I was in charge of grocery shopping this month. At the dinner table, Jackie handed me a supermarket gift card.

"It's a year-end bonus from my colleague's company, 20% off. Do you want it?"

We usually split our expenses, so a 20% discount at the supermarket was a good deal. I transferred the money, accepted the card, and unconsciously picked up a piece of pork with my chopsticks.

My mother-in-law, sitting next to me, suddenly exploded. She flipped the table, threw the dishes and chopsticks in my face, and pointed at me and cursed.

"I knew you were a tough woman. I counted twelve slices of meat today, four for each person. And just now you ate one extra slice! Do you think my son won’t be skinny after a year?”

She sneered at me while talking to Jackie, “Divorce her, Jackie! Listen to me. We can't keep a disrespect woman like her!"

I looked at Jackie, and he spoke in a sullen tone, "Then let's divorce. Our family can't afford a wasteful woman like you."

The AA Marriage System, an automated program that tracks and splits every household expense equally between husband and wife, suddenly popped up before us:

[Divorce intention detected. Do you want to confirm the divorce? Preparing to settle living expenses—]

Jackie, who had been impatient just now, suddenly changed his expression.

——

"I agree to the divorce." I said in calm tone.

After I said this with a scowl, the system's large red text appeared before Jackie and me: [Please agree to begin settling living expenses.]

"We can just divorce. Why are you still asking for this? We've been living together for so many years, how every penny can be so fair!" Jackie's face suddenly changed.

Furiously, he stood up and interrupted the system, "Alright, alright! We're not getting a divorce. She was just joking!"

Jackie interrupted the system hastily and spoke to me in a grouchy tone, "Lilian, what's wrong with you? You clearly ate an extra piece of meat, and you're throwing a tantrum."

"Just admit it, what's wrong with you giving in?"

My mother-in-law folded her arms and said sarcastically, "I caught you eating an extra piece today. I don't know how much more meat you've eaten in the past!"

"Jackie, listen to me. Just divorce her! There are plenty of other women out there! She's old and ugly, and you're still in your prime, son."

Divorce? What kind of outdated idea is that? I couldn’t hold back my anger anymore. “Fine, let’s divorce. Jackie, do you think I even want to live with you?”

Jackie was so anxious, he seemed deaf and couldn't hear me.

Instead, he went about coaxing my mother-in-law, "Okay, Mom, Lilian didn't mean it."

"How about this? Let Lilian cover this month's living expenses. Consider it an apology. Can you forgive her just once?"

"What did you say?" I couldn't believe my ears.

Just because a piece of meat, I had to pay for a month's living expenses?!

He was being a goody-goody. Seeing my sullen expression, Jackie grew impatient.

"Lilian, can you please stop being so ungrateful! We don't even have to get a divorce, what else do you want? Is a monthly living allowance a lot for you? You earn so much, what's wrong with spending a little more on your family?"

Seeing my expression darken, Jackie just crossed his arms and looked down at me like he was giving a lecture.

"Look at other wives. They don't have the same luxury you do. Their husbands earn money while their mothers-in-law take care of the children! You just spent a little money and have such a happy family, yet you're not happy and insist on breaking it up?"

Seeing Jackie acting like he'd given me a great gift, I was furious.

Because of childcare, I had to pay my mother-in-law an extra 300 dollars a month for living expenses. I clearly didn't have to give this money. According to the AA system in marriage, I could have shared childcare responsibilities with Jackie. Each of us could have taken care of half, and we could have easily managed the workload.

But he insisted on having my mother-in-law come, under the pretext that she could help me with the housework and relieve my stress. Truth was, I didn't feel any relief.

On the contrary, her arrival caused a significant increase in living expenses, and the house became messy and dirty. My mother-in-law always wanted to eat and drink the best. She bought bird's nest and abalone every day.

Since living expenses were monitored by the system, Jackie and I split the bill. Not only did I not get to eat a single bite of the food, but I had to pay for half.

Several times, when I came home from get off work, I'd catch my mother-in-law and Jackie sneaking around enjoying delicious food. The garbage bag at the door was filled with leftover crayfish and barbecued steak.

I had assumed our family wouldn't make such a fuss, and I'd never mind. But today, because I took an extra piece of meat, my mother-in-law got so angry that she told Jackie to divorce me!

How could I tolerate this? I sneered at Jackie.

"As your mother wishes, I can't live like this! You want me to pay for a month's living expenses? Why don't you just take it from my pocket?"

Seeing I wouldn't give in, my mother-in-law sarcastically said, "Look at how much weight Lilian has gained in the past two years. She must have been eating well without us."

"Or maybe she's found another man. Two mouths to feed two families. Otherwise, why haven't you gained weight, Jackie? Look at her, she's gained so much weight."

