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Wang Cuilan angrily brushed the dust off his clothes. “You unlucky child, is your wife more important or your pride? Do you have no sense of priorities?”
“Mother, it’s not about pride. It’s about doing the right thing.”
“And what exactly is the right thing? Is lending money without a word the right way to behave?”
Lu Jiangting remained silent: “…”
“You didn’t just plan on hiding this from Yuyao and making her deceive her parents, you even kept it from us. Let me ask you, if this hadn’t come out, would you have told us that the army suddenly had something urgent?”
This…
He really did intend to do just that.
Wang Cuilan was furious, slapping the dust off Lu Jiangting’s clothes a few more times in frustration.
“Oh, what sin have I committed to end up with such a disobedient, unlucky child like you? I don’t care how you get the money back, but the wedding banquet must be held. It will be in three days—no matter what, it can’t be delayed.”
Lu Jiangting said quietly, “I want to do it too, but we don’t have the money.”
“No money?” Wang Cuilan glanced at the two guests in the house. “If you don’t have money, figure it out yourself. Go borrow, steal, or rob—whatever it takes, but you must hold that banquet.”
His two comrades exchanged glances, thinking: That’s going too far. How could she suggest robbery?
The old lady gave three options: borrow, steal, or rob. Obviously, stealing or robbing was out of the question, which left borrowing.
Hey, this old lady had been eyeing them with those cloudy eyes because she was waiting for them to offer money.
“Uncle, Auntie, I only have a little over a hundred bucks left for travel expenses,” Yi Yunshuo said awkwardly. “My family is quite poor too.”
Fu Huayi added, “I only have twenty bucks. The rest is for my travel fare.”
This young man didn’t look poor at all, wearing leather shoes. How could he have less money than the one wearing rubber shoes?
Noticing their stares, Fu Huayi explained further, “My family used to have some money, but last month my brother-in-law’s business failed, and he lost quite a bit. When they were short on funds, they asked my parents for help.
My parents ended up lending him all their savings from over the years, including the money I’d been keeping with them.”
“What? How could they give everything to an outsider?”
Fu Huayi responded, “Uncle, that’s my brother-in-law, not an outsider.”
Lu Cong: “…”
Realizing he’d said the wrong thing, Lu Cong tried to cover for it by turning to his son, “Jiangting, look at you. They lent everything to a brother-in-law, while you lent it all to an outsider.”
“Dad, Fang Qing is Jianjun’s wife. Jianjun saved my life. She’s not an outsider.”
“Alright, fine, but what do you plan to do now?”
“Well, since the marriage certificate is already registered, the banquet can wait. We’ll hold it next year.”
Wang Cuilan interrupted, “You unlucky child! What kind of marriage is it without a wedding banquet? That certificate is just a piece of paper—it doesn’t mean anything.”
“This is the new society now. What you’re saying doesn’t hold up. Whether a couple is truly married is based on that piece of paper.”
Hearing this, Yi Yunshuo felt rather embarrassed.
Fu Huayi’s face darkened, and his cold snort drew everyone’s attention to him.
Yi Yunshuo noticed Fu Huayi’s displeasure and quickly tried to ease the tension.
“Jiangting, isn’t this a bit wrong? If you really go through with this, wouldn’t you be exactly what that girl calls a liar?”
“Yunshuo, I know what I’m doing isn’t right. I feel bad for Yuyao, truly. But we didn’t get together through matchmakers’ arrangements; we’ve known each other since we were kids, growing up together with years of shared feelings.
I know her. She’s just angry for now. Once she calms down, everything will be fine. I’ve wronged her this time, but I’ll make it up to her later. It’ll be okay.”
Hearing this, Lu Jiangting’s parents let out a sigh of relief.
Yes, that girl had been following their son around since they were children. How could so many years of affection simply end like that?
It must be that their son had acted too foolishly, causing Yuyao to get angry. Once her anger subsided, everything would return to normal.
With that thought, Wang Cuilan stopped scolding her son and said, “Just make sure to make it up to her properly later, or I’ll hit you!”
“Don’t worry, Mom. I definitely will.”
“We’ll hold the banquet next year.”
Lu Jiangting nodded, “Definitely. When the time comes, we’ll make it grand.”
“Yes, it should be done properly. What you did was wrong. Show some sincerity—tomorrow, buy two pounds of fruit candy and go to Yuyao’s house to apologize.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you, Mom.”
And with that, the three of them made their decision.
Yi Yunshuo watched the scene unfold, his lips twitching.
Meanwhile, Fu Huayi couldn’t take it any longer. He stood up abruptly and said, “It’s getting late, I’ll be heading out now.”
“What?”
Lu Jiangting asked, “Ah Yi, it’s so late, where are you going? We’ve already prepared a room for you. Just stay with us.”
“No, thanks. I’ve already booked a room at the guesthouse in town, and I’ve paid for it, so I need to go.”
Wang Cuilan chimed in, “Oh my, what a waste. You should just go cancel it.”
“It’s fine. The guesthouse in town is cheap. Uncle, Aunt…”
By the time Lu Jiangting opened his mouth, Fu Huayi didn’t even want to engage anymore. “I’m heading out,” he said curtly before leaving without another word.
Yi Yunshuo called out loudly, “Hey, how about I go with you?”
Fu Huayi replied, “No need. I booked a single bed that’s just a meter wide. There’s no room for both of us.”
Without waiting for any further reply, Fu Huayi strode off on his own.
Yi Yunshuo was left standing there, feeling awkward as he faced the uncomfortable atmosphere in the room.
Everyone present was fully aware of the tension. No one there was foolish.
“They probably guessed that the comrade who left had a problem with the way our family handled things and couldn’t bear to stay, which is why he left,” thought everyone in the room.
Lu Jiangting’s face darkened for a while. After sitting quietly for some time, he finally said to Yi Yunshuo, “Ah Shuo, let me show you to your room.”
“Alright,” Yi Yunshuo replied, relieved that sleep might offer a break from the tense atmosphere.
“This used to be my two sisters’ room before they got married,” Lu Jiangting said as they entered the room, looking at the two neatly made small beds. He added, “I had prepared the other bed for Ah Yi, and I even brought out a new quilt to welcome him.”
There was a hint of frustration in his words.
Yi Yunshuo felt awkward and tried to smooth things over. “He probably just isn’t used to staying at other people’s homes. Don’t worry about him. He won’t let himself end up on the street.”
Lu Jiangting nodded, “Alright, let’s drop it. Ah Shuo, I’m sorry for making you witness all this mess.”
“I’m nothing, really. I just came here for fun and to attend your wedding. Even if you weren’t getting married, Ah Yi and I would still have come. But… Jiangting, to be honest, what you did was really not fair,” Yi Yunshuo said, his tone serious yet measured.
Lu Jiangting nodded, “I know. Yuyao and I have deep feelings for each other. We’ve got a lifetime ahead of us, and I’ll make it up to her.”
“It’s not about making it up later. What you’ve done will make her feel like she’s less important to you than Comrade Fang Qing.”
“But Jianjun—”
“Stop, stop. Don’t bring up Jianjun to justify this. Let me ask you, what if she had lent out a large sum of money and told you she wasn’t ready to marry you yet? How would you feel?”
Lu Jiangting fell silent.
“And as for Comrade Fang Qing, she’s at fault too, acting without any sense. Her actions clearly indicate she doesn’t want you two to get married. Have you ever thought about why she doesn’t want you to marry?”