CHAPTER 143: COMPLETELY SOLVE ISSUES 100-101

"Liang Jing, Luo Feng... he... he’s not here." Liang Jing’s hopeful eyes made Zhuang Meili reluctant to tell the truth, but her guilty tone was clearly lying. Liang Jing’s eyes quickly misted over: "Don’t lie to me, he doesn’t want to see me, does he?"

"This..." Zhuang Meili was also puzzled by the 360-degree turn in Luo Feng’s attitude towards Liang Jing, as previously it was evident he liked Liang Jing more than her.

"Actually, I’m not trying to cling onto him or anything, I just want to know where I went wrong that made him dislike me, to see if I still have a chance." Liang Jing held Zhuang Meili’s hand: "Meili, the person I owe the most is you, knowing full well you like him, but still uncontrollably wanting to get close to him, trying to catch his attention.

But Meili, you are smart, beautiful, and educated, finding a suitable boyfriend is as easy as flipping your hand. For me, just being a working-class girl makes it hard for me to even lift my head, and it’s rare that someone doesn’t despise my working-class status, can you help me?"

"You... what do you mean? Are you saying I’m blocking you?" Zhuang Meili was so angry her face turned red, her good intentions had backfired.

"Meili, you misunderstood me, I’m explaining the reasons behind my actions, hoping you can forgive me. In this city, you are the only true friend I have." Liang Jing’s eyes teared up: "My colleagues, my uncle..., no one will help me unconditionally, only your kindness is unconditional, Meili... can you forgive me?

"Don’t cry like this, everyone is looking over here, let’s go talk over there." Zhuang Meili pulled Liang Jing to a small grove in the school, checked that no one was around, and sighed lightly: "Liang Jing, I indeed hated you, feeling that you betrayed our friendship. But from this, I also realized that love cannot be forced. If he doesn’t want it, why force him to suffer indigestion? Let’s call it even. Actually, you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s just that he really doesn’t like me."

Liang Jing tentatively asked, "Meili, your coming here today actually means you’ve forgiven me, unwilling to watch me embarrass myself, right?"

"Yes, after all, we are both from the same hometown and friends. The people in my dormitory all know you, if you lose face it doesn’t reflect well on me either, but I just don’t quite understand, you who always valued face, how come you’ve changed like this now?" Zhuang Meili spoke truthfully.

"Meili, some time ago, my Grandpa and Dad tricked me into going back home with the fake news of my mom’s illness, in reality they wanted me to marry the son of the tofu shop owner, the other party promised to give 30,000 yuan in dowry plus my younger brother’s tuition for high school and university. Unwilling to be sold off like that, I went on a hunger strike.

Grandpa, Dad, and Mom insisted that it was for my good, saying I cannot just drift in the city ending up as an unwanted old maid like Chen Lingqin, but, I’m only 20, how could I possibly settle for just such a bleak future? It was my younger brother who could not bear it and let me out in the middle of the night, and during the escape, I was almost raped..."

Liang Jing’s tale was mingled with genuine and fabricated elements, causing Zhuang Meili’s tears to flow: "Jingjing, what kind of age are we living in to still have arranged marriages and imprison children? Second Grandpa, Uncle and Fifth Aunt have gone too far! I called home recently, and my mom didn’t mention it, had I known, I would not have been mad at you. But, Jingjing, if it’s just to marry a local to prove something to your family, isn’t that unfair to Luo Feng?"

"Meili, I truly like Luo Feng, he gives me a sense of security." Liang Jing sighed lightly: "From the first time I met him, I was attracted to him, but considering he was the boy you liked, I tried to restrain myself, but in the end... sigh..."

Zhuang Meili put her arm around Liang Jing’s shoulder: "Let it be, it’s all in the past, we’ll still be best friends in the future. But, tell me the truth, have you ever done anything to wrong Luo Feng?"

"No." Liang Jing shook her head: "Everything was fine when I lost my wallet and asked him for help, but when I escaped back from home, he just ignored me."

"That’s strange, that’s not like Luo Feng’s character at all," Zhuang Meili pondered for a while: "Why don’t you wait here, I’ll go find Luo Feng and ask him for you."

Liang Jing nodded happily: "Alright, thank you, Meili."

Luo Feng glanced at Zhuang Meili who had once again appeared beside his bed: "If it’s still about Liang Jing, you can leave now."

"Luo Feng, that’s not right of you, your earlier actions clearly showed you liked Liang Jing, she fell for you, yet you avoided her far and wide, what is this? Playing with her? Liang Jing is a pitiful girl, last time she was forced by her family to go home for marriage, for your sake, she escaped in the middle of the night, and was almost raped, how can you treat her like this?"