Chapter 464 Su Jiao Embezzles and Flees

Chapter 464: Su Jiao Runs Off with the Money

Despite Su Jiao's promises, Ji Qingqing and Su Jianjun were still uneasy—one acting paranoid, the other didn’t want to lose their promising son-in-law, Lu Jin'an. Both pushed Su Jiao to apologize and make up.

Su Jiao stayed quiet, letting Ji Qingqing and Su Jianjun talk without responding.

By the next morning, Su Jiao had disappeared—along with all their savings—over a thousand yuan.

This money included Su Jiao’s dowry, gifts received from the bride’s side, Su Jianjun’s hard-saved wages from over a year of work, and some extra money Ji Qingqing had scraped together from somewhere.

Ji Qingqing had intended to use the money for groceries, but when she saw her purse ransacked, she screamed her head off.

"Ahhhhhhh—!"

"My money! My money!"

Hearing Ji Qingqing’s shrieks, Su Jianjun rushed into the room and immediately understood what had happened. He snatched the purse from her hands and dug through it like crazy.

"Money? Where’s our money?"

Hearing Su Jianjun roar, Ji Qingqing turned and ran to Su Jiao’s room.

The bag Su Jiao had packed her clothes in was gone—along with the pair of leather shoes she had been reluctant to wear.

Ji Qingqing panicked. "Jiao Jiao’s gone… Jiao Jiao’s gone~"

Su Jianjun followed her into the room and, upon hearing her murmurs, slapped her across the face. "Dammit, we gotta go after her!"

"Su Lei did this once already—if it happens again, I’ll fucking kill you, you bitch!"

"What did I do to deserve this in my last life?!!!"

After his outburst, Su Jianjun barged out the door. "If I catch her, I’ll beat that animal to death right in the street!"

Ji Qingqing came to her senses at his words and scrambled after him. "Jianjun! Jianjun! Calm down! She didn’t do it on purpose—we must have said too much last night, and you even hit her. She must have been overwhelmed."

"If we find Jiao Jiao, don’t touch her. Let me talk to her—don’t scare the child."

They searched till dark. Su Jianjun’s face was as dark as the sky. At his age, how much could he still save?

Now he had no job.

He had raised two daughters, milked his eldest son dry when he was younger, and married off his eldest daughter. After finally saving over two thousand yuan, Su Lei had cleaned them out.

Then, after working hard for over a year to marry off his second daughter, Su Jiao had taken everything.

Not long ago, he and Ji Qingqing had discussed how they couldn’t keep renting forever—they wanted to save a bit more to buy a small house.

The day Su Jiao returned after her divorce, Ji Qingqing had comforted him, saying the divorce might not be a bad thing. With over a thousand yuan in savings, they could find Su Jiao a suitable match, get the bride price, and finally buy a home.

Now, it was all over.

Su Jiao had run away. The bride price was gone. Their hard-earned savings had been wiped out.

Ji Qingqing looked at the darkening sky outside, wringing a handkerchief anxiously, "What should we do now?"

"This girl... what was she thinking? If she didn't want to, she could have just said so. What was she thinking, running off like that? Where could a girl like her even go? What if she meets bad people or gets scammed?"

"Sobbing... She clearly wasn't willing. We shouldn't have pressured her to go back to the Lu family last night. Jiao Jiao has always been proud. Now that she's had a falling out with Xiao Lu and come back, forcing her to return and apologize must have been unbearable for her. It's our fault. We drove her away..."

Su Jianjun, unable to contain his fury any longer at Ji Qingqing’s whining and complaining, grabbed her by the braid and started thrashing her brutally!

"I’ll beat you to death, you bitch! Look at the fine daughter you raised—a shameless brat! She probably has some shady lover outside, which is why she refuses to live properly with Xiao Lu. I’ve raised her all these years, only to end up with an ungrateful beast!"

"If she wants to die or run away, fine! But she had no right to steal all the family’s money! How have I ever wronged her for her to betray me like this?"

Ji Qingqing, knowing she was in the wrong and with Su Jianjun in a rage, didn’t dare fight back. She could only plead tearfully for mercy.

"Jianjun, don’t be angry. The most important thing now is to find Jiao Jiao. Once she’s back, the money will be back too."

Su Jianjun was seeing red. "How dare you say that? Su An was right—you’re nothing but a harbinger of doom! You hoard the family’s money but can’t even protect it. I work my fingers to the bone while you sit at home, living off me without lifting a finger, and can’t even raise the kids right!"

"Last time with Su Lei, you said he was too young to understand. But how old is Jiao Jiao now? Doesn’t she know better? She did this on purpose! She’s heartless! She doesn’t even see me as her father, or she wouldn’t have left the family to starve!"

Ji Qingqing slumped on the floor, weeping pitifully as she tugged at Su Jianjun’s pants leg. "No, Jianjun, Jiao Jiao was just spoiled by us. She just made a mistake in the heat of the moment. Please calm down."

Su Jianjun kicked her in the side. "Calm down? How can I calm down? I still have no leads on a job, and now the family’s savings are wiped out! How are we supposed to live?"

"What will we eat? How will we pay rent? Who’s going to cover all the household expenses—you?"

The more he spoke, his guts twisting in rage. "No, this is theft! Plain and simple! I can’t just let her get away with this. Who knows if the money will even be left if she comes back in a few days? I’m going to file a police report. I’m going to Xiao Lu for help."

"Right now, Xiao Lu must hate Jiao Jiao’s guts. He’ll definitely help me track her down..."

Ji Qingqing panicked and clung to Su Jianjun’s leg. "Jianjun, no! The Lu family is just waiting for an excuse to cause us trouble. Do you really want to walk right into their trap? And if you do this, what will happen to Jiao Jiao’s reputation? You raised her with your own hands—you can’t ruin her!"

Seeing she couldn’t stop him, Ji Qingqing screamed in desperation, "Listen to me! Listen! I’ll figure out a way to cover the household expenses and rent. Just don’t go! I promise—once I find Jiao Jiao, I’ll get every penny back. I swear, Jianjun-ge, please believe me!"

At the words "Jianjun-ge," Su Jianjun finally paused.

Back when they were kids, Ji Qingqing lived on the same street as him and would follow him around all day, calling him "Jianjun-ge" this and "Jianjun-ge" that.

He turned and met her pleading gaze, his eyes darkening. "Fine. But you’d better keep your word. Otherwise, I won’t let you off easy!"

Meanwhile...

Su Jiao, whom Ji Qingqing and Su Jianjun were desperately searching for, had already boarded a train heading south.

She had her suspicions about why Lu Jin'an had become the Community Police Officer of the Western District.

She couldn’t stay in City A any longer—because of Lu Jin'an, and also because of Chen Aru.

Since starting his job, Lu Jin'an had been riding high. As the Community Police Officer, the residents under his jurisdiction sucked up to him.

He loved the feeling. Even in his dreams at night, he saw himself promoted to bureau chief. His patience with Ai Xiaoqing grew even more.

But as Lu Jin'an flourished, Ai Xiaoqing grew uneasy.

She adored her current happiness. With Jin'an doing better and better, the temptations around him multiplied. She was desperate to bind herself tightly to Lu Jin'an, afraid someone else might steal him away someday.

So, she was desperate to have a child together.