002: Break off the engagement, Xu Yao is no longer worthy of Chen Yan
When Xu Yao got off work, she received a call from Mrs. Shen, who asked her to go to the Shen family.
"Xu Yao, I have something to tell you. Would it be convenient for you to come home tonight?"
Mrs. Shen spoke softly, but her tone did not allow Yao to refuse.
Mrs. Shen didn’t talk to Xu Yao like this before. Whether in public or in private, Mrs. Shen was always very kind to Xu Yao.
Xu Yao and Shen Yan showed signs of early love in high school. Mrs. Shen liked Xu Yao and was satisfied with her family background. When Shen Yan pursued Xu Yao, he also received encouragement from Mrs. Shen.
Later…Xu Yao sighed softly: The Xu family went bankrupt and was in debt, so it was normal for Shen Yan’s mother to change her position.
"Auntie, I'll come over at eight o'clock in the evening."
Xu Yao knew why Mrs. Shen made this call. Nancheng was sometimes big and sometimes small. An afternoon was enough for the news that Xu Yao had signed new IOUs with her creditors to reach the Shen family.
Xu Yao was actually reluctant to let Chen Yan go.
Three years after the Xu family went bankrupt, Chen Yan never mentioned breaking off the engagement with Xu Yao, proving that he was a man worthy of her lifelong commitment. Xu Yao never doubted Chen Yan's character, and for this very reason, she couldn't bear to embarrass him. A marriage without parental blessing is unlikely to be happy. Chen Yan and the Shen family were inextricably linked, and their engagement should have ended long ago. It was her lust for his tenderness that kept her from facing reality.
At exactly eight o'clock in the evening, Xu Yao arrived at the Shen family villa carrying a bag of carefully selected fruits.
Shen Yan was on a business trip and Mr. Shen was not at home. In such a big villa, only Mrs. Shen was waiting for Xu Yao.
Mrs. Shen glanced at the fruit Xu Yao brought and sincerely advised Xu Yao: "The Shen family doesn't lack this little fruit, why are you so polite? You can't be as extravagant as before. After all, your salary at work is not high. Even if you have a side job, it will be difficult to help your father pay off his debts... Don't blame me for speaking harshly. As the saying goes, honest advice hurts. I am doing this for your own good."
Mrs. Shen's earnest instructions seemed caring, but there was a kind of condescending arrogance that made Xu Yao very uncomfortable.
Xu Yao's salary is indeed not high.
To pay off her father's debts, she had not only changed her lavish spending habits over the past three years but also worked tirelessly to earn money through side hustles. Even Xu Yao couldn't bear to buy this kind of fruit herself; she had transformed herself from the eldest daughter of the Xu family into a frugal and ordinary person.
Xu Yao had changed a lot in the past three years, but some things remained unchanged, like the social etiquette Xu Qinghua had taught her. Never visiting someone empty-handed was ingrained in Xu Yao's DNA.
Mrs. Shen used to like Xu Yao, and this was one of Xu Yao's strengths. Now Mrs. Shen doesn't like Xu Yao anymore, and everything Xu Yao does is wrong.
Xu Yao didn't want to talk too much with Mrs. Shen, so she nodded and said, "This is the last time. I won't buy it again in the future."
Mrs. Shen frowned.
Xu Yao seemed to never know how to write the word "soft and gentle". Even if she was speaking in line with Mrs. Shen's words, Mrs. Shen was not very happy.
The Xu family went bankrupt, but Xu Yao did not bow down and fawn in front of Mrs. Shen. Mrs. Shen tried to control Xu Yao many times, but Xu Yao did not let Mrs. Shen succeed. Mrs. Shen disliked Xu Yao more and more.
Mrs. Shen and her son Shen Yan had talked about breaking off the engagement more than once, and each time Shen Yan answered Mrs. Shen with "I can't break my promise."
Shen Yan said this, and Mr. Shen also felt that it made sense. Mrs. Shen was alone and the proposal to cancel the engagement came to nothing.
Mrs. Shen had compromised many times, but this time she couldn't compromise anymore.
Xu Yao signed new IOUs to the Xu family's creditors, solving Lin Meixian's worries about marrying into the Wen family. But how could Xu Yao pay off the debts with her income?
“I won’t agree to Chen Yan helping you pay off your debt!”
