Chapter 120: Tao You-neng Is Getting Engaged

After a long day at the construction site, Le'er finally returned home as dusk was falling. By the time he arrived, Luo Yingxiang had already prepared dinner. In the depth of winter, a hot meal was exactly what he craved.

Le'er washed his hands and face, and without even changing his clothes, he sat down at the table. There were three dishes and a soup: stir-fried mushrooms with meat, shredded stir-fried radishes, sautéed greens, and a steaming bowl of egg drop soup. For a rural household, this was quite a feast. Luo Yingxiang served the rice, poured two glasses of liquor, and sat down right beside Le'er.

"Uh... why are you sitting so close?" Le'er frowned. "There's so much space over there, can't you sit there?"

"I want to be close to you. Sister Ying isn't here, so what are you afraid of?"

Le'er stopped talking and raised his glass to drink. Luo Yingxiang, however, clinked her glass against his with a beaming smile.

"What's with all this nonsense?" Le'er shot her a harsh glare, but she only laughed more heartily.

"Don't we look like a married couple?" Luo Yingxiang smiled like a fox. "Isn't this nice?"

"A nonsense couple, that's what," Le'er snapped, truly annoyed. "It was your fault that Sister Ying left."

"You have no conscience. How could it be my fault?" Luo Yingxiang stopped laughing, her voice softening. "I didn't say anything to her, nor did I do anything to wrong her. Why blame me?"

Seeing her look of grievance, Le'er felt a pang of guilt, and his tone softened significantly. Luo Yingxiang had poured her heart and soul into him, wishing she could give him everything she had. He knew this well, but he was truly troubled. His heart belonged to Li Ying, yet she had left, claiming she needed time to think things over. What was there to think about? His intuition told him it definitely had to do with him—and specifically, it was because of his relationship with Luo Yingxiang.

Luo Yingxiang finished her meal first and brewed a pot of tea for Le'er. After he finished eating, he took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and picked up a book to read while sipping his tea.

"Le'er."

After cleaning the kitchen and showering, Luo Yingxiang entered the room. She sat down beside him, her watery eyes fixed on him, her hands reaching out to embrace him naturally.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Le'er recoiled, but Luo Yingxiang clung to him like an octopus. Fresh from her shower, the familiar scent of her body stirred the blood in his veins, and his manhood immediately began to harden. The softness of her body and the weight of her breasts pressing against him only added to the intensity. She tilted her head back, her lips parted like blooming petals, looking at him with infatuation.

"I want you to have me," she said, her rural directness leaving no room for subtlety. "It's been so long since you've touched me. I've missed you to death."

As she spoke, her hand slid into his trousers, finding his arousal. Le'er felt as if he had been struck by lightning; his entire body stiffened, and a fire ignited within him. Yet, in that instant, Li Ying's face flashed across his mind.

"No!"

Le'er pushed Luo Yingxiang away and jumped up.

"Le'er, do you really not want me anymore?" Luo Yingxiang began to cry.

"I..." Le'er looked at her tear-streaked face and felt his heart soften, but the thought of Li Ying hardened it once again. "I cannot wrong Sister Ying."

"And are you not wronging me?" Luo Yingxiang sat there, dazed. "I'm not asking to be your wife; I don't need you to marry me. Just being your lover is enough. I just want to be with you sometimes. Now that Sister Ying isn't here, can't you be a little kinder to me?"

"I..."

Seeing him hesitate, Luo Yingxiang approached him again, but Le'er dodged away.

"No. Sister Ying only needs to look into my eyes to know what I've done," Le'er said, grabbing his book. "I'm going to sleep at the village committee office. I... I'm leaving."

Le'er fled his home. Hearing her wails, he picked up his pace, even as his yellow dog barked and chased after him. After scolding the dog, he hurried toward the village committee building. It was a small two-story structure. The top floor had been rented by the Big Snake King Company for their technicians, but now that they had returned to Guangdong, the rooms were empty. He had the key.

He walked quickly, his burning desire slowly subsiding. As he passed Xiushan and reached the road that cut through the pine forest, the sky was already dark, and the cold wind howled. Suddenly, he heard voices ahead.

"Who's there?"

He saw two figures approaching—a man and a woman. Hearing his voice, the man spoke up, sounding pleased.

"Le'er? Is that you? I'm Tao Youneng. I was just on my way to your place to find you."

They stopped. The woman was his girlfriend, Lili. The two were huddled together, smiling at him.

