Chapter 6: Even His Friends Couldn’t Stand It

“Hmm?”

Both of his comrades were stunned.

These two were his father-in-law and mother-in-law?

And this village beauty, with her eyes swollen from crying, was the fiancée he was about to marry?

They had just beaten her parents. The two of them were so embarrassed they wished they could find a hole to crawl into.

What could they do?

Having encountered this situation, they had to try and help out, as a way of making amends.

Yi Yunshuo spoke up, “Jiangting, which comrade borrowed the money? You should go and get it back so you can have your wedding properly. If their family is struggling, we’ll find a way to help them.”

He thought to himself: which comrade could be so inconsiderate? No matter how difficult their situation, they shouldn’t borrow someone’s wedding money, leaving them unable to get married. How embarrassing to have the in-laws storm over like this!

Lu Jiangting stammered, unable to give an answer.

Fu Huayi frowned slightly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at him.

“Ahshuo, it’s fine. The marriage report has already been submitted. We can always hold the banquet later,” Lu Jiangting said.

Lin Yuyao burst into tears, “You liar, you swindler! I’m going to report you for deceiving me and stealing my dowry.”

What?

How had he turned into a swindler now?

Yi Yunshuo quickly interjected, “Sister-in-law, that’s a bit harsh. You can’t just say that.”

“Listen to me first, and then you can decide if I’m exaggerating,” Lin Yuyao said, wiping her tears as she began to sob and recount what had happened. “Lu Jiangting told me he lent the money to a comrade to save a life. He told me to go back and tell my parents that his unit had an urgent mission and that we’d get married when he returned next time. I believed him. I really thought about lying to my parents.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Dawei and Ye Lian’s faces turned pale with rage.

“You damn scoundrel! You tricked my daughter into lying to us? My God, is there really someone like this in the world? Everyone, come take a look! Who has a son-in-law so shameless that he tricks his daughter into lying to her own parents?”

Lu Jiangting’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment. He felt like he had lost all dignity, inside and out.

At the same time, he felt extremely dissatisfied with Lin Yuyao. He had merely lent out some money—how had she managed to blow things up into such a disaster?

Was this wedding even going to happen anymore?

“Dear in-laws, please calm down. Let Jiangting explain what’s going on,” his parents tried to interject.

Lu Jiangting remained speechless, unsure of how to respond.

As he hesitated, Lin Yuyao spoke up for him.

“He said he lent the money to a comrade to save a life, but… but I saw that he didn’t give the money to a comrade. He lent it to Fang Qing to open a salon.”

What?

“Fang Qing?” Lu Cong asked, “Isn’t that Wang Jianjun’s widow, Fang Qing?”

“Yes, Father. I did lend it to her,” Lu Jiangting admitted, then turned to Lin Yuyao and said, “Yuyao, I’ve explained this to you before. Jianjun saved my life. I can’t just ignore his widow and son.”

Lu Cong nodded and defended his son, “Yuyao, Jianjun did indeed save Jiangting’s life. Jiangting is a man who values his relationships deeply. If Fang Qing and her son are in trouble, he can’t just stand by and do nothing—that would bring shame upon him.”

Yes, this family always tried to reason with her whenever she expressed dissatisfaction, subtly manipulating her thoughts.

Unfortunately, in the dream, the other version of her had endured far too much. Step by step, she had retreated, endured, and continued to endure, until she had endured for a lifetime.

Lin Yuyao said, “It would’ve been fine if he had just lent his own money, but he also gave away the dowry my mother had prepared for me. He’s a liar! He stole my money!”

“This…” Lu Cong was at a loss for words.

Lin Yuyao continued, “He never intended to have the wedding banquet. He thought that since the marriage report was already submitted, he could save money by not holding the banquet.”

Lu Jiangting immediately countered, “I didn’t think that way. I was planning to hold the banquet a few months later, once we had the money.”

