Upon hearing this, a meaningful glint flashed through Lu Changfu’s eyes, but the smile on his face remained unchanged.
“She had something to take care of… Oh, right, Lifeng, thanks again for your generosity yesterday. You bought my girlfriend so many clothes. I honestly felt a little embarrassed.”
His tone was sincere, as though he were simply expressing his gratitude.
But he deliberately emphasized the words “my girlfriend.”
Li Ting’s expression changed instantly.
“What clothes? Yang Lifeng, who did you buy clothes for?”
A layer of cold sweat immediately appeared on Yang Lifeng’s forehead.
“Wife, don’t misunderstand! I just happened to run into Changfu and his friend yesterday. I saw them shopping for clothes, so… I just helped them out a little…”
“Helped them out?” Lu Changfu pretended to be surprised. “Lifeng, you’re being too modest! That 1,688-yuan cashmere scarf, and that 799-yuan sweater…”
He suddenly seemed to realize he had said too much and quickly stopped himself.
“Oops, did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
Li Ting’s face had already turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, but she forced herself not to lose her temper in front of everyone.
She merely shot Yang Lifeng a cold glance before turning to Lu Changfu.
“Brother Changfu, let’s add each other on WeChat… If anything ‘interesting’ happens in the future, remember to tell me first.”
She deliberately emphasized the word “interesting” as she took out her phone and scanned Lu Changfu’s QR code right in front of Yang Lifeng.
Yang Lifeng’s face turned green, but he didn’t dare stop her. He could only force a laugh and explain.
“Wife, it really was just a normal favor… Changfu just came back, and he probably doesn’t have much money on hand…”
“Exactly, exactly.” Lu Changfu quickly stepped in to “smooth things over.” “Lifeng was just being kind. He saw that I was reluctant to spend too much money buying clothes for my girlfriend, so he helped me out… Li Ting, don’t overthink it.”
As he spoke, he accepted Li Ting’s friend request and deliberately tilted his phone slightly toward Yang Lifeng so he could see it clearly.
Yang Lifeng gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do. He could only force a smile.
“Exactly! That’s what happened! Wife, you have to believe me!”
Li Ting let out a cold laugh and said nothing more, but the suspicion and anger in her eyes were impossible to hide.
Seeing that he had achieved his goal, Lu Changfu immediately changed the subject. He exchanged a few pleasantries with Teacher Li and the other guests, then made an excuse about having something to do and left with Song Liyuan.
Once they stepped outside the courtyard, Song Liyuan couldn’t help asking softly, “Brother Lu, aren’t you afraid Yang Lifeng will hold a grudge against you?”
“Hold a grudge?” Lu Changfu chuckled. “He wouldn’t dare. Now that his wife has her eye on him, he’ll only suck up to me even more so I won’t say anything in front of Li Ting.”
He paused.
“Besides, I’m still counting on squeezing a little more money out of him. Why would I actually fall out with him?”
Halfway home, Lu Changfu told Song Liyuan to go back first.
Then he took twenty cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes out of his system storage space, put them into a black plastic bag he had prepared beforehand, and slowly made his way back to the small shop alone.
After Uncle Zhou inspected the cigarettes, he readily counted out 10,200 yuan in cash and handed it to Lu Changfu.
With this unexpected windfall in his pocket, Lu Changfu was in an excellent mood as he leisurely walked home.
When he passed Teacher Li’s house, the atmosphere in the courtyard had completely changed.
Yang Lifeng was nowhere to be seen. Li Ting sat in a corner with red eyes, while the other guests wore awkward expressions. The lively atmosphere from earlier was long gone.
Lu Changfu didn’t stop. He simply walked straight past.
Just as he reached his front door, his phone rang.
It was Yang Lifeng.
“Changfu! What the hell do you mean?” Yang Lifeng’s furious voice came from the other end. “What were you saying in front of my wife?!”
“Lifeng, you misunderstood.” Lu Changfu’s tone was sincere. “I really didn’t mean to. I was just trying to thank you for being so generous yesterday. Who knew Li Ting would misunderstand…”
He sighed.
“How about this? I’ll help explain things to her?”
“Explain? How are you going to explain it?!” Yang Lifeng was practically losing his mind. “She’s demanding that I tell her exactly how many things I bought for your girlfriend yesterday!”
“That’s easy.” Lu Changfu lowered his voice. “Just tell her that I asked you to help pick them out because they were supposed to be birthday gifts for my mom… You only paid for them upfront, and I’ve already paid you back. That way, Li Ting won’t think too much about it.”
Yang Lifeng was silent for a few seconds.
“W-Will that really work?”
“Of course.” Lu Changfu sounded completely confident. “I can even send you a transfer record on WeChat, pretending that I paid you back. But…”
His tone suddenly changed.
“I’m actually a little short on cash lately…”
“You!” Only then did Yang Lifeng realize that Lu Changfu was indirectly asking him for money. “Changfu, come on. That’s not right.”
“Lifeng, I’m helping you here.” Lu Changfu spoke earnestly. “Think about it. If Li Ting really starts investigating and finds out that you bought clothes for my girlfriend yesterday and even added her on WeChat… tsk, tsk. The consequences could be pretty serious.”
Yang Lifeng gritted his teeth on the other end of the phone.
But in the end, he gave in.
“Fine! I’ll transfer another 5,000 yuan! But you have to promise me that you won’t say anything weird in front of my wife again!”
“Don’t worry. I’m the best at keeping secrets.”
Lu Changfu hung up with a satisfied smile.
A few minutes later, his phone vibrated.
A bank notification showed that 5,000 yuan had been deposited.
Immediately afterward, Yang Lifeng sent him a WeChat message:
“Send me the transfer record! Hurry!”
Lu Changfu casually edited a screenshot of yesterday’s transfer record and sent it to him.
Then he blocked Yang Lifeng’s number.
After all, he already had his wife’s WeChat. If they needed to contact each other in the future, that would be convenient enough.
However, after thinking about it for a moment, he removed Yang Lifeng from the blacklist.
There was no need to cut him off completely.
Sometimes, he could still be useful.
Back in the courtyard, Peng Jiali and several other aunties were still in the middle of their card game.
At some point, Song Liyuan had joined them. She was animatedly telling them something, making the middle-aged women burst into laughter.
Standing at the doorway and watching the scene, Lu Changfu suddenly felt that this New Year might turn out to be even more interesting than he had imagined.
The system notification sounded at just the right moment:
[Host detected maintaining family harmony by eliminating external interference. Parents’ Happiness Level +1%. Current: 94%.]
[Note: Increased family harmony will help increase the filial-piety reward multiplier!]
Lu Changfu smiled.
Apparently, dealing with “external interference” like Yang Lifeng could also improve his system evaluation.
That was an unexpected discovery.
He looked up at the sky. The brief winter sunlight was already beginning to slant toward the west.
Tomorrow, he would visit his maternal grandparents and continue his “filial investment.”
But for today, he would simply enjoy this small victory.
After all, how many people could ask for a life like his?
He had money, a system, and two “obedient” women willing to play along with his schemes.
As for Yang Lifeng…
Thinking about the furious yet helpless look on his face just moments ago, the smile on Lu Changfu’s lips grew even wider.
This was only the beginning.
There was still plenty more money he could squeeze out of this sucker.
After all, he was no longer the poor young man who could be bullied by anyone.