Chapter 987: Chapter 1028: Conscience Not Lost
"Xinyue..." Li An called out to his daughter, his face full of guilt as he sighed and said, "Daughter, you’re grown up now and it’s ti for you to get married. If you keep staying single... the people in the village will gossip."
Looking at her father, Xinyue felt bitter inside. She clearly understood that her stepmother had forced him to broach the subject. Due to her father’s weak personality, he always listened to her stepmother. She could withstand asking for money and not spending it herself to give to them, but this was about her lifelong happiness. Even without Yifei, she would never agree to marry that Cheng Yunlong, who, despite his decent appearance, was nothing but a thug. Being with him would ruin her life.
Xinyue rarely refused her father’s requests, but on this matter, she spoke with utmost firmness, "Dad, I can agree to other things, but not this... I can’t agree to this. You see, I already have a boyfriend and our relationship is strong. I’m going to be with him for life!"
"You child, how can you be so foolish?" At this mont, Wang Xiaohong walked in and imdiately expressed her dissatisfaction, "This boy clearly looks like a complete broke, and you are a famous host. How can you be with soone like him?"
Xinyue didn’t even feel like arguing with her stepmother and calmly replied, "I don’t need any conditions. I want soone who can treat
well, and he can do that, so I’m sure I’ll be with him."
Wang Xiaohong’s eyes shifted, then said, "Fine, if you want to marry him, that’s up to you. But according to our village’s traditions, we still need a dowry, right?"
Yifei smiled faintly and said, "How much is the dowry?"
"Look how serious you’re pretending to be. I’ll lay it out for you. Around here, it’s 880,000 yuan in cash and a car worth 300,000 yuan. Do you have that now?"
Yifei shook his head, "I really don’t have 880,000 yuan in cash, nor a car worth 300,000 yuan." It was true; although he had a significant sum of money, he certainly didn’t have that much cash on hand. Regarding cars, the cheapest one at his ho cost nearly seven to eight hundred thousand yuan, with none as cheap as three hundred thousand.
Wang Xiaohong snorted, "Pff, you can’t even bring out the dowry money, and yet you dream of marrying our daughter. Do you know how much we have spent on raising Xinyue? You just want to simply take her away, as if we raised her for you? Kid, you are too naive. That’s just the dowry. You still need to buy a house, right? Our Xinyue might not ask for a villa, but she needs at least a hundred-square-ter house, can you afford that?"
Yifei thought for a mont and said, "I don’t really have a house that’s just over a hundred square ters." The house he was building had three levels per villa, each with nearly three hundred square ters. None were as small as a hundred square ters.
"Just look, you have nothing and still dream of being with our daughter. You really think a toad can eat swan at. You’d better drop this idea now. I’m telling you, our family does not welco you, better stay away where it’s cool."
Xinyue couldn’t take it anymore and angrily said, "The dowry here is just a few tens of thousands, where did you get that amount from?"
"Can others be compared to you? You are a big host, with status. How can you compare with ordinary people? Xinyue, let
tell you, if you found soone rich and influential, we could accept that. But you chose a poor boy, and our family cannot afford to lose face because of you. Boss Cheng is very interested in you. Do you know how much money his family has? It’s said to be tens of millions, possibly even hundreds of millions. Besides, his wife died last year, and he hasn’t remarried yet. If you marry him, you’ll instantly beco the lady of the house, and all his money would be in your hands to spend however you want."
Xinyue smirked and said, "So then, it would be even easier for you to ask
for money, right?"
Wang Xiaohong’s face flushed for a mont, but she quickly asserted as if it were the most natural thing, "I’m your stepmother. I didn’t give birth to you, and if you don’t take care of , I won’t complain. But you can’t ignore your dad, and what about your brother? He is your father’s real son, surely there’s a blood relation there. He isn’t married yet, and the costs of getting a wife, a house, a car... your dad can’t earn money, so it all depends on you, doesn’t it?"
"Is that so? It seems that the money I give dad is all spent by you."
Wang Xiaohong unashadly continued, "Your dad doesn’t like to spend, so I have to buy things for him. Look at everything your dad uses or eats; isn’t it all bought by ? I’ve been taking good care of him for so many years."
Turning her head to glance at Yifei, Wang Xiaohong glared and said, "What are you still doing here? Can’t you sense what’s appropriate? We are discussing family matters, and you, an outsider, don’t find it awkward to be here?"
Yifei pulled Xinyue close and calmly said, "Xinyue is my person, so naturally, I need to be here. Do you think if it weren’t for Xinyue, I would give you the ti of day?"
