Pei Jiangmu listened to the driver spinning his tale and frowned deeper and deeper.
What kind of excuse was this?
Who would believe it?
What had Qi Yu arranged? Couldn't even arrange the car properly, and sent a fool as the driver?
But soon, from the corner of his eye, he noticed that Meng Ruochao's tightly - clenched hand had unconsciously relaxed.
Obviously, she was half - convinced.
Sure enough, Meng Ruochao took the initiative to ask, "Brother, doesn't your brother - in - law check the accounts?"
The driver seemed to be so into his made - up story that he had gotten into character. Hearing this, he let out a disdainful snort.
"Check the accounts? If he dares to check my accounts, my sister will scratch his face off!
Don't be fooled by the fact that my brother - in - law manages a hundred or so people. He's a hen - pecked husband. My sister says go east, and he wouldn't dare go west.
As the saying goes, a man who treats his wife badly won't make a fortune. His business has been booming these years, all thanks to my sister's good luck.
My sister only has me as her younger brother. To be honest, I don't have much education and can't do other jobs.
This driving job doesn't come with much kickback, but I quite like driving. And now I've found my own way to make some extra money.
Hehe, I'm not kidding. I earn quite a bit each month. I can buy my wife a designer handbag every month.
My wife adores me. The atmosphere at home is great. My parents are happy. When my parents are happy, my sister is happy too.
In a way, my brother - in - law is happy as well. If he were to check my accounts, wouldn't he be making trouble for himself?
Spending a few thousand yuan on gas to keep the family in peace, my brother - in - law isn't losing out."
...
The driver boasted away, leaving Pei Jiangmu utterly speechless.
What a load of nonsense!
But surprisingly, Meng Ruochao completely relaxed and even cracked a joke.
"A man who only wants to buy his wife a handbag with his extra income can't be all bad, right?"
Whether the brother - in - law was being taken advantage of or feeling憋屈 was someone else's family business. It wasn't her concern.
But she was certain of one thing: this man lived a comfortable life and had no reason to have bad intentions.
Moreover, throughout the conversation, the driver's eyes never left the road ahead. He didn't even glance at them in the rear - view mirror once.
Nor did he try to pry into their private affairs.
This was enough to show that he wasn't interested in them.
Seeing that she had completely relaxed, Pei Jiangmu looked at the driver with new respect.
He quietly took out his phone and sent a message to Qi Yu.
"This bodyguard is good. He reacts quickly. Give him a 50,000 - yuan bonus."
Qi Yu quickly replied with a "Sure", then told the good news to the bodyguard over the phone.
Yes, the driver had been wearing earphones the whole time, constantly on the phone with Qi Yu to deal with any emergencies.
Now hearing the good news, he finally showed a smile and secretly vowed to work harder on "spinning stories"!
The three of them chatted a bit more, and time passed quickly.
When they passed by a store, Meng Ruochao suddenly remembered something.
"We came in a hurry. It's our first time visiting someone's home. It's not polite not to bring anything."
So she asked the driver to stop the car, got out, and bought about a thousand yuan worth of gifts and some fruits.
Even so, the driver didn't ask any questions.
Meng Ruochao silently thought that this man was quite tactful.
They put the things in the trunk and hit the road again. After another twenty minutes or so, they finally arrived.
Xu Lin's hometown was in a village.
When the car reached the village entrance, they weren't sure if it would be easy to turn around if they drove in further.
Pei Jiangmu saw that it wasn't far, so he took the initiative to ask the driver to stop.
The two of them got out of the car and picked up the gifts they had bought.
But there weren't many expensive items in the store, so Meng Ruochao was afraid of being impolite and bought a bit too many kinds. They couldn't carry them all.
Seeing this, the driver immediately offered, "Let me help you carry them in. I have a distant cousin who lives in the next village. I'll just drop by to see him."
He had been thinking about how to find an excuse to follow them, and here came the opportunity!
"Wouldn't this be too much trouble for you?" Meng Ruochao felt a bit embarrassed.
"It's okay. I'm not busy anyway. Are you going back to the city later?
If the time allows, you might as well take my car again. I don't want to drive back empty - handed."
The driver was really smart, and his excuse was very natural.
Moreover, to make it more convincing, he counted out 500 yuan in cash from the car right in front of Meng Ruochao and the others.
"I didn't bring anything for my cousin. I'll just give him some money so he can buy whatever he wants to eat."
Now, Meng Ruochao had no more doubts. She thanked him, and the three of them walked into the village together.
When she got out of the car just now, she also called Ai Gao, but Ai Gao didn't answer. Maybe she was busy.
The village was very quiet. After walking for a while, they didn't meet a single person.
Only a few dogs barked at the strangers and were scared away by the driver.
It wasn't until they were almost at Xu Lin's hometown that they suddenly heard voices.
It seemed like there were a lot of people, making a racket.
Meng Ruochao and Pei Jiangmu exchanged a look.
No wonder they hadn't seen anyone on the way. It seemed like everyone was gathered together.
What was going on?
They quickened their pace and soon saw a large crowd gathered in front of a two - story building.
Judging from what they had seen on the way, this building was better than most houses in the village. It looked like it had been newly built in the past couple of years.
Soon, someone noticed the three of them.
Someone shouted, "Who are these three? Don't tell me they're here for the Xu girl again."
Hearing this, everyone turned to look at them.
Meng Ruochao scanned the crowd but didn't see Ai Gao or Xu Lin.
But soon, a young man squeezed out of the crowd and walked towards them.
This young man was not very tall and was rather thin. He had dyed his hair yellow and was wearing trendy clothes with big logos.
"Hey, who are you? Who are you looking for in our village?" The yellow - haired man spoke in a rather rude tone.
"Excuse me, is this Xu Lin's home? I'm Xu Lin's friend. I heard she's back home, so I came to see her." Meng Ruochao answered, looking at the yellow - haired man warily.
It wasn't that she was being prejudiced, but this yellow - haired man really didn't look like a good person.
His eyes were sinister, as if he was plotting something bad. Anyway, he made people feel uncomfortable.
Hearing that she was Xu Lin's friend, the yellow - haired man suddenly smiled.
"My sister has quite a few friends. One came just now, and now another one.
But you're more to my liking. You're much prettier than the last one and so polite, bringing gifts."
As he said this, he was about to step forward and take the things from Meng Ruochao's hands.
But as soon as he took a step, Pei Jiangmu had already stepped in front of Meng Ruochao.
"Who are you to Xu Lin?"
He was much taller than the yellow - haired man. When he had a cold expression on his face, his aura was so strong that few people could stand it. Let alone someone like the yellow - haired man who was a bully to the weak and a coward to the strong.
The yellow - haired man awkwardly withdrew his hand and sized Pei Jiangmu up and down.
After seeing that Pei Jiangmu wasn't wearing any clothes with logos, he seemed to gain a bit more courage.
"I'm Xu Lin's older brother. Who are you? Don't tell me you're that girl's boyfriend.
I'll make it clear right from the start. If you want to marry that girl, you have to pay 680,000 yuan as a bride price and buy me a Mercedes - Benz."