Chapter 5

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**Chapter 5**

Whether he was cured or not, his mother-in-law didn't care; the main thing was that she now had an idea. At the crack of dawn, Chyntia pounded on Stefan’s bedroom door. Oddly enough, instead of hurling insults and snide remarks, her voice was persuasive—much like a villain stabbing an opponent in the back, oozing forced sweetness and charm.

“Stefan, are you awake?”

Stefan opened the door and replied, “I’ve been awake since four o'clock, Mom.”

Chyntia nodded, cracking an unpleasant half-smile. A forced smile. A smile with an ulterior motive. Anyone who could read her eyes would see the unmistakable malice in them.

With a sly glint in her eye, Chyntia said, “I have some chores for you before you head out to pick up rides, Stefan.”

“What chores, Mom? I’m ready whenever you are.”

“The plates, glasses, pans—hurry up and wash all those dirty dishes!”

“Yes, Mom. I’ll get right on it.”

Stefan promptly headed to the kitchen. He didn't miss a single item, leaving everything spotless and sparkling.

Chyntia called over her husband and three children.

“We have a new housemaid now,” Chyntia said with a beaming face.

“Wash them thoroughly!” Luchy ordered.

“You’d better not leave a single spot dirty!” Robert sneered.

Bobby blew his top. “Stefan, what do you mean by giving your wife fifty thousand rupiahs?! How is that pittance supposed to be enough? Are you trying to insult my daughter?”

While scrubbing a soapy plate, Stefan answered, “Hopefully I’ll get plenty of orders today, Father. If necessary, I’ll stay out until eleven at night so I can give my wife more money.”

“I don't care what time you come home. Just remember, I won't have you humiliating my daughter with a fifty-thousand-rupiah allowance. Do you have no respect for her?”

“I respect my wife very much, Father. Alright, starting today, I will give her more than that.”

After finishing the dishes, Stefan wanted to excuse himself to his mother-in-law. But before he could leave, she ordered him to do the laundry and hang the clothes to dry.

“Can you manage that? Didn't you say you were fully recovered?”

“Of course I can do it, Mom.”

When everyone else was busy with their own affairs, only Stefan and Lionny were left in the house. Lionny didn't have the heart to watch her husband being ordered around like a househusband—or rather, like a servant.

“Stefan, you haven't eaten breakfast yet.”

Stefan, who was busy hanging up clothes, turned around and replied without a single hint of complaint, “I’ll eat right after this, sweetheart.”

“You don't need to do household chores like this.”

“It’s alright. I want them to believe that I’m truly healed.”

“They already know you’re healed.”

“I want to redeem myself in your family’s eyes. I don't want to be branded as a freeloading son-in-law and brother-in-law in this house anymore. I don't want to be labeled as trash. I don't want to be an unreliable husband.”

Lionny lowered her head, deeply moved. “In the future, you don't have to do chores like this anymore.”

“I don't mind at all. For three whole years, all I did was eat, sleep, and act like a parasite. I want to prove to your family that I’m not a lazy, useless man.”

When the chores were finally done and Stefan was about to leave, his mother-in-law suddenly bellowed from the kitchen, “Look at that! Our yard is filthy. So many fallen leaves, and the grass is getting long. You’re all cured now, aren't you, Stefan?”

Stefan grabbed a broom and a shovel, executing his mother-in-law’s orders with all his heart. He trimmed the grass and swept up the yard until the front lawn was pristine and pleasant to look at.

Watching Stefan work so efficiently, Chyntia stared slack-jawed from behind the window. Lionny approached her mother, trying to convince her that Stefan was genuinely healed, urging her not to push her husband too far.

“Keep quiet, Lionny! That trashy son-in-law deserves it. He’ll probably stay sane for a week at most before going crazy all over again.”

10:00 AM.

After breakfast, Stefan said his goodbyes and turned on the app. He waited for orders around the Kambang Iwak area, still within the Bukit Kecil district. Suddenly, Stefan gasped as he remembered he was supposed to help Grace’s friend. He quickly sent Grace a message asking about the matter.

[He already asked someone else for help.]

*Good grief!*

And to think Stefan had been promised a payment of three hundred thousand rupiahs—a sizable sum that he could have given to his wife. *Ah well, it just wasn't meant to be,* Stefan thought. On top of that, Grace seemed rather annoyed because Stefan hadn't responded to her texts earlier.

It wasn't until one in the afternoon that Stefan finally landed his first order—a food delivery. He rushed to a restaurant near Kambang Iwak Park. Upon arrival, Stefan approached the cashier counter.

“GF-340. Please process this order.”

Stefan sat down to wait. Next to him sat another driver who looked visibly glum. He was thin, his skin unevenly tanned from spending countless hours on the hot asphalt. Stefan felt a pang of sympathy for him.

