Chapter 36: Pity Often Masks a Despicable Nature

"You don't need to look at me like that. I wouldn't frame Su Bin just because of a personal grudge. If you want the answer, it's simple: wait a few days. He will naturally appear before you under the guise of a coincidence, and he will somehow know about your situation with Lai San."

"In short, I've analyzed the situation for you. Are you still willing to borrow money to pay off Lai San?"

Xu Xiaoya thought for a moment and said to Su Yu, "Although I am grateful for your analysis, the fact remains that the radio was broken, and it is also a fact that I was tricked through my own carelessness. I am in no position to argue. If I don't pay, what would that make me?"

Su Yu gave her a strange look and asked firmly, "You don't believe me?"

That was exactly it. Xu Xiaoya gave him the impression that she was skeptical of his claims. She couldn't believe that someone would spend seventy or eighty yuan—enough to buy seven or eight wives in the countryside—just to buy a radio and deliberately break it to entrap her.

"It's not that, it's just... could you lend me some money?"

Su Yu was speechless. After all that, the girl just wanted to borrow money. Did she think he was only saying those things because he didn't want to lend her money? Or did she think he was manipulating her because of his conflict with Su Bin?

Even though what Xu Xiaoya said was true—it was a dead end because she had foolishly admitted in public that there was a radio in the bag and that she had broken it—without proof that Lai San had set a trap, she would definitely have to pay. Even if she went to the police, it would be useless. Lai San would surely be able to find someone to lie for him if he promised a small reward. In this era, legal awareness was weak, and as long as they stuck to their story, the police couldn't do anything.

Even if Lai San couldn't come up with eighty yuan, he could find someone who could, have them claim they lent the money to him, and even invent a reasonable excuse for where the radio ticket came from. As long as they stood by each other, the police would never find evidence.

But facts were facts. Su Yu had analyzed it clearly for her. Xu Xiaoya showed no anger, only surprise, which made it clear she was doubtful. After all, when Su Yu guessed that the mastermind was Su Bin, he had been a bit unreasonable, almost forcing a connection between them.

Su Yu quickly understood her thoughts. The original owner of his body had indeed liked Xu Xiaoya, something anyone with eyes could see. Su Bin also coveted her, which was even more obvious. Although they were cousins, they didn't get along. Was she assuming he was just acting out of jealousy?

Su Yu couldn't help but laugh in frustration. Looking at her, he thought it was no wonder Su Bin used such low-level tactics; she was truly easy to fool. To put it kindly, she was simple-minded; to put it bluntly, she was a bit of an idiot.

Amused by his own frustration, Su Yu said, "If you don't believe me, why come to me? Putting that aside, even if I had the money, why should I lend it to you? Seventy or eighty yuan is not a small sum. How would you pay it back? What do you have to offer as collateral?"

This was originally Su Yu expressing his frustration, but to Xu Xiaoya, it sounded different. Was he asking for a favor?

"I thought you were different from Lai San and the others. You saved me in town, but I never expected you to... say something like this."

"How are you any different from Lai San if you talk to a female comrade like that? In the end, isn't it just to force me to marry you? Hmph!"

With a cold huff, Xu Xiaoya turned and left.

She felt that Su Yu had been right about one thing: Lai San approaching her was likely a trap. But the person who set it might not be Su Bin—it could very well be Su Yu. The old village head had mentioned that Su Yu might have the money and the means. To frame Su Bin, he could easily have gone to his grandmother's house and mentioned it in front of Su Bin.

As long as Su Bin had designs on her, he would surely take the bait. And if Su Bin really came to her about it, she would misunderstand him as the mastermind, leaving her with no choice but to turn to Su Yu for the money.

She wasn't without suspicion toward Su Bin, but relatively speaking, Su Bin hadn't come to her yet, while Su Yu had already revealed his "ambition." She concluded that even if Su Yu wasn't the mastermind, he was someone who had seen through the scheme and wanted to "intercept the loot," or as they say, kick someone while they were down. She felt Su Yu was just as shameless as the mastermind.

She forgot that Su Yu's question about how she would pay him back was a practical one. Just because he liked her—or rather, the original owner did—didn't mean she didn't have to pay him back. Su Yu's own life was a mess; why should he pull her out of the mud only to get covered in it himself? Did he owe her something?

Su Yu was speechless. *Sigh... some people really make it hard to be a good person.*

Although it was a dead end, if Xu Xiaoya had trusted him, he would have tried his best to help her escape Su Bin's plot—for no other reason than that he didn't want to see Su Bin succeed. But unfortunately, she would rather believe he was as shameless as the mastermind than believe the truth.

"Forget it. It's not like she's my wife. Why should I worry about it?" He wanted revenge on Su Bin, but not at the cost of his own life.

He found a burlap sack, put the turtle from the bucket inside, and walked out the door. If he took the bucket to borrow the bicycle again, the old village head would start guessing how much money he was making.

Su Yu didn't care to dwell on it. He went straight to the village head's house, borrowed the bicycle, and headed toward the county town.

Before long, he arrived. He walked into the State-run Restaurant with the sack and had Manager Fan called out.

"Oh, brother! You finally made it. I waited for you all day yesterday; I thought you'd gone back on your word."

"Haha, Manager Fan, you must have been anxious. My sincere apologies."

Su Yu lowered his voice and said, "I was strolling in the park the day before yesterday and happened to save two girls from some thugs. I stood up for them, but who would have thought that when I went to the black market address you gave me that night, I'd run into them again? It was like delivering myself right to them. We had a fight, and I got a bit hurt."

As he spoke, Su Yu lifted his shirt to show the bruises on his back. They were clearly from wooden clubs or steel pipes—a shocking sight.

"I was afraid of delaying your business, so despite the pain, I went diving ten meters deep yesterday. It took a lot of effort, but I finally completed the task. I didn't want to let you down. I didn't even take a break today; I rushed right over to deliver it to you."

Su Yu pulled the sack open and took out an eight-pound turtle. Manager Fan knew that whether a turtle lived in deep water was something he could easily verify by asking Master Liu, so Su Yu wasn't afraid of being exposed.