Chapter 383 - I’m A Bad Daughter For Putting You Through All This Over Here
Yu Han was so angry that he laughed. He had heard of Sichuan Mama. It was a restaurant franchise that originated from Sichuan, known for its reasonable prices and decent flavors. The food was more authentic than most, and it was great for meeting up with friends. Since the restaurant was already a few years old, the place was slightly old, making it quite inappropriate for any banquets. In fact, it was more like a hawker food center.
Yet they wanted to have the wedding banquet there? What a joke!
His younger sister, who they had raised like a princess, was worth much more than that!
They knew about the Yue family’s financial situation, so they never thought of asking them to organize an extravagant wedding. That would be asking too much, but at the very least, they expected the Yue Family to show their sincerity for this wedding!
Who were they trying to diss by suggesting they have the banquet at Sichuan Mama?!
Yu Zi lowered her head without a word, but her eyes began to sting despite herself.
“Mom, we can’t have a wedding banquet at a place like that! I refuse!” Yue Jingchen said. “I’ve already discussed this with Yu Zi. Yes, I can’t afford a place like Sheng Yue, but we can still do a regular four-star hotel!”
“What do you mean, we can?! Have you any idea how much money we spent on raising you? You’re a boy, so you don’t know the struggles we have at home. Since you started dating, you kept buying things for Yu Zi even though you can’t afford it. We didn’t say anything because we know, you’re dating. Boys should spend a bit of money on that, at least.” That was what Pan Yunfeng said, but her expression said something else altogether. She seemed to be blaming Yu Zi for accepting the gifts with a clear conscience even though she knew Yue Jingchen was broke.
“But we really don’t have enough money for the wedding. Okay, how about this? Our family will pay sixty thousand for the wedding, and that’s after we borrowed twenty thousand from our relatives. If you want to have the banquet at a four-star hotel, sure, but we’ll only pay for our side of the tables. We’ll split it evenly. I did some research. For four-star hotels, the standard price is 3,000 a table, so if we invite our relatives and your colleagues, it’ll come up to 20 tables precisely,” Pan Yunfeng said.
Yue Xingan sighed. “Jingchen, you know how we are. That’s as much as we can afford.”
After that, he turned around and said to Yu Gesheng, “In-law, we don’t have a lot of money, but we have a good son. That’s why Yu Zi chose him, right? Our Jingchen is a great boy, but we’re nothing but a burden to him. When he was in school, there were many girls who liked him despite our financial situation, but Jingchen chose Yu Zi in the end. We wish the two of them all the best, too.”
“That’s right.” Pan Yunfeng nodded. “Our Jingchen has a bright future. Doctors aren’t any worse than lawyers, so once he graduates from his housemanship, he’s sure to become a surgeon. Passing his probation and getting a promotion, all of it’s just a matter of time. Yu Zi might have to tough it off for now, but she’ll live the easy life in the future.”
“Mom, Dad, could you stop talking now?” Yue Jingchen was angry and exasperated at the same time. Clenching his fists, he wondered if the two of them really wanted to see him married.
“Why should we stop? Did we say anything wrong? Everything we said is true. What our family’s circumstances are, what your circumstances, we should tell our in-laws everything. Your dad and I aren’t glory chasers, we won’t pretend to be what we’re not, and in fact, we look down on those who do. If we weren’t honest, wouldn’t you be marrying on false pretenses?” As Pan Yunfeng ranted, tears gathered in her eyes. “Oh, son, why can’t you be considerate of our plight? I understand that you’re good to Yu Zi, but you can’t forget your mother just because you have a wife now!”
“Our family’s damn near broke, so would you really force us down the road of no return just to show off for a while? What, do you think we’re embarrassing you by telling them all this?” Pan Yunfeng blew her nose, demanding loudly.
“Do you really want me to get married?” Finally, Yue Jingchen could not help but ask.
Pan Yunfeng paused and immediately screeched, “What do you mean by that?”
“That’s enough!” Yu Zi’s mother, Yuan Hejing interrupted them coldly. “Madam Pan, feel free to say whatever you intended to. Jingchen, stay quiet and let your mother finish. We want to hear what she has to say too.”
Pan Yunfeng pretended to wipe her tears, saying, “I hope you don’t dislike us for this, in-laws. Ever since Yu Zi got together with Jingchen and you guys found out about it, you should’ve known that things would be like this. You guys can decide on where to have the wedding banquet.”
Yuan Hejing took a deep breath, but her fury was stuck like a bubble in her chest, suffocating her and making her suffer.
“Why don’t we do this? Forget a four-star hotel, we’ll just have the banquet at Sheng Yue. As for the costs, our family will foot the bill,” Yuan Hejing said.
Even Yu Zi raised her head and looked at her mother in shock.
