Chapter 40

Li Muxue sat at the worn-out wooden table, spreading out her belongings one by one. The silk fabric of the dress was as light as a cloud, the jade bracelet had a heavy feel, the pearl necklace was dazzling, and the new cell phone was beeping with a text message notification... All of this was something she was touching so closely for the first time in her twenty-two years of life. She couldn't believe that these things belonged to her, and she wasn't sure if this was the result her father, Li Junsheng, had hoped for.

"Xiaoxue, are you back?" The door clicked open, and Li Junsheng entered, his left leg slightly limping. His synovitis had flared up again, and Qiao Kexin had been urging him to stop working, let his leg heal, and then try other jobs; repairing cars really wasn't for him. But Li Junsheng would just smile and say, "It's okay, I'll hang in there..."

Seeing the things on the table, his expression was one of complex excitement. He walked over, picked up the dress, and repeatedly rubbed the fabric with his rough fingers: "Haoyu bought this for you? This fabric feels different to the touch."

Li Muxue stuffed the phone box into the paper bag, her voice muffled: "Dad, I want to return these tomorrow."

"Give it back?" Li Junsheng's voice suddenly rose: "Do you know that my leg is getting more and more painful? In a few months, I might have to have surgery to drain the fluid. I might not even be able to work at the auto repair shop anymore. Your brother Yu doesn't mind our family's difficulties and is willing to help us, and you, on the other hand, are thinking of giving it back?"

"That's not how it is!" Li Muxue suddenly stood up, the chair leg leaving long marks on the cement floor. "Don't you know what he's trying to do with all this? You want to sell me, don't you?! Do you know how I feel looking at all these luxury goods today? I feel like a commodity that can be traded at will! It's just that I can't sell it for that much money all at once, so I'm paying in installments!"

"How could you say that about yourself!" Li Junsheng's voice trembled. "I'm doing this for your own good, aren't I? It's just because you can't forget Xu Zhenguo's son, isn't it? What future do you have if you follow Xu Chen? Can he give you these things?"

"For my own good?" Li Muxue's voice suddenly lowered, a calm born of utter despair: "Dad, are you really doing this for my own good? Or for your own good? Because you're incompetent, unable to support the family, even unable to cure your own illness, you're selling your daughter to solve the problem? Is that it? Fine, I'll make it clear to you today: my relationship with Xu Chen, spanning over a decade, cannot be bought with a few gifts from Shen Haoyu! Even if I die, my heart will only belong to Xu Chen. Are you only happy when you see me driven to my death? If so, you can try!"

Her fingers dug deep into her hair, pulling at her scalp, as if the physical pain could alleviate the torment in her heart; her face was covered in tears, her expression contorted almost unrecognizable, and her lip was bitten until it bled. She felt that her youth and love were being cruelly buried by reality, buried alive...

This was the first time in Li Muxue's life that she had confronted her father so fiercely. Her tone was hard and cold, which startled even herself. This was her last stand for her love. If she failed, perhaps she would really choose some extreme way to end it all...

Meanwhile, Xu Chen's college entrance examination was finally over. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and returned home with light steps. But as soon as he opened the door, he saw a shocking scene...

(To be continued)