Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Returning to 20 Years Ago (13)

Colleagues were still quizzing Wen Li about Ji Tingyang, and Wen Li looked visibly troubled.

It wasn’t until she saw the boy outside the shop from afar that Wen Li immediately removed her apron, “My boyfriend’s here to pick me up, I’m off work now, see you tomorrow.”

With that, she rushed out the door, grabbing Xiao Yu and hurriedly leaving.

Seeing her eager departure, Xiao Yu was somewhat puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

Wen Li recounted what had just happened to him, “My colleague thought that was my friend and kept insisting on asking for that person’s contact information, but I don’t have it.”

Then she reconsidered, “But even if I did, I wouldn’t tell her.”

“Why?” Xiao Yu asked.

“Because I don’t like my colleagues,” Wen Li laughed, giving a cunning answer.

The colleague liked to slack off every time she was at work and dumped all the work on Wen Li, who had argued with her about it a few times.

Xiao Yu let out a light chuckle.

On their way home, they chatted intermittently about trivialities of life.

Xiao Yu mentioned that his competition prize money had come in and he could take her out for steak tomorrow.

He also mentioned that a senior had invited him to start a studio with him; he planned to work hard to earn big money so that she could live a better life.

“Okay, I’ll work hard too,” Wen Li’s eyes shone with a smiling promise.

After a half-hour bus ride, Wen Li arrived home, and as soon as she walked in the door, a water cup was thrown at her feet, its sharp shards scattering.

Immediately after, she heard the familiar stream of abuse, “Coming back so late, are you trying to starve us to death?”

Wen Li pursed her lips and quietly picked up the shards into the trash can, “I switched to a part-time job at a dessert shop, so I get off work a bit late.”

“Why bother running off to part-time jobs all the time, when you’d be better off snagging a wealthy suitor,” Father Wen glared at her, his eyebrows raised fiercely as he spoke.

Mrs. Wen nodded in agreement, “That’s right, I think that classmate who chased after you was good, his family owns a big factory. The car he drove to our building last time was a BMW. If you married him and he could give us some money to help out the family, your brother’s dowry would also be sorted.”

Several people had pursued Wen Li before, and that person was the most ostentatious, driving a modified BMW and shouting up with a huge bouquet of roses at the base of her building, asking Wen Li to agree to be his girlfriend.

Onlookers were all commenting on the romantic gesture, but Wen Li found it utterly embarrassing. She hated those presumptuous rich people the most.

Wen Li angrily fetched several basins of water and poured them down from upstairs, leaving the man soaked and driving away in his car.

Afterward, she got scolded by her parents for being ungrateful.

Bringing up these things, Wen Li felt a surge of irritation, “If you want money so much, let my brother find a rich woman to marry into her family and save on the dowry.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than a slap landed on her face.

Wen Li’s ear rang sharply, and her mind went blank. She covered her ear, standing there in a daze.

It took a good long while before she came to her senses.

She had been hit by her father.

“What are you talking about? Can your brother be compared to you?” Father Wen’s voice grew louder and louder, and even Mrs. Wen joined in the criticism, “I said back then she shouldn’t have been sent to school. She cost us so much money, and now she’s even learned to talk back.”

Mrs. Wen shrank her neck and quickly went to scold her daughter, “How could a man marry into a family? You’ve become stupid from all your studying! And you better break up with that poor Xiao kid, do you hear me?”

Rage churned ceaselessly within her, and her entire body seemed to go numb. Clenching her fists, Wen Li remained silent and retreated to her room.

After closing the door to her bedroom, Wen Li took out the piggy bank from under the bed and poured all the money onto the bed, counting the notes one by one.

The living room was still filled with her parents’ arguing, but Wen Li turned a deaf ear and focused entirely on counting her money.

Every time she argued with her parents, she would always count the money in her piggy bank, feeling the increase in her savings and comforting herself with thoughts of how much longer she would need to endure before she could move out.

Soon.

She was just a thousand yuan short of saving enough for the deposit, then she could rent the room she had her eye on and move out.

…

Elsewhere.

Lin Xu happily boarded the plane with Ji Tingyang and Ji Lanyue, setting off for the island.

Ji Zeqiu found out about this while he was filming on set. After finishing a scene, he found a chair to sit and rest and took out his phone to check if anyone had contacted him.

After replying to some work-related messages, he looked at Lin Xu’s WeChat, which was pinned at the top, and clicked on it.

He hadn’t received a reply to the message he sent Lin Xu two hours ago and was somewhat puzzled.

Previously, messages he sent to Lin Xu were always answered immediately, and the latest reply he ever got was within half an hour. This was the first time she hadn’t responded to him for so long.

Could Mother be busy with something?

But what could be more important than her son?

Ji Zeqiu pursed his lips and casually tapped into her Moments, but he never expected to see pictures of Lin Xu and Ji Tingyang playing at the beach. His eyes widened in an instant.

The post was from an hour ago.

So, Mother is traveling with Ji Tingyang right now?!

Ji Zeqiu, full of indignation, dialed a number, and the first thing he said when the call connected was full of grievance, “Mother, how could you go on a trip with Ji Tingyang? That guy has so many annoying habits, and he always looks sour-faced. It must be so hard for you to travel with him.”

“How come I didn’t know I had so many flaws?” The voice that came from the other end of the phone was Ji Tingyang’s.

Ji Zeqiu jumped with fright, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed at being caught talking behind someone’s back, but he fiercely accused him, “How can you just grab Mother’s phone and eavesdrop on her calls!”

“First of all, Mother went to the bathroom, and she asked me to hold her bag. Secondly, surely your call isn’t about anything confidential, right?” Ji Tingyang said lightly.

“Eavesdropping on Mother’s calls is wrong, and I’m going to tell on you. I’ll ask her to abandon you and never travel with you again,” Ji Zeqiu said, fuming.

Ji Tingyang: “Thanks for the reminder. To prevent you from telling on me, I should probably block all contact with you on Mother’s behalf.”

Ji Zeqiu: “Ah ah ah, Ji Tingyang, you jerk! If you dare to block me, I’ll fly over to join you right now, you believe me!”

Lin Xu had not expected that a quick trip to the bathroom would lead to the brothers starting an argument over the phone.

Seeing Lin Xu return, Ji Tingyang immediately softened his voice, and Ji Zeqiu took the opportunity to act coquettishly toward his mother, “Mother, how could you leave me behind and go on a trip with Ji Tingyang alone?”

“Not alone, Lanyue is here too,” said Lin Xu.

“Don’t tell me Father is there too?” Was he the only one being left out?

“Ah Yan is handling Tingyang’s work at the company.”

Ji Zeqiu seemed to find some consolation in this, as now the pitiful abandoned ones were just him and Father Wen.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Novlove.com