Chapter 41 Not Getting Married for Now

Chapter 41: Not Getting Married for Now

Lu Yun had basically forgotten all about Chen Shu, and she'd definitely put that whole childhood-fiancé thing out of her head.

Lu Yun: "What's he doing here?"

Sun Zhi was trying to take the credit, "You've got me to thank for this."

Lu Yun: "Thank you?"

Sun Zhi: "Of course you should thank me. If it weren't for me, why would he come to apologize to you? When he showed up, I was right there in the courtyard, and he brought a ton of stuff too!"

Lu Yun had already hustled home from work, so how'd Sun Zhi get back even before she did? She asked, "You didn't go to work today?"

Sun Zhi smiled, "I ran into him today when he was headed to the marriage registry with your cousin to get their license. I figured, since we're neighbors, I had to help you out!"

But it wasn't just because they were neighbors. Sun Zhi couldn't tell Lu Yun the real reason—he could talk about that stuff with Zhao Lan, but not with Lu Yun.

Since he hadn't won Lu Yun over, he was extra careful about saving face around her.

Sun Zhi: "How could he and your cousin have the nerve to go get married? I got into a shouting match with him right there at the registry office! He's gotta know he was wrong—that's why he came to apologize!"

Lu Yun was deeply disappointed in Chen Shu's behavior, and she had zero respect for this so-called ex-childhood-fiancé either. She thought the guy had no backbone—if he'd fallen for Chen Shu and come straight to their family to apologize and explain himself, Lu Yun would've thought he had some real integrity as a man. But now, showing up only after Sun Zhi chewed him out, Lu Yun figured he wasn't just spineless—he was a hypocrite too.

Sun Zhi: "No need to thank me. We're neighbors—practically childhood sweethearts."

Lu Yun: "You've got too many childhood sweethearts."

Men and their big mouths.

Lu Yun: "Zhao Lan, what are you doing here?"

Sun Zhi: "You're messing with me again."

Lu Yun was willing to joke around with him, and Sun Zhi felt like he was actually dating her.

Zhao Lan shouted, "Sun Zhi, I want a divorce! I'm divorcing you!"

Sun Zhi panicked and rushed over, "I've thought it over—I don't want a divorce after all! Last time we were at the registry office, wasn't it fine? If we work together, we can definitely make things work!"

Zhao Lan: "Make things work? Who wants to make things work with you? I want a divorce. I'm divorcing you!"

The folks in the courtyard were already watching the drama, and now there was even more going on outside.

One was a show the Lu family wouldn't let them watch, and the other they could watch right now—so of course they knew which one to pick.

Sun Zhi: "Even if you won't think about me, think about the kid. Can you really just give up this baby?"

Zhao Lan: "Keeping this baby would be doing him wrong. Didn't you already agree to the divorce? How can a grown man just flip-flop like that? I'm telling you, we'll meet at the registry office tomorrow. If you don't show up, I'm going to your factory to talk to the women's federation. And once I talk to them, who knows what I might say!"

Auntie Jiang: "Say what? What are you gonna tell the women's federation?"

Zhao Lan was now dead set on becoming the wife of some nouveau riche. If she married one, who'd care about these courtyard neighbors? She wouldn't be living in this dump anyway. Zhao Lan lifted her chin and looked down her nose at Auntie Jiang, "What I'll tell the women's federation? Ask Sun Zhi—see if he'll tell you!"

This divorce had to happen. She had to marry that rich guy!

Outside was all noise and chaos, but Lu's dad and mom had no interest in listening. They were in the middle of talking with Jiang Xiangqian.

Jiang Xiangqian had always wanted to come to the Lu family to apologize—after all, the childhood betrothal between him and Lu Yun could be called off, but the fact that he was now with her cousin was real.

Jiang Xiangqian wanted to give the Lu family some money as compensation for him being with Chen Shu. He'd planned it all out, but his business had been struggling lately and he hadn't made much money. Sure, he could still earn enough to get by. Chen Shu had also been reluctant to let Jiang Xiangqian come to the Lu family, so he never went.

Jiang Xiangqian: "After I got together with Chen Shu, I wanted to come to your family and formally apologize to Lu Yun. But for personal reasons, I never made it, and I'm sorry about that."

Lu's dad: "You never came. Mind telling me what kept you away all this time?"

Jiang Xiangqian: "I know Chen Shu and I did Lu Yun wrong. I wanted to give her some money, but I ran into some business problems and couldn't come up with the cash, so I never came."

Lu's dad: "We don't care about that money you mentioned. Our family may not be rich, but we're not so hard up that we need compensation from a broken childhood betrothal."

Jiang Xiangqian: "All of this is my fault."

What Jiang Xiangqian said did show some sense of responsibility, but so what? His sense of responsibility was toward Chen Shu, not the Lu family, and definitely not Lu Yun. She'd been mocked over this before.

Lu's dad: "So did you earn that money now, or is there some other reason you had to come today?"

Jiang Xiangqian felt a bit awkward. The truth was, he'd only come because he ran into Sun Zhi and Zhao Lan at the registry office. If he wanted to marry Chen Shu, he had to settle things with the Lu family first—otherwise, what would people say about Chen Shu? But for that exact reason, he couldn't say it outright. If he did, wouldn't that be telling the Lu family that back then he didn't care if people mocked Lu Yun, but now he hoped Chen Shu wouldn't be mocked and needed the Lu family's forgiveness?

