Free Web NovelChapter 33: Chapter 23: As Long as I Can Be With You, I’m Willing to Be the Third Party
Jiang Li frowned instinctively. She didn’t understand why Zhao Sinian would show up on this occasion, spouting such vague nonsense.
’We were never on the same side.’
’If she had held even a small place in his heart, he wouldn’t have listened to his parents and demanded an additional dowry at the last minute.’
’Greed knows no bounds’ was the perfect way to describe his family.
’Did they really think I couldn’t get married without their son, or what?’
But in front of so many people, Jiang Li didn’t want to make a scene and give them a show to watch.
Taking a deep breath, she suppressed the rage in her heart. "First of all, I’m married now. Secondly, a late apology is completely meaningless."
Zhao Sinian looked at Jiang Li with a deeply affectionate expression and held out the bag in his hand. "This is that bag you’ve always wanted. I bought it for you."
Jiang Li reached out and pushed it away. "Thanks, but I don’t need it."
’Forget all the luxury items she’d bought in the last two days. The moment Zhao Sinian demanded an extra dowry at the wedding and started spreading rumors about her in the group chat, he had already worn away every last bit of affection between them. Why would she possibly want something from him?’
When she asked Jiang Yuemo to help her recover her funds, she had already predicted that Zhao Sinian would come looking for her. She just hadn’t expected it to be so soon, or in a setting like this.
Zhao Sinian’s expression stiffened. Then, ignoring the gazes of the crowd watching the drama, he squatted in front of Jiang Li and said with a serious face, "I know I was wrong about this. But we have so many years of history together. Don’t act on a whim. Divorce him, and we’ll get married again."
Jiang Li was so angry she almost laughed. "Are you kidding me? I just got married and you’re telling me to get a divorce?"
’The thing was, she had finally managed to marry Shen Yanzhi. Divorce was out of the question—unless Shen Yanzhi was the one to initiate it.’
’She had no idea where Zhao Sinian got the nerve to think she’d actually take him back.’
’If he hadn’t used the fact that he’d saved her life to coerce her, would she ever have fallen for him? Would she have stayed with him all these years?’
’If it weren’t for him suddenly demanding a larger dowry, she might have just muddled through her whole life with Zhao Sinian.’
’She couldn’t quite understand how the person who had jumped into the water to save her in the middle of winter could have turned into the man he was today.’
’Sometimes, she even wondered if the person who saved her back then was really Zhao Sinian.’
Zhao Sinian tried to grab Jiang Li’s hand. "But what about our relationship? All those years... can you really just let it all go?"
Zhong Mufeng slapped Zhao Sinian’s hand away. "You have the nerve to talk about your relationship? If you had stood firmly by Li’s side back then, would you two have ended up in this situation?"
She finished with a sneer. "When it comes down to it, your greed just knows no bounds. You wanted to marry Li, and you wanted money. Where in the world do you find a deal that good?"
She hadn’t wanted to say all this in front of their classmates, afraid it would embarrass Jiang Li.
But Zhao Sinian was being a persistent pest. If she didn’t lay it all out, their classmates might think Jiang Li was the one at fault.
Jiang Li nodded at Zhong Mufeng. "Classmates, do you want to know why I married someone else?"
Under everyone’s curious gazes, she continued, "It’s because of him. Because of Zhao Sinian."
Jiang Li paused, then pointed her finger at Zhao Sinian. "Right before the wedding, he demanded an additional 500,000 in dowry. If I didn’t pay up, he wouldn’t marry me."
She pulled her hand back and sneered. "Tell me, if you were in my shoes, would you still dare to marry him?"
Zheng Qi immediately spat in Zhao Sinian’s direction. "Ptooey! I’ve only ever heard of demanding more betrothal gifts, never more dowry! Well, now I’ve seen everything. No wonder Jiang Li married someone else. You brought this entirely on yourself!"
"No way, no way... things this bizarre actually happen in the world? He doesn’t even know how to be a proper freeloader. Does he really think he’s such a hot catch? Demanding more dowry... he should take a good look at himself and see if he’s even worthy."
"Honestly, words fail me. How does someone like that have the nerve to show up here?"
Guo Yao looked as if she’d just heard something outrageous, asking with a disgusted expression, "Wait, demanding *more* dowry? Jiang Li, just how desperate for a man are you? You were actually going to provide a dowry to marry a piece of trash like that?"
Although she didn’t like Jiang Li, she couldn’t accept Jiang Li marrying a man who wasn’t even