"Do you know? I got double the money and thought I'd pay off my debts and make a comeback."
"But I never expected that shortly after leaving, I'd be robbed."
"I'm not stupid, I knew Cao Yuntian was behind it, but there was no evidence, so I had to suffer in silence."
Li Dazhu became more and more agitated as he spoke.
Lin Xiaotian, listening beside him, was also dumbfounded.
Losing his 'eggs' and money, such an ordeal even made Lin Xiaotian feel pity for Li Dazhu's predicament.
However, pitiable as Li Dazhu was, Lin Xiaotian still had no fondness for his actions.
"You know what happened next. I only had a little money on me then. If I'd used it all to pay off debts, I'd never have had a chance to turn my life around. So, I had to wrong Yu Xiang..."
"Xiaotian, you have to understand me. I'm a eunuch, and I have no money. Do you think Yu Xiang would have stayed with me forever?"
"I had no choice!"
*Slap!*
Before Li Dazhu could finish, Lin Xiaotian slapped him across the face.
Li Dazhu clutched his face and looked at the furious Lin Xiaotian, not daring to say a word.
Lin Xiaotian remained silent. He was too lazy to even scold Li Dazhu.
What was this 'no choice'?
Because Li Dazhu had no choice, he could treat Qin Yu Xiang like this?
After all, if it weren't for Lin Xiaotian's fortunate encounter, Qin Yu Xiang would likely have been taken away by Cao Yuntian by now, becoming his plaything.
Li Dazhu ruined himself and then dragged Qin Yu Xiang down with him. Lin Xiaotian couldn't tolerate this.
Moreover, from Li Dazhu's words, it was clear he knew Cao Yuntian would come to take Qin Yu Xiang away, which could be seen from his initial questioning.
Li Dazhu was pitiable, but he was also the architect of his own misfortune.
But Qin Yu Xiang?
What had she done wrong?
"Xiaotian, I'm not saying all this to beg for your forgiveness," Li Dazhu said.
"Then what do you want to say?"
"I saw you with Wei Ge from East Street, which means you're definitely on Cao Yuntian's side. If there's a chance in the future, I hope you can give me an opportunity for revenge!" Li Dazhu said earnestly.
Lin Xiaotian looked at Li Dazhu deeply.
"Alright! I promise you!"
...
In the afternoon, Li Dazhu left the village.
Lin Xiaotian returned to the house, where Qin Yu Xiang was still busy with chores.
"You're back?" Qin Yu Xiang said gently.
"Mm!" Lin Xiaotian nodded.
Li Dazhu's affairs felt like an interlude, passing by in an instant.
Lin Xiaotian rested in the room. Just then, his phone vibrated.
Lin Xiaotian opened it and saw it was Xia Qingling calling.
"Hello!" Lin Xiaotian said in a bad mood.
Xia Qingling, on the other end, clearly heard it and immediately became displeased.
"Hey! Lin Xiaotian, what do you mean? Don't want to answer my calls?"
"You're the one who said that. I haven't said anything," Lin Xiaotian retorted.
Xia Qingling was furious, but considering she needed Lin Xiaotian's help this time, she didn't argue with him.
"The night after tomorrow, at Jinyuan Hotel. My parents will both be there. You know what I mean, right?"
"I know..." Lin Xiaotian replied reluctantly.
"Good that you know," Xia Qingling snorted.
Then, she seemed to remember something.
"By the way, have you bought a gift?"
Lin Xiaotian was stunned. "I still need to buy a gift?"
"Nonsense! How can you go meet parents empty-handed?" Xia Qingling exclaimed.
Lin Xiaotian's ears buzzed, and he quickly pulled the phone away.
After Xia Qingling calmed down, Lin Xiaotian continued,
"Then what should I buy?"
"How should I know? You're the one meeting them, not me?"
Lin Xiaotian's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Qin Yu Xiang's ability to twist words was truly extraordinary.
She had asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend for a family dinner, and now she was pushing all the responsibility onto Lin Xiaotian?
"Forget it, forget it. I can't count on you. You'll come to Jiangcheng tomorrow, and I'll take leave too. We'll go buy some gifts. I don't want to be embarrassed with you there," Xia Qingling huffed.
"You can just buy it yourself, and I'll bring it then. I don't have to specifically go to Jiangcheng, right?"
"No, you look so rustic. I can't trust you to meet my parents looking like that."
"My attire is rustic?" Lin Xiaotian wanted to argue.
After all, his outfit was carefully chosen by Steward Xu for him. And Xia Qingling still found fault with it?
"In short, you just need to come. I'll handle the rest!"
Xia Qingling issued a direct command.
Lin Xiaotian wanted to argue further, but the next moment, he heard a beeping sound from the phone. Xia Qingling had hung up.
There was nothing he could do. Since Xia Qingling had leverage over him, Lin Xiaotian had to accept his fate.
Just then, Xia Qingling sent another message.
"By the way, don't come in the morning. It's better if you come in the afternoon, and we'll go shopping in the evening."
"Lin Qing has to work the night shift. I'm afraid she'll misunderstand."
Xia Qingling even added a smiling emoji.
Lin Xiaotian was speechless.
Why did it feel like he was going out for an affair now?
But he wasn't Guo Lin Qing's boyfriend?
Besides, if she were truly afraid of misunderstanding, she wouldn't have threatened him into attending the family banquet.
But Lin Xiaotian clearly couldn't dissuade Xia Qingling.
Nothing significant happened during the day.
In the evening, Lin Xiaotian was summoned by Zhang Cuihua.
They fought until midnight before Lin Xiaotian left Zhang Cuihua's house.
As soon as he left, Lin Xiaotian was stopped by a familiar voice.
"Xiaotian!"
Lin Xiaotian turned his head and saw it was the village head's wife, Li Guihua.
At this late hour, why was Li Guihua out here instead of at home?
"Hehe, Aunt Guihua, still up so late?" Lin Xiaotian said, tidying his clothes.
Li Guihua scanned Lin Xiaotian from head to toe and smiled slightly, "Xiaotian, is Cuihua doing well?"
Lin Xiaotian was startled and quickly feigned ignorance. "Aunt Guihua, what are you talking about?"
"You rascal, stop pretending. I saw you go into Cuihua's room with my own eyes."
"I was treating Cuihua's illness!"
"What kind of illness requires half a night to treat?" Li Guihua chuckled slyly. "I was wondering why Cuihua's complexion has been getting better lately. So it turns out someone's been 'watering' her from time to time."
As she spoke, Li Guihua's gaze towards Lin Xiaotian held a hint of an unusual emotion.
Lin Xiaotian was rendered speechless and could only beg Li Guihua to keep it a secret.
"Haha, you rascal, don't worry, Auntie will keep it a secret for you." Li Guihua gave Lin Xiaotian a meaningful look. "However, if Auntie keeps this secret for you, what will you give Auntie in return?"
Li Guihua said this as she drew closer to Lin Xiaotian.
The moonlight illuminated Li Guihua's voluptuous figure. Only then did Lin Xiaotian realize that Li Guihua was not wearing a bra...