Chapter 4: Showing Up to Ask for a Red Packet (1/2)

Yu Jianmin was afraid that if he dragged things out, Ma Xiaoyan might fall for someone else, so he rushed to marry her. To seal the deal, he promised the Ma family 800 yuan as a bride price and assured them that Ma Xiaoyan would live in a spacious house.

He knew that his cousin was about to be sent to the countryside. Once she left, everything in her home would belong to them.

“Jianmin, since we’re already at your doorstep, aren’t you going to invite me in to meet your parents and grandma?”

She had followed Yu Jianmin on purpose—thinking that if her future mother-in-law saw her, she’d at least give her a red packet as a first meeting gift.

The Yu family was so wealthy, surely the mother-in-law would start with a red packet of at least ten yuan, maybe even thirty. And the grandmother should give another thirty, minimum.

She was quite pleased with herself, never once considering it inappropriate to show up empty-handed.

“Xiaoyan, today might not be a good time.” That damn girl hadn’t left yet—he was worried Xiaoyan would find out this wasn’t really his house.

“What do you mean it’s not a good time? Are you looking down on me? Don’t want me stepping into your home?”

“N-no, of course not. Let’s go in.”

The two of them entered the family compound and climbed up to the Yu residence. As soon as they stepped in, Ma Xiaoyan was startled by two enlarged black-and-white portraits in the living room—one man and one woman.

They were clearly memorial photos for the dead.

Yu Jianmin explained quickly, “Those are my uncle and aunt. They passed away recently. Don’t be scared. We’re keeping their portraits here temporarily. My cousin will move them to her place soon.”

Then he turned his head and saw Yu Jingjing sitting in the living room. He silently prayed that the brat wouldn’t ruin things for him.

But no chance—she was going to make a scene.

He forced a smile and greeted her, “Cousin, not going out today?”

Yu Jingjing gave him a sideways glance and ignored him.

Yu Jianmin immediately felt something was off with the brat today. Ma Xiaoyan, already irritated, stormed up to Yu Jingjing. “What kind of attitude is that? Don’t you have any manners? Your cousin is talking to you and you’re ignoring him? He’s kind enough to let you stay here, and you’re acting like you’re the homeowner, scowling for what?”

Yu Jianmin tried to calm her down, “Let it go, let it go. She’s just a kid, no need to argue.”

But Yu Jingjing had already noticed the watch on Ma Xiaoyan’s wrist. It was her mother’s watch—the one engraved with her mom’s birth date next to the dial.

She grabbed Ma Xiaoyan’s wrist. “That’s my mother’s watch. How did it end up on you?”

No need to ask—clearly Yu Jianmin had given it to her. She took it back without hesitation.

“How could this be your mom’s? Jianmin bought it new and gave it to me,” Ma Xiaoyan protested.

Yu Jingjing pointed at the engraving. “See this date? It’s my mother’s birthday. Jianmin stole this watch from my house. Also, let me make one thing clear—this is my house, not his. His whole family has been squatting here. But they’re leaving soon.”

Ma Xiaoyan was stunned.

What was going on?

She turned to Yu Jianmin. “What’s the meaning of this?”

She realized now—she’d been wearing something that belonged to the dead.

Yu Jianmin hadn’t expected Yu Jingjing to expose him so mercilessly—or to take the watch back.

He shot Yu Jingjing a warning glare and clenched his fists threateningly, but Yu Jingjing completely ignored him.

He tried to placate Ma Xiaoyan. “Xiaoyan, my cousin’s just joking. She’ll return the watch later.”

“Return my ass. That’s my mom’s! And you wore it every day like you weren’t afraid of her haunting you for it.”

Ma Xiaoyan trembled in fear. “Yu Jianmin, you gave me something that belonged to the dead?!”

“No, no, my cousin really is joking.” He turned and barked at Yu Jingjing, “Yu Jingjing! Don’t think I let you get away with things normally, so now you can push it. Watch yourself!”

Still clinging to the idea of a red packet, Ma Xiaoyan chose to ignore Yu Jingjing for the moment. “Jianmin, where’s your mother? I haven’t seen her.”

“She’s at the police station. Caught cheating. Her lover probably got arrested too,” Yu Jingjing offered helpfully.

