Chapter Eleven: Iron Will and Tenderness Intertwined at the Fingertips (11)

Chen Chuchu came from a poor family, yet she yearned to buy all sorts of designer clothes and bags. Especially after shopping with Fan Sijin, she developed a strong interest in those expensive and elegant items. Now, nearly all the money she had left after covering living expenses was poured into such purchases.

Whenever she found herself short on funds, she would seek help from her senior. Though she never directly asked, a subtle hint was enough for him to willingly hand over money. If she refused, he would feel displeased and insistently force the money into her hands.

The senior, recalling past events, had originally thought Chen Chuchu was acting out of pride. But now it seemed she was merely putting on airs, playing a game of hard-to-get.

This time, Chen Chuchu hinted as usual, but the senior seemed unable to catch her meaning, always diverting the conversation elsewhere.

At last, Chen Chuchu began to panic. She had just bought a coat and was left with less than two hundred yuan—barely enough for a few days’ living expenses—and she had to pay a materials fee soon. What was she to do?

Now that the senior truly understood Chen Chuchu’s real nature, watching her pretend before him only made him want to laugh.

Did she really think he was a foolish sucker, naive and rich? This time, he was going to teach her a lesson!

Chen Chuchu had planned to use her old tactics to scrape together some emergency money, never expecting to hit a wall.

But asking her family for money was out of the question. The family was large, but few could work. She had several younger siblings, and her family had never favored her. Even when she got into university, her mother did everything possible to stop her. Had she not grudgingly agreed to an arranged marriage with the Gao family, she would have long been married off to exchange a bride price to help her brothers marry. Where would she have gotten the chance to attend university?

Given her family’s situation, even if she did ask for money, they wouldn’t give her a single cent. The money she was spending now still came from the Gao family’s support for her education.

Chen Chuchu was not very capable but had a strong vanity. Everyone around knew she was attending university, was competent, and would find a good job in the future. She was the family’s pride to show off to neighbors. She could not afford to ruin her image and thus could never quarrel with her family to ask for money.

But what was she to do now? The senior wouldn’t give her money... She couldn’t just ask outright, could she?

In the end, with no other options, Chen Chuchu agonized before making a call.

When Gao Dingzhong received Chen Chuchu’s call, he was nearly frightened out of his wits—borrow money from him?

He quickly excused himself, saying he wasn’t the decision-maker and had no money at home; she would have to ask the eldest brother who managed the household finances.

Fan Sijin, listening nearby, found the situation amusing and took the phone from Chen Chuchu. “Since you and Gao Dingzhong are from the same hometown, lending money is possible. But you’re just a student and can’t repay it. So we need to know when you can pay back, and you’ll have to sign an IOU.”

Chen Chuchu felt a surge of displeasure upon hearing this. Their family was obviously wealthy, yet when lending a bit of money, they became stingy. Saying yes but implying she had no ability to repay—it was as if they were insulted by her. Did they really need such a small amount?

Moreover, she and Gao Dingzhong were from the same village, and their elders knew each other, yet they still asked her to sign an IOU?

On the other end of the line, Chen Chuchu took a deep breath and shouted, “Don’t you dare humiliate me!”

Fan Sijin was speechless. How had she humiliated her? Wasn’t an IOU customary when borrowing money?

Though it was only a few hundred yuan, wasn’t that still money? Even a penny could strangle a hero!

Fan Sijin lazily glanced at Gao Dingzhong. “If Chen Chuchu’s pride is so strong, why did she take your family’s bride price money back then? And why did your uncle and aunt pay her tuition and living expenses?”

Gao Dingzhong was speechless. “I’m not close to her; how would I know what she’s thinking?”

But hearing Fan Sijin mention his parents paying Chen Chuchu’s tuition did make Gao Dingzhong uncomfortable. He had done countless good deeds and, like his parents, was a naturally kind person.

Helping others without expecting anything in return was admirable, but Gao Dingzhong didn’t think Chen Chuchu even owed a thank you. Seeing her current predicament, he felt she deserved it.

Take the Gao family and Chen Chuchu’s family as an example: the Chen family first accepted their bride price of over thirty thousand yuan. After receiving it, Chen Chuchu’s parents clutched the money tightly and didn’t spend a penny, still living in hardship.

What were they saving for? To pay for their youngest son’s marriage and house. So not a single cent would be spent on their daughters; instead, they scrimped on them to support their son.

In such circumstances, Chen Chuchu’s university admission was truly the result of her own efforts.

When she initially begged and cried at home, her parents refused to pay tuition, even though she had agreed to the arranged marriage just to attend university.

So Chen Chuchu cried all the way to the Gao family, pleading with Gao’s parents to pay her tuition.

The elderly couple, lifelong kind-hearted people and future in-laws, wanting their son to have a worthy bride and gain face, begrudgingly took out their savings to cover Chen Chuchu’s first year’s tuition and even gave her an extra thousand yuan for living expenses.

The problem was, Chen Chuchu never felt grateful. Once at university, she felt crushed under the Gao family’s burden. She did not want to dedicate her youth and marriage to Gao Dingzhong—a big, burly soldier.

She was young, beautiful, with a bright future, about to leave the countryside for the city. As the village’s only university student, how could she marry a man who barely studied at all?

With such thoughts, she naturally bore no gratitude toward Gao’s parents. She forgot she had sought the engagement and begged them to pay her tuition. Recalling this only brought humiliation; she felt everyone despised and looked down on her.

Untrustworthy, ungrateful, dishonest—what was the difference between her and her parents who only cared about their son?

Thus, Gao Dingzhong’s impression of Chen Chuchu was never good. Even without Fan Sijin’s appearance, he would never go back on his decision.

Not finding a bride was one thing, but marrying a troublesome wife was a much bigger problem.