Chapter 20: Bang Geng Has Returned

"Haitang, where have you been these past few days?" In the broadcast room, taking advantage of the gap after Yu Haitang finished her broadcast, Yang Weimin walked in, clutching a hair clip.

"Nowhere, why are you here?" Yu Haitang's hands paused, and she set down the broadcast script as if nothing had happened.

Yang Weimin did not notice the change in Yu Haitang; he walked up with a grin, pulled her into a hug, and then took a deep breath, saying, "Fragrant, so fragrant. What kind of soap paste are you using? Let me have a kiss, I've missed you to death."

Yu Haitang immediately pushed Yang Weimin away with a look of disgust; people really couldn't be compared to one another.

"Yang Weimin, besides 'hehehe,' you have nothing else, right?!"

"I... what's wrong with you, Haitang?" Yang Weimin was somewhat speechless, unable to fathom why Yu Haitang's attitude had changed so drastically.

Clearly, the two of them were already at the stage of discussing marriage, and it wasn't their first time; what was there to be afraid of?

"What's wrong with you? Did I make you angry? Haitang, look, what did I bring you? Ta-da! How is it, do you like it?!" As he spoke, Yang Weimin took out the wrapped hair clip and handed it to Yu Haitang with a smug look on his face.

Unexpectedly, Yu Haitang didn't even look at it; she took it and threw it out the window. Yang Weimin immediately lunged in distress, failed to catch it, and turned around to stomp his feet in anxiety: "Yu Haitang, what kind of madness are you having? Is there something you can't just say directly? Do you know how much that cost?!"

"You're yelling at me?! Yang Weimin, you've grown some nerve, haven't you?!" Yu Haitang glared at him.

Looking at Yu Haitang's pretty face, Yang Weimin felt a wave of discouragement. He forced a smile to reappear, glanced at where the hair clip had landed outside the window, and began to explain.

"No, tell me, what is actually wrong?"

"Fine, I'll ask you, Yang Weimin, when exactly are we getting married?!"

"Uh, the year after next, we'll get married the year after next, how about that?"

"I don't want to wait anymore, I don't want to wait anymore, do you understand?!"

"But... my second brother isn't married yet. Once he gets married at the New Year, we can save money for another two years and then get married. Didn't I tell you that before?"

"Heh, how are we supposed to get married? By hanging up a curtain at your place and squeezing onto a kang with your parents? Sorry, Yang Weimin, I don't want to wait anymore. I don't want to waste my youth waiting for your brothers to get married, and I don't want to marry into your family and squeeze onto a kang with everyone. Sorry, let's break up. I'm tired, please get out." After saying this, Yu Haitang felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart, and she instantly felt relaxed.

"No, don't, Haitang, don't break up. Everything can be discussed. I'll go back and discuss it. If it really doesn't work, I'll beg my parents. We can get married if they move back to the countryside, okay? I beg you, don't leave me." Yang Weimin panicked, plopped down onto his knees while holding Yu Haitang's knees, and tears came streaming down.

Watching Yang Weimin wailing and crying, Yu Haitang's heart softened for a moment, but when she thought about his family's conditions, her heart hardened again.

She did like him, and she had given him everything, but after several years, had anything changed?

Facing a hopeless life where she could see the end at a glance, she, Yu Haitang, really didn't have the courage to continue.

"I'm sorry, Weimin, I'm tired."

"If you're tired, have a good rest. It's fine, don't worry about me. We'll continue once you've rested, okay? I beg you, Haitang."

"Can you act like a man for once?! Fine, we don't have to break up, but I won't squeeze in with your parents. I want to get married by the end of the year. I don't want to wait until I'm an old maid to get married, do you understand?!" As she spoke, Yu Haitang couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

"But, if you don't marry me, who can you marry? You've already given your body to me, who would want you..." Yang Weimin wiped his eyes, stood up, and said petulantly.

At the same time, he also felt a bit angry in his heart. Knowing the conditions of his family, why was she making things so difficult for him?!

In this day and age, who isn't the whole family working together and squeezing together to get by?

In this day and age, who isn't handing their money to their parents and waiting in line from oldest to youngest to get married?

