Chapter 2: Meeting

　　

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the couple in the living room stopped talking and looked towards the door in unison.

Jiang Yining glanced at them, changed his shoes as if nothing had happened, walked into the living room, then poured himself a glass of water without even bothering to call anyone.

Seeing that Jiang Yining looked calm and composed, Zhao Hong couldn’t guess what she was thinking for a moment, so she nudged Jiang Wentao beside her with her elbow.

Jiang Wentao was reluctant, but still asked, “Ningning, did you go to meet Mr. Chen this afternoon?”

Jiang Yining put down the water cup and said slowly, “I went there. Mr. Chen’s material conditions are quite good.”

“He said that if I was willing to marry him, he would not only give me a dowry of 500,000 yuan, but also give me an extra house in the city center.”

When Zhao Hong heard this, her eyes suddenly lit up.

Jiang Wentao breathed a sigh of relief and tried to use this opportunity to reconcile the relationship between his wife and daughter. “Ningning, look how good Aunt Hong is to you. This is the blind date she carefully selected for you.”

Seeing that Jiang Yining was not angry, Zhao Hong also said, “It’s rare to find such a generous man nowadays. Although you have blamed me and your father in the past two years, every time we did it was for your own good…”

Jiang Yining sneered in his heart.

She had originally planned to quietly appreciate their performance, but she couldn’t bear to listen any longer, so she said calmly, “I refuse.”

“What?”

Zhao Hong couldn’t believe it, frowned and stood up, “Yining, why did you refuse such a good offer from Mr. Chen?”

“You are already 27 years old this year, and you are not seen dating. People in the community ask me about it when they see me, and they think that I, as your stepmother, don’t care about you.”

Zhao Hong’s tone became more intense. Jiang Wentao was worried that the two of them would start arguing again, so he winked at Jiang Yining, signaling her to say less.

Jiang Yining has been working for several years since she graduated, and she is no longer the person who would swallow her anger in silence.

She looked at Zhao Hong fearlessly and kindly suggested, “Auntie Hong, since Mr. Chen’s conditions are so good, you can introduce him to your daughter if you are reluctant.”

“If I remember correctly, Zhao Jiajia is 26 years old this year, so she can also fall in love and get married.”

Zhao Hong blurted out, “That man is almost forty years old and divorced…”

Meeting Jiang Yining’s cold and mocking eyes, Zhao Hong stopped talking in time.

Jiang Wentao looked at Zhao Hong in surprise.

“How could you introduce such a person to Ningning? She is still young, there is a dozen years difference between them!”

Zhao Hong glared at him angrily, “Jiang Wentao, don’t you know what the situation is at home now? Neither you nor I have a house under our names, and Yangyang will be in the first grade next year.”

She pointed at Jiang Yining and said, “Your precious daughter has been working for five years and has not brought a penny home.”

“She has the right to occupy the house! You raised her to this age, shouldn’t she marry a rich man to help support the family?”

Jiang Wentao was also angry. “Ningning has to pay back her uncle’s money. You can’t treat her like this no matter what. It’s okay that he’s old, but he’s also a divorced man.”

Zhao Hong sneered, “Not only are they divorced, but they also have a child.”

Jiang Wentao’s voice was so trembling that he couldn’t speak, “You…”

Jiang Yining watched coldly. She stood aside and watched them quarrel as if nothing had happened.

After a while, Zhao Hong started to curse, and Jiang Yining walked away calmly.

The couple continued to argue, and even after she closed the door, she could still hear Zhao Hong yelling.

Aunt Sun, the neighbor next door, opened the door and asked curiously, “Yining, what are your father and Zhao Hong arguing about?”

In this community, Aunt Sun is well-known for her loud mouth. If she finds out about something happening in someone’s family, it will surely spread throughout the community the next day.

Jiang Yining looked back at the door he had closed, then turned around and said with a look of embarrassment, “Aunt Sun, I can tell you, but you must not tell anyone.”

Aunt Sun vowed, “I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

Jiang Yining hesitated whether to tell her.

Aunt Sun was anxious, “Yining, we have been neighbors for so many years, do you still not trust

your Aunt Sun’s character?”

Jiang Yining smiled and said, “Of course I believe it, but it’s a little hard to talk about it.”

She thought for a while before slowly speaking, “Aunt Hong introduced me to a blind date, but the other party is older and divorced with a child. I was kept in the dark beforehand, and now my dad knows about it and is angry with Aunt Hong.”

The more he spoke, the sadder Jiang Yining’s voice became.

Aunt Sun felt sorry for her. She had watched Jiang Yining grow up and knew that she had always been sensible and well-behaved.

She comforted him, “Yining, don’t be sad. Zhao Hong’s behavior was not kind. I will talk to your father tomorrow.”

Jiang Yining thanked him, but she didn’t stay any longer. “Auntie Sun, I have something else to do, so I’ll leave first. Don’t tell anyone else about this.”

After a while, Jiang Yining finally heard Aunt Sun’s perfunctory voice, “Okay, I won’t tell you. I won’t tell you.”

Jiang Yining looked up at Aunt Sun and saw that she was concentrating on listening to the quarrel inside.

When she returned to her place, she smelled the delicious food as soon as she opened the door.

Jiang Yining lives with his childhood friend Zhang Qiao in a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment. Zhang Qiao’s parents paid for the down payment and renovation, and Zhang Qiao paid the mortgage.

She gave Zhang Qiao one thousand yuan every month and lived in the second bedroom.

Hearing the door close, Zhang Qiao came out with the braised fish. Seeing Jiang Yining’s listless expression, she didn’t ask her, “Ningning, wash your hands and eat first.”

Jiang Yining put down her bag, washed her hands and helped serve the rice.

When the two sat down to eat, Zhang Qiao poured them a drink and said, “My mother called me before you came back and asked me to comfort you.”

Zhang Qiao couldn’t understand, “How did my mother know so quickly that your stepmother found you a blind date?”

She was busy cooking at the time and didn’t ask any further questions.

Jiang Yining said in a nonchalant tone, “I met Aunt Sun when I went out.”

The word “meet” is used very cleverly!

Zhang Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, “You said that? Aren’t you afraid that everyone in the neighborhood will gossip about your family in the future?”

“That place is not my home anymore. Let others say what they want.”

Jiang Yining told Zhang Qiao about the blind date, “I knew what Zhao Hong was planning, but I didn’t expect her to do it so decisively.”

She deliberately told Aunt Sun about this, wanting everyone to know how Zhao Hong bullied her, so that Zhao Hong would not be able to confuse right and wrong all day long.

The more Jiang Yining thought about it, the angrier he became, and she put the bowl in her hand on the table.

She raised her eyes to look at Zhang Qiao, her beautiful eyebrows tightly knitted, “Why is she so evil? Didn’t she see that the man is almost bald, has a big belly like he is nine months pregnant, and is divorced and has a baby…”

Zhang Qiao burst into laughter. She had seen the photos. “Nowadays, you can’t trust the words of the introducer. My God, how is this different from fraud?”

Jiang Yining continued, “When I left, Zhao Hong and my dad were still arguing about the house. She drove me out of the house step by step. After failing to snatch the house, she now wants to cheat me for the 500,000 yuan betrothal gift.”

“She thought I was still the same Jiang Yining as before, and I was foolishly deceived by her.”