NOVPUB
Chapter 473: Chapter 473: You are the One Who Drives Me Crazy
Shi Yan attempted to persuade Xiao Mingqiang to go out with him one more time. He couldn’t think of any other ways to turn his life around other than making another trip out. He was now broke and in debt.
With just the income from the tea shop, he wondered how long it would take to pay back his debts to Mingqiang. Besides, with Lin Man’s extravagant spending habits, the earnings from the tea shop couldn’t even cover his daily expenses.
Xiao Mingqiang remained unmoved: "Shi Yan, don’t try to persuade me. I’ve no intention of going out again. If you consider me a friend, listen to my advice. Run the tea shop properly, live within your means. The income from the shop is enough for the two of you to live comfortably, and even save a few thousand yuan a year. That’s already better off than many other people."
He then added: "As for bringing down Tong Yao’s tea shop, your method isn’t working. Our shop has been open for so long, but it hasn’t had any effect on her. Lately, I’ve come up with other strategies to deal with her. You don’t need to meddle, just focus on living well with Lin Man."
"This few thousand yuan won’t even be enough to pay you back, let alone cover our expenses!" Shi Yan thought Mingqiang was simply talking without considering the realities. "We haven’t bought a house yet. Our family is crammed together. Lin Man was dissatisfied after only a few days. In the long run, do you think she’ll be able to tolerate it? I have to make some quick money right now and start up another business to buy a house sooner."
He knew the danger involved in going out to make money, but he had no choice. If he didn’t go out and make some money, Lin Man would drive him insane.
Every time she saw him, she demanded money. Money was all she talked about.
She treated him coldly if he didn’t give her the money. Shi Yan was at his wit’s end.
He knew Lin Man was not a good woman. He had long seen her true colors. When he began a relationship with Lin Man, he was just playing around. However, once they were together, he felt addicted, as if he had swallowed poison and could not extricate himself.
"You’re finished, Shi Yan. You talk about Lin Man all the time. She’ll be the death of you sooner or later." Xiao Mingqiang looked at Shi Yan disapprovingly, somewhat exasperated.
"Forget it. I’ll figure something out myself."
Seeing that Xiao Mingqiang was adamant about not going out again, Shi Yan got annoyed and left. Mingqiang yelled after him a few times, but it was like Shi Yan didn’t hear, ignoring him completely.
After leaving Xiao’s home, Shi Yan regretted his impulsiveness but he did not go back, instead, he went straight home.
Not long after he arrived home, Lin Man came back from outside. Before she even entered, her accusing voice announced her arrival, "Shi Yan, why won’t you let the shop give me money? What’s your deal?"
"Money, money, money! All you know is money! Am I even in your eyes, or is all you see is money?" Shi Yan was so enraged that he pinned Lin Man against the wall, his hand clamped on her chin, demanding an explanation.
It was the first time Lin Man had seen Shi Yan like this, she was taken aback, her face turned a flushed red. Upon noticing her discomfort, Shi Yan let her go, warning her in a grim tone: "Let me tell you, I’m totally strapped right now. The money in the shop is for salaries and inventory. No one’s allowed to touch it."
It took Lin Man quite a while to recover from the shock as she glared at Shi Yan, her face distorted: "Shi Yan, have you lost your mind?"
Shi Yan roared, his face red with rage, "I am, I’m losing my mind, and it’s all because of you!"
Having torn up the marriage certificate, Shi Yan wasn’t worried about Lin Man leaving him again. The two of them were now tied together, bound by their shared predicaments. One couldn’t suffer without the other suffering too.
Seeing Shi Yan’s agitation, Lin Man suddenly remembered Tong Yao’s words and felt a chill in her heart. "Tell me the truth, are you really out of money?"
"Yes, I’m broke. Ever since I’ve been with you, have you ever calculated how much I spent on you?"
Shi Yan glared furiously at Lin Man, "When your mother wanted gold earrings, I bought them straightaway. When your father wanted foreign wines, I bought him a whole case. Your brother complained about his bike being too slow, so I got him a motorcycle. Your nephew wanted a longevity lock, your sister-in-law wanted a watch and sewing machine. And is there a single piece of clothing on your body that costs less than a hundred yuan? Lin Man, do you think there’s anyone rich enough to support a whole family of vampires like yours?"
Shi Yan looked at the heavily made-up Lin Man, his heart surged with both love and hatred. When he was poor, he had lots of worries. Now he had money and even got the woman he liked, his worries had not lessened. Despite being a small business owner, why couldn’t Lin Man love him, and saw only his money instead?
Wasn’t he, as a person, worth loving at all?
He treated Lin Man so well, was her heart made of stone?
Confronted with Shi Yan’s accusations, Lin Man felt neither guilt nor remorse, but retorted sarcastically, "You wanted to play the big shot by buying all those stuff for them. What does it have to do with me?"
She had never planned to support her family so much. Since Shi Yan was so generous to her family, she thought he must be rich. Shi Yan was willing to spend money, and it made her look good at home. Why would she stop him?
Now he’s out of money and complaining about it. What a useless man.
"You..." Shi Yan was so angry his face turned pale, wishing that he could rip open Lin Man’s chest to see if her heart was black.
"Enough. I didn’t come home to quarrel with you." Lin Man ended the argument, knowing that even though Shi Yan was out of cash, he could still bring back bundles of money if he went out again. So there’s no need to fight with Shi Yan over this matter.
Quarreling would only cut off her source of income, which would do her no good.
Realizing this, Lin Man softened her tone and lightened her attitude a bit, "Isn’t the profit margin huge when you’re smuggling? Why did you stop?"
"You think I don’t want to go?" Shi Yan, his anger lessened, sat down on the bed, grumbling, "Xiao Mingqiang’s business is doing really well now. He’s unwilling to go."
Lin Man frowned, dissatisfied: "If he won’t go, can’t you go by yourself? Isn’t it better to have one fewer person involved in such a lucrative business? Why do you need him?"
"What do you know?"
Shi Yan snorted dismissively.
The business was indeed profitable, but very risky. Without a friend by his side, Shi Yan didn’t dare to venture out alone. He needed someone there to give him a sense of security.
Seeing that Shi Yan was still uninterested in going, Lin Man started to gently coax him, "If you don’t smuggle goods, when will we be able to move into a new house? How can we live in this leaky, damp house? Even if we make do living here for now, where will the baby live when it’s born?" 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
They can’t afford to lose such a good opportunity to get rich. Tong Yao already knows that Shi Yan is smuggling goods. What if she starts doing it too? Then, ruining Tong Yao’s tea shop wouldn’t be so easy.
Shi Yan was feeling annoyed, "I’ll think about it, don’t bother me."
"If you have any worries, can’t you tell me?" Lin Man decided to take a soft approach to manipulate Shi Yan, determined to trick him into going out and making money.
