"This is the whole deal. You play my girlfriend for two years, and during this time, I will cover all of your mother's medical expenses. In addition, I will give you twenty thousand yuan a month."
"I agree."
Lu Hongluan had nowhere else to turn.
She could not give up on her mother, so she had no choice but to give up herself.
Jiang Chen looked at the touching and delicate girl, and said calmly, "I'll take you to a hotel to freshen up."
"I need to go home for a couple of days, while you take care of your mother. In two days, I'll have someone pick you and your mother up."
"I won't leave any written contract; you can back out at any time. Of course, provided you can bear the cost."
After saying that, he took a photo of them holding hands, added her contact information, and left.
Lu Hongluan looked at Jiang Chen's retreating figure with a complex expression.
...
Sometimes, Jiang Chen felt he was still quite naive.
After all, spending all this money wasn't because he felt any pity for Lu Hongluan, but simply because he wanted to piss off Su Zhi.
Having been with Su Zhi for so long, he naturally knew that she was actually extremely domineering, bossy, and self-centered.
During the past three years, Su Zhi would sometimes make many difficult demands.
Perhaps it was because Jiang Chen was blinded by her beauty back then.
Or perhaps because he wanted to display his so-called masculine poise.
Therefore, he had agreed to all of those demands.
But thinking about it now, perhaps it was because he hadn't shown a strong side back then, which gave Su Zhi the wrong judgment.
"Whatever."
"The deed is done anyway."
For Jiang Chen, acting naive once didn't matter.
Having a shield for the next two years wasn't a bad thing either.
After all, ever since he broke up with Su Zhi, quite a few clients had wanted to introduce their daughters to him. Dealing with those people right now wouldn't be bad.
And once two years were up, he probably wouldn't have to be this exhausted.
For Jiang Chen, spending close to a million to buy two years of peace and quiet was a very good deal.
In a pleasant mood, he drove straight back home.
At this time, his parents and younger sister had already gone to sleep. He parked the car and unlocked the door with his key.
The house had been completely renovated and rebuilt into a four-story building.
Lying on his own bed, Jiang Chen finally felt completely relaxed.
A wave of thick exhaustion rolled over him.
He fell asleep very quickly.
However, at this moment, someone was about to lose sleep.
...
"Su Zhi, my sister."
"Even if the brown sugar water I brewed doesn't taste good, you don't have to shed tears over it."
Lu Yao looked at Su Zhi crying and felt quite at a loss.
She couldn't understand why Su Zhi was crying out of nowhere.
Why?
The tearful Su Zhi had lost her usual arrogance and strength, seeming as fragile as paper.
She said, "He doesn't want me anymore."
"It's fine, it's fine, I want you," Lu Yao said. "I'll go beat him up for you later."
Su Zhi didn't speak.
Lu Yao felt a bit overwhelmed.
It was already two in the morning.
With a hint of weariness on her face, she said, "It's not that he doesn't want you; he's just angry."
"Let me analyze this for you. You posted two photos on your Moments, Jiang Chen got angry, so he just found someone random to play his girlfriend."
You have to hand it to her; she had guessed it purely by fluke.
Hearing this, Su Zhi was slightly stunned. "Really?"
Lu Yao nodded earnestly. "Truer than real pearls."
She said, "Sister Su Zhi, my dear sister, stop overthinking and go to sleep."
As far as she was concerned, Su Zhi was being somewhat inexplicable.
If she liked Jiang Chen, why would she post such a misleading photo in the first place?
"Big Miss, look at yourself right now, how humiliating."
Su Zhi said instinctively, "Then what should I do? Should I apologize?"
"Apologize? Apologize for what? What did you do wrong?" Lu Yao said. "You're from the Su family. Only other people are in the wrong; where could you possibly be wrong?"
Lu Yao said, "The world ultimately revolves around status."
She acted just like a dubious adviser.
Of course, what she said made sense in its own right.
Society was not a place of pure black and white; so-called justice, right, and wrong weren't all that important.
Su Zhi was the eldest daughter of the Su family, so what if she was in the wrong?
Hearing this, Su Zhi also began to set her mind at ease, gradually regaining her confidence.
Once the knot in her heart was untied, even her headache seemed to lessen.
Su Zhi looked at Lu Yao gratefully. "Thank you."
Lu Yao yawned. "So sleepy. I'm going to sleep."
...
"Bro, when did you get back?"
Early the next morning, Jiang Chen's younger sister, Jiang Xue, asked with excitement, "Why didn't you tell me you were back?"
Jiang Xue was a high school student who looked seventy percent like Jiang Chen, and was likewise a little beauty.
Ever since Jiang Chen made money and used part of it to improve their family's conditions, Jiang Xue's complexion had become rosy and clear, unlike the dark and skinny appearance she had when she was little.
Jiang Chen's father, Jiang Yanghao, smoked his dry tobacco and remained silent.
Instead, their mother, Yang Lan, asked, "Did something happen?"
Jiang Chen said, "Nothing much, just that the company was too tiring, so I'm taking advantage of the off-season to rest for a while. I wanted to check in on you guys, and visit grandpa and grandma."
He added, "I'll be heading back in a couple of days."
Jiang Xue let out a cheer.
Her allowance was strictly controlled by their parents, but with Jiang Chen around, she could finally cash in.
Yang Lan gave her daughter a reproachful look. "Hurry up and eat, you still have to go to school."
"Brother has a car, he can drive me."
Jiang Xue blinked and said to Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen smiled and said, "Alright."
At this moment, Jiang Yanghao spoke up, "Did you come back alone? What about the girlfriend you were dating before?"
Jiang Chen said indifferently, "We broke up."
He said it casually, but it infuriated Jiang Yanghao. "Broke up? Did you little bastard start playing with people's feelings after getting some money?"
"Dad, what are you talking about? I'm the one whose feelings were played with."
During the two years he was dating Su Zhi, he had actually quietly told his parents about their relationship.
At that time, he believed he could be the person who stood beside Su Zhi.
However, facts proved that he was wrong.
Fortunately, he still had money; breaking up didn't matter much.
Jiang Yanghao said, "You can't be this irresponsible. Can't you win that girl back?"
Jiang Chen felt a bit irritated. "Dad, I don't want to argue with you about this."
Jiang Yanghao was a traditional Chinese man.
He was stubborn, responsible, lived in an era that sanctified romance, and felt the world ought to be that way.
However, too many traditions had been subverted now, and relationships had merely become considerations weighted after interests.
Jiang Chen said, "Anyway, your son is so handsome, I won't end up without a wife."
Jiang Xue chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! My brother is a heartthrob too, lots of people want to be my sister-in-law."