Mrs. Shen made her attitude clear: "I can accept a daughter-in-law whose family is bankrupt, but I can't accept a daughter-in-law who is bankrupt and in debt. Don't take advantage of the Shen family just because Shen Yan likes you. The Shen family's money is not blown by the wind."
In the past three years, Mrs. Shen had disliked Xu Yao a lot, but this was the first time that Mrs. Shen said something so harsh and blunt.
Xu Yao was mentally prepared.
It was a choice between her mother Lin Meixian's remarriage and her own marriage into the Shen family. When Xu Yao signed the new IOU with the creditors, she was already prepared for the Shen family to break off the engagement.
The engagement was broken off, and Xu Yao accepted it.
There were some things Xu Yao wanted to make clear in front of Mrs. Shen: "Aunt, I never thought of asking Shen Yan to help pay off the debt. Before my family went bankrupt, Shen Yan and I shared half of our dating expenses. After my family went bankrupt, I never accepted any expensive gifts from Shen Yan again. If you think I'm taking advantage of the Shen family, then can I calculate the cost of my meals with Shen Yan over the past three years and write you an IOU?"
Xu Yao was full of sincerity, but Mrs. Shen seemed to be greatly humiliated: "Xu Yao, please be polite!"
If Mrs. Shen really accepted Xu Yao's "date IOU", the Shen family would become a laughing stock in South City.
Xu Yao's disobedience wore down Mrs. Shen's patience. Mrs. Shen said bluntly, "Chen Yan has been good to you all these years. If you have any real feelings for him, you should have taken the initiative to break off the engagement and not let him be talked about by others. What do you think?"
Xu Yao nodded, "I know, thank you for taking care of me over the years."
Xu Yao called Shen Yan in front of Mrs. Shen, and before Shen Yan could speak, Xu Yao proposed to break up.
"...Yaoyao, wait for me to come back from my business trip."
Chen Yan did not accept such a hasty breakup. Xu Yao suppressed her sadness and said, "You know my temper. I have made a decision. Chen Yan, let's part ways amicably."
Fearing that Chen Yan would pester her, Xu Yao hung up the phone and blocked all of Chen Yan's contact information in front of Mrs. Shen.
"Auntie, do you think this is okay?"
Xu Yao asked Mrs. Shen.
Mrs. Shen sneered: “Don’t retreat in order to advance, if Shen Yan comes back and begs you to reconcile——”
"Don't worry, I don't have the blessing of being your daughter-in-law. I would rather marry a pig or a dog than Chen Yan in this life."
When Xu Yao said this, Mrs. Shen was furious: "The Shen family doesn't welcome you, get out!"
When Xu Yao left the Shen family, she left behind the engagement ring that Shen Yan had put on her. Mrs. Shen asked the nanny to throw the fruit that Xu Yao brought out the door.
An apple rolled to Xu Yao's feet. Xu Yao straightened her back and walked away slowly.
In the darkness of the night, her back was so thin that she seemed to be blown down by the night wind. The nanny of the Shen family couldn't bear it: Xu Yao was a good girl, but she was unlucky and her family went bankrupt. Now Xu Yao is not worthy of Shen Yan!
…
Chen Yan was held up by his overseas business and did not return immediately. Mrs. Chen took the initiative to announce Xu Yao's decision to cancel the engagement on her WeChat Moments. Others approached Xu Yao for confirmation, and she admitted it readily.
"Shen Yan and I parted ways amicably."
"There's no other reason, it's just that our relationship has faded!"
Xu Yao said this to everyone and seemed calm and open-minded, but Lin Meixian knew that her daughter must have been wronged.
"Yaoyao, you shouldn't have signed a new IOU with Boss Wang and the others! You don't have to pay back the money your father owes. Mom will find a way to solve it."
Lin Meixian's voice choked with sobs.
Xu Yao looked at the diamond ring on Lin Meixian's hand and refused to admit that she and Shen Yan broke off their engagement because of debt. "Mom, Shen Yan and I really wanted to part ways amicably. We've been dating for so many years without getting married, and the novelty has long worn off!"
Lin Meixian didn't believe it. "If you don't feel fresh about Shen Yan anymore, then who do you feel fresh about? You have only had one boyfriend, Shen Yan, in all these years."
Xu Yao gritted her teeth and made up a story: "How can I start a new relationship if the old one doesn't end? When the time is right, I will bring the person to you."
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