Chapter 7 Why Did No One Ever Believe Him When It Was The Truth

“Do you mean that it was Hu Hong?” Wang Xue asked. Lin Yijia nodded though she was uncertain. “It probably isn’t him. After all, Manager Wang didn’t take warmly to Hu Hong yesterday.” Wang Xue shook her head. “But who else could it be? Anyone who can put in a good word with Tycoon Lu probably has considerable status, but I don’t know such a person.” Now Lin Yijia was baffled too. The mother and daughter spent some time speculating about their possible benefactor but the thought that it was Lu Chen never crossed their minds. The way they saw it, Lu Chen was just a good-for-nothing. There was no way he had any form of relationship with Tycoon Lu. If there really was any association between them, it would probably just be that they both shared the surname ‘Lu’. “Alright, never mind. Let’s get the contract signed first, then ask Manager Wang who it was,” Wang Xue decided. Just then, Lu Chen came back after having finished his noodles. Seeing the smiles on Wang Xue’s and Lin Yijia’s faces, he knew that Jun Yue Group had most likely given them a call earlier. “Take good care of Qiqi. We’re going to Jun Yue to discuss a deal.” Wang Xue was in a spectacular mood; even her tone was so much nicer. Lu Chen nodded. But just as Wang Xue and Lin Yijia were about to leave, Lin Yijia’s phone rang. After taking the call, she announced, “Mum, hang on. Hu Hong is coming to visit Qiqi. He’s already at the hospital.” Hu Hong soon arrived bearing a small basket of fruits—imported dragon fruits, which were loved by all, even children. When he looked at Lu Chen, Hu Hong’s gaze was less contemptuous than it had been yesterday. It was no wonder. They’d been humiliated at Jun Yue yesterday, while Tycoon Lu’s secretary had been so respectful to Lu Chen. Both he and Wang Xue had considered that Lu Chen’s background wasn’t what it seemed. But neither Hu Hong nor Lu Chen brought it up. Lu Chen knew that Hu Hong hadn’t come just to see his daughter; there was no need to thank him. “Oh, right. Hu Hong, did you ask your dad to help us? Manager Wang from Jun Yue Group just gave my mum a call inviting us to discuss the contract right away. They’re going to buy the medicine from my mother’s company.” Lin Yijia suddenly raised the question. She still felt that Hu Hong was the only one who could have helped her mum. “Huh?” Hu Hong was slightly disconcerted. Since when did my dad have such influence? And he wouldn’t give a damn even if I asked, he thought. “That’s why I said that it was most likely someone else; after all, Manager Wang didn’t pay much heed to Hu Hong yesterday,” Wang Xue remarked upon seeing Hu Hong’s response. Lin Yijia nodded. The gaze she cast at Hu Hong held just a hint of disappointment. “Aunt Xue, Manager Wang’s already given you a call? Looks like my dad gets things done really quickly. I’d only told him about it and asked for his help today morning. He told me that he would find time to pay a visit to Manager Wang, but I thought that he was just brushing me off.” Hu Hong only debated it for a moment before admitting to it. Anyway, it didn’t matter even if he was exposed in the end. If he was, he would have gotten Lin Yijia by then and probably couldn’t care less. More importantly, he suspected that Jun Yue Group had contacted Wang Xue because they thought that she would make a good business match. If that was the case, then he most likely wouldn’t be exposed. It just happened that Lin Yijia suspected it was him and he took credit for it, making him one step closer to getting Lin Yijia. “Oh my. You really asked your dad to help us put in a good word? Thank you so much!” Lin Yijia looked up at Hu Hong in elation. She was right about no one other than Hu Hong being able to help her mum. “Hu, thank you so much. Really.” Wang Xue was also ecstatic. She hadn’t thought that it really was Hu Hong. Lu Chen looked at Hu Hong in surprise, not expecting the brat to be so shameless. “Are you sure that it was your dad who did my mother-in-law a favor?” Lu Chen stared at Hu Hong with a deadpan expression. Alarmed, panic flitted through Hu Hong’s eyes. “If it wasn’t Hu Hong, who would it be? You? Do you have what it takes?” Irritation and disdain covered Lin Yijia’s face as she regarded Lu Chen. “Don’t mind him. Let’s get the contract signed first.” Wang Xue threw a dirty look at Lu Chen before leaving with Lin Yijia and Hu Hong in tow. Lu Chen scoffed and shook his head, not bothered to do anything about it. Whether Hu Hong’s character was decent had nothing to do with him. “Dad, why are Auntie and Grandma always so fierce to you?” Qiqi looked up at Lu Chen inquisitively. Lu Chen smiled at her, lost for reply. Of course he couldn’t tell her it was because they thought that he was good-for-nothing. He needed to impart positive energy to his daughter. The next day, Lu Zhong finally found a bone marrow match for Qiqi; the hospital conducted the surgery immediately. The surgery was a great success and Qiqi recovered very well. So much so that Lin Yijun was overjoyed to the point where she forgot to ask Lu Chen how he had obtained the money used to transfer Qiqi to a VIP ward and for the surgery. When Qiqi recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital, Lin Yijun took two days off just to spend time with her. “Qiqi is more than three years old now; we can send her to kindergarten. What plans do you have?” Lin Yijun put the question to Lu Chen as they lay in bed with the lights off, ready to sleep. “What plans?” Lu Chen had been thinking of other matters and hadn’t noticed Lin Yijun talking to him. “We’re in so much debt. Shouldn’t you start thinking about how we’re going to pay it back?” Lin Yijun frowned. “I only owe Du Fei fifty thousand. I’ll return it in a couple of days,” Lu Chen replied. “Lu Chen, do you mean to say that the remaining several hundred thousand that we used for Qiqi’s medical bills, I’m expected to work hard to pay it back all on my own?” With a face as cold as ice, Lin Yijun turned to look at Lu Chen, who was leaning back onto the pillow and smoking a cigarette. She would never have imagined that Lu Chen was actually so irresponsible. Was this really her man? “What are you getting worked up over? I never said that you need to pay the debts. The money we spent later on was all my money. Right now, all we owe is the fifty thousand from Du Fei.” Lu Chen laughed in exasperation. “Your money? We spent at least five hundred thousand after that. Do you take me for a fool?” Lin Yijun fumed. “Honey, to tell you the truth, I was actually born in a rich family…” Lu Chen put out the cigarette and turned around to clasp Lin Yijun’s shoulders, prepared to tell her about his background. He wanted to make up for all the years of hardship that Lin Yijun had suffered for him. Instead, Lin Yijun became ballistic, pushing Lu Chen away. “Get lost! Don’t touch me!” she screamed. “Lu Chen, I’m so disappointed. You created such a laughable excuse just to avoid going to work. Do you still call yourself a man? I’m laying it out right here, right now—I don’t care even if you don’t go to work, but the minute we receive a call from a debt collector, I will divorce you.” With that, Lin Yijun swept the covers off herself and got off the bed. She was really angry now. She’d married for love. Even when Lu Chen’s business had failed and throughout all the despair they’d gone through when Qiqi had been admitted to the hospital, she’d only had some misgivings against Lu Chen. But now Lu Chen had come up with such a ridiculous excuse to avoid going to work. It was chillingly disappointing. “What are you doing?” Lu Chen asked perplexedly. “Sleeping in the other bedroom!” Lin Yijun retorted before exiting the room. Lu Chen watched, bemused, as Lin Yijun shut the door with a bang Why did no one ever believe him when it was the truth?!