Chapter 15: Hua Xiali is a Black-Hearted Lotus

“How much of a dowry they ask for their daughter has nothing to do with you, the Wang family,” Huo Beixi said, looking at the eldest Wang sister sternly.

The eldest Wang sister was intimidated by Huo Beixi’s presence. She shrank her neck and stubbornly said, “But their daughter, Hua Xiali, is dating my brother, Wang Liang…”

“I am not dating Wang Liang, nor am I dating anyone else.” Hua Xiali walked over from behind, pushed through the crowd, and entered the circle. “Since you claim I am dating Wang Liang, please provide some evidence.”

Hua Xiali rolled up the sleeves of her shirt, holding up her fair, smooth arms. “If we were dating, shouldn’t Wang Liang have given me a watch?”

“Look at these faded clothes and this pilling sweater I’m wearing. If we were dating, shouldn’t Wang Liang have bought me some decent clothes and shoes? Look at my parents, look at my home—do I look like someone who is in a relationship?”

Hua Xiali looked around at the surrounding villagers. “Uncles and aunties, if it were your daughter, would you be willing to let her date someone as stingy as this?”

In her past life, she hadn’t experienced marriage and didn’t understand these things, so she hadn’t noticed these details. In reality, other than the three hundred yuan dowry, the Wang family hadn’t spent a single extra cent; they hadn’t even given gifts during holidays. It was no wonder they bullied her without mercy—she was just a nanny they had bought for three hundred yuan. It would be a miracle if they respected her!

Hua Xiali had a beautiful figure and a pretty face, and the sweater she wore was quite small. If others looked closely, they could see her curves. Huo Beixi felt inexplicably uncomfortable and didn’t want the prying eyes of the crowd to linger on her, so he subconsciously moved in front of Hua Xiali, using his own body to block those inquisitive gazes.

“Did you hear that clearly? My sister is not dating Wang Liang, and she has nothing to do with your Wang family. Get lost now, don’t be an eyesore here,” Zhang Yongfeng said angrily.

Hua Xiali cast a grateful look at Zhang Yongfeng, then turned to Wang Liang. “Wang Liang, at the end of January, my sister and I went to the supermarket to buy New Year’s goods and met you there. That was the first time I ever saw you. It’s April now; in these two-plus months, we haven’t met many times, and you haven’t bought me anything. I can also feel that you don’t actually like me. Since you don’t like me, why are you pursuing me? Can you tell me your reason or your motive?”

She hadn’t known in her past life, but she found out later during the divorce: the girlfriend he was seeing outside wanted a dowry of several thousand yuan, which the Wang family couldn’t afford. So, they wanted to marry a cheap wife from the countryside, and she was the sucker he had picked.

Wang Liang met Hua Xiali’s fox-like eyes and suddenly felt as if he had been seen through. A sense of panic rose in his heart for no reason.

“Let me guess your motive. First, it’s very likely that you are dying and want to leave behind an heir, so you were desperate to marry me. But when you found out my family wanted a high dowry, you flew into a rage out of shame.”

“Second, you committed a crime and are going to jail, but you’re afraid your heartless eldest sister won’t take care of your parents, so you wanted to marry a wife to look after them for you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in such a rush—we’ve only known each other for two months, and you already want to marry me.”

The eldest Wang sister felt furious upon hearing this, but she couldn’t find words to refute it, because every time she returned to her maiden home, she took things away rather than bringing anything to them.

She simply didn’t want the family’s belongings to benefit an outsider like a ‘sister-in-law.’ No matter which woman married her brother, in her eyes, they were an outsider who shouldn’t be allowed to touch the Wang family’s property.

“Third, it’s that you have a girlfriend elsewhere, but she thinks you’re poor and won’t marry you, so you came back to find a wife. There are so many of your classmates nearby, both unmarried and divorced, yet you didn’t pursue them and came to me instead. Do you dare say you aren’t here to kick someone while they’re down?”

Hua Xiali felt that the Wang family must have seen her family’s decline and thought that by offering a tiny bit of profit, it would be like providing charcoal in snowy weather, making her family eternally grateful and willing to sacrifice for the Wangs for the sake of this so-called ‘kindness.’

In her past life, that was definitely Wang Liang’s plan. He thought that if he helped the Hua family, Hua Xiali would be grateful to him and listen to him for the rest of her life. If his girlfriend hadn’t gotten pregnant, he probably wouldn’t have returned to divorce Hua Xiali, but would have kept her serving his parents for a lifetime.

Wang Liang saw Hua Xiali staring straight at him and his heart skipped a beat. He felt as if Hua Xiali knew everything.

It was true; he had a girlfriend outside. She was a city girl, and her family demanded a high dowry he couldn’t afford.

It was true; there were dozens of his female classmates in the surrounding villages—from elementary school, middle school, his own class, and others.

He didn’t look for someone his own age, but for Hua Xiali, who was several years younger, for two reasons: first, Hua Xiali was beautiful and satisfied his vanity, letting everyone know he had married a young, pretty wife, which would make others envious.

The other reason was that he thought Hua Xiali was young and easy to fool. After they were married, he could leave her at home while he went out to enjoy himself. Hua Xiali wouldn’t know, and even if she did, she wouldn’t dare to make a scene because he was the only one willing to reach out and pull her out of the ‘fire pit.’

But now, the way everyone looked at him was filled with nothing but disgust. After today, his reputation and the Wang family’s reputation were ruined.

He only now realized that all that talk about rural girls being simple, obedient, and easy to coax was wrong—this Hua Xiali was a black-hearted lotus.

“Wang Liang, please tell everyone here: which of these reasons is the one that brought you to me?” Hua Xiali looked at him sternly.

The reason didn’t matter to her, as she already knew it from her past life. She just wanted to tear off the Wang family’s mask of hypocrisy. Once this incident spread, no girl within a ten-mile radius would marry him, and there wouldn’t be any other victims.

Just then, a police car drove up and stopped in the open space in front of Hua Xiali’s house. The doors opened, and two officers in uniform stepped out. “Was it here that the report was filed?”

Hua Xiali hurriedly raised her hand. “Officer, I filed the report. They came here to provoke trouble, incite a disturbance, and insult my family.”

In her past life, in order to sue Wang Liang and his mistress, Hua Xiali had crammed books on the law, so she had a certain understanding of it.

(End of chapter)