Chapter 418: Chapter 417: Demanding the Betrothal Gift

It was a little after nine in the morning, and Xue Yue wouldn’t be off work until five. Seeing that Xue Yue was gone and with no way to find Daya, the Liu family had no choice but to sit at the main gate and wait.

Passersby would glance at them from time to time.

Feeling embarrassed, Mrs. Liu cursed at He Yun, "This is all your fault! If you’d told us about Daya the last time you came back, would we be in such a passive position now?"

He Yun hung her head and said nothing. She was still reeling from the news of Daya’s sudden marriage, unable to process it.

Liu Jianwei said to Mrs. Liu, "Since Daya’s married, there must have been a bride price, right? The He family must have taken the money. Hmph, Daya’s last name is Liu. We have to make them cough up that money."

Liu Jian Country muttered from the side, "How could Daya get married without even telling us? And to a man like that. What if he hits her?"

From what they had heard from Xue Yue, Daya’s new husband was not someone to be trifled with.

The Liu family waited at the gate for hours. They couldn’t get in, but they couldn’t just leave either. Xue Yue had already called the security guards at the gate, telling them not to let the family inside.

By the time Xue Yue finally got off work, the Liu family had lost all their earlier vigor.

Following He Lang’s instructions, Xue Yue took them home by bus. She even paid their fares, though she didn’t fuss over such a small amount.

By now, He Lang and Mr. He were already home.

As the Liu family came in, they gawked at everything, their eyes wide and unable to take it all in. Even He Yun had never imagined her family was living this kind of life in Beijing City.

Liu Jianwei was practically drooling. ’A courtyard house in Beijing City! This whole place is just money!’

When He Yun entered and saw Mr. He, she called out, "Dad."

With his hands behind his back, Mr. He gave her a complicated look and didn’t even respond. Meeting her father’s gaze, He Yun guiltily lowered her head.

He Lang, on the other hand, was all smiles.

"Uncle, Auntie, it couldn’t have been easy for you to travel all the way to Beijing City at your age."

Mr. Liu waved his hand and sighed. "The journey was nothing. We just never expected that child, Daya, to get married behind our backs. Ah, what a disgrace to the family. If her uncle hadn’t told us he saw Daya in Beijing City, we wouldn’t have even known her illness was cured. So, we just thought we’d come for a visit. Ah, but we have no idea where the poor girl is now."

Mr. Liu and Mrs. Liu were truly two of a kind. Their words utterly disgusted Xue Yue.

Just then, Ruanruan and Shiyi heard the commotion and came out of their room.

"Mom."

Xue Yue nodded. "Mm."

The Liu family watched the two children approach, looking a bit dazed. Jinbao, in particular, stared at Shiyi and Ruanruan without blinking.

Ruanruan was only a year younger than Jinbao, but she was already graceful and slender with a delicate face. In time, she would likely be even more beautiful than Xue Yue. Jinbao looked at their clothes and how they were dressed, then glanced down at himself. He suddenly felt a pang of inferiority, tugging at the corner of his shirt, unable to lift his head.

Mrs. Liu looked at Shiyi and Ruanruan and said, "Oh my, are these your children? They’re dressed so nicely. You all must have a lot of money. Not like our Jinbao, who’s lucky to get one new outfit a year."

’Crying poor here? No one’s going to pity them,’ Xue Yue thought. ’Besides, with so many people in their family, where does all the money they earn even go?’

He Lang said to Xue Yue, "You’ve had a long day at work, you must be tired. Let He Yun make dinner. I’ve already bought the groceries."

He then turned to the Liu family. "Uncle, Auntie, you all must be hungry. My father and I can’t cook, so... the kitchen is over there. Please, make yourselves at home."

Afterward, He Lang sent the two children back to their room and pulled Xue Yue into their own.

Once inside, Xue Yue couldn’t help but peek outside. "You’re just going to let them run wild in our house?" she asked anxiously. "After they’ve used the kitchen, how am I supposed to use it?"

He Lang placed his hands on Xue Yue’s shoulders to calm her. "Don’t worry, they won’t be making a mess for more than a couple of days. I’ll buy you all new things. I told you before: coming here was the easy part. Leaving will be much harder."

Xue Yue had no idea what He Lang was plotting, but she had a bad feeling about it.

He Lang had already given Mr. He his instructions: stay out of it, no matter what.

Still, he couldn’t help but worry. After returning to his room, he kept his ears pricked for any sounds.

When He Yun and Mrs. Liu went into the kitchen, their eyes lit up at the sight of the fresh vegetables and meat laid out on the counter.

Mrs. Liu immediately flung open the kitchen cabinets. Seeing they were full of white flour and rice, the greed in her eyes was unmistakable.

Suddenly, they didn’t mind that He Lang had made them cook for themselves.

Food in Beijing City was expensive. The lunch they’d bought had only left them half-full. He Yun had it even worse; all she’d gotten was a single steamed bun.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo quickly got to work, lighting the stove and preparing the meal.

Shiyi and Ruanruan were now curiously peering out the window.

"Sis, are they really Big Sister Daya’s family?"

Ruanruan nodded. "Grandpa said they weren’t nice to Big Sister Daya. Big Sister Daya is one of us now."

Shiyi scoffed. "If they were mean to Big Sister Daya, then I hate them too. But... that boy is her biological brother, right? Does he not like her either?"

"I don’t know. Who cares? Just remember what Grandpa told us: stay out of their business and ignore them."

"I know."

Neither Xue Yue nor the children came out for dinner. Mr. He had already taken the kids out to eat after school, and Xue Yue had no appetite. Only the thick-skinned He Lang sat down to eat with the Liu family.

He Lang even said, "Since you’ve come all this way to Beijing City, it’s my duty to be a proper host. He Yun, you can all stay here for now. Just let me know when you want to go back, and I’ll buy your train tickets."

The Liu family just focused on stuffing their faces. The food wasn’t great, but at least there were meat and vegetable dishes.

Although the Liu family found He Lang’s attitude a bit strange, his expression was unreadable. Besides, they really had nowhere else to go in Beijing City.

Only after she had eaten her fill did Mrs. Liu bring up Daya’s marriage with He Lang.

"The bride price?"

He Lang chuckled. "What bride price? We’re not Daya’s parents, so how could we possibly ask her for one? On the contrary, I was the one who paid for the wedding. I was actually going to ask you... when were you planning on paying me back for that?"

Liu Jianwei interjected anxiously, "Impossible! Daya’s not here, so of course you can say whatever you want!"

He Lang said with a helpless shrug, "If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do."

That night, as they were getting ready for bed, Xue Yue asked He Lang worriedly, "Are you sure this plan of yours will work? I just have a really bad feeling about this. Having that family living in our house... I feel sick just thinking about it."

He Lang replied, "Just hang in there for another couple of days. It’ll be fine. I’ve already made the arrangements."