Yu Jianmin’s face turned green. He snapped at her, “Yu Jingjing, stop spreading lies! You’re deliberately slandering my mother to ruin her reputation. You’re despicable!”

“No matter how despicable I am, I’m not as bad as your lot. Don’t believe me? Go ask the police. Then check your dad—he’s wearing Li Dana’s underwear, right? And look at your sister—does she even look like you?”

Yu Jianmin was left speechless. Was this brat actually telling the truth?

“Jianmin, is your mom really in custody? And she… she really had an affair?” Ma Xiaoyan couldn’t bear the thought of having such a mother-in-law.

“No! Don’t listen to her! She’s just out to get us! It’s all lies!”

At that moment, Uncle Yu emerged from a room and said, “Jianmin, start packing. We’re moving out of your uncle’s house and going back to our old home.”

“What?! Move?!”

Ma Xiaoyan finally realized the truth—Yu Jingjing hadn’t been lying.

“Yu Jianmin! So this really isn’t your house! That watch wasn’t yours! Your mother’s in jail! And she—she cheated! Your family doesn’t even own a house, and your reputation’s in the gutter! Yu Jianmin, we’re over. Don’t come looking for me again!”

With that, she stormed out.

“Xiaoyan! Xiaoyan—” Yu Jianmin ran after her and caught up, only to be met with a slap.

“Yu Jianmin, you liar! My brother’s going to teach you a lesson!”

He returned, defeated, only to find Yu Jingjing standing in the bedroom doorway. Without a word, he threw a punch.

“You damned brat! You ruined everything for me—I’ll teach you a lesson!”

Bang!

The punch never landed. Yu Jingjing sidestepped and pulled his arm. His fist slammed into the wall behind her, scraping his hand bloody.

He howled in pain.

Uncle Yu rushed over to pull him back. “What are you doing?! Why would you hit your cousin? Got what you deserved, didn’t you?”

“Dad, she scared off my fiancée! Your daughter-in-law is gone!”

Yu Dabo also hated Yu Jingjing, but what could they do now?

That girl didn’t just have a strong temper—her fists were strong too. Even if the whole family ganged up on her, they probably wouldn’t be able to beat her.

He pulled Yu Jianmin into a room and revealed his plan.

“We’ll just hold back for now. Once she gets sent down to the countryside, everything will still end up being ours. Then you can figure out how to explain things to your fiancée. As for your mom’s affair, just tell her it was a misunderstanding and win her back.”

“My mom really cheated? And my sister… she’s really that Li Dana guy’s kid?”

Yu Dabo nodded grimly and told him the plan he and Old Madam Yu had just discussed.

Wu Jianmin agreed. “Let’s just drop it with Yanjiao for now.” At this point, he wasn’t in any hurry to teach Yu Jingjing a lesson.

Earlier, Old Madam Yu had heard Ma Xiaoyan had come by. To avoid giving out a red envelope, she holed up in her room and pretended not to be home. She hadn’t expected Ma Xiaoyan to leave on her own.

Now, she came out to comfort her eldest grandson. “Jianmin, that damn girl won’t stay arrogant for long. Everything here will still be ours in the end. Even if Ma Xiaoyan can’t be won back, you won’t have any trouble finding another girl.”

Yu Jianmin finally felt relieved. With so many people on their side, how could they not deal with a single brat?

But then he suddenly thought of something. “Grandma, Dad, how are we going to get our hands on the few thousand yuan she has? I’m worried she’ll take it with her to the countryside.”

Yu Dabo said, “We still have keys to this place. Once she’s not home, we’ll sneak into her room and search. With that much money, we’re bound to find it.”

“And what if she sells the house? A lot of those sent down found someone out there and never came back. If she sells the house, what then?”

“Exactly. We can’t let her sell it.”

Hearing that, Old Madam Yu sat down on the bed with a thud. “I’m not leaving. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on that girl. I absolutely won’t let her sell the house.”

Yu Dabo and Yu Jianmin pinned all their hopes on the old lady.

“Mom, we’re counting on you for this. You have to keep a close watch on her and make sure she doesn’t sell the house.”

“I know, I know. Don’t worry.”

