Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

A and C had been dating for over a year, and A had already decided that C was the one he wanted to spend his life with. He was convinced that after proposing, marriage would follow naturally. So he specially invited a group of friends and arranged a grand and romantic proposal ceremony.

That day, when Little C looked at the flowers and the diamond ring, her eyes reddened, and she nodded in agreement with him through tears.

But ever since the proposal, A has noticed that his girlfriend has changed.

With the marriage arranged, both sets of parents had to meet to discuss the wedding arrangements. In the past, C had always made excuses and refused to take A back to his hometown in the countryside, but this time he took the initiative to suggest taking him back to meet the elders.

Upon arriving at her hometown, Xiao C's parents warmly welcomed her, providing a full meal and drinks, and their attitude was kind. However, the atmosphere suddenly changed when the topic of local wedding customs and dowries came up.

A casually inquired about the standard dowry in the area, and C's father immediately became serious and bluntly stated, "If you want to marry my daughter, the dowry must be 500,000 yuan, and you must also provide a separate property. Neither can be missing."

Xiao A's face instantly darkened. Although his family was relatively well-off, their wealth was accumulated by his parents through years of hard work. In his social circle, the bride price was just for good luck, with 88,000 or 188,000 yuan being the maximum. He had never heard of asking for 500,000 yuan upfront, plus an extra house.

At first, he thought his elders were just joking and didn't take it to heart. But then Little C's father solemnly reiterated that this was a hard condition and that they could not get married if it wasn't met.

At the dinner table, C looked troubled and stood on A's side, arguing with her parents in a low voice: "Fifty thousand plus a house is just too much. What you're doing is no different from selling your daughter!"

The meeting ended unhappily.

After returning home, C's parents called almost every day to pressure her, forcing her to break up with A and constantly brainwashing her, saying that if A truly loved her, he wouldn't be reluctant to spend the money.

Every time C finished answering the phone from home, she would pretend to be calm and comfort A, saying that she would take care of everything and there was nothing to worry about.

A felt sorry for her being caught in the middle, torn between two options. After much thought, he realized that it was the two of them who would be living their lives together, and money was just an external thing. Although the dowry of 500,000 was a huge sum, he could grit his teeth and scrape together the money.

Upon returning home, he immediately discussed the matter with his parents. They vehemently refused upon hearing the conditions, but Xiao A remained resolute, insisting on marrying no one but Xiao C. His parents, unable to persuade their only son, reluctantly agreed to provide a dowry of 500,000 yuan and purchase a wedding house for the couple.

A felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, thinking that all obstacles had been removed and the two of them would soon be able to get married and live a peaceful life. But then, another unexpected event quietly arrived.

Just when they thought that the dowry and wedding house were settled, the two of them could get their marriage certificate smoothly. Xiao A accompanied Xiao C back to her hometown in the countryside, intending to ask her elders to take the household registration book to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register.

No sooner had they sat down than Xiao C's father made a new request. The elderly couple said they were getting old and their bodies couldn't handle the workload. Xiao C's younger brother was still very young, and the educational resources in the city were far superior to those in the countryside. They hoped that after the couple got married, they could bring the younger brother to the city to live with them and raise him.

Upon hearing this, A felt a deep sense of unease. In over a year of dating, C had never mentioned having a younger brother, and he was completely unaware of it. He instinctively reached out to ask how old the brother was.

Just as she finished speaking, C's mother walked in from outside, holding the hand of a boy who looked about three or four years old, with a schoolbag slung over his back. It seemed that he had just come home from school.

A's heart skipped a beat, filled with doubt. C was already in her twenties, and the age difference between the siblings was so large, it was really illogical. He secretly speculated that C's parents must have wanted a son so much that they had this younger brother at an advanced age.

Little C, standing to the side, stared expectantly at Little A, waiting for him to nod in agreement.

Xiao A felt a mix of emotions and indescribable frustration. The two had been together for a whole year, and she had never revealed that she had a younger brother. It wasn't until the dowry and wedding house were all settled and they were about to get their marriage certificate that this matter suddenly came up, and they even had to let the boy live with them for a long time. It seemed like she was deliberately hiding it.

Little C still spoke in that gentle and soft tone, her eyes wet and pleading as she looked at Little A.

In the past, whenever she showed this side of herself, Xiao A would be completely unable to resist. He would satisfy her every desire without any limits, wishing he could present her with all the good things in the world. But this time, a strange sense of unease rose in his heart, weighing heavily on him, making it impossible for him to agree as readily as before.

He could only soften his tone and decline, saying that the matter was too complicated and he had to go back to the city to discuss it with his parents, and also give himself some time to carefully consider it.

The matter of getting the marriage certificate was thus put on hold.

Back at their shared apartment, A was in turmoil and made up an excuse to leave alone. His mind was filled with a barrage of demands, and he was torn to the extreme. On one hand, there was his girlfriend, whom he had loved deeply for over a year, and he couldn't bear to sever their relationship; yet, reason kept nagging at him, and the whole situation seemed suspicious.

From dating to proposal, it took a whole year. Xiao C never mentioned that she had a younger brother who was much younger than her. But just when the dowry of 500,000 yuan and the wedding house were all settled and they were about to get their marriage certificate, she suddenly pushed him out and wanted to bring him to live with her after the marriage. This matter seems to be deliberately concealed.

He walked to a convenience store on the street, picked up a whole bag of chilled beer, sat alone on a park bench, and started downing can after can. The alcohol didn't soothe his frustration; instead, the more he drank, the more sober he became, and all the unease hidden in the details came flooding back.

Reason kept warning him that he absolutely could not compromise and back down any longer, but the intense love in his heart was pulling him back, and thoughts kept popping up—if he rejected her this time, Xiao C would definitely be sad. Was their relationship, which had lasted so long, really going to end here?

Feeling depressed, he aimlessly scrolled through his phone and accidentally clicked into Shen Jingshu's live stream. After watching the first two case studies, a glimmer of hope appeared in his heart, and he casually participated in the lucky bag lottery. Unexpectedly, he won the opportunity to connect with her on the live stream.

For Xiao A, who comes from a well-off family, the reward of a sports car is nothing; he only asks the master to answer his questions.

After Xiao A fully recounted the entanglement between herself and Xiao C, the live stream chat instantly filled the screen with a dense barrage of comments, with netizens expressing their opinions in various ways.

Some people are soft-hearted and offer words of comfort:

[Brother, since you like her so much, and you've already agreed to a dowry of 500,000 yuan and a wedding house, what's a little help for raising another brother? Don't worry about it too much.]

However, many netizens saw things more clearly and voiced their opposition:

But her younger brother is only three or four years old, and her parents don't seem to have a stable income. This means that you've just gotten married, and you'll suddenly have to shoulder the burden of raising a child.

How much does it cost to raise a child these days? From food, clothing, and shelter to schooling, it adds up to an astronomical sum over a decade or more. This burden ultimately falls entirely on your shoulders, making it simply not worthwhile.