He truly hadn’t expected this to be the reason.
“So…” Chen Lili’s voice trembled. “The agreement… I can change it. It doesn’t have to be just pretending to be your girlfriend during the New Year. I… I can really be your girlfriend.”
Saying those words seemed to exhaust all her dignity.
“We can live together… and… and have children… I mean, that kind of relationship. One year, two years… whatever you want. As long as you’re willing to lend me 80,000 yuan to deal with this emergency first… I’ll… slowly pay you back later…”
Her words came out haltingly, each one seeming to cut into her own heart like a knife.
Lu Changfu looked at her pale face and reddened eyes, his emotions tangled.
He remembered her cold remark from before: “So what if you have money?” He remembered how proud and aloof she had been when she rejected him.
But now…
For the sake of 80,000 yuan, she was voluntarily offering such conditions.
“Song Liyuan,” Lu Changfu heard himself say calmly, though there was a twisted sense of satisfaction in his heart. “She came to see me just now. She said she likes me. She doesn’t want a single cent and is willing to be with me.”
Chen Lili’s face instantly turned deathly pale. Her body swayed, and she grabbed the table beside her for support.
She bit her lip so hard that it nearly bled.
“I…” Her voice was completely hoarse. Tears finally began rolling uncontrollably down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand, as though afraid to show this evidence of weakness.
“I… I’m more innocent than her. I haven’t dated many people… I… I can sign a longer contract… three years… five years… I’m willing to do anything… Lu Changfu, please… my father can’t wait…”
By the end, she was almost sobbing as she pleaded.
Her former proud and aloof demeanor had completely disappeared. All that remained was a helpless daughter who had been forced into a desperate situation by fate.
Seeing her tear-streaked face, Lu Changfu felt as though a hand had clenched around his heart.
Of course, he knew how much sincerity was actually behind Song Liyuan’s “love,” and he also knew how helpless and painful Chen Lili’s submission was at this moment.
Eighty thousand yuan was nothing to him now.
He had even thought about helping her more on the very day the system was activated.
But for some reason, when Chen Lili actually lowered herself and begged him like this, when he held absolute control and the power to choose, a complicated and indescribable feeling surged within him.
There was pity, a sense of superiority from being in a higher position, and even a hidden desire… to see her lower her pride further and become more dependent on him.
“Beg me?” Lu Changfu stepped closer and looked at her tear-covered eyelashes. “How are you going to beg me?”
Chen Lili trembled all over.
She looked up at him in disbelief, her eyes filled with humiliation and panic.
She understood what he meant.
The air seemed to freeze.
Outside the window, the sound of traffic in the distance and the faint sound of a television from the neighboring dormitory suddenly seemed unusually clear.
Chen Lili’s breathing became rapid, and her tears flowed even more heavily.
She looked at Lu Changfu—the colleague she had once looked down on and considered vulgar, the man who had used money to buy her time.
Now, he was holding the lifeline her father desperately needed, as well as her barely hanging-on dignity, in his hands.
The seconds passed one by one, each feeling like an entire century.
Finally, Chen Lili closed her eyes, and two streams of tears slid down her cheeks.
Her knees slowly began to bend.
Just before they touched the ground, Lu Changfu suddenly reached out, grabbed her arm, and forcefully pulled her back up.
Chen Lili opened her eyes in surprise, tears still streaking her face.
Lu Changfu turned his face away, unable to look at her expression at that moment. He released her hand, walked to the table, and picked up his phone.
“Your account number.” His voice was slightly hoarse. “I’ll transfer 100,000 yuan to you now… You can pay me back slowly later.”
Chen Lili stood frozen in place, as if she hadn’t understood him.
“The agreement…” she murmured.
“The agreement stays as it is. You’ll come home with me during the New Year… As for everything else…” Lu Changfu paused. “We’ll talk about it after your father gets better. For now, go take care of your father.”
He quickly operated his phone. A few seconds later, Chen Lili’s phone vibrated, notifying her that 100,000 yuan had been deposited into her bank account.
Chen Lili looked at the number on her phone screen, then raised her head to look at Lu Changfu’s back.
Her tears burst forth once again, but this time they were mixed with gratitude, shame, and complicated emotions she couldn’t put into words.
“Thank you…” she choked out, bowing deeply. “Thank you… Lu Changfu… I… I’ll definitely pay you back… I’ll honor the agreement…”
“Go.” Lu Changfu still didn’t turn around. “Hurry and take care of your father. If you need help… we’ll talk about it later.”
Chen Lili stood there for a few more seconds, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, she simply thanked him quietly once more before gently opening the door and leaving.
After the door closed, Lu Changfu slowly turned around and leaned against the wall, letting out a long breath.
Just now… he had almost given in to that dark impulse and actually made her kneel.
The system gave no notification, and his parents’ happiness level hadn’t changed. But he knew clearly that the manipulation and hesitation he had shown in that moment were nothing to be proud of.
He glanced at his phone. Song Liyuan had sent several more WeChat messages asking whether he was free that evening.
In Chen Lili’s chat window, the latest message was the system notification confirming that the transfer had succeeded. Before that was her cold remark:
“So what if you have money?”
Lu Changfu threw his phone onto the bed and irritably ran a hand through his hair.
He had money now. He had the power to choose.
So why did he feel even more exhausted?
The sky outside was gloomy, as though it were about to rain again.
This damp, cold city, this factory that was about to shut down, and these two women who had left his mind in turmoil…
Everything, just like the weather, made it difficult for him to breathe.