Wang Xiaohong burst into anger, placed one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Yifei, and yelled, "And who do you think you are? Just a poor boy, trying to act all high and mighty here. I’m telling you, you’d better leave right now, or don’t bla
for throwing you out."
Li Yifei wore a faint smile and said, "If you really dare to kick
out, Xinyue and I will never acknowledge you again."
Wang Xiaohong suddenly laughed, a scornful laugh as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. "Kid, you really don’t know what’s good for you. I’m not even going to discuss why Xinyue would follow you. Even if she did, with your sorry state, what do you have? I’d lose face acknowledging you."
Li Yifei squinted his eyes and said, "Alright, you said it."
Wang Xiaohong glared and snapped, "Nonsense, of course, I said it. Let
make it clear to you now, get as far away as you can. I’d rather die than acknowledge you."
Li Yifei, with an incredulous look, said, "What if I beco rich in the future?"
"You becoming rich? You really are dreaming big. If you could get rich, then old sows could climb trees and the sun could rise from the west. You’re telling the funniest joke I’ve ever heard. You think money is that easy to earn? Stop dreaming."
"No way, you love money so much. If I really start making money, wouldn’t you co fawning over ?" Li Yifei asked with a grin.
"Your face is really thick as hell," Wang Xiaohong retorted. "Even if you do make so money, can you compare with Boss Cheng? Seeing your puny earnings is honestly laughable. If you ever got richer than Boss Cheng, I’d lick your toes. Oh right, where are you working now?"
Xinyue’s face turned very unpleasant, hearing her stepmother say these things about Li Yifei. It was even more hurtful than if she had been insulted herself. But she also knew her stepmother’s shalessness. If she knew Li Yifei had money, she would definitely be shaless in trying to get so. Hence when her stepmother mocked Li Yifei like this, she had no choice but to think about pulling Li Yifei away.
Li Yifei gently squeezed Xinyue’s hand to reassure her, then answered Wang Xiaohong, "I work at a small trading company."
"Please, just a miserable worker," Wang Xiaohong scoffed. "Nothing to brag about. Go on, get lost. No sha. Our family would never let soone like you marry our daughter. Besides, I’m telling you, if you leave quietly now, there won’t be any trouble. But if you don’t leave... hah, do you know who Boss Cheng outside is? He owns a sauna, influential in both legitimate and illegitimate circles, he could have you killed as if it were nothing."
Li An had been silent all along but then sighed and said, "Xinyue, let him go. It’s for his own good. He can’t ss with that man. I shouldn’t be saying this, but for his sake, you should let him leave now. Staying here could really lead to trouble."
Had it been soone else, Xinyue might have been scared off. But who is Li Yifei? Even the city’s renowned Brother Hu would treat Li Yifei with utmost courtesy, just like a junior. Could Boss Cheng, influential as he might be here, compare to Brother Hu?
"Dad, you want
to marry Cheng Yunlong too?" Xinyue asked her father sharply.
Li An, eting his daughter’s gaze, looked deeply ashad. But, under his wife’s fierce stare, he could only sigh softly and said, "Daughter, a woman must live a stable life eventually. Although being a host looks glorious now, it’s still a career that depends on youth. I really hope you can find a good family. That Boss Cheng..."
At this point, Li An’s face showed pain, and his voice lowered, barely able to et his daughter’s gaze, he said, "He is... alright."
From Li An’s tone and expression, Li Yifei could see that Xinyue’s father was internally opposed to this marriage. But, being characteristically timid and pressured by his wife, he still harbored fatherly affection for Xinyue. Although Li Yifei despised him, he did not hold any substantial grudge against Xinyue’s father.
Wang Xiaohong imdiately took over, "See, even your father agrees. Don’t think I’m scheming against you. I’m doing this for your good. Marrying him, you would live a good life. Look at those big celebrities; in the end, they all marry wealthy people. You might be alright in our city, but can you compete with those celebrities? So, I think this is a great plan. Just agree to it."
"Okay, you go out first. I want to talk to our daughter alone for a bit. Let
persuade her," Li An suddenly interrupted his wife.
Wang Xiaohong hesitated, then glared sternly at her husband and said, "Alright, you guys talk. I’ll step out."
Once Wang Xiaohong left, Li An quickly shut the door and anxiously said to Xinyue, "Xinyue, just pretend to agree for now, then distance yourself from him as far as possible. Your stepmom has taken the dowry from them and gambled it all away. That Boss Cheng won’t let this go easily."
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