Zhou Wang thought for a moment and suggested, "From now on, you don’t need to worry about everyday matters, I’ll support you... This amount of money is nothing to me, so you shouldn’t have any mental burdens."
"..."
Yu Rou was silent again upon hearing this. After a while, just as Zhou Wang couldn’t help but lower his head again, she finally spoke hesitantly, "Actually, actually, I never registered my marriage with him..."
"Huh?"
Zhou Wang was bewildered again.
"Back then, he told my mom that he wanted me to have a son first before officially registering the marriage, because Liu Chao agreed to give the bride price first, so my mom agreed..."
Yu Rou said in a low voice, "Later, after giving birth to Yangyang, my mom brought up the registration again, but he kept blowing her off."
Zhou Wang, having studied law himself, although only half-heartedly, knew enough about marriage law, being the only elective course he hadn’t failed, so he instantly understood what Liu Chao was up to.
Before the 1990s, there was the concept of "de facto marriage" in the country, but after some legal changes in the new century, "de facto marriage" was no longer protected by law.
This meant that the relationship between Yu Rou and Liu Chao, although the child could be registered normally under either parent’s household, was legally recognized only as "cohabitation without marriage," not as a legally recognized marriage.
This not only meant that Liu Chao could fool around outside freely but, most importantly, even if he and Yu Rou separated, Yu Rou couldn’t hope to get a cent from him.
His assets would remain his own...
Zhou Wang knew that perhaps more than one wealthy person played this game, but Yu Rou wasn’t trying to climb the social ladder as a mistress—just as judged by the intelligence system, she was truly a woman deserving of being cherished!
It’s a pity, how unfair fate can be.
"Bastards!"
Understanding the logic behind it, Zhou Wang couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
This curse was not only directed at Liu Chao but also at Yu Rou’s mother.
This was genuine daughter-selling!
For the bride price of 288,000, she hadn’t considered what Yu Rou’s future would be like...
How could there be such a mother?
"I didn’t understand back then either, it was only after consulting a lawyer that I found out about Liu Chao’s intentions, but it was already too late. That’s why I can’t divorce him, because we were never married, only Yangyang is on his household registration..."
Yu Rou said with a bitter smile.
"That’s also for the best."
Zhou Wang said lightly, leaving Yu Rou puzzled because she could detect a bit of coldness in his tone.
"You should just stay with Tongtong for a while and not think too much about anything else. I’ll help you solve these issues later."
"But..."
"Trust me."
Zhou Wang glanced at Yu Rou.
Yu Rou pressed her lips together and finally rested her head on Zhou Wang’s shoulder, nodding almost imperceptibly.
Neither spoke for a moment, just quietly savoring the tranquility of being wrapped in each other’s arms.
After this indescribable deep exchange, although they could be considered strangers just yesterday, both now felt an indescribable closeness.
Such an atmosphere immersed Yu Rou deeply, because this was a tranquility she had never felt in her twenty-eight years of life.
Like Zhou Wang had felt before, she indeed found herself in an unprecedented state of relaxation.
At a certain moment, Zhou Wang couldn’t help but ask, "Actually, Sister Yu Rou, I have another question."
"Mm..."
Yu Rou, with her eyes half-closed, responded lazily.
"Were you always like this, or..."
"I..."
Taken by surprise, Yu Rou blushed deeply again. She actually wanted to deny it, but seeing Zhou Wang raise his hand again, she couldn’t find the words to explain.
"In the past, Liu Chao would use some tools to torture me, so gradually, I became like this..."
Yu Rou’s voice was so faint it was almost inaudible, but Zhou Wang, who was already listening closely, naturally heard it.
"So, it must have been hard to endure, which is why there was that scene I saw in the bathroom, right?"
"Mm."
Although Yu Rou was still shy, since the topic was already opened, she no longer denied it.
"From now on, you don’t have to endure anymore."
After Zhou Wang finished speaking, he embraced Yu Rou.
"Zhou Wang, didn’t we say, let’s not do this for now..."
Yu Rou said somewhat anxiously, trying to push Zhou Wang away.
"Did we?" Zhou Wang said earnestly, "Think carefully, what did I actually say earlier?"
So Yu Rou really thought carefully, and when she remembered the four words Zhou Wang last said, she didn’t know what to say.
He was so shameless!
Usually, people play along with jokes, but who actually acts on it like this?
Of course, at this point, even if she wanted to speak, she couldn’t actually get the words out.
...
That night, Zhou Wang opened that ajar door for the second time, and then pushed hard against it—
He wanted to break that door.