How could you suddenly change after being together for so long?!

Heh, women.

"Get out! Get out!" Yu Haitang suddenly flared up, threw the manuscript on the table at Yang Weimin, and screamed hysterically. She hadn't expected that even in this situation, all Yang Weimin could think about was "hehehe"!

Yang Weimin walked out while apologizing, then quickly went downstairs and searched outside the building.

Through the window, Yu Haitang watched Yang Weimin dancing with joy because he had found the hair clip, and she shook her head, feeling completely disappointed.

As it happened, after Yang Weimin returned home, he told his elderly parents what Yu Haitang had said.

Yang's father immediately fell silent while smoking his dry tobacco pipe.

Yang's mother wiped away tears: "Son, it's no use forcing your father and me. You know our family's conditions. This means you two aren't fated; you don't have that kind of luck!"

"Mom, can you discuss it with the second brother... I really can't bear to lose Haitang, sob." Looking at their old home, Yang Weimin felt somewhat broken and kept scratching his hair.

"How can we discuss it? Your second sister-in-law is pregnant. We can still hide it now, but what will we do if we don't get married before the end of the year and it gets discovered?!" Yang's mother paused, the wrinkles on her face deepening.

"Ah?! Then what should we do! Dad, Mom, I beg you, please think of a way. I really can't live without Haitang." Yang Weimin cried and knelt down.

"Son, this is fate! Stop thinking about Haitang, okay? Your sister-in-law's cousin Wang Danyang has always liked you. Just be with her and forget about Haitang. Be a good boy. Consider it your father and mother failing you, sob." Yang's mother squatted down, hugged Yang Weimin, and began to wail.

"Ah? I don't want to, no! I don't want to marry her. Mom, please let me go." As soon as Yang Weimin thought of Wang Danyang's face, which resembled the carpenter's wife in *Donkey Gets Water*, he was startled and ran out, howling.

Yang's father sighed, tapped his tobacco pouch, stood up, and walked outside: "It's fine, I'll go beg. Even if I have to throw away this old face of mine today, I can't let our third son hold a grudge against us for the rest of his life!"

Saying this, Yang's father took out some crumpled money from under the kang mat, tucked it into his clothes, bought some gifts, and headed toward the Rolling Mill Family Compound.

He Yuzhu pushed his brand-new Twenty-Eight Bar back home. As soon as he opened the door, he was startled by Yu Haitang, who was lying on the quilt and crying, and he hurriedly stepped forward to ask what happened.

After hearing Yu Haitang's account, He Yuzhu sighed, but he didn't know how to comfort her.

Should Yang Weimin be blamed for this? No, everyone is like this nowadays.

Then should Yu Haitang be blamed? No, who doesn't want to live a little better? If she were truly materialistic, Yu Haitang wouldn't have been with Yang Weimin for so long.

Feeling as if his head were about to explode, He Yuzhu could only pat her shoulder and go to the kitchen to prepare a table of good food.

Since he wasn't good at coaxing people, they would just drink.

Sure enough, early the next morning, Yu Haitang snuck out again in the dark, limping and clutching her stomach.

When He Yuzhu woke up, he was the only one left lying on the bed.

He shook his head speechlessly; what kind of mess was this?

His ideal partner was naturally not Yu Haitang, but he seemed to be going further and further down the wrong path of romance...

He got up, tidied up, and carried a basin to the faucet in the Courtyard. Just as he finished washing his face, he saw Qin Huairu, who was glowing with health and dressed brightly, leading Bang Geng, who had had his head shaved, back home.

He Yuzhu was stunned when he saw Bang Geng walking back to his room with his head down. Good heavens, it had only been a few days since he committed such a major crime as arson, and he was already released?

"Zhuzi, you're up? By the way, here is the money I owe you." Facing He Yuzhu's gaze, Qin Huairu brushed her hair somewhat unnaturally, then paused her steps, took a cloth bag out of her pocket, counted the money, and returned it to He Yuzhu.

"Good." He Yuzhu took the money and nodded without asking further; he naturally understood what was going on.

Qin Huairu also nodded with a smile and turned to go back into her room.