Chapter 162: The Lecher

Chapter 162: Chapter 162: The Lecher

Watching Jiang Moli walk ahead of her, Lu Tingting felt a little conflicted.

’That damn woman is actually pretty loyal; she didn’t tell Third Uncle about my crush on Shen Yanzhi.’

’She did hit me pretty hard, sure, but I caused my own mom to fight with Grandma and made Grandma sick with anger. Maybe I deserved the beating?’

’And now she’s taking me out to eat.’

’Oh, whatever. I’ll be the bigger person and forgive this damn woman!’

"Where are we going to eat?"

"Someone’s house."

"Whose?"

"We’re almost there."

Just as they were speaking, they saw Shen Yanzhi up ahead, taking in laundry in front of his house.

He wasn’t wearing his usual white button-down, but a white tank top.

Unlike Lu Cheng, who was a brawny, ruggedly masculine man.

Shen Yanzhi had a more slender build. His skin was fair, and his frame was well-proportioned, giving him a tall, scholarly, and somewhat delicate appearance.

Lu Cheng instinctively turned to observe Lu Tingting’s reaction.

Sure enough, her eyes were glued to him.

"Watch where you’re going. Why are you staring at other people!?" he snapped lightly.

Lu Tingting sullenly tore her gaze away. But when she turned and caught Jiang Moli also looking at Shen Yanzhi, she immediately yelled, "Third Uncle, you only scold me! She’s looking too, why don’t you say anything to her!"

Lu Cheng whipped his head around, catching Jiang Moli red-handed before she could look away.

Jiang Moli’s reaction was lightning-fast. "Teacher Shen’s tank top is pretty nice. I was thinking of buying a couple for you. You’d definitely look even better in them than he does."

"Really?"

"You bet."

That made Lu Cheng happy.

Lu Tingting couldn’t help but try to expose her. "Third Uncle, she’s just stringing you along! She’s a total lecher. Even though she’s married, she can’t behave, sneaking looks at other men. You need to teach her a lesson."

Lu Cheng scolded her, "Mind your own business. Stay out of the affairs between me and your Third Aunt."

Of course, he knew his wife was just coaxing him.

’The fact that she’s willing to coax me means she cares about me. After all, she doesn’t bother coaxing anyone else.’

Lu Cheng’s blatant favoritism toward Jiang Moli made Lu Tingting feel both frustrated and envious.

’What kind of love potion did that damn woman, Jiang Moli, feed my Third Uncle!’

’Could she teach me her ways?’

Since she’d already made the boast, Jiang Moli asked Shen Yanzhi about his tank top as they passed his door.

When she learned it was from the Wangfujing Department Store in the Capital, Jiang Moli casually made another empty promise to Lu Cheng. "When we get a chance to go to the Capital, I’ll buy a few for you, too."

Lu Cheng was ecstatic.

Lu Tingting snorted in disdain. ’All she knows is how to sweet-talk people!’

Shen Yanzhi smiled at the three of them. "Where are you all headed?"

"Oh, Principal Feng invited us over for a meal. Teacher Shen, you should come over too once you’re done."

Shen Yanzhi smiled and nodded.

After exchanging greetings, Jiang Moli headed next door to Feng Meihua’s house.

It finally dawned on Lu Tingting. "When you said you were taking me out to eat, you meant eating at Principal Feng’s house?"

Jiang Moli laughed. "That’s right. Surprised? Shocked?"

"Surprised my ass! I was already eating at Principal Feng’s place. Why would I need you to ’treat’ me?"

"Usually, you come to eat on your own. Today, *I’m* the one bringing you. It’s a different feeling, a different mood."

Lu Tingting was fuming. She’d been tricked by that damn woman, Jiang Moli, again!

...

Seeing it was getting late, Jiang Qing slung a basket on her back and went to the camp entrance to pick up her meal box.

Zhang Jia Ming was already waiting when she arrived.

He looked at her in surprise. "Xiao Qing, how did you get so tan?"

Jiang Qing subconsciously touched her face, a little glum.

She had spent the entire afternoon squatting on a small hill to see if Lu Tingting had gone into town.

The UV rays in Menghai were strong, and her skin was delicate—not thick-skinned like Jiang Moli. How could she not get a tan after an afternoon in the sun?

But she pretended not to care. "It’s fine, it’ll fade in a couple of days. Oh, right, Jia Ming, I have good news for you."

Zhang Jia Ming’s eyes lit up as he looked at the basket on her back. "Did you find more wild ginseng?!"

Jiang Qing faltered. "No, it’s about Lu Tingting. She moved out of the dorm. From now on, I’ll have the room all to myself."