Yu Jingjing walked in and stared at them. “Uncle, Grandma, hurry up and pack. It’s almost noon. There’s no food at home anyway. Why don’t you all go out and buy something? After we eat, you can leave.”

“We’re not eating. We’re not hungry.”

They immediately started packing their things while Yu Jingjing stayed in the room, watching them closely to make sure they didn’t try to steal anything else.

They had only brought a few pieces of clothing when they arrived, so it didn’t take long to pack.

Seeing that the old lady was still sitting there without moving, Yu Jingjing reached out her hand. “At the very least, you should give me back the house keys, right?”

Yu Dabo quickly said, “Jingjing, we’re still family. Do you really have to be so heartless? I was hoping that once you’re gone, I could stop by occasionally to check on the place and clean up a bit. Don’t worry, we absolutely won’t live here again.”

“Yeah, Cousin. You won’t be living here anymore. Someone has to look after this house, and we’re only doing this for your sake,” added Yu Jianmin.

“Oh, is that so? But I’m afraid you’ll come back and steal my things. How about this: hand over the keys for now. I’ll tidy up the place before heading to the countryside. After that, I’ll give you the keys so you can help keep an eye on the house.”

The group immediately sighed in relief.

So Yu Jingjing wasn’t planning to sell the house after all.

“Alright, that works.” Yu Dabo obediently handed over his keys, and Old Madam Yu, no longer planning to stay, also handed over hers and went to pack up her things.

Yu Jianmin and Yu Yanjiao had spare keys too. They handed them all over to Yu Jingjing.

Trying to gain Yu Jingjing’s trust, Yu Jianmin put on a show of affection, hoping she’d let her guard down.

“Cousin, I didn’t mean to treat you like that earlier. To be honest, I didn’t really like that fiancée of mine either—she was just a gold-digger. I should thank you for driving her away. Don’t worry, after you go to the countryside, I’ll come visit when I have time.”

Yu Dabo and Yu Jianmin continued their little performance. “Jingjing, if you need anything over there, just write to me. I’ll send you whatever I can.”

Old Madam Yu couldn’t be bothered to pretend and said nothing. Yu Yanjiao was too ashamed to say a word.

Yu Jingjing nodded lightly. “Uncle, Cousin, we’ll still be family in the future.”

“Yes, yes, still family.” Yu Dabo grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

Stupid girl. You’ll find out soon enough whether we’re family or not.

They left happily with their bags. As they were walking out the door, Yu Jingjing reminded them, “Uncle, don’t forget all the things you took from our house. Be sure to return them.”

“Oh, yes, yes. We’ll return them. We will.”

When they reached the courtyard, two neighbors saw them with bags in hand but didn’t ask any questions.

Since Yu Jingjing had taken back all the house keys, the group changed their strategy for stealing the money. The plan was for Yu Jianmin to come back that night, drug Yu Jingjing, then sneak in through the window and steal the cash.

As for the things they had taken from her, Yu Dabo squinted and said, “Like hell I’d bring that stuff back to her. Once she’s gone to the countryside, it’ll all be ours anyway.”

But before they even got back home, two men rushed out and pinned Yu Jianmin down, beating him savagely.

“You bastard Yu Jianmin! You lied to my sister! You don’t have money or a house—why did you say you did? She nearly married you, and it was all a lie!”

“You really think the Ma family is that easy to mess with? Filthy scumbag! I’ll beat you to death!”

Ma Xiaoyan’s two older brothers were both trained fighters. They beat Yu Jianmin so badly he couldn’t even fight back, and neither Yu Dabo nor Old Madam Yu could stop them.

Yu Jianmin begged for mercy. “Brothers-in-law, please, just listen! The house and the money—they’ll be mine soon!”

“You think I’d believe your bullshit?!”

“I’ll give your family a thousand yuan as betrothal money!”

“Really?!”

The two immediately stopped beating him. Ma’s eldest brother questioned him again. “You’re really going to give us a thousand as a betrothal gift?”

“I will.”

“You’re not tricking us again, are you?” The second brother was still suspicious.

Yu Jianmin wiped the blood from under his nose. “I’ll tell you the truth. My cousin’s about to be sent to the countryside. Once she’s gone, the house will be ours. She’s got five or six thousand yuan in her hands. I’ll get my hands on that money.”