Chapter 102: Picking Someone Up

The next day at noon, Xia Yu arrived at Zhao Sijie's home right on time.

"Brother Yu, you're here."

When Zhao Sijie opened the door and saw him, a sweet smile spread across her face before she could stop it.

"Mm. Has your uncle's family arrived yet?"

Xia Yu smiled and went inside, greeting Zhao's mother on the way.

"Xia Yu, thank you for all this," Zhao's mother said gratefully.

"Auntie, there's no need to be so formal with me."

After the mother and daughter finished a quick bit of tidying, it was about time. For the sake of convenience, Xia Yu had specially borrowed a very ordinary business van from Xiao Jun to pick them up.

When they arrived at the train station, they met Zhao Sijie's maternal uncle's family of four. Besides her uncle and aunt, there was also a cousin and his girlfriend.

The two elders looked simple and plain. Her cousin, Cao Jun, was likewise unremarkable, tall in stature with a somewhat sly-looking face. Especially his eyes gave off an unreliable feeling.

His girlfriend was only average in appearance, but she was dressed very fashionably, with a watch, limited-edition earrings, lipstick, and a carefully polished look.

After a brief exchange of courtesies, the group could not help turning their attention to Xia Yu.

The young man did look energetic, making a good first impression. On top of that, Xia Yu displayed the manners of a proper boyfriend toward Zhao Sijie's family, being especially warm and attentive.

He took the initiative to place their luggage in the car and opened the door for them.

"Auntie, Uncle, Aunt, please get in."

But when they saw Xia Yu's vehicle, their expressions immediately turned a little strange. They had initially thought Xia Yu must be some sort of successful person. In their minds, weren't rich people supposed to drive small cars?

Vans were the kind of thing anyone in their village could drive, and in the city they were basically junk, weren't they?

So in their eyes, this business van, worth eight hundred and fifty thousand, was no different from the Wuling minibus driven by the village head.

"Xia Yu, you don't have a car?" Aunt Chen Shufen could not help asking, while her cousin Cao Jun and his girlfriend Liu Jing both looked at him with clear contempt.

"Ah, this is my boss's car. I borrowed it especially to come pick you up," Xia Yu said with an awkward smile, not understanding why she would ask that.

"Cough. Xia Yu does have a car, but his is a sports car with only two seats, so it can't fit so many people. That's why he borrowed his boss's car."

Zhao Sijie gave Xia Yu a meaningful look, only then remembering that she had forgotten to warn him in advance. Her uncle's family was a bit snobbish, and to avoid having them speak out of turn, Xia Yu ought to present himself as someone of higher standing.

Otherwise, if they found out Xia Yu was merely a driver, they would certainly start picking at him, and might even pressure them to break up.

Xia Yu immediately understood what she meant. He nodded and smiled. "Ah... yes, that's right. My car is a Mercedes sports car, and it can't fit so many people."

"Heh."

Not only Liu Jing, but Chen Shufen and Cao Xun's couple would not believe him either. Liu Jing's face had already taken on a sharp, sarcastic look.

"No car is no car. Was there any need to put on airs and boast? A Mercedes sports car, no less. Don't think that just because we're from the countryside, we don't know how much a sports car costs."

Zhao Sijie's face flushed red with embarrassment, but since the words had already been spoken, she still insisted, "Xiaojing, there's no need to lie about something like this. Xia Yu really does have a car."

Liu Jing gave a cold snort, her mocking expression unchanged, clearly not believing a word of it.

Chen Shufen, too, said in a sour tone, "Sijie, back when your family was so poor you could hardly make ends meet, don't forget who helped you get through those days."

"Now that you've finished university and have a decent job, our family finally came all the way into the city, and you greet us with this broken-down vehicle. Isn't that a little too perfunctory?"

"Exactly. We wouldn't ride in a shabby thing like that," Liu Jing said disdainfully.

Xia Yu frowned. So that was why Zhao Sijie had signaled to him and lied earlier. At last he understood.

And with that, he could not help feeling disappointed. He had thought people from the countryside would be more down-to-earth, which was why he had been especially warm toward them. It now seemed he had been mistaken.

Some people from the countryside were even more snobbish than city folk.

"Sijie, since your uncle and the others don't want to ride in my car, take a cab with them to the restaurant first. I'll take the luggage back, and then I'll come find you later," Xia Yu said.

"Mm, that works too."

Zhao Sijie smiled bitterly. She pulled him aside and said guiltily, "Brother Yu, I'm sorry. I should have made things clear to you earlier. My uncle's family is just like that, a little difficult to deal with. I've made you suffer."

Xia Yu did feel a little wronged, but seeing how troubled she looked, he said generously, "What are you saying?"

"This little bit of grievance means nothing. Don't think about it so much. Take them to eat first."

"Mm..."

Thus, Xia Yu drove off alone to drop off the luggage, while Zhao Sijie took them by taxi to the restaurant.

"Sijie, there's no rush to go to the restaurant. We already ate something on the train, so we're not very hungry yet," Chen Shufen said in the car. "Your cousin-in-law wants to go to the mall to buy a few things. Take us there instead."

Zhao Sijie had no choice but to agree and took them to a city shopping mall, only then learning that this trip to the city had actually been Liu Jing's idea.

Because she and Cao Jun were about to get married, and she said the bride price had to be paid in full, and the three gold items could not be missing either.

When they were buying clothes and cosmetics, Zhao's mother reminded Zhao Sijie to make a contribution, after all, she was already working now.

Zhao Sijie was quite generous. When it was time to pay, she took the initiative to settle the bill. They, however, were not polite at all and accepted it with complete ease, not even bothering to say thank you.

After buying clothes and cosmetics, they finally reached the jewelry store.

"Good daughter-in-law, look at whatever you want and buy it. This will count as your bride price," Chen Shufen coaxed Liu Jing.

Jewelry was expensive, but Liu Jing still dared to buy it, choosing a ring, necklace, and earrings all at once.

When it came time to pay, the total came to a full sixty thousand yuan.

Yet the three of them showed no sign of paying, all glancing instead at Zhao Sijie.

By now, Zhao Sijie was getting angry and could not help saying, "Uncle, Aunt, I've already bought all of cousin-in-law's clothes and cosmetics. As the younger sister, I've already done enough, haven't I?"

"Now you want me to pay for the jewelry too? I've only been working for less than a year. Where am I supposed to get that much money?"

Chen Shufen's face darkened on the spot, and she said unhappily, "Sijie, what kind of thing is that to say?"

"Don't forget, when you were in school and didn't have enough tuition, who was it that lent you the money?"

"If it hadn't been for us helping you back then, forget about going to university. With your useless younger brother, there was even a question of whether the three of you could have survived at all. And now we're asking you to buy a bit of jewelry, and that's a problem?"

"Exactly, cousin. A person can't forget where they came from," Cao Jun said with complete self-righteousness.

Zhao Sijie wanted to say something else, but Zhao's mother stopped her. Though she too felt heartache, she still told her daughter to pay for it first and think of another way later.

What else could Zhao Sijie say to that? She could only pay the bill. Yet the savings she had painstakingly put aside for so long were now completely drained.

What made her most furious was that her uncle's family showed not the slightest trace of gratitude, as though it were all only right and proper.