“A few months later?” Lin Yuyao scoffed. “It’s only March. What exactly do you mean by ‘a few months later’? Do you even have any leave left this year?”

Lu Jiangting fell silent. He had already used up all his leave for the year in preparation for the wedding.

“See?” Lin Yuyao addressed everyone. “What he’s saying about holding the wedding in a few months is just an excuse. When the time comes, he’ll say he doesn’t have any leave left this year and push it off until next year.”

She hit the nail on the head, and Lu Jiangting had no defense.

Lin Yuyao pressed on, “Next year, who knows, I might be pregnant by then. He’ll use that as another excuse, saying it’s too inconvenient to have a big wedding with a belly out front. He’ll claim it’s just a formality and say we should forget about it. And just like that, it’ll never happen—this is how a lifetime slips away.”

“Yuyao, I never intended for things to happen like that,” Lu Jiangting protested.

“You might not have intended it, but that’s exactly what you’ve done,” Lin Yuyao shot back.

Lu Jiangting rubbed his temples. “Then what do you want me to do? Jianjun saved my life. I can’t just ignore Fang Qing and her son.”

“Yes, this time you use that reason to make me compromise, to trick me out of my dowry. What about next time? Or the time after that? When they’re in trouble again, they’ll come looking for you.”

“And of course, you’ll help. If you don’t, people will gossip and say you lack gratitude.”

“But every time you help her, you’ll pressure me into compromising again. If I refuse to compromise, then I’m the one who’s unreasonable.”

“It’s you who owes her, but for the rest of our lives, I’ll be the one paying back that debt for you.”

“You’ll have repaid your debt to Wang Jianjun, but what about me? How are you going to repay me, after I spend my entire life compromising, giving in again and again?”

Lu Jiangting stared at her in shock, his lips slightly parted, but not a single word came out.

The neighbors around them murmured, agreeing that Lin Yuyao’s concerns were valid.

Beside them, Yi Yunshuo awkwardly chimed in, “Maybe you’re being a bit too harsh? Fang Qing can’t always rely on Jiangting…”

“Help?” Lin Yuyao turned to Yi Yunshuo and said, “Why not? Fang Qing knew perfectly well that Lu Jiangting was coming back to get married, yet she chose this exact moment to borrow not only his wedding money but also my dowry. What do you think was going through her mind?”

Yi Yunshuo: “…”

“Couldn’t the hair salon wait a few months to open? Why does it have to be now? What’s her intention? Is she deliberately trying to stop us from getting married?”

Yi Yunshuo was at a loss for words. Lin Yuyao’s analysis made sense. It wasn’t right for Fang Qing to choose this moment to borrow all the money.

She knew they were about to get married. Out of all the people she could have asked, why him?

“Besides, the wedding is only three days away. Couldn’t she have waited a few more days?” Lin Yuyao continued. “Afterward, we’d receive quite a bit from the wedding gifts, right? The way she’s acting, it’s as if she’s deliberately trying to stop us from getting married.”

“It’s not like that,” Lu Jiangting stepped in to defend Fang Qing. “There’s an elderly couple downstairs from their apartment who are selling their house, and it’s a rare opportunity. They’re in a hurry to sell, so she urgently needed the money now. It just happened to coincide with these few days. It wasn’t on purpose.”

An older woman in the crowd, unable to stay silent any longer, spoke up. “Couldn’t she have asked someone else for the money? Why does it have to be you?”

“She doesn’t have anyone else she’s close to. I’m the only one she could ask.”

“Hmph, sounds like an excuse to me. She’s taking advantage of the fact that her husband saved your life, knowing you wouldn’t refuse her. Once she starts asking, it’ll never stop. Whenever she’s in trouble, she’ll come to you for help again.”

The old woman then turned to Ye Lian and Lin Dawei, saying, “I don’t think this marriage should happen. If it does, your Yuyao will be burdened with endless grievances for the rest of her life.”