Xiao Yu shrank her shoulders, “Boss, how could I betray you? I belong to you…”
Liu Tianquan wasn’t a good man. Like Fan Zhenchuan, there was a type of man who, though they played with women, held no compassion for them in their hearts. Xiao Yu was all too familiar with how quickly men could turn cold.
Men like Fan Zhenchuan and Liu Tianquan, who aspired to achieve great things, would never care about someone like Xiao Yu. They would offer her a few smiles when she was useful, but wouldn’t hesitate to discard her when she no longer served a purpose. Xiao Yu liked capable men, yet she also resented those who were too capable. Someone like Xia Dajun was just right – he made decent money but was easy to manipulate.
Xiao Yu concealed her thoughts and wrapped herself around him like a water snake.
Liu Tianquan pushed her away after a brief touch: “Go back quickly. From now on, I’ll have others contact you. Du Zhaohui, that kid, is as cunning as a monkey. I’m worried he might notice something!”
Liu Tianquan never underestimated Du Zhaohui. Consider Du Chengrong’s character – for Du Zhaohui to win his favor, it couldn’t just be through sweet talk and flattery. Could Du Chengrong be won over by mere words? If so, what chance would Du Zhaohui have had with three concubines competing with their coquettish ways?
Du Chengrong favored capable, useful people. Only those with real ability would catch his eye. Even if it were his son, Du Chengrong wouldn’t spare them a glance without capability – after all, he wasn’t short of sons!
With Liu Tianquan’s pressure, Xiao Yu had no choice. Xia Dajun had rented her a small house. Though the conditions weren’t great, Xia Dajun was different from Liu Yong – he was gullible and willing to spend money on her!
They were small amounts, always “borrowed.” Before Xia Dajun, Xiao Yu played the role of a hardworking country woman who didn’t want to be a dancer and was actively seeking work in Pengcheng. Foreign factories wouldn’t hire someone like Xiao Yu without skills, but she pretended to be busy job hunting, giving Xia Dajun some positive hope… When she returned, before she could seek out Xia Dajun, she found he had already arrived.
“Brother Dajun, why are you here?”
Xiao Yu’s face was full of dejection. Xia Dajun felt that even speaking loudly might startle her, so he softened his voice: “Still no luck with the job search?”
Well, one couldn’t say Xiao Yu wasn’t hardworking – she had been actively looking for work, just lacking some luck. Either she wasn’t selected, or when she was, she encountered harassment. Xiao Yu had some beauty about her, and Xia Dajun felt quite sympathetic.
“Brother Dajun, I’m sorry, I’ll continue looking for work tomorrow, I’ll pay you back as soon as possible…”
Xiao Yu appeared not just dejected but ashamed.
Xia Dajun quickly waved his hands, “No, I’m not here to collect a debt. I just happened to be passing by and wanted to see if you needed any help!”
Of course, Xia Dajun wasn’t just passing by. Du Zhaohui was returning to Hong Kong, and Xia Dajun didn’t dare ask the young master when he’d return to Pengcheng – if he was gone for months, what would happen with Xiao Yu? Xia Dajun hoped Xiao Yu would find work soon, not because he was eager to be repaid – he could write off those loans as helping a fellow villager. He wanted Xiao Yu to become independent so he wouldn’t have to worry about her constantly.
Hearing Xia Dajun’s concern, Xiao Yu’s cheeks reddened: “Brother Dajun, you’ve helped me so much already, I don’t know how to repay you… Don’t worry, I’ll work hard to find a job and stay in Pengcheng. You’re here in Pengcheng too, you’re the first person who’s taken such good care of me.”
A woman’s thoughts, though not explicitly stated, should be clear to anyone but a fool. Why try so hard to stay in Pengcheng? Because Xia Dajun was here.
Xiao Yu’s face was red as an apple. For a woman more than ten years his junior to say such things, Xia Dajun could hardly believe it. He had helped her without wanting to take advantage, but when she showed real interest, Xia Dajun found he wasn’t particularly surprised deep down. What he had seen and learned around Young Master Du had changed him somewhat.
Du Zhaohui had even teased him about learning to keep a woman outside.
Xia Dajun knew exactly what “keeping a woman” meant. However, he had no experience with such relationships, so when Xiao Yu spoke this way, he became quite flustered.
He pulled out a stack of yuan from his pocket and pushed it into Xiao Yu’s hands: “I have to go to Hong Kong for a while, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to check on you. Take this money for now, and don’t rush the job search.”
If she still hadn’t found work when he returned from Hong Kong, Xia Dajun thought about mentioning it to the young master. Even if Xiao Yu couldn’t do other work at the company, surely she could clean – the girl kept herself quite presentable.
Hong Kong?!
Xiao Yu’s heart stirred – after all this time, this was the first time Xia Dajun had revealed his movements to her!
If Xia Dajun was going to Hong Kong, that must mean Du Zhaohui was going too.
“Brother Dajun, this is too much money, I can’t accept it… Look at me, just talking and not even inviting you in for water. I have some food at home, why don’t you eat before leaving?”
Xiao Yu tried to push the money back into Xia Dajun’s hands.
The young woman’s soft fingers brushed against Xia Dajun’s arm, making it feel like it was on fire.
Of course, Xiao Yu’s refusal of the money only improved Xia Dajun’s opinion of her.
“I don’t know how many days I’ll be gone. You keep this money in case of emergencies. If it’s too much, I can give you less.”
After some back and forth, Xiao Yu accepted only 100 yuan.
She said it was a round number, easier to keep track of in her debt records – she hadn’t forgotten how much she owed Xia Dajun.
Xiao Yu invited Xia Dajun to stay for a meal, but he shook his head: “No time.”
As long as Xiao Yu didn’t make her intentions explicit, Xia Dajun could pretend not to know and avoid facing it for now.
Besides, he understood clearly that Young Master Du was his meal ticket – how could he dare delay matters by eating at Xiao Yu’s place?
Xia Dajun had rushed over to give Xiao Yu 100 yuan, not even taking time to come in for a drink of water. Watching his figure disappear around the corner, Xiao Yu clutched the money, her knuckles white from gripping too hard. One thing she had said wasn’t a lie – of all the men she’d met, Xia Dajun was the most foolish, the easiest to deceive, and also the kindest to her. Xiao Yu’s logic was simple and brutal: those willing to spend money on her might not be sincere, but those unwilling to spend had no interest!
Liu Yong hadn’t taken the bait – Xiao Yu hadn’t gotten a single penny’s worth of advantage from him.
Though Xia Dajun spent only small amounts, Xiao Yu wasn’t in a hurry.
After all, they had no substantial relationship yet – spending money on a female fellow villager couldn’t compare to spending on one’s own woman, could it?
She was starting to lean toward Xia Dajun’s side, with Liu Tianquan’s threats still fresh in her ears.
But betray Liu Tianquan? Xiao Yu didn’t have that courage.
Even if Liu Tianquan didn’t tie her up and throw her into the sea to feed the fish, selling her to Southeast Asia as a cheap prostitute would be enough to make Xiao Yu despair!
…
“Going to Hong Kong?”
What game was Du Zhaohui playing?
Things hadn’t worked out with Mayor Tang, so he was returning to Hong Kong for reinforcements. Liu Tianquan paced in his room, sweating with excitement. Du Zhaohui’s departure from Pengcheng was a great opportunity – whether to make a move and where to make it. Could they frame someone else after taking action?!