After her meeting in the morning, Shu Yan had nothing else on her schedule so she returned to her shop. As soon as she walked inside, she could see that both Zhang Huaxiu and Yingying were in foul moods. Yingying, in particular, had her body turned to the side. Even so, it wasnât difficult to see that her eyes were reddened.
âWhatâs the matter?â Shu Yan walked closer and noticed that one side of her cheeks were a little swollen and there were bruising around the corners of her eye and mouth. Someone had obviously struck her.
âWhat happened? Who hit you?â Shu Yan took her hand and studied her carefully. She could even see redness in her eyes. How hard was she struck?
âBoss Lady, my father... he wants me to marry a crippled man. All because the man can afford 50,000 yuan of betrothal gift. My father wants to sell me. I didnât agree to it so he hit me. He even locked me up and wouldnât let me come in to work. I lied to my mother that I agree to it before sheâd let me out to have breakfast. I ran out after she had left for work. How could he do this to me? How could he sell me for my brother? Am I not his child?â Yingying couldnât help but started crying after she saw Shu Yan.
âDonât cry yet. Tell me the whole story starting from the beginning.â Shu Yan had her sit down and had Zhang Huaxiu poured her a glass of water.
âMy brother wants to get married but the girlâs side said he must have his own house. Remember they asked me to come up with 10,000 yuan? I told them I donât have that much money and have been giving them 150 yuan a month. My parents hadnât said anything in the last couple of months and I thought that was kind of odd. Little do I know that they had put out words that they would marry me off to anyone regardless of weight or height, as long as they can come up with the betrothal gift,â said Yingying as she sobbed.
âTheir favoritism is too extreme,â said Zhang Huaxiu angrily after she brought Yingying a glass of water. âOne way or another, you canât agree to it. We live in the modern-day society now. You should have freedom of your relationships. We no longer blindly follow what the parents and matchmaker say.â
âThey donât care about that. They feel that they had raised me this entire time and now they can sell me so my brother can get married.â Yingying sobbed a little more and said to Shu Yan, âBoss Lady, can I sleep in the shop for the next few days? I donât dare go back to my place nor would I be able to anymore.â
âThatâs not a problem at all but itâs not safe for a girl to stay here. Why donât you come and stay over at my place for now? You can go to and from work with Xiuxiu. As for your parents, Yingying, as someone who had been through this, I will say that you cannot always give in to your parents. If you donât put your foot down, they will continue to pressure you. Be familial doesnât mean you must sacrifice yourself. Your parents are still young right now. You go on with your life and, when you are wealthy, more capable and when they are older, you can be familial to them then.â Shu Yan truly wished for the best for this girl who had shared so much with the original owner.
âI... I am not going to marry the crippled man. Iâd rather die.ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Shu Yanâs place had three room, maybe four if they counted the one that Aunty lived in. Now that Yingying was staying over, Shu Yan had her stay in JingJingâs room and had JingJing stayed in the same room as her.
âAunty Yingying will be staying with us for a few days. What say we let her stay in your room and you sleep with Mommy, hmm?â
Before JingJing could even nod, Tianbao said loudly from one said, âMom, Aunty Yingying can stay in my room. I want to sleep with you.â
âNo, Tianbao is a little man and needs to sleep by himself. Besides, a little boyâs room is not the same as a little girlâs room, okay?â
Not having an adult male in the house, Shu Yan tried to have them understand the differences between boys and girls, especially when it came to Tianbao. Shu Yan purposefully wanted to train him to be more independent. She didnât want him to rely on her too much. Him turning into a mommyâs boy was not what she wanted to see.
âThank you, Boss Lady.â
âDonât think too much and get some rest,â says Shu Yan.
When they headed into work the next day, they saw a few people surrounding their front door. Shu Yan was just about to walk over when Yingying grabbed her and said in a low voice, âThatâs my parents.â
Shu Yan was just about to say something when Yingyingâs parents came charging at her.