"Huh? Say something! What do you want from me?"
Maybe it was because Tiana Harris wasn’t speaking, just looking at him in disbelief, that Li Weichen felt a bit guilty, his tone weakening towards the end.
Tiana couldn’t say anything for a moment; this man’s face suddenly looked unfamiliar to her.
Of course, it wasn’t the first time this man surprised her, but this was the most outrageous.
She remembered last week when she was playing a game with him to relax; she played very well, even better than him.
She said at the time, "They can’t deal with me, running away every time they see me. I’m overpowered this round."
However, he retorted disdainfully, "Showing off? It was just luck, wasn’t it? Don’t you realize how much you suck?"
Hearing this, she felt a bit wronged and lowered her head as a new round began. Seeing her displeased expression, he immediately threw his phone on the ground.
"Who are you giving that look to? Play damn it? Play by yourself." After saying that, he went back to his room.
She only remembered the phone hitting the ground, followed by shards of glass flying up; she couldn’t understand what was worth getting angry about.
"You speak to me as if you’re absolutely right, as if it’s my fault."
The tone was very calm, with no intention of arguing.
Li Weichen immediately lost his temper and, closing his eyes, swayed from side to side, finally swallowing his anger and spreading his hands as he looked at her, "It’s my fault I broke it, but now that it’s broken, what can I do? I don’t want to fight with you, you know?"
"Am I fighting with you?"
"Aren’t you? Saying nonsense just to pick a fight with me?"
A tear dropped from the corner of her eye, and realizing it, Tiana quickly wiped it away with her hand.
Li Weichen suddenly became impatient, "Crying again! What else can you do besides cry? Can crying solve the problem?"
"Li Weichen, I told you how important it was to show you the gravity of your mistake. I never wanted anything from you! You just had to listen!"
For the first time, she gritted her teeth and spoke to him.
Hearing this, he crossed his arms, tilted his head, and disdainfully and fiercely said, "I don’t want to hear it, alright? You say all this just to make me pay you back, right? Fine, when I have money, I’ll compensate you!"
"Don’t want to hear?" Tiana started laughing, and then tears also followed, sliding down her cheeks. She staggered back a couple of steps, finally clapping with her head lowered, applauding him.
She looked like a madwoman.
"Fine!" She lifted her head, ran her fingers through her hair; she already knew what to say next. Without hesitation, she pointed at him and said, "Get out of my room, now!"
"What?" Now it was Li Weichen’s turn to be shocked, his disbelief showing at two hundred percent.
But soon it was replaced by disdain and anger, "Your room? It’s just a rented place. Last month I even covered the water bill! Your dad was saved by my dad’s life! And now you’re kicking me out? Do you have a conscience? Do you?"
"Our family only owes Uncle Li, not you! From the start, you had a three hundred thousand loan. I’ve been scrimping and saving every month to pay it off for three years!" Tiana brought up the matter, even though she knew it was a taboo for him.
Because her family was poor, she started working at fifteen, and just turned eighteen, her parents pushed her together with Li Weichen. Now she’s twenty-one.
Three years had passed; she had actually fallen in love with this man, although there were other complicated feelings mixed in. She really wanted to build a life, and really wanted to get married.
"Like hell you paid it! I didn’t pay it myself?" Saying this, Li Weichen noticeably lost his momentum, because he knew Tiana really was helping him pay it.
Eight thousand a month, and his employment had been unstable over the years. Most of the time, he lay at home playing games, while Tiana, besides doing odd jobs, would also take on other part-time work to repay the debt.
He saw all this, but the more it was brought to light, the less he wanted to admit it; it hurt his pride. Saying it out loud was tantamount to admitting he was living off a woman.
"You’re even going to deny this?" Tiana’s nose tingled, and her grievances fully erupted. Like a shrew, she erupted, "For you! I even have to think twice about eating a pack of two-dollar-and-fifty-cent instant noodles, and you deny me? You actually deny me?"
After yelling, she felt calm inside, thinking she might be better off without such a man.
"Li Weichen, we are breaking up. Leave now. I’ll transfer double the water bill you covered last month to your WeChat."
A dead silence ensued before Li Weichen realized the gravity of the situation. He didn’t know if Tiana was joking, but she’d never said anything to him before.
After a long while, he hesitated and tested, "Ti... Tiana, what’s wrong with you? Just say it’s my fault, I’ll let you have your way, let’s not fight, okay?"
He stretched out a hand to pull Tiana, "Let’s go, to Lotus Park, I’ll buy you some candied hawthorn, okay?"
Unexpectedly, Tiana wouldn’t give him an out, she flung his hand away and said calmly, "I said we’re breaking up; we’re cutting all ties. Now you can leave. Whether you go to the internet cafe to play games or get tangled up with other women, no one cares; you’re free. I’m letting you go, and you let me go too!"
Li Weichen finally lost his patience, furiously, "Fine! Tiana, you’re the one who said it! You better not come crawling back to me in tears; you ungrateful bitch, my dad died for nothing!"
The sound of the door slamming was so loud the floor seemed to shake.
In this moment, Tiana’s heart calmed down; she looked at the hairpin she was holding. Although broken, it should look good with the gold inlay. Check latest chapters at novᴇlfire.net
In her eyes, this yellowed hairpin wasn’t some old antique, just a wedding gift from her grandmother, worn often by her. It was a token of her grandmother’s feelings, her yearning.
However, within half an hour, her mother’s call came through.
As soon as the call connected, the scolding began.
"Got wings now? What do you think you are? Some rich young lady? Weichen’s dad saved your dad’s life, have you forgotten? How could I give birth to something so heartless?"
The voice was piercing, and the words were hard to hear. Facing her mother’s questioning and scolding, she dared not speak, feeling cold inside.
Then came the sounds of angry cursing from the phone: "You broke up just because he didn’t buy you a lousy lipstick? Always dressing up like a demon; what are you, a harlot? Apologize to Weichen right away, or don’t consider yourself my daughter!"
"Mom, he broke the hairpin grandma gave me, and I never asked him to buy me lipstick."
"What’s a crappy hairpin worth? If you don’t apologize to Weichen today, don’t call me mom anymore!"
She couldn’t understand why her parents’ debt had become hers to repay, why she had to spend her whole life repaying it.
If Li Weichen were a good person, she might just accept it, living a simple life wasn’t so bad.
But Li Weichen wasn’t a good person, nor was he entirely bad; to put it simply, he was a jerk, an ordinary person who thought he was above everyone else.
Even her own parents were accusing her of "crimes." Since when did her parents become Li Weichen’s parents? She couldn’t remember anymore.