Chapter 66: Deception, Breach of Contract, and Untrustworthiness

He let out a long sigh, “Yuyao, please don’t misunderstand, okay?”

Lin Yuyao found it amusing. “I have nothing to do with you anymore, so you don’t need to explain. I won’t misunderstand.”

There was no misunderstanding in the first place; she didn’t want to argue with him.

Because with some people, you could never make sense of things.

Lin Yuyao quickened her pace, walking ahead.

Lu Jiangting continued to follow behind, speaking without stopping.

“Their eating meat was explained to me too; it wasn’t Fang Qing who wanted to eat it, but Chen Chen wanted to. The child cried and fussed on the train for days, insisting on getting off. Fang Qing promised him that as long as they reached their destination, she would take him out for good food, so he stopped crying.”

“That has nothing to do with me; I just want my money back.”

“Yes, I know. That money… that money…” He stammered while explaining, “I admit I deceived you; I did give Fang Qing my salary last month. They needed travel expenses to come over, and I gave them the money.”

“But you didn’t need to let your parents come to my house to make a scene, did you? After they made a scene, my sister heard about it and went back to make a scene too. My parents are getting older; how can they handle being disturbed every day?”

Huh?

Lin Yuyao guessed that after she called home last time, her mother learned that Lu Jiangting had deceived her again, so she went to the Lu family to demand money.

But what did he mean by “making a scene”?

Lin Yuyao stopped and said, “Explain to me what you mean by ‘making a scene.’ Are you referring to them asking for repayment?”

Lu Jiangting: …

Lin Yuyao smiled, “It’s only right for debts to be repaid. What’s wrong with them going to your house to ask for money with the IOU? I just want to get back my own money; how is that making a scene? If I remember correctly, the three-month deadline on the IOU is almost up, isn’t it?”

Lu Jiangting found himself speechless.

When he heard his parents crying on the phone, he had only focused on his indignation.

Thinking it through, they were just going to ask for repayment.

“Fine, I admit I used the wrong words. But didn’t I tell you? I don’t have it right now. I promise I’ll pay you back next month; why did you let your parents go ask for money?”

“First, I never sent my parents to your house to ask for money. Second, I never agreed to your request to postpone repayment. Third, they don’t know your situation from so far away.

If you didn’t want my parents to come to ask for money, then you should have talked to them in advance and gotten their permission.

Otherwise, when the agreed-upon repayment deadline arrives, it’s perfectly normal for them to ask for money back. You can’t just go back on your word and then blame others.”

Lin Yuyao mocked, “After knowing you for so many years, I realize now that you’re such a shameless person.

You’ve used someone’s dowry, deceived others, breached contracts, and gone back on your word… you’ve done it all. I feel ashamed to know someone like you.”

Every word Lin Yuyao said pierced his heart.

Was this how she viewed him?

What was even more terrifying was that upon reflection, it seemed he had indeed done all those things.

Even though he was forced into it, he hadn’t wanted to…

Watching Lin Yuyao walk away, he didn’t even dare to chase after her.

Lu Jiangting’s face turned pale as he staggered back to the apartment he rented for Fang Qing.

Fang Qing was picking green beans, and when she saw him return, she quickly put down what she was doing and asked, “Did you see Yuyao?”

Lu Jiangting nodded.

Fang Qing sighed, “I told you it has nothing to do with Yuyao and advised you not to look for her. By going to her, what do you think she’ll think? She’ll definitely think I complained to you, which will only lead to more arguments between you two. Because of me, your marriage has been delayed; I really feel bad about that.”

Lu Jiangting shook his head, “It’s not your fault. I had some misunderstandings with her. If she’s making things difficult for you, it’s also because of me. As for the money…”

He looked at Fang Qing.

Fang Qing hurriedly emptied her pockets, revealing only a crumpled ten yuan bill. “This is all I have left; just about ten yuan. After paying the final renovation fees for the shop, I won’t have any money left. It was already tight, only then those people took pity on me and let me off the hook.”

Lu Jiangting had originally wanted to ask her how much money she had left, thinking maybe she could pay Lin Yuyao back first.

But hearing she only had ten yuan left and that she and her son still needed to live, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

“Is that money enough to get by?” Lu Jiangting asked.

Fang Qing nodded, “It’s about enough. We’ll save a bit and can last until the pension arrives.”

“Well, that’s good. Just take care of yourself and Chen Chen. You don’t need to worry about the money you owe Yuyao; I’ll repay her.”

Fang Qing wiped her tears and said, “Jiangting, thank you. If I hadn’t been in such a difficult situation, I wouldn’t have come to you. As a single mother, trying to earn a bit of money, I’ve been bullied by others. If Jianjun were still alive, no one would have dared to smash my salon.”

“Yeah, it would have been better if Jianjun were still alive,” Lu Jiangting sighed.

Sometimes he truly felt exhausted. Everything was fine—Jianjun’s family was doing well, and he and Yuyao were doing well.

Graduating from university before twenty, what a glorious path.

He could even marry the person he loved.

But because Jianjun died, everything fell apart.

“Jiangting, I’m really sorry for causing you more trouble.”

Lu Jiangting snapped back to reality and shook his head, “It’s no trouble at all.

“That’s what I should do.”

Fang Qing said, “I will definitely find a job soon.”

“What about Chen Chen while you’re looking for work?”

“I’ll take him to school.”

“But the semester is ending soon. How will you take him?”

“Um…”

“Here’s what you should do: don’t go look for work right now. Just focus on getting through the next few months. Once the next semester starts and he’s in school, then you can look for a job.”

“But that’s still three months! How will we survive?”

“I’ll figure something out; you don’t need to worry about that.”

“But…” She recalled some rumors she had heard. Although she felt they might not be true, it seemed he still hoped to win Lin Yuyao back, which didn’t seem like the behavior of someone who had found a city girl.

But she still needed to confirm this.

“Jiangting, I heard from your mother that you have a city girlfriend. If you help me, your girlfriend won’t get angry, right?”

Huh?

“Who said that?”

“Your mother mentioned it.”

Lu Jiangting: …

“That’s not true; I just made that up to comfort her.”

“Huh?” Fang Qing looked surprised and then whispered, “That’s a big misunderstanding. Now Auntie is going around saying you have a city girlfriend and that once you two get married, you’ll bring Auntie and Uncle to the city to enjoy life.”

What?

Lu Jiangting’s face went pale, and his mouth twitched as he asked, “She really said that?”

“Yes! Now everyone in your neighborhood knows you’re dating a city girl and that you don’t want Yuyao anymore.”

Lu Jiangting: …

“I knew there was a misunderstanding, but they didn’t believe me. You and Yuyao have such a good relationship; it’s just a little misunderstanding. How could you possibly be looking for someone else?”