Some people lie so much that they end up deceiving even themselves.
The second son of the Li family was just like that.
Ever since Li Ying got her marriage certificate with Xie Yuejin before holding the wedding banquet, he felt everything was already in the bag. He kept brainwashing himself: Li Ying is a permanent worker, she’s a stable employee at the thermos factory.
The brothers even told Li Ying some inside stories about the thermos factory, so she could perfect the lie in front of Xie Yuejin.
So after going back and forth like this, Li Ying was eventually able to calmly talk about little anecdotes from the thermos factory in front of her brothers, without changing expression.
Xie Yuejin was indeed cautious by nature, but he had no relatives or friends in town—how could he possibly realize that the whole Li family was working together to deceive him?
The second Li brother’s words undoubtedly shook Xie Yuejin deeply.
He was completely stunned.
“Li Ying! Tell me the truth! What is going on here!”
How ironic. Just a short while ago, Li Ying was yelling at Xie Yuejin with the exact same words, in the exact same place.
In the back kitchen, Xu Shuang had just finished dealing with the banquet. The waiters who were supposed to be bringing out dishes had their arms crossed and were off to the side watching the drama unfold. Xu Shuang also stepped out of the kitchen and stood at the doorway.
Seeing that things were going south, Li Ying shifted from initial panic to a reckless, “burn the boats” attitude.
“What are you yelling for? I just quit my job recently, that’s all. Isn’t your job pretty good? Can’t you support me? Besides…”
Li Ying looked completely justified: “Didn’t you say you’d always treat me well? So what if I don’t have a job? If you really care about me, you shouldn’t care about such superficial things!”
Everyone: …
It was just pure shamelessness.
The fourth Li brother’s wife subtly edged away when no one was looking.
These exact words had come from her. After all, Li Ying had never done something this big before and was too anxious to sleep at night just before going to register the marriage. The fourth brother’s wife had brainwashed her with these lines.
Just like how the second Li brother lied so much he started to believe it himself, Li Ying didn’t know why, but she actually took her sister-in-law’s words to heart.
She thought her sister-in-law was right—if a man truly cared, why would he be concerned about such trivialities? She hadn’t even minded Xie Yuejin’s poor background!
Li Ying believed that even though she didn’t have a job, she was a town girl, far superior to Xie Yuejin, a bumpkin!
He was lucky to have her! How could he care about this tiny bit of deceit?
Her righteous attitude instantly became the last straw for Xie Yuejin.
He exploded. “You’re seriously saying not to care about superficial conditions? Do you even believe the nonsense you’re spouting?”
If conditions didn’t matter, would she have even looked at him if he didn’t have a chef’s job in town?
People tend to speak without thinking when they snap, and Xie Yuejin immediately started cursing.
He spewed out every curse word he’d ever heard in his life—but in a jumbled mess, with no coherent sentences.
His whole life, every step he took had been steady and calculated, done with everything he had.
Yet when it came to something as important as marriage, he’d suffered a major setback.
Li Ying had deceived him!
A permanent job? If she had said from the start that she didn’t have one, he would have never gotten involved with her!
Li Ying was very unhappy with Xie Yuejin’s reaction.
She cursed back at him: “Xie Yuejin! Have you looked in a mirror? Are you handsome or capable? You’re just a cook! I didn’t even mind your whole draggy family, and you dare to look down on me? I didn’t even ask for bride price and still married you! Just yesterday you were swearing you’d treat me well, and now you’re turning your back. Are you even a man?!”
Xie Yuejin cursed right back.
…
The guests eating at the banquet were completely dumbfounded.
In the middle of the meal, the bride and groom were hurling insults at each other’s ancestors—just one step away from throwing punches. None of them had seen a wedding like this in their entire lives!
At that moment, a few of Li Ying’s brothers stepped in. They were tall and broad—just standing there made Li Ying’s confidence shoot up.
“Xie Yuejin! I’m telling you! We’ve already registered the marriage. Don’t think you can just say a few words and ditch me! You also lied to me about your family—we’re even! Now get your parents back to the countryside!”
Li Ying was shouting without caring what others thought. Since her face was already lost, she couldn’t lose her benefits too.
Thankfully, the marriage certificate was already in hand—Xie Yuejin better not dream about dumping her and finding someone else!
Her brothers chimed in to back her up.
“Exactly. We’re not even making a fuss about your family background, and you as a grown man have the nerve to complain that my sister doesn’t have a job? If you can find someone better than her, you should count your blessings!”
Only now did Xie Yuejin fully understand what it meant to be pressured by brute force.
These Li brothers clearly wanted him to just swallow his anger and accept it!
Xie Yuejin was so furious he laughed: “You’re dreaming. You lied to me once, there’s bound to be a second time. You lied about Li Ying having a job—who knows what else you’re hiding?”
