Hua Tang didn't know his whereabouts and knew that she couldn't get any information out of him. She tidied up the house briefly and went to catch the bus.
On the way, she received a call from her best friend, Chen Jingjing. Although she was nagged by her best friend, she still felt happy that someone cared about her.
"Today is your first visit to your parents as a newlywed! You don't even know where your husband went. Why didn't you ask? He actually ghosted you? What is he playing at? Does he really not care about this marriage? Then why did he fulfill the engagement? Why is he toying around with a good girl like you?"
Hua Tang listened and only smiled foolishly.
Chen Jingjing was her best friend, and she was quite free-spirited. Her current dissatisfaction had her ranting off at the speed of a machine gun. "He's a poor man with nothing, to begin with. He's a hooligan who picks fights all day. He should be thanking his ancestors for his marriage to you! And yet, he doesn't cherish you. He won't even accompany you back home…"
Hua Tang's lips twitched awkwardly. "I don't want him to accompany me either. I'm going home to ask for money today. If he went with me, wouldn't I be exposed?! "
There was silence on the other end of the phone. "This is your future you're giving away, Tangtang!"
The smile on Hua Tang's lips froze. Chen Jingjing was right. Marriage was a lifetime commitment, and she had just gotten married in such a muddle-headed manner. However...
She chuckled into the phone. "Actually, I have to thank Mu Chi. If he didn't marry me, I wouldn't have gotten this 300,000 yuan dowry!"
As long as her mother recovered, her brother could study well, and their family could live in peace, that would be her greatest happiness.
"Alright, I'll talk later. I gotta go!" Hua Tang was in a hurry to end the call. "I'm going over today to get the money. I'll tell you the good news when I'm done!" Hua Tang put her phone back into her backpack.
On foot, she soon arrived at the villa district for the rich in Jiangcheng City. She looked at it and suddenly felt worlds away from such a lifestyle.
"Yo, my dear sister is back!" Hua Ning was wearing an haute couture dress with a dazzling pearl necklace around her neck.
When she walked down the stairs, she sized Hua Tang up arrogantly. When she thought about how the person Hua Tang married was a pauper with nothing to his name and a well-known hooligan—in short, a good-for-nothing—Hua Ning couldn't help but be secretly happy. This time, she had completely trampled Hua Tang under her feet.
Ever since she was a child, she seemed to be inferior to Hua Tang in everything. As long as Hua Tang was around, she was like a clown.
Even if Hua Tang wore the old clothes she threw away, others still praised her beauty. Everyone liked to be close to her. Even in academics, Hua Tang achieved better grades, and the person she liked in her school days also had feelings for Hua Tang! At the thought, Hua Ning's eyes were filled with intense hatred.
Marrying Hua Tang off as her substitute had removed a huge threat from Hua Ning's heart. However, she was not satisfied yet. She wanted to see Hua Tang in an even more miserable state.
"Sister, enjoying your married life? People all had arranged marriages in the olden times. They had never seen each other before entering the bridal chamber… Ha, your marriage is quite a hark back to the ages! You should be very happy, right? You weren't scared, were you?"
Hua Tang did not reply. She did not have a good impression of this family. She only wanted to take the money and leave quickly. From then on, she would have nothing to do with the Hua family.
"I heard that my brother-in-law went to jail a few times due to fighting. What is he doing now?" Hua Ning looked at her with disdain. "It would be difficult for such a person to find a job. Does he have a proper job? If he really couldn't find one, I could introduce him to a few good postings, such as construction work, dock hand duties, and so on. We could also have him work at our company; it just so happens that the security guard is short of a dog!"
Hua Tang looked up at her sharply.
Hua Ning's heart tightened. Her impression of Hua Tang had always been that she was meek and submissive, constantly going around with an innocent look on her face as if she was the purest person in the world—it was disgusting. However, there seemed to be something different in her eyes today.
Hua Tang stared at Hua Ning. "Although my husband has some shortcomings, it doesn't affect his ability to earn money to support his family. I won't starve." You can keep the jobs that you mentioned for my future brother-in-law!"
"Hua Tang, who do you think you're talking to?" Hua Ning's expression changed.
"I'm addressing you, my dear sister," Hua Tang said lightly. "Moving bricks at the construction site, carrying goods at the docks, being a dog for the security guards… Aren't they all positions that you think are quite good? You kindly offered these jobs to help us out, but I'll leave them to my future brother-in-law. Is there a problem with my reasoning?"
Hua Ning had never known Hua Tang to have such a smart mouth. However, when she thought about Hua Tang's destitute future, she felt merciful and ignored her. As she strutted her way upstairs, she snorted coldly. "I know why you're here today... You're wasting your time; Daddy's not here right now!"
"What did you say?" Hua Tang's heart thumped, and she immediately had a bad feeling.