Chapter 11: We Are Just a Passing Couple

Lu Chen reached out an elegant hand, gripping her arm and pulling her out of the car with a sudden tug. The contrast between this and the tenderness he had shown while holding Doudou was worlds apart. The moment Jiang Hanyan's feet hit the ground, the man let go of her as if she were something filthy.

Jiang Hanyan's feet were still numb; losing her support, her body tilted toward Lu Chen. She unceremoniously clung to him, and the two embraced tightly, drawing countless gazes.

"Ah Chen, you young couple are out shopping!"

"You've got to take your wife out for a stroll and buy her some beautiful clothes!"

Several middle-aged women walked over, greeting Lu Chen familiarly while casting meaningful glances at Jiang Hanyan. Lu Chen remained expressionless; the women knew his temperament, so they left after their greetings.

However, their gossip drifted over to her, word for word.

"Those people are talking nonsense, saying Lu Chen doesn't like his wife. If he didn't, would he be holding her so tight in broad daylight? He clearly loves her to death!"

"His wife is so good-looking; any man would be smitten."

"No wonder they introduced so many girls to Lu Chen before and he didn't care for a single one. Turns out he was just looking for someone beautiful!"

"Nonsense, what man doesn't want someone beautiful? Lu Chen is handsome; he certainly can't settle for an ugly woman!"

"What's the use of being handsome? Lu Chen owes hundreds of thousands in debt, has no steady job, and no one to rely on. Whoever marries him is just asking for bad luck!"

The women's voices grew quieter. Jiang Hanyan looked at the person involved in surprise and whispered, "You owe hundreds of thousands in debt?"

"Mm."

Lu Chen pushed her away and led Doudou into the wet market. He had to keep an eye on the grocery shopping, otherwise, this spendthrift woman would buy another pile of useless, flashy vegetables.

"Is this debt from your father?"

Jiang Hanyan remembered the book mentioning that Lu Chen had an extremely unreliable and eccentric father who ran away when Lu Chen was thirteen and was never heard from again. He was raised by his grandfather, a very kind old man; the debt certainly wasn't Grandpa Lu's.

It could only be Lu Chen's father.

"Mm."

A cold aura radiated from Lu Chen. He didn't want to mention that man; it annoyed him, so he strode forward, creating a large distance between them.

Jiang Hanyan jogged to catch up and asked with concern, "Have you finished paying it off?"

"Are you going to help me pay it?"

Lu Chen turned his head, his cold eyes tinged with mockery.

"That's impossible. After all, we're just a 'dewdrop couple'—a marriage of convenience. I'm just showing concern. Don't worry, once I earn money, I'll definitely pay the rent." Jiang Hanyan gave a dry laugh. Although she pitied the guy, helping him pay his debts was out of the question.

Besides, Lu Chen would strike it rich in a few years anyway; he wouldn't need her help.

He just looked so pitiful right now, like he couldn't even afford an egg. Fine, once she earned money, she would pay a little bit of rent.

Lu Chen gave a light snort and walked up to a meat stall. The owner was a ruddy-faced, short, and stout man. He glanced at Jiang Hanyan and said with a beaming smile, "Zhaodi is here to buy meat!"

Jiang's father was a butcher. Although he didn't have a stall in this specific market, all the butchers in Fucheng knew him, and naturally, they knew Jiang Hanyan too.

"Mm. Weigh me some pork belly, some meat bones, and a few pounds of this fatback as well."

Jiang Hanyan gestured at the stall as she spoke. As the daughter of a butcher, she had been immersed in the trade since childhood; one look and she knew which cut was the tastiest. This was an instinct belonging to the original host.

Lu Chen opened his mouth, wanting to say there was no need to buy so much, but seeing Doudou's joyful expression, he shut his mouth. Children need to eat well to grow tall; this woman was right.

"Zhaodi, did you really chop your brother's dog to death a few days ago? Is that true or false?" the butcher asked curiously.

He thought it was fake. Jiang Hanyan didn't even dare to kill a chicken; where would she get the guts to kill a dog? It had to be a rumor.

"It's true. I smashed that dog's skull and tore its belly open. How much is all this?"

Jiang Hanyan remained expressionless. Every time this owner called her Zhaodi, she felt a sense of disgust—likely a lingering feeling from the original host—but she also hated the name Jiang Zhaodi.

"Pork belly is eight-fifty, fatback is ten, and I'll give you the bones for six. That's twenty-four-fifty in total." The owner finished the calculation and then, thinking he was being kind, advised, "How much grudge could two siblings have? You're a married daughter; your brothers in your natal family are your support. Your father is furious this time. Zhaodi, you should buy some good wine and food to take home to apologize to your father and brother. Families shouldn't hold grudges overnight."

"My name is Jiang Hanyan!" Jiang Hanyan lost her patience.

The smile on the owner's fat face froze, and he said sheepishly, "But your father calls you Zhaodi."

"He can call me whatever he wants, it's none of my business. My name is Jiang Hanyan. And my family matters have nothing to do with you. That useless Jiang Tianbao—who could he possibly be a support for? Me killing his dog was an act of justice; that dog bit several people and deserved to die. Me, apologize to him? Keep dreaming!"

Jiang Hanyan's face turned cold, her expression like frost, and her words were sharper than ice shards. The butcher stood there awkwardly, his face burning with embarrassment. He felt quite annoyed; after all, he was a friend of Jiang's father and considered an elder to Jiang Hanyan. This girl had no sense of respect, and her words were utterly subversive.

"I was just saying... if you don't want to hear it, then forget it. It's your family's business after all, it has nothing to do with me!" the butcher said sarcastically.

"If it has nothing to do with you, why did you say so much just now? Telling me to go apologize—where do you get such a thick skin? Is Jiang Tianbao your son? Are you heartbroken because I hit him?"

Jiang Hanyan was intentionally saying these things to provoke him. This butcher often came to the Jiang house to hang out; he spoke without restraint and sometimes even made lewd comments toward the original host, showing no dignity as an elder.

"What nonsense are you talking about? What connection could I have with Jiang Tianbao? Go, go, go! I won't be so kind-hearted again!"

The butcher's face turned red with anger. His own son was a good student and handsome; Jiang Tianbao couldn't even compare to his son's toe. How could he have a connection to Jiang Tianbao? He feared Jiang Hanyan would continue her nonsense and arouse suspicion from the people around them.

Feeling guilty, the owner black-faced and drove them away.

"Fine, we're leaving!"

Jiang Hanyan picked up the meat and strode away. Lu Chen blinked and decisively followed.

Only after they had walked a distance did the butcher realize, "You haven't paid yet!"

"Ask my father!"

Jiang Hanyan shot back. The original host had given so much money to her natal family; what was wrong with eating some pork?

The butcher didn't dare to force the issue since Lu Chen was still there. He could only return sullenly and record it on credit, adding an extra two yuan to collect from Jiang's father later.

Lu Chen's lips curled slightly, a hint of a smile in his eyes. He felt no guilt at all about taking advantage of his future father-in-law; in fact, he wanted to take even more.

They went to buy some vegetables and then needed to buy clothes for Doudou. There were several clothing shops in the market, including some for children. Jiang Hanyan went into one of them. The proprietress was a woman in her forties who looked somewhat like Xu Donghua—she was, in fact, Xu Donghua's younger sister.

"Zhaodi is here to buy clothes? These few sets are the most fashionable this year. I'll give them to you at cost, without making a single cent of profit," Xu Dongmei said with a beaming smile, pulling out several sets of unsold stock.

(End of Chapter)