“Heart death doesn’t count, otherwise I’d have been a ghost long ago!”
“Xia Yuluo, I always feel this is a conspiracy. You’re not usually so fickle. You must be hiding something from me!”
Xia Yuluo gritted her teeth and raised her head, “You’re too self-centered. You invested more, and when I occasionally was nice to you, you thought I loved you deeply. Fang Yuzhe, please wake up and stop deceiving yourself!”
Those days, he almost brought her food every day, always secretly stuffing money into the food bag. She had always known how precious his support was and how difficult it would be without this reliance, but she had no choice.
She couldn’t feel at ease accepting his support, and what she owed him was like a mountain.
Xia Yu Luo’s most difficult days were after Xia Dahao’s car accident. The accident happened at night, with no surveillance footage on the road section, and the hit-and-run vehicle fled. Xia Dahao lay there for half a night before being discovered, nearly losing his life.
The huge medical expenses made Ma Jiao cry while holding the payment receipt, and then she disappeared.
Xia Dahao grabbed Yu Luo’s hand and cried, “You can’t ignore Dad, you must save Dad!”
How could she save him? Where would she find the money? She remembered that Fang Tiancheng still owed her a breakup fee, which he had originally refused to pay. But pushed to this point, she couldn’t care about her pride anymore.
Fang Tiancheng readily agreed to pay, and Xia Yu Luo wanted to explain a few things, but he wasn’t interested in listening.
Mr. Fang gave her thirty thousand yuan. Ma Jiao used this money to pay the medical expenses.
On the night she received the breakup fee, Fang Tiancheng called his son, “Xiao Zhe, did you break up with Xia Yu Luo?”
Fang Yuzhao hmmed, reluctant to answer.
“I thought so. She called me today asking for a breakup fee.”
“Breakup fee? How much did she want?”
“She wanted fifty thousand, but I only gave her thirty thousand.”
Fang Yuzhao could hardly believe this was true.
He went to find Xia Yu at school, and she didn’t deny it. “We dated, and we slept together. Isn’t it right to ask for a breakup fee?”
“Xia Yu, you dumped me!”
“Anyway, you don’t care about this money. I really need money right now!”
“Aren’t you always in need of money? But you weren’t like this before!”
“Can you stop bringing up the past? I was acting for you before!”
“Accompany people drinking and singing, simple!”
“Auntie, are you asking me to become a hostess?”
“I’m not asking you to sleep with men! Besides, you’re not even a virgin, and your father is half-dead in the hospital. What are you being so high and mighty about?”
“I can’t do such a thing. I still want to go to college. How can I face myself afterwards!”
Ma Jiao sneered, “Miss, wake up! You still want to go to college? Then I’ll have Xiao Hao go pick up trash to earn money? Don’t you know our family’s situation? I’m already being kind by not making you sell yourself, and you’re still dreaming!”
“Even if I don’t go to university, I won’t do what you’re suggesting!”
“Do as you wish. Tonight I’ve already arranged for someone to take you to work. If you don’t go, I’ll go to the hospital tomorrow and drag your father out. He’ll be lying down wherever, life or death is up to heaven!”
Xia Yuluo sat in the taxi beside the woman who was taking her to work. The woman had persistently persuaded her to go, assuring her that she would only accompany clients drinking and would absolutely not let her be alone with a man.
When negotiating with Ma Jiao, she initially mentioned 100-200, but after seeing Xia Yuluo, she immediately raised the price, guaranteeing at least 300 for one night, with tips split equally.
On her first day of work, Xia Yuluo was lucky, accompanying a table of businessmen and only drinking. The man next to her helped block several drinks for her, and before leaving, he threw a 100 yuan tip, of which Xia Yuluo kept 50.
She earned 350 in one night and brought back enough food for herself and Xiao Hao’s lunch.
The second day was also okay. Although a drunk man touched her hand, she gritted her teeth, noting that money doesn’t come easy.
From the third to the seventh day, a man who had ordered her several times took a step further, asking her to drink alone with him at night.
The man looked about the same age as Xia Yuluo, with bloodshot eyes from drinking heavily. He waved his hand and said, “I don’t want to get involved; just asking one thing—do you know Fang Yuzhe?”
Xia Yuluo nodded, “Yes!”
“Damn, I remember you were his girlfriend?”
“Yes!” Xia Yuluo said.
“What is going on!” The man looked bewildered.
“Get out of the way!” Boss Qiu was impatient.
The man conflicted, removing his hand from Boss Qiu’s shoulder: “I can’t make sense of this mess, but this girl was my buddy’s girl before. I’ll have to call him later, and if he says he doesn’t want her, then you can have her!”
Boss Qiu suddenly became furious, pushing the young man, “What do you take me for?”
This push caused trouble, as several big men walked out from the hallway, surrounding him. Xia Yuluo recognized a few faces from Fang Yuzhe’s circle, whom she had briefly encountered at gatherings.
“What are you doing!” Boss Qiu panicked, facing these privileged young men who might easily cause trouble.
The first guy who stepped forward didn’t intend to fight. He told Boss Qiu: “We’re all just out having fun, I don’t want to ruin your mood. Just giving you a heads up – she was the ex-girlfriend of Fang Tiancheng’s son. You know Fang Tiancheng, right? If I were you, I’d avoid this trouble!”
Boss Qiu’s enthusiasm vanished. How could he not know Fang Tiancheng?
Fang Tiancheng’s son finding a nightclub girl as a girlfriend?
“Are you done yet?”
“What do you want to hear?”
“The truth!”
Xia Yuluo pushed away his arm and tried to pull the door latch. “I’m going home!”
Fang Yuzhe was truly getting angry, forcefully grabbing her arm and pulling her into the room, shoving her onto the bed.
“What are you doing?” Xia Yuluo looked at him in terror.
“What do you think!” Fang Yuzhe first took off his coat, exposing his bare upper body.
“You can’t do this! How can you be like this!”
“Why can’t I? Do I need to discuss the price with you first?”
Xia Yuluo wanted to roll to the side and get up, but as soon as her back was facing up, she was pinned down.
“Fang Yuzhe! Do you know what kind of behavior this is?!”
“This is punishment for your behavior. Are you going to tell the truth or not?”
Xia Yuluo was furious. But after going back and forth for a while, he suddenly looked sad, “Yuluo, don’t do this to me. If you must leave me, at least be honest and let me know.”
Xia Yuluo couldn’t help but burst into tears, lying on the bed and asking, “Will you leave me?”
“You finally opened up!” Fang Yuzhe lay down beside her.
“Can you stop pushing me to explain why?”
“Is it my dad who wants you to leave me? I’ve suspected this for a long time. My grandfather isn’t even sick, but he tricked me into going to the United States and kept my passport. The missed calls on your phone and your breakup fee can all prove my guess is right!”
“It has nothing to do with your father!”
“Stop lying to me. Don’t you know you’re not good at lying?”
Coaxing Me Is the Way to Go
Xia Yuluo really didn’t want to tell Fang Yuzhe the truth, but this guy had a persistent spirit, using both soft and hard tactics to force and ask, basically guessing the general situation.
“Fang Yuzhe, can we just stop here?” Xia Yuluo had just “complied” and now had no strength to argue.
“Please! When I can decide my own life in the future, if you still don’t have a girlfriend by then, I’ll come find you!”
