32. Nestled Close

I could feel Jin Yulian trembling; clearly, her heart had been shattered by her own brother. I gently stroked her back to comfort her.

After hearing what Jin Yulian said, Jin Baoqiang appeared a bit embarrassed and muttered, “Sis, I’ll go back to bed now. I hope you won’t blame me.”

Jin Yulian replied, “It’s all right, little brother. I won’t blame you. When you leave, close the door behind you.”

Jin Baoqiang stepped out and closed the door with a bang. At last, I could stick my head out to catch my breath; it was truly uncomfortable being smothered under the covers. As soon as my head emerged, I nearly sneezed, startling Jin Yulian into quickly covering my nose with her hand. Luckily, the sneeze was suppressed. Seeing my wide-open mouth in such a comical expression, Jin Yulian couldn’t help but smile through her tears.

Noticing her bittersweet smile, I tried to comfort her. “Don’t be sad. Maybe your brother is under pressure from his girlfriend. He probably had no other choice.” Jin Yulian nodded gently. “Yes, I know.”

At that moment, a thought struck me—the matter of Granny Li’s gravestone. I now suspected Jin Yulian might be the one who had commissioned it. I asked, “Yulian, your brother said you kept Granny Li company for three days and nights before she passed. Is that true?”

Jin Yulian absentmindedly replied, “Mm.”

I couldn’t help but ask, “Then you’re also the one who put up Granny Li’s gravestone?” Jin Yulian nodded again. Curious, I continued, “But why did you engrave the words ‘daughter-in-law, Mo Lian’ on the stone? Isn’t that strange?”

Jin Yulian sighed softly. “At that time, I thought I could forget you, so I had the name Mo Lian inscribed, hoping you would forget me as well and no longer fall for me.”

Suddenly, a more peculiar question came to mind. “Yulian, why have you been so good to both Granny Li and me?”

I thought to myself: there are plenty of men better than me in this world. Even if she sent me to prison, it was my own choice; she didn’t owe me anything, nor did she need to atone by giving me her first time.

Jin Yulian said, “If you want to know, I’ll tell you. When I was little, playing in the street, I was almost hit by a car driven by a drunk. It was a strange, eccentric old woman picking up trash who saw me and risked herself to pull me away. Otherwise, I would have been killed. At the time, I didn’t know that woman was Granny Li. Later, when I moved to your village, I saw her and realized she was the one who’d saved my life. And since you were her adopted son, it was only natural I extended that care to you.”

At last, I understood why Jin Yulian had done all this. She was repaying Granny Li’s life-saving kindness. No wonder she was willing to spend money to treat Granny Li’s illness when I went to prison, and why she stayed by Granny Li’s side for three days and nights before her passing, taking care of all her final affairs. If she hadn’t, with me behind bars, I would have been helpless to do anything for Granny Li. Of course, I might have sought revenge after my release, but given her connections, she needn’t have feared me—her brother Jin Baoqiang, with a few men, could have easily dealt with me.

Seeing my foolish expression, Jin Yulian smiled and asked, “What’s on your mind now?”

I said, “If we can’t find a solution to the company’s financial crisis within a month, are you really going to marry Qian Duobao?”

Jin Yulian shuddered slightly. “That depends on you. If you can’t solve the crisis, then at the very least, you have to win my heart. Otherwise, you must understand the choice I’ll have to make.”

She spoke plainly: if I couldn’t help her materially, I would at least need to support her emotionally. But how could I do that? Should I just offer kind words and comfort, or…?

I felt lost. I wasn’t that Liu Qingsheng from prison, who knew how to sweet-talk all kinds of women, making them fall madly in love with him. For me, this was the first time I’d been this close to a woman I liked. Naturally, I was at a loss, not knowing how to comfort her. More importantly, I lacked confidence. A man without material foundation has no confidence; I was no exception.

Sensing my confusion, Jin Yulian thought I didn’t understand her. She said, “Xiaofeng, sometimes women can be foolish. They don’t care that much about a man’s money, but they care deeply about sweet words.”

Liu Qingsheng once told me: If you’re a rich man, even if you’re a fool, women will follow you. If you’re poor but handsome and know how to talk, how to coax and deceive women, they’ll still fall in love with you. Even if you’re a gambler with nothing left, when you’re about to bet your woman as collateral, if you gaze at her and say affectionately, ‘Darling, I love you. If you help me through this one bet, our good days are ahead of us,’ she’ll willingly become your stake.

Liu Qingsheng also said: If a man has no money, is ugly, and doesn’t know how to sweet-talk or deceive women, then it’s only right that no woman likes him—he’s destined to be alone.

I had no money and didn’t know how to coax women, but at least I wasn’t ugly. If I had all three flaws, I doubted Jin Yulian would have any feelings for me.

Now, with her company in financial crisis and in conflict with her brother, facing a family split, Jin Yulian must be feeling lonely and in pain, desperately in need of comfort.

I tentatively put my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into my chest and said, “Tomorrow, I’ll go to the police station and show them the photos proving the bathtub was already damaged. I’ll explain that it was already broken, so your smashing it becomes a civil dispute, and the police will be able to close the case. You won’t have to worry about being wanted anymore.”

Hearing her, I hugged her arm tightly. “Thank you. By the way, tomorrow I plan to visit some foreign trade companies in Mingzhou to try and sell off your company’s inventory. What do you think?”

Though Jin Yulian didn’t really expect much from my plan, she nodded to avoid discouraging me. “Sure, it’s worth a try.”

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32. Leaning Close—Read for Free.