“How’s it going? Getting plenty of orders?” Stefan asked, handing him a bottled drink.

John was startled, his internal monologue abruptly cut short. “Huh? For me? Thanks, man. Just two so far.”

“What time did you start?”

“Since six in the morning,” John replied weakly.

“How about the past few days? Same as today?”

“It’s pretty much like this until afternoon. Three orders max. By nightfall, I’m lucky if I get five.”

Five orders. At an average of ten thousand rupiahs per order, that was a gross income of fifty thousand rupiahs. Gas cost twenty thousand rupiahs, then food, not to mention cigarettes if he smoked. And if anything went wrong on the road—like a flat tire or something similar—how much net income would actually be left?

“Hang in there, John. Hopefully tomorrow brings better fortune.”

Stefan asked for John’s contact details. Judging by John’s relaxed, easygoing manner and friendly demeanor, combined with how well they clicked, Stefan intended to become close friends with him—a buddy on the road, at the very least.

From then until late afternoon, Stefan received no orders whatsoever. He hadn't earned a single cent of physical cash today because his first order had been a non-cash payment. Around four o'clock, he was parked on the roadside not far from the PT Sanjaya Sawit office.

Earlier, Stefan had been warned by his father-in-law not to loiter around his office, claiming it would be embarrassing if his subordinates ever found out his son-in-law was a ride-hailing driver. Stefan felt slightly uneasy while waiting for Grace’s arrival.

He sat near a bus stop about fifty meters from the PT Sanjaya Sawit office, right in front of a commercial bank. Meanwhile, inside the PT Sanjaya Sawit office...

Bobby Sanjaya was furious with Grace. “Where is that friend of yours? You said he was going to help our employees!”

Grace bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Sir. It seems he was tied up with something else.”

“Either he lied to you, or you lied to me. How could he possibly help our company if he’s this forgetful and negligent? How am I supposed to consider hiring him here?”

Grace walked out of the office in a foul mood after being scolded by her boss. She trudged along the sidewalk filled with frustration. Seeing Stefan sitting casually at the bus stop, she vented her anger on him.

“Stefan! What’s wrong with you?! You said you were going to help my coworker!” Grace snapped emotionally.

“I’m really sorry, Grace,” Stefan replied, admitting his fault.

Stefan drove Grace home in complete silence. Despite apologizing repeatedly, Grace remained upset with him, her face sour the entire way.

After dropping Grace off, Stefan continued working to hit his nightly earnings goal. At night, food orders were far more frequent than passenger or delivery rides.

However, by ten at night, Stefan had only managed to secure three additional orders. The physical cash he earned was a mere thirty-five thousand rupiahs, plus the twenty thousand rupiahs Grace had paid for her ride. Stefan headed home feeling weighed down with anxiety.

His in-laws and siblings-in-law were waiting in the family room. They had deliberately stayed up just to watch this pathetic excuse of a man come home.

Robert and Luchy glared at Stefan intensely, rubbing their noses. His mother-in-law looked at him with disgust, as if she were about to throw up. His father-in-law felt just as repulsed, speaking in a harsh, loud voice.

“How were the orders today, you damned son-in-law? Busy? Your wife needs money for groceries tomorrow!”

Stefan looked at their unwelcoming faces and let out a weary sigh. He wiped the sweat and dust from his forehead. His eyes were bloodshot from battling the road wind all day, his lips chapped from dehydration, and his body drained from skipping dinner.

Stefan then reached into his right pocket, pulling out the net cash earned from a full day of hard labor. Sixty-five thousand rupiahs, minus twenty thousand for gas, and five thousand spent on fried snacks for lunch. That left forty thousand rupiahs—his wife’s allowance for tomorrow.

“You promised you’d give her more than fifty thousand!” his mother-in-law barked while scrolling through her phone, absorbed in watching short videos.

Stefan handed the forty thousand rupiahs to his wife, who was standing beside him in stunned silence. “I’m sorry, this was all the earnings I got today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better,” Stefan said, trying to stay strong.

“Thank you, Stefan,” Lionny replied softly.

Bobby’s blood instantly boiled, the veins on his forehead bulging. “You’re still out of your mind! Forty thousand rupiahs! What will the neighbors say if they find out, huh?! You’re definitely not cured!”

Tired of dealing with him, Robert and Luchy excused themselves, shouting at Stefan as they turned away, “Useless brother-in-law!”

Before heading to her room, his mother-in-law pointed her finger aggressively at his face and yelled, “You’re completely useless at making money! Tomorrow you’re washing the dishes and laundry again. Then you clean every room in this house—sweep, mop, and tidy up all the furniture!”