"It’s good she moved out. At least she won’t be bullying you all the time."

Hearing the concern in his voice, Jiang Qing felt a surge of sweetness in her heart. "Do you want to come to the dorm and have dinner with me tomorrow?"

Zhang Jia Ming looked at her and chuckled mischievously. "You miss me?"

Jiang Qing feigned annoyance. "Don’t you miss me?"

"I do! I even dream about you!"

After the sweet talk, Jiang Qing finally told Zhang Jia Ming about the 10 yuan she owed Lu Tingting.

It was embarrassing to admit to stealing and eating the honey, but 10 yuan was no small sum for her and Zhang Jia Ming.

Hearing they were now 10 yuan deeper in debt, Zhang Jia Ming’s frustration was palpable.

He didn’t blame Jiang Qing, though.

In his eyes, sneaking food wasn’t a major crime; he’d often stolen snacks as a kid.

Jiang Qing had just made the same mistake he once had.

’Ultimately, it’s my own fault. I’m too incompetent, making my wife suffer with me.’

’Sigh, when will we ever pay off this debt!’

...

Feng Meihua had been reluctant to host this dinner tonight.

She hadn’t planned on inviting guests. After all, her family wasn’t well-off, and the invitation had just slipped out in the heat of conversation.

Still, she fulfilled her duties as a host and prepared a full table of dishes.

There were scrambled eggs with chives, dried mushrooms braised with ham, crispy fried peanuts, and a cold dish of shredded radish. The main course was potato pancakes.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Jiang Moli told Lu Tingting to stay and help Feng Meihua with the dishes while she and Lu Cheng left first.

Lu Tingting grabbed her, refusing to let her leave. "We ate together, so why should I be the only one washing dishes? You have to help!"

Jiang Moli said, "I’m going to the camp to call your mom. Do you want to come with me?"

Hearing that she was going to call home, Lu Tingting quickly pulled her aside. "Don’t you dare tell my mom about my business!"

If Fan Wenfang found out, she would scold her to death and would never allow her to find a boyfriend on her own.

Fan Wenfang had already arranged a potential match for her with a doctor, but she didn’t like him.

But Fan Wenfang liked him a lot and said she would arrange the engagement as soon as Tingting turned 20.

"Your mom has been raising hell at home because you won’t go back. If we don’t give her a reasonable explanation, do you think she’ll just let it go?"

"And if you and Shen Yanzhi actually get together and your mom doesn’t like him, won’t your Third Uncle and I have to help you deceive her again? What a thankless job that would be for me!"

Lu Tingting, her mind clouded by infatuation, latched onto one thing. "You think Teacher Shen and I could actually get together?"

Jiang Moli: "..."

’Is that really the main point here?’

...

At the communications office, Jiang Moli dialed Lu Tingting’s home number directly.

Coincidentally, Fan Wenfang was the one who answered. "Hello, who is this?"

"Sister-in-law, it’s me."

Hearing Jiang Moli’s cheerful voice, Fan Wenfang subconsciously guessed she was calling to apologize.

The knot of anger in her chest loosened a bit, but her tone was still cold and hard. "Third Sister-in-law, is there something you need?"

Jiang Moli replied with a sugary sweet voice, "Of course there is, Sister-in-law. I sincerely wanted to ask for your guidance. How do you manage to so confidently blame your father, your mother, the heavens, the earth, and the very air itself—anyone and everyone but yourself? This spirit of yours, this ability to always point the finger at others and never at yourself, is truly something I should study and emulate!"

Fan Wenfang’s anger flared up instantly. "What’s that supposed to mean? If you hadn’t instigated her, would Tingting have gone to a godforsaken place like Menghai?"

"Hiss... my memory isn’t so good. On the day she left, weren’t you the one who personally saw Tingting off at the station? Hey, as her mother, if you couldn’t bear to see your daughter go off to suffer, you should have taken some actual action. You didn’t stop her when she was leaving, but now that something’s happened, it’s suddenly everyone else’s fault?"

"And another thing, when it comes to her running into a trafficker, are you completely blameless as her mother? Did you ever teach her that the world is a dangerous place and not to easily trust strangers when she’s away from home?"

"Also, you’re her own mother. She won’t even listen to you, so why would she listen to an outsider like me and hole herself up in this godforsaken place instead of coming home to enjoy a comfortable life? Try using your brain before you speak. That’s all!"

After hanging up, Jiang Moli dialed the Lu Family’s number.

An Hui answered the phone. "Mom, don’t be angry anymore. I already gave Sister-in-law a piece of my mind for you..."