When Jackie heard this, his face darkened. He stared at me.

That questioning look made me feel insulted. I glared at Jackie angrily. He knew full well that I was overworked.

After giving birth, Jackie never helped me a single day. He immediately returned to his lazy, low-paying job. The pressures of life and the expenses of the child were overwhelming, leading to a period of depression.

Because of the hormone medication, I also gained a lot of weight. Every night, after coming home from work, I was so exhausted that I could only rely on food to relieve my fatigue. But Jackie actually allowed my mother-in-law to spread rumors about me.

He waved his hand, his tone tolerant, "Alright, no matter what the reason, I forgive you this time. But you have to apologize to my mother. She's doing this for our own good. Just cover the family expenses this month. Eat a few more slices of meat, and my mother won't say anything."

"Are you crazy, Jackie? I didn't do anything that deserves your forgiveness?" I couldn't take it anymore and slapped him hard.

"System! I'm getting a divorce!" I exclaimed in the air.

"You're so evil, Lilian. Bitch!" My mother-in-law was even more agitated than Jackie.

She jumped up and down, pointed at my forehead, and spitted, "Divorce then. Spit out everything you've done to my son all these years."

[Divorce intention detected. Host, do you confirm the divorce settlement?]

I was about to confirm my intention to divorce with the AA system when the magnanimous expression on Jackie's face suddenly turned to panic.

He rushed over and covered my mouth tightly! "Honey, calm down. It's just an extra piece of meat. Just apologize to Mom and it'll be over. Why are you being so aggressive?"

"Look how angry Mom is. What will happen if she gets really angry?"

I fiercely threw Jackie's hand away from my face and glared at him.

"That's your mom. She spread rumors about me! What kind of mother-in-law is she? What's wrong with eating a piece of meat? Do I have to get down on my knees to apologize to her? I'm getting a divorce today!"

Jackie's face darken, "Lilian, have some conscience. I fell for you and married you because you and I get along, and we have similar lifestyles. Even though you ate an extra piece of meat today because you were greedy, I wasn't really angry. I just wanted you to give Mom a way out by taking the initiative to cover her living expenses for a month to calm her down. Is that a really unreasonable request?"

Looking at Jackie's slightly red eyes, I was furious. Unexpectedly, my mother-in-law got angry.

She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Is one month's living expenses enough for you? Lilian, you have to pay for all this year's living expenses and mortgage. And you have to buy me a house."

I stared at my mother-in-law in disbelief.

She didn't care at all. Instead, she spoke confidently, "Ever since you gave birth to a useless girl, not only does my son have to raise another useless thing, but he also has less money to spend. It's all been squandered by you two."

"My son originally promised to buy me a retirement home, but now, you've spent it all! You should give me some compensation!" she shouted again and again.

I just found it ridiculous. Having a child was clearly a joint decision, as was raising one. We signed the AA marriage agreement at the City Hall. We both had the AA spending system ingrained in our minds.

When did I ever spend more of her son's money? Originally, our family's monthly living expenses were only 500 dollars. But since her arrival, she's been constantly playing tricks.

She'd often buy seafood and durian without my knowledge. She'd frequently go out to restaurants under the pretext of taking care of the kids, and she'd always watch those deceptive live streams and buy useless health supplements for the family.

Our family's living expenses have skyrocketed from 500 dollars to 1000 dollars. The monthly mortgage is still 500 dollars, and Jackie only earned 700 dollars a month. His income wasn't enough to support us in the first place, and for years, I've been the one paying the most.

Now, my mother-in-law wanted me to support the entire family alone. And she was even using my savings to buy her an apartment. She seemed crazy! Jackie actually wanted to keep things quiet.

He pulled me aside and, in a low voice, advised me, "Lilian, you know, my mom originally came to the city so she could provide for my retirement. Don't get angry, listen to me. I've already gone house hunting with her. A small apartment isn't expensive, only a few hundred thousand."

Jackie smiled at me, as if I understood, "Didn't you just get a 3000 dollars year-end bonus this year? It'll be enough to make up for it. It sounds nice to say this house is for Mom's retirement, but won't I inherit it after I buy it? What's the difference between that and not spending any money?"

"Just agree to Mom's request. A harmonious family brings prosperity!" He said as he held my hand. I was completely shocked by his shamelessness.

"Not spending any money?" I slapped his hand away.

"Since you didn't spend any money, why don't you buy your own mom a house? It's all our money anyway, it's the same as if we didn't spend any money at all."

Jackie was a little furious, "Here you go again, and you’re going after me! How much do I make? If you hadn't been so greedy and insisted on having that extra piece of meat, Mom wouldn't have been so angry, you know?"