Xie Yuejin wasn’t stupid. He hadn’t thought much before, but now he realized—the way the Li family had thrown themselves at him, there had to be more to it.
No way he’d agree!
“I don’t care—this is marriage fraud. I’m going to apply for annulment!”
Xie Yuejin had been educated for a few years, so he knew more than the average person.
He remembered that back in the day when women’s rights were being strongly promoted, they had said: if a marriage was entered into under deceit, it could be invalidated with the right evidence.
Right now, Xie Yuejin just felt miserable. Even though he didn’t pay a bride price, he had still spent a lot on Li Ying.
When Xu Shuang was around in the shop, she kept a close eye on things. Every time Xie Yuejin gave something to Li Ying, he had to pay for it himself and get a receipt—those expenses added up quite a bit.
Even after meeting Old Lady Li earlier in the year, she came by the shop frequently asking for pig’s feet or chicken drumsticks. She’d always say guests were visiting and she needed some braised food to entertain them, but just so happened to forget her money every time.
Xie Yuejin always filled in the gap without hesitation.
Over time, the money spent was no small amount.
Xie Yuejin felt incredibly cheated!
This was his first time dating someone—he had no experience. On top of that, he had a bit of an inferiority complex, having come from a poor place. Toward a town girl like Li Ying, he held a bit of admiration and awe.
During quiet moments, he would feel regret and think life was unfair. If only he had a face like Xu Shuang’s, he wouldn’t have to be so cautious. Just having a good face would be enough to find a wife.
But now, it was all too late. He’d still been fooled by Li Ying.
The Li brothers never imagined that something like “marriage annulment” was even possible!
They were both shocked and angry. This completely went beyond anything they had planned!
Their original idea was that as long as the marriage certificate was signed, Xie Yuejin would have no choice but to accept reality. After all, Li Ying looked decent, was still a virgin, and marrying him without a dowry wasn’t exactly a disgrace.
Who could have guessed Xie Yuejin would be so ruthless?
He found out the truth and immediately wanted to file for divorce!
The Li family didn’t know what “marriage annulment” meant—they just instinctively felt it meant divorce!
Li Ying was already covering her face and crying loudly, cursing foully between sobs. The Li brothers surged forward to beat Xie Yuejin.
Xie Yuejin’s own brothers jumped in to help, and just like that, the room erupted into chaos. Plates and bowls were smashed left and right.
Xu Shuang realized this wasn’t going to end well, so she jumped in to break up the fight.
Li Lao’er (the second Li brother) was still mouthing off: “Which little bastard piece of shit—ah!”
Xu Shuang tossed each of them out one by one, slamming them to the ground.
“If you want to fight, do it outside. Don’t mess up the restaurant. Anything you break in here, you’ll have to pay for.”
Xie Yuejin wiped his face and said to Xu Shuang, “I’ll pay for it.”
He was grateful to Xu Shuang—just now he’d almost been pinned at the bottom by the Li brothers. If that had lasted any longer, he might’ve suffocated.
Xie Yuejin shouted at the Li family, “Things have already come to this. Either you come with me and go through the divorce procedures, or I’ll go apply for an annulment!”
Maybe worried the Lis still thought he was a prize and weren’t willing to let go, Xie Yuejin decided to lay it all bare.
“I haven’t even told you—my place isn’t mine. The house I’m living in is rented.”
That one sentence stirred up a storm. Now it was the Li family’s turn to feel deceived.
Li Ying screeched and lunged forward, scratching Xie Yuejin’s face into shreds.
“You bastard! You dare lie to me!”
Xie Yuejin took the clawing and laughed coldly, “Pot calling the kettle black. You’re not much better yourself.”
Onlookers: …
Unbelievable.
If it weren’t the wrong setting, someone might’ve clapped and said, “What a match made in heaven.”
The man lied about owning a house.
The woman lied about having a job.
“Damn, these two really are something else!”
“What now? This marriage probably isn’t happening.”
“What else could happen? It’s over. They’ll get divorced for sure.”
“Forget that, you guys are all watching the drama—what about the food? Are we going to have to pay ourselves?”
“Ugh, we didn’t even get to the main dishes. What a loss. If they ask me to pay, no way. I didn’t ask them to scam each other, and besides, I even gave a 10-cent wedding gift!”
“Exactly. Hey, maybe we should ask the servers to bring the food out anyway? I happen to have a thermos…”
“Me too. I just bought a metal lunchbox from the town market.”
“That won’t work! I came empty-handed. If you all pack up the food, what’ll I eat?”
“Are you stupid? Just scoop it into your bowl and take the whole bowl with you. At most, just pay the restaurant a few cents. You get food and a bowl!”
“Good idea. Let’s hurry!”
…