"What do you want with me at this hour?" Le'er asked as he reached them. "Come on, let's go to the village committee office to talk."

"What the hell are we going to the village committee for at this time?" Tao Youneng asked, sounding puzzled.

"Why do you care so much?" Le'er glared at him, then looked at Lili, who was shivering with her neck tucked into her coat, and couldn't help but chuckle. "Is this what you do, bringing your girlfriend out this late? Just taking a ride?"

"Heh heh... of course, I have something to ask of you."

The three of them soon arrived at the village committee. Le'er opened one of the doors. The floor had a small meeting room and three other rooms. After the Big Snake King Company rented it, they used the inner rooms as bedrooms and the outer rooms as offices.

The bed was already made, but there was no stove, so it was quite cold. Le'er set his book on the table. Tao Youneng sat down, while Lili remained huddled against him, her eyes fixed on Le'er. At seventeen, Le'er was already famous, the owner of a large company and a millionaire—the idol of all these students.

"Brother Le'er, do you really have millions of dollars?" young Lili asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Uh... why do you want to know that?" Le'er didn't want to answer.

"Of course I'm jealous," Tao Youneng laughed. "How did you manage to rake in so much money? Did you rob someone?"

"Bullshit!"

"Brother Youneng, it's so cold here," Lili said, shivering. Since it was the top floor with no insulation, any warmth in the room had long since escaped.

"Le'er, can you even stay here without a fire?" Tao Youneng asked. "My nose is running from the cold. Won't you turn into an icicle?"

"What am I supposed to burn? There's no stove, and it's too late to get one."

"Uh... I have charcoal at home. We can use a ceramic basin to build a fire," Tao Youneng suggested. "Let's go get it."

"Didn't you say you had something to ask me?"

"There's still plenty of time. Let's get the fire going first."

Tao Youneng took Lili to fetch the charcoal. The Jiushan Ridge area was rich in timber, and there were kilns where his father worked. Ten minutes later, they returned, with Tao Youneng carrying the charcoal and Lili holding a ceramic basin.

They gathered some firewood, lit it, and added the charcoal. Soon, the room was warm and glowing. Le'er boiled some water in a metal mug and brewed tea.

"Now, tell me, what's going on?"

"Heh heh... Lili and I are getting engaged," Tao Youneng said, a blush spreading across Lili's face.

"That's great," Le'er said with a grin. "With a beautiful girl like Lili by your side, why wouldn't you get engaged? Your parents must be thrilled."

"Thrilled?" Tao Youneng lowered his head. "They're worried sick."

"Why worry about your son getting engaged?"

"The engagement is fine, but we don't have the money," Tao Youneng said, his eyes showing a maturity beyond his years, though they were red-rimmed with melancholy. "My family is poor, and Lili's father demands a ten-thousand-dollar dowry, plus money for clothes and a gold ring. With other expenses, it'll take thirteen thousand. My dad scraped together nine thousand, but he can't borrow another cent."

"No wonder you're treating me so well today, bringing charcoal and a basin. So you were calculating how to get to me," Le'er smiled. "You have no heart."

"Le'er, I really have no other choice," Tao Youneng said, holding Lili. "I love her, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this."

Lili's eyes were also filled with tears. They were truly in love. In rural schools, this was common, but few ever ended up as husband and wife. Lili's father only asking for ten thousand wasn't actually that high, but in the poor countryside, the dowry trend was spiraling, and it was becoming nearly impossible to get married without twenty or thirty thousand.

"Alright, all my money is tied up in the company, but I can scrape together a few thousand," Le'er said, unable to watch his friend suffer. "How much do you need?"

"At least four thousand."

"Fine. I don't have it on me today," Le'er said as he poured the tea. "Write up an IOU and come get it tomorrow."

"Thank you, Le'er." Tao Youneng’s eyes glistened with tears. His father had endured so much coldness from others while begging for money over the past few days. In the village, being unable to produce four thousand dollars was a common tragedy.

"Don't thank me, you idiot. We're brothers. If I can help, how could I not?"

"Brother Le'er is the best," Lili said, wiping her tears and smiling charmingly. "Xiao Li keeps saying she wants to come find you, but she’s afraid of your Li Ying."

"Don't you dare add to my troubles; I can't afford that kind of drama," Le'er said. He had no intention of inviting more trouble.

"Xiao Li acts crazy, but she's not really like that."

Le'er shook his head firmly. "I'm not saying she's bad, I'm saying I can't handle them."

After chatting for a while longer, Le'er told them he needed to read and sent them on their way.