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Lin Yuyao saw Lu Jiangting again a week later.
It was Saturday, and the bookstore was very busy; she worked an extra two hours before returning home.
Exhausted and with a sore back, she arrived to find Lu Jiangting squatting at her doorstep.
Lin Yuyao immediately became alert. “What are you doing here?”
Lu Jiangting had red-rimmed eyes and said, “Yuyao, where have you been?”
Lin Yuyao ignored him, watching him warily.
“Speak up! It’s so late; where did you go?”
Seeing his abnormal behavior, Lin Yuyao shook her head and turned to run.
This time, Lu Jiangting didn’t let his legs go numb; he leaped forward and caught Lin Yuyao.
Her heart raced with fear. “What are you doing? Let go!”
Lu Jiangting held her waist tightly, tears streaming down his face. “Yuyao, I was wrong, truly wrong. I’ve thought a lot these days, and I believe you’re right: where there’s money, there’s love.”
Saying this, he pulled out his wages for the month. “Look, this is my monthly allowance, every penny is here. It’s all for you.”
Lin Yuyao refused to take it. “I don’t want it. Just pay me back when you’ve saved three hundred yuan.”
“Why?” Lu Jiangting gritted his teeth, saying, “Do you really have feelings for Fu Huayi?”
Huh?
Lin Yuyao pushed him with all her strength, and surprisingly, he didn’t resist much, allowing her to push him away. She saw Lu Jiangting leaning tiredly against the wall, his eyes dark with fatigue, and he had lost quite a bit of weight.
Fu Huayi had said they were very busy lately, and it seemed to be true.
“Stop talking nonsense. I don’t want to be with you. It has nothing to do with Big Brother Fu; I have a clear conscience with him. You know why things have come to this; you made mistakes, so don’t blame others.”
“Fine, I’ll believe you. You’ve liked me for so many years; I don’t believe you can like someone else. It’s that Fu Huayi who’s up to no good. Yuyao, you’re so innocent; don’t let him deceive you.”
She couldn’t stand hearing Lu Jiangting speak ill of Fu Huayi.
He had helped her so much; without him, she didn’t know what she would do.
“Stop talking bad about him; he is much better than you.”
This statement was like poking a hornet’s nest.
“What did you say? You think I’m speaking ill of him? You think he’s better than me?”
Lin Yuyao was also angry and replied directly, “Yes, he hasn’t deceived me for money, hasn’t tricked me into marriage, and isn’t as shameless as you. He is indeed much better.”
Lu Jiangting was furious. “Yuyao, what are you saying?”
Realizing his expression was off, Lin Yuyao, after the initial surge of courage, didn’t dare say anything else that might provoke him. She carefully began to back away.
Behind her were Li Hong and Zhang Qianqian’s homes. Just as Lin Yuyao reached their door, it suddenly swung open, and Li Hong pulled her inside, while Zhang Qianqian slammed the door shut and locked it.
It seemed they had been waiting by the door, ready to rescue her at the crucial moment, their movements perfectly coordinated.
Lu Jiangting had recently been sent on a mission and was already exhausted; he had been working tirelessly.
With the others’ help, he couldn’t catch Lin Yuyao.
He stood outside Li Hong and Zhang Qianqian’s door, knocking. “Yuyao, come out. Let’s talk properly.”
Lin Yuyao pressed against the door and said, “I have nothing to discuss with you, except for divorce.”
“You… sigh! Why are you so stubborn? The matters between us should be discussed privately; don’t involve others, okay?”
“I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want any contact with you right now. Besides divorce, you don’t need to say anything else; it’s none of my business.”
By now, several curious heads were peeking out to see what was happening.
Lu Jiangting felt embarrassed and slowly retracted his hand, whispering, “Then I’ll come see you another day. Yuyao, think it over, cool down.”
Inside, the three of them remained silent, quietly listening to the commotion outside.
After hearing his footsteps fade away, they waited a while before finally opening the door.
Li Hong leaned over the balcony to look down, and when she saw Lu Jiangting riding away on his bicycle, she sighed in relief.
“Yuyao, that guy has left.”
Lin Yuyao also relaxed, thanking them. “Thank you both for tonight.”
“You’re welcome. We’re all here working from out of town; living together is fate. If you have difficulties, just say so. We can help each other.”
Lin Yuyao nodded, expressing her gratitude once more.
“By the way, that guy… is he really your husband?”
Thinking of Lu Jiangting made Lin Yuyao feel irritated, and she didn’t want to acknowledge him as her husband.
So she said, “I don’t want to marry him. He secretly had someone send our marriage certificate without me knowing. I came here to resolve this matter.”
Huh?
The two of them were shocked into silence.
“So you were married against your will?”
Lin Yuyao nodded.
“Is that even possible? How terrifying.”
Seeing that they seemed to misunderstand, she clarified, “It’s not that you can just pull someone in and get married by force. We were already engaged, but then he got involved with someone else, and I wanted to break off the engagement.”
She briefly explained what had happened, and only then did they understand the situation.
The two exchanged glances, astonished.
“Is it easy to get a divorce from this marriage?”
“It might not be that easy…”
“Even if it’s difficult, I’ll find a way to get a divorce. I won’t live with him,” Lin Yuyao said, her brow furrowed.
“Sigh!”
They felt deep sympathy for her.
“By the way, who was the one that fought with that man last time?”
“It was him. He was originally Lu Jiangting’s friend and came to our hometown for our wedding banquet. After that incident, my parents couldn’t stand it and went to confront Lu Jiangting, which led to a fight. He ended up hitting my parents. After knowing what happened, he probably felt guilty and wanted to help me as an apology.”
“Oh, I see! That day, I thought the three of you were all entangled with each other.”
Lin Yuyao smiled awkwardly.
“That means that person was actually quite decent, realizing that his friend was in the wrong and not siding with him. Some people help their friends blindly; it’s good enough that he didn’t help his friend hurt you.”
Lin Yuyao nodded. “Yes.”
She also thought Fu Huayi was quite good, very upright, fitting the demeanor of a soldier.
…
The next day, she went to work as usual. Around noon, she saw Fu Huayi.
Fu Huayi rushed in, looking her up and down.
Seeing that she was fine, he finally felt relieved.
“Big Brother Fu.”
Fu Huayi handed her several books. “Here are the books I borrowed last time; I’m returning them.”
“Okay, I’ll mark them as returned. Do you want to borrow anything else?”
“I do.” He pointed to the bookshelf inside. “I’ll take a look.”
“Alright.”
Lin Yuyao marked the few books Fu Huayi returned and then put them back on their respective shelves.
At this bookstore, not only were books sold, but they could also be borrowed.