This was not just about the money anymore. It was a wedding, and since when... since when did the bride’s side ever pay for these things? It was like saying that she... she was the one buying a husband, as though she had to pay her way into the marriage!
Yu Zi’s chest throbbed with a dull ache, and she was unspeakably humiliated.
It was not because of her parents, but because of Yue Jingchen’s parents.
“That won’t do!” This time, the one who protested was none other than Pan Yunfeng. “All of our friends and relatives know what we can afford and what we can’t. If we have the wedding at Sheng Yue, everyone would know that we can’t afford it. They’ll know that you guys paid for it, so how embarrassing do you think it would be for us then?”
“But it’s our daughter’s wedding, and we want her to get married in style too. We don’t want her to have to bow her head,” said Yu Gesheng through gritted teeth. This was the daughter he had pampered for more than twenty years. Since she was young, he could not bear to hit or scold her, and he would always give her the best of everything.
How could he possibly allow her to have such a lowly wedding now?
“Then we can just go with the second proposal. We’ll have it at a four-star hotel, but we’ll each pay our own portions,” Yue Xingan said. “Besides, in-laws, we already said this earlier. Their struggles are temporary, as are their difficulties. Our Jingchen is capable and he has plenty of potential, so whatever disgrace she has to suffer now, he’ll definitely make it up to Yu Zi in the future. Since she chose our family and knows our circumstances, she’ll have to suffer for a little while, at least. A husband and wife should stick with each other through thick and thin! She can’t be backing down after just a little hardship, right?”
“That’s right. You’re all especially highly-educated, so you should understand that much. We shouldn’t have to say too much,” Pan Yunfeng said. “Our Jingchen is a man, so we can’t have people jeering at him and say he’s living off his wife. He’ll invite his colleagues too, so if word gets back to the hospital, imagine how horrible it would be for him.”
Yu Gesheng clenched his teeth. He would have long since left the place if it were not for Yu Zi.
He was a nationally-renowned advocate, so never had he been so humiliated!
“Also, we can’t afford a house either. You know the property prices in B City, we can’t afford one even if we starve ourselves, not even a place in the 6th Ring. I discussed it with my husband. After they get married, we’ll just have to ask Yu Zi to suffer a little and stay with us,” Pan Yunfeng said.
Yun Han laughed coldly. They were not even married yet, but the Yue couple was already this unreasonable. If Yu Zi had to stay with them after the wedding, would she have even a day’s peace?”
“We’ll prepare a house for Yu Zi.” As soon as Yuan Hejing said that, she pursed her lips.
“That won’t do!” Pan Yunfeng objected violently again. “If people found out about that, wouldn’t their tongues wag to no end? They’ll say Jingchen married a good wife, but he doesn’t have the capability to earn his living, so he has to rely on his wife for everything. You can’t just spoil the child like that. Our Jingchen grew up the hard way, but he’s still a wonderful man, right? What’s wrong with staying with us, then? Are you looking down on us, Yu Zi?”
Yue Xingan added, “It’s not just the house, too. She shouldn’t drive anymore either. Where we live, a good car will just be an eyesore. Besides, a car costs too much. Think about the maintenance fees and the gas money, the two children can’t afford it on their payroll. Young people should suffer for a bit, and when they really grow into their own, they can live the good life off their own money. That shows they’re truly capable. They shouldn’t rely on their family for everything, because what does that count for?
“This may sound rude, but who would Yu Zi rely on once you two are no longer around?” Yue Xingan said.
Everyone’s expressions changed. How on earth could he say that?
How could he curse them by mentioning their deaths right to their faces?!
Before this, Yu Zi only felt humiliated, but she could tolerate it. Now, however, she could not stand it any longer!
She stood up abruptly, and the suddenness of her movements made everyone turn to look at her.
Yue Jingchen even had a bad feeling about this. “Yu Zi...”
Yu Zi did not look at him. No matter how good the man was, he could not stop his parents from humiliating her parents and herself. What good was he then?
In the past, she always thought that Yue Jingchen was Yue Jingchen, and his parents were his parents. After they got married, they would not stay with his parents. She would do what she had to do, but his parents would have no say in their personal lives, so it would not really matter.
Now, however, she realized that she had been too idealistic.
She could not force her parents to tolerate this humiliation over and over for her sake.
Yue Jingchen was great, but he was not enough to cancel out his parents’ flaws.
Now she knew that their marriage did not only involve the two of them. It involved both of their families as well. Her parents did not want this, not because they looked down on Yue Jingchen’s family, but because his parents were just...
Her parents had already suffered too much for her sake.
If she continued to insist on this, she would be a bad daughter.
Tears dripped down Yu Zi’s face as she turned to her parents and said, “Mom, Dad, I’m a bad daughter for putting you through all this over here.”