When She Stops Being Dramatic

Chapter 302: Chapter 115: The Green Tea Female Supporting Character in the Period-Setting Novel (2)

The money and ration tickets his family mailed him each month weren’t even enough for him to treat himself to a couple of good meals while keeping up appearances.

Fortunately, he had Chi Yun’er, who was completely devoted to him. While Jiang Zishi put up with her spoiled temper and played the part of her Flower Protector, he also grew increasingly comfortable accepting her money and ration tickets as payment for his troubles.

Now he had a chance to further his education through his own efforts, which meant he wouldn’t have to toil away in the fields anymore. What did it matter if he had to sacrifice his marriage? It was a small price to pay for such a huge gain.

’Living off women is a talent too, and I won’t let anyone ruin this for me!’

Chi Yun’er pouted and grumbled unhappily:

”I’m not like you, Zishi. I don’t forget my promises the moment I make them.”

”Things have come to this... I... how could I possibly let them accuse you of being a vagrant?”

’Come to think of it,’ Jiang Zishi thought, ’Chi Yun’er might have a thousand faults, but she’s pretty, naive and easy to fool, generous with her money, and always keeps her promises.’

His expression softened. In light of her many contributions, he nodded. ”Alright, I’ll give it my best shot. But...” he hesitated, ”you know the village chief’s wife is greedy. This time, whether you pushed Bian Yumin or not, her daughter was the one who fell in the water. Their family is the one who lost face and became a laughingstock.”

”With her personality, always looking to get something for nothing, I’m afraid we won’t be able to settle this without paying a hefty price.”

”But I was thinking, this is basically just a stroke of bad luck. If we can solve it privately with money, we shouldn’t let it become a public spectacle.”

”Otherwise, once I leave for university, I won’t be able to look after you anymore. I could never rest easy leaving you here to deal with these cunning villagers all by yourself!”

He sounded so sincere and earnest, as if he were considering everything from her point of view.

Chi Yun’er’s eyes welled up with tears, moved. ”Oh, Zishi, you’re so good to me. It’s such a shame we’re not meant to be. From now on... from now on, what am I going to do...”

As she spoke, she grabbed the handkerchief from her pillow, covered her face, and began to sob, her shoulders shaking.

’But the handkerchief remained perfectly dry. She gritted her teeth in fury. He was going to marry Bian Yumin and couldn’t keep stringing her along anymore, so he was getting ready to pull one last big score off of her.’

Jiang Zishi savored her helplessness, her dependence, her despair. His heart softened a little as he said:

”Actually, look at it this way: if you can make peace with the village chief’s family, then after I marry into the Bian family, you’ll benefit from the connection too, won’t you?”

”Once we’re over this hurdle, you can write to your parents and ask them to find a job for you. With me speaking on your behalf, the village chief will certainly sign off on your application and approve your departure.”

”Once you’re back in the city, you can find a good man who treats you well, get married, and live a happy life. Only then can I finally be at peace about you.”

At this, he, a grown man, seemed to choke up, his voice thick with reluctance and a hint of a blessing for her future.

A sarcastic smile touched Chi Yun’er’s lips. ’He really knows how to spin a pretty tale.’

’Still, she knew her chances of returning to the city were firmly in the Bian family’s grasp!’

’Hah. But this time, she’d make them understand that it’s easier to invite a demon in than to send it away.’

Chi Yun’er kept her face buried, crying sorrowfully. She couldn’t suppress a tickle in her throat and broke into a series of coughs, which this time managed to squeeze out some actual tears.

Seeing that her psychological defenses had been breached, Jiang Zishi returned to the original subject:

”Chi Yun’er, how much money do you have on you? Give it to me for now. I’ll go over to the village chief’s house for dinner after work this afternoon and bring this up.”

”If the amount of money Aunt Bian asks for is within our means, I’ll make the decision and settle this matter for you. How does that sound?”

Chi Yun’er pursed her lips, rubbed her eyes, and grumbled resentfully, ”It doesn’t sound good at all. Not only is Aunt Bian the type to skin a flea for its hide, she’s also a gossip. Any story that comes out of her mouth gets twisted into something else entirely.”

”Besides, I have plenty of money and ration tickets on me. About a thousand yuan! Why should I just hand it over to them?”

The moment he heard the sum, Jiang Zishi’s heart skipped a beat, and the corners of his mouth twitched into a faint smile.

’What a stupid woman,’ he thought. ’Money really does talk. A thousand yuan was a fortune in the countryside, more than a large family could save in years. She must be so smitten with me to have no secrets at all.’

He almost felt bad for her. But Jiang Zishi kept his voice steady as he patiently employed a mix of threats and persuasion:

”Chi Yun’er, this is no time to be throwing a fit. You need to learn to compromise. Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward. Why insist on taking the hardest road?”

”This is Bian Family Village. To be blunt, what could you do if they decided to just rob you, call it ’compensation,’ and then all cover for each other? What recourse would you have?”

Chi Yun’er trembled, her face growing even paler with fright. ”Don’t they have any respect for the law?”