her recent posts were all selfies striking seductive poses in front of the camera.

I had asked her indirectly, but she widened her eyes and said, "If I don't post selfies while I still have some looks, should I wait until I'm old and unattractive to post them?"

It wasn't until that day, when I jokingly asked if she was having an affair, and she blushed and stammered, that I realized something was wrong.

On reflection, all these changes began three months ago when she started working out with her colleagues.

Once the seed of doubt is planted, it's easy for it to grow.

I walked to the closet door, intentionally patting my slightly bulging belly and sighed.

"Rudy, I've put on quite a bit of weight lately. How about I join you at the gym?"

She paused with the lipstick in her hand and nervously replied, "The gym membership I got was from a group deal with my colleagues. It's too expensive if you join now. I'll take you next time there's a promotion.

"Okay, I'm running late!"

She hastily applied some lipstick, grabbed her bag, and pushed past me to leave.

Her flustered expression and disdainful tone sank my heart to the bottom.

Thinking about what I found in her gym bag a few days ago, I couldn't sit still any longer and decided to follow her to find out what was going on.

Two days ago, after Rudy finished working out and came home, she got a call from her mom and left in a hurry, leaving her gym bag forgotten in the bathroom corner.

After cleaning the floor, I went into the bathroom to help her take out the clothes from the bag for washing.

Among the sportswear, I found a piece of sexy lingerie.

I fought back my nausea as I examined the lingerie—an extremely daring lace design with some white stains on it.

A green hat seemed to appear over my head.

To avoid raising suspicion, I swallowed my disgust, put the lingerie back in the bag, and neatly restored everything to its original state.

When Rudy came home, I was sitting on the sofa, absentmindedly watching TV.

She hurried into the bathroom, stayed there for a long time, and then nonchalantly came out with the gym bag.

Seeing me watching her, she looked visibly anxious and instinctively hid the gym bag behind her.

The answer was glaringly obvious, but I still wanted to investigate further myself.

I forced myself to suppress the urge to confront her and pretended to casually return to the room.

Behind me, Rudy let out a long sigh of relief.

I met Rudy through a matchmaking setup.

After graduation, I was always busy with work, thinking it was best to establish my career before starting a family.

Time flew by, and I was already in my thirties. My mother was anxious, dragging me to several matchmaking events, but I was never satisfied.

Until I met Rudy.

Rudy had good looks and was a teacher, so finding a partner should have been easy.

However, she had vampire-like parents and a freeloader brother, and she was a typical "support-the-brother" type.

Before me, she had several relationships that ended once her family situation was revealed.

When we first got together, she deliberately hid her family situation. With both our parents pressuring us, we got married within three months.

After marriage, her problems started to emerge. Every month, she would find excuses to ask me for money to support her parents and brother.

Luckily, after years of hard work, I now have a stable monthly income of about fifty thousand, with a substantial amount saved up.

Since we were married, I figured I might as well help her family a bit. I turned a blind eye to her supporting her parents.

After a while, I found it troublesome to transfer money every month, so I gave her a card with two hundred thousand on it.

I thought this two hundred thousand would last her a year, but she spent it all in just four months.

Three months ago, she asked me to give her five hundred thousand to help her brother buy a new house with a mortgage in the city.

Without thinking, I flatly refused and made it clear that I would no longer give her money to support her family.

After a huge argument, she stormed out and stayed at a colleague's house that night, only returning the next evening.

That night, she was unusually proactive. As things heated up, she hooked her arm around my neck and coquettishly said, "Honey, I've figured it out. I was wrong before. I shouldn't have only considered my family and ignored your feelings.

"From now on, I won't use your money to support them anymore.

"By the way, I specially got a gym membership today. I'll work on my fitness and aim to get pregnant as soon as possible!"

I was so moved that I buried my head in her neck and promised to give her another card with three hundred thousand if she got pregnant.

Her eyes sparkled, and that night, she was particularly enthusiastic.

Strangely, since that day, she hasn't asked me for a single penny.