Lu Yun pushed the door open and walked in. Jiang Xiangqian heard the door and felt a little relieved—the atmosphere between them had been painfully awkward just moments before.

Jiang Xiangqian froze, forgetting to say anything.

Lu Yun had just gotten off work. She was wearing a coat with a cream-colored scarf, which made her face look even more radiant and pretty, with a hint of innocence—maybe because of her clear, bright eyes.

Lu Yun was curious about Jiang Xiangqian and gave him a once-over. He was decent-looking, but that was about it.

Jiang Xiangqian stood up, "Hi, I'm Jiang Xiangqian."

Lu Yun: "Sun Zhi told me he and Zhao Lan ran into you at the registry office. You're here for Chen Shu, right? I don't really care if you two get married or not. But I don't see any reason to forgive you just so you two can get married without any guilt. You should go. Don't come back again to talk about apologizing."

Jiang Xiangqian: "I'm sorry."

Lu Yun opened the door with a smile, "Go on, now. We're about to eat dinner."

After sending Jiang Xiangqian off, Lu's dad and mom didn't look too happy. Chen Shu and Jiang Xiangqian had gone too far—they came to apologize to Lu Yun just so they could get married without a guilty conscience?

Lu's dad: "His reasoning is laughable too. He said he wanted to give us compensation, but since he didn't make money, he didn't come. Not making money isn't an excuse to dodge responsibility, is it?"

Lu Yun: "Next time he comes, don't bother with him."

Lu's dad asked, "What's the deal with Sun Zhi and Zhao Lan?"

Lu Yun: "Zhao Lan wants a divorce, but Sun Zhi doesn't. She said if he doesn't agree, she'll go to the women's federation. Sun Zhi seems really scared of what she might tell them."

Lu's dad: "What about the kid? Isn't Zhao Lan pregnant?"

Lu Yun: "I don't know about that."

Their situation was hard to judge. A divorce might actually be good for Zhao Lan, but the problem was she was pregnant right now—she had a kid on the way.

That evening, they had hotpot again.

Lu Yun loved it, and Lu's dad had gotten pretty good at making it. A lot of the hotpot meatballs were homemade by him—not only more generously filled than store-bought ones, but also springy and chewy, especially the shrimp balls.

Lu Cheng came by to mooch a meal, though that wasn't the main reason—he'd brought some supplements for Lu's dad and mom.

It wasn't easy either. Ever since this lovesick fool started dating, he couldn't even bear to buy stuff for himself. Just look at his clothes—he was still wearing the same old stuff from before he started dating.

Lu's dad and mom, feeling sorry for their son, tried to give Lu Cheng some money. He refused, but Lu's dad sternly shoved it into his hands.

Lu Yun also accepted two hundred yuan from Lu Cheng, which was no small amount. She said, "Go buy yourself two new outfits tomorrow. If you show up here again in that same outfit, don't bother coming for dinner."

Lu Cheng: "Sis!"

His eyes lit up. Lu Yun didn't understand why Chen Shu didn't like Lu Cheng; maybe everyone had different tastes.

Chen Shu was on edge. She'd been waiting forever for Jiang Xiangqian to get back, and he was carrying things.

Chen Shu: "Where did you go? Did you go to the Lu family's house!"

Chen Shu nearly passed out. Sun Zhi's words were now like a demon gnawing at her mind. She couldn't risk Jiang Xiangqian and Lu Yun crossing paths!

In her past life, Jiang Xiangqian had chased after Lu Yun relentlessly, never backing down even when she turned him down. That just showed how crazy Jiang Xiangqian was about Lu Yun!

Chen Shu: "Didn't I tell you not to go! I don't care what they say. I've told you about my cousin's character! Look, you're carrying stuff, so they must have kicked you out and didn't even take the gifts you brought."

Jiang Xiangqian remained silent.

Jiang Xiangqian had met Chen Shu and later found out she was the cousin of his arranged-marriage fiancée. He felt a kinship with her, and it was from Chen Shu that he learned Lu Yun would never agree to the arranged marriage. Chen Shu then confessed her feelings to Jiang Xiangqian, but he turned her down. She looked so pitiful, insisting she genuinely loved him.

Eventually, Jiang Xiangqian agreed to be with Chen Shu. He felt sorry for her, treated her well, and did his best to be a good boyfriend and fiancé. They got along fine, and Jiang Xiangqian figured that was what love was. But it wasn't until he laid eyes on Lu Yun that he truly understood what it meant to have his heart skip a beat.

Jiang Xiangqian stayed silent, and Chen Shu grew even more panicked.

Chen Shu: "You haven't eaten yet, right? I made dinner. Eat something first. I know my cousin's family must have given you a hard time. We'll find a way to make it up to them later. Let's not talk about this anymore. As for Sun Zhi, you know him—he was already close to my cousin before he got married, so he's definitely going to speak up for her. I've been thinking, the day Sun Zhi went to the civil affairs bureau, he must have been there to divorce Zhao Lan. I wonder if it was because of my cousin."

Jiang Xiangqian held back and smiled. "Let's eat first."

Chen Shu: "After dinner, let's go to bed early. Tomorrow we still need to go to the civil affairs bureau to get our marriage certificate."

Once they got the marriage certificate, they would officially be husband and wife. But just being married wasn't secure enough—if they had a child together, that would be even more solid!

Jiang Xiangqian: "Let's put off getting married for now."

Author's note:

None