Chapter 42 : Introducing a Better One

After leaving the courtyard, Jiang Yu wandered around the streets and found herself with nowhere to go.

Beicheng was vast, but she had no place to call her own, and very few people to talk to.

It seemed that aside from Xie Fei fei, she really didn’t know who else to turn to.

But Xie Fei fei had her own job, she couldn’t accompany Jiang Yu every day.

Jiang Yu went to a park to sit by the lake, looking at the white pagoda in the distance and listening to the laughter of children playing, which finally calmed her heart.

Being rejected was indeed painful, but life had to go on.

Her life wasn’t solely revolving around He Tingyue.

But without him, she would have to start going on blind dates again.

With such high standards set before her, it would be even harder to find a suitable match.

Feeling a deep sense of melancholy, Jiang Yu calculated the time when Xie Fei fei would get off work and headed to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Xie Fei fei glanced at her and immediately asked, “Why are your eyes red? Have you been crying?”

Jiang Yu was taken aback. “I wasn’t crying!”

Xie Fei fei touched the corner of her eye. “You always get red eyes when you cry. Didn’t you go to give apples to He Tingyue today? Did he bully you?”

Jiang Yu replied sullenly, “No, he just rejected me.”

“What? He Tingyue rejected you? No way! What kind of person does he think he is? He can’t possibly want to marry a fairy or something?” Xie Fei fei was in disbelief.

Behind Jiang Yu, a voice of even greater disbelief rang out, “What? My brother rejected you!”

Both Xie Fei fei and Jiang Yu turned to look, and He Feiyan quickly covered her mouth.

With a somewhat cautious demeanor, she approached and whispered, “Did my brother really reject you?”

Jiang Yu nodded. “Is it strange that he rejected me?”

“It’s not strang, he has rejected at least eight or ten girls,” He Feiyan said, pouting.

Xie Fei fei smacked her arm. “Watch your words!”

Realizing she might have spoken too freely, He Feiyan quickly added, “What I mean is, my brother just doesn’t understand romance. Him rejecting you is his loss. Don’t be sad, you can find someone better to make him mad.”

Jiang Yu chuckled softly, “Are you sure you’re his sister and not adopted?”

He Feiyan raised her chin. “Even if I were adopted, it would only be him who was adopted!”

Xie Fei fei teased, “And you’re getting cocky about it!”

“But Feiyan is right, I’ll introduce you to someone better! My cousin is 25, a battalion-level officer. My aunt is always worried about his marriage, so I’ll send a telegram for him to come back and go on blind dates.”

He Feiyan glanced at her. “At 25, he’s still not married? He must have some issues.”

Xie Fei fei shot her a glare. “And your brother is 27 and still single! My cousin has been in the army, even seen combat, and has just been busy with work, that’s why he hasn’t sorted out his personal life.”

He Feiyan pouted, feeling a bit regretful.

She thought Jiang Yu was genuinely charming and compatible; how could He Tingyue not see that?

Later that night, Xie Fei fei was deep in thought and just couldn’t figure it out.

Finally, she couldn’t resist going to find He Tingyue.

“Big brother!”

He Tingyue ignored her and continued reading the newspaper.

In truth, he hadn’t absorbed a single word.

His mind was filled with Jiang Yu’s tear-filled eyes.

“Big brother! I’m talking to you, are you even listening?”

She reached over and snatched the newspaper from his hands, sitting down opposite him, visibly annoyed.

He Tingyue finally looked at her. “What’s going on?”

He Feiyan asked, “Why did you reject Jiang Yu?”

He Tingyue’s eyebrows moved slightly as he calmly replied, “How do you know?”

When he had spoken with Jiang Yu, he had carefully checked the yard to ensure there was no one else around.

He Feiyan pouted, “I’m friends with her, it’s not strange for me to know about her situation. You still haven’t answered me. I think she’s great, why did you reject her?”

Only then did He Tingyue meet her gaze. “She’s not suitable.”

“What’s unsuitable about her? You haven’t even dated her, how can you say that?”

She was determined to get to the bottom of this.

He Tingyue showed a hint of impatience. “Her personality doesn’t match.”

He Feiyan was puzzled. “That’s too vague. What about her personality doesn’t match? Jiang Yu has a great personality!”

He Tingyue scoffed, “You haven’t seen her trying to cheat people out of money.”

Duan Yuzhen looked as if she had been struck by lightning, sitting stiffly, staring at him in shock.

“What? Cheating people out of money?”

He Tingyue didn’t want to elaborate, but He Feiyan insisted on knowing more.

“Did you see her conning Yan Wenxuan?”

He Feiyan suddenly felt she had let something slip.

He Tingyue’s eyes sharpened, revealing a glint of insight.

“She even told you about this?”

Cheating a man out of money wasn’t exactly something to be proud of, and Jiang Yu surely wouldn’t go around broadcasting it.

He Feiyan blinked, remaining silent and looking guilty.

He had watched her grow up; how could he not know her expressions?

He Tingyue narrowed his eyes, his tone low and warning. “He Feiyan, tell me everything!”

He Feiyan felt a twinge of dread; there was no escaping this today.

She hung her head and reluctantly recounted the incident with Yan Wenxuan.

Afterward, she added defensively, “Even though we tricked him out of money, that money was mine to begin with! He took my money to support another woman. I only found out recently that he spent it all on Aunt Xu’s daughter-in-law, Lin Rui!”

But in the end, she did get her money back.

He Tingyue’s expression darkened. “So what you’re saying is, Jiang Yu was helping you.”

He Feiyan nodded repeatedly. “Yes, I promised her thirty yuan as payment. You know, Jiang Yu’s parents don’t care about her, they just want to sell her off for a bride price. I accidentally overheard that she needed money, and since she’s pretty, I approached her.”

He Feiyan pointed out, “She just wants to escape her bloodsucking parents, which is why she wants to stay in the city. Getting married isn’t her only option, she even took the job exam at the newspaper office but didn’t get selected. But I heard from Xie Fei fei that she writes well and has submitted many articles to magazines and newspapers, earning quite a bit of money.”

The Jiang Yu He Tingyue had in mind seemed to be a different person from the one He Feiyan described.

The former was a hard-working woman trying to make a living, while the latter was a vain, gold-digging swindler.

“She’s pretty, has a great personality, and is capable. You can’t see that? What a pity,” He Feiyan muttered, secretly wanting to scold him for being blind.

He Tingyue ignored her ramblings and coldly huffed.

“Didn’t I tell you not to date while in school?”

He Feiyan’s heart dropped. “I was wrong, but didn’t I learn my lesson?”

“Your allowance will be deducted next month as punishment.”

He Feiyan wailed, her allowance was only ten yuan!

“Serves you right for not being able to find a partner, you miser! Tightwad!”

He Tingyue replied, “Keep talking back, and I’ll deduct more.”