Chapter 1

“You freeloading son-in-law!” Bobby Sanjaya screamed furiously.

Stefan startled at the harsh yell from behind the door. Bobby always berated him before leaving for work. Shortly after, Bobby’s third child would inevitably pound on his bedroom door before leaving for school.

“You freeloading brother-in-law!” Luchy Sanjaya shrieked bitterly.

Stefan curled up further on the mattress, completely helpless. His body trembled, and his breath hitched. He knew it wouldn't be long before his other brother-in-law would also bang on the door, throwing insults at him before heading to college.

“You unemployed loser! Utterly useless!” Robert Sanjaya yelled in frustration.

Stefan remained still, his entire body shaking. Day in and day out, he was showered with mockery and humiliation. It didn't stop there; his mother-in-law held a deep resentment toward him as well. Before leaving for the market, Chyntia was sure to sneer outside his door.

“Trashing excuse for a son-in-law!” Chyntia howled in rage.

However, once the four of them had left, Lionny Fransisca Sanjaya—Stefan’s wife—would enter the room to calm her husband down and bring him breakfast. In Bobby’s house, Lionny was the only one who still showed him pity.

“Be patient, sweetheart. Would you like to eat breakfast first, or take a bath?” Lionny asked gently.

“Mm... B-bath,” Stefan stammered. His eyes were wide and unfocused, full of confusion.

With love and patience, Lionny guided Stefan to the en-suite bathroom. After bathing him and helping him dress, she fed him breakfast and kept trying to engage him in conversation.

Stefan, however, was barely responsive. Whenever Lionny spoke to him, he would only reply with a nod, a shake of his head, a murmur, a blink, turning his head away, or uttering a word or two at most.

In truth, Stefan had been on his way to Switzerland to work at AlfaTech, a renowned IT firm. But exactly three years ago, he suffered a tragic accident on his way to the airport, forcing him to abandon all his plans.

He fell into a one-week coma at the hospital. Although he suffered no permanent physical disabilities, he sustained a severe concussion that proved fatal to his mind: Stefan lost both his memory and his IT capabilities.

Because of this, Stefan had been confined to his room for three years, completely inactive. He could only eat, sleep, bathe, stare into space, and occasionally babble about things no one could understand.

“Sweetheart, let me know if you need anything,” Lionny said, kissing his forehead.

“Mm? Yeah,” Stefan nodded.

Stefan Raden Kusuma—a poor, penniless man living all alone without any family—was once a top IT graduate and a brilliant programmer. He had achieved numerous milestones as a student, such as designing an advanced security firewall, developing applications, websites, and games, hunting down crackers, and mastering anything related to the tech world.

Right after Stefan completed his studies, Mr. Arya Sutejo—an Indonesian serving as the CEO of AlfaTech Switzerland—expressed keen interest in hiring him for a strategic position. Mr. Arya believed Stefan possessed exceptional skills and truly deserved the role.

Stefan’s reputation did not end there. A Javanese tycoon named Sanjaya Pratama—better known as Grandpa Sanjaya—was also interested in employing Stefan at an IT company under the Sanjaya Group. However, Stefan declined.

Despite the refusal, Grandpa Sanjaya remained deeply impressed and offered Stefan the hand of his favorite granddaughter, Lionny, in marriage. Given the offer, Stefan accepted, willing to join the Sanjaya family to build a better reputation for himself. Unfortunately, all his sweet dreams and plans were about to be buried deep.

“Can your husband say anything coherent yet?” asked Chyntia, who had just returned from Gubah Market, one of the iconic markets in Palembang. Their home was located on Gajah Mada Street, Bukit Kecil—an elegant and historic neighborhood.

“Mom, why do you have to ask like that?” Lionny replied weakly as she helped her mother carry the groceries to the kitchen.

“He just babbles nonsensically whenever anyone talks to him. I think we should commit him to a mental hospital.”

“I don't want him sent to a mental hospital, Mom. He’s fine being cared for here.”

Chyntia sneered, her eyebrows furrowing. “The doctor said he’s incurable. So instead of letting him burden us here, it’s better to send him off to an asylum so we can have some peace.”

Lionny remained silent, letting out a faint sigh. Over the past few days, she had constantly heard her family demanding that Stefan get out of the house. She simply didn't have the heart to give in to their demands.

Besides, Grandpa Sanjaya had forbidden it. After Stefan was discharged from the hospital, Grandpa Sanjaya—who lived in Surabaya overseeing his business—placed Stefan under the care of Bobby Sanjaya and his family so that he would be properly looked after.

That evening, Bobby returned home from the offices of PT Sanjaya Sawit, where he served as president director. He forced open the door to Stefan’s room with a heavy kick.

*BANG!*

Stefan startled, pulling his knees to his chest on the mattress. He lowered his head in fear, keeping his eyes shut tight.

Bobby growled. “You ungrateful son-in-law! You lunatic! Get out of this room and do something! You’re supposed to be my daughter’s husband!”

Stefan scratched his head and mumbled, “Mm? Yes, Father.”

“What did you say?!” Bobby exploded, his eyes wide with fury and his blood boiling. He pointed aggressively at Stefan. “I regret ever letting you become my son-in-law. If it weren't for my father, I would have kicked you out of my house a long time ago!”

Robert and Luchy came running toward the room.

“What kind of programmer are you?! You can’t even talk properly!” Robert spat.

“Pathetic. You’re nothing but a living corpse!” Luchy mocked.

Unwilling to be perpetually branded as a freeloading son-in-law and brother-in-law, Stefan—whose brain had yet to recover—forced himself to look for work to earn money. He borrowed an unused motorcycle and began working as a local transport driver. On top of that, he forced himself to do household chores, even if he couldn't do them perfectly.

Even so, over the next few weeks, the barrage of insults never ceased. Though his brain wasn't functioning normally, Stefan still had a heart, and he certainly felt the pain. His heart was torn to pieces. Eventually, even Lionny grew tired of taking care of him. Swayed by her family’s constant provocation, she grew to despise him and wished desperately for him to leave.

One day, for the first time since moving into his in-laws’ house, Stefan opened a closet in his room. To his shock, he found it filled with countless awards. He had no memory of any of them.

When Lionny brought him breakfast with visible reluctance, Stefan asked her about the contents of the closet. She answered him in a voice dripping with hatred. “All those certificates, medals, trophies, and achievements belong to you, Stefan. But they are completely useless now! You’d be better off dead!”

Stefan slumped back, completely drained. Was it true that all those awards were his? Was he really that smart and admired in the past? That night, sitting alone—as he always slept alone—he stared blankly at the closet.

Despite doing his absolute best to prove he wasn't a parasite or trash in this house, his wife's family continued to hate and demean him. Things never improved. Ultimately, Stefan decided to end his life.

In a desperate moment, he gathered all the medication and vitamins prescribed by the doctor—over a hundred pills—and swallowed them all at once. He collapsed into unconsciousness for two full days.

Instead of dying from an overdose, however, Stefan’s memories and abilities returned. Upon waking up, he was stunned by what had happened to him.

“Why am I here? I’m supposed to be at the airport heading to Switzerland,” Stefan whispered to himself.

Remarkably, his brain had returned to normal—and was even far superior than before. All his memories were neatly reorganized in his head. Astonishingly, the number of active neurons in his brain had doubled compared to a normal human being.

A scream echoed from outside. “Why are you talking to yourself? You lunatic! Trashy son-in-law!” Bobby roared.

Stefan smirked, a low hiss escaping his lips. “Trashy son-in-law? We’ll see who ends up being trash.”