*Below is a sharing from Ms. Chuong - a woman living in China:

I never thought that a class reunion could cause my family such turmoil.

It all started that night. The clock struck 12, and my father-in-law still hadn’t come home. My mother-in-law sat on the sofa, quietly holding her phone, her face unable to hide her anxiety. She had called him dozens of times, but he only answered briefly: “I’m on my way home.”

Finally, after midnight, my father-in-law opened the door and walked in. His face was a bit excited and tired, his shirt was a bit wrinkled, and he smelled of alcohol. He happily said, “It’s been a long time since I last saw an old friend, we had a great chat.” But my mother-in-law’s face was not happy at all.

She picked up his phone, scrolled through it for a while, then stopped at a short message: “Thank you for the party today.” Just a simple sentence, but it was enough to make her mother-in-law pale.

“Are you paying for the meal again today?” she asked, her voice trembling.

My father-in-law was silent. I felt uneasy when I saw my mother-in-law’s red eyes. After a while, she asked again, “How much is the bill?”

“17,000 yuan (~59 million VND)” - He replied softly.

The atmosphere in the house suddenly became eerily silent.

My mother-in-law stood up abruptly, her voice choked with anger: “17,000 yuan? Why can’t you pay again? This family is not rich, why are you spending so lavishly?”

My father-in-law stammered to explain that today at the class reunion, all his old friends were chatting about the past, everyone was praising how cool he was in the past and how generous he was now.

He didn't want to lose face, nor did he want his friends to think he was stingy, so he decided to pay for the entire meal.

But this is not the first time.

He had invited friends to eat and drink before, spending thousands of yuan each time, sometimes his entire month's salary. My mother-in-law advised him many times, but he still did not change.

She knew very well that none of her friends really respected her father-in-law. They just knew that every time they got together, someone would pay the bill, and that person would always be him.

Tears welled up in her mother-in-law’s eyes. She cried and said, “Have you ever thought about how I feel? I save every penny, taking care of my family, while you spend money just to gain temporary pride. We’ve lived together for so many years, I’ve never asked for anything. But I can’t stand this situation any longer. If you keep going like this, let’s get a divorce.”

For the first time, I saw my father-in-law so stunned.

I know you are not a bad person. You are just a man who is used to being praised by his friends, used to feeling respected by others, but does not realize that it is not worth the happiness of his family.

This story made me realize one thing: Don’t give money to others just for the sake of pride. In this life, affection is important, but family is more important. A truly responsible man is not someone who uses money to buy respect, but someone who knows how to appreciate what he has.

I don't know where things will go between my in-laws, but I hope my father-in-law will realize what's most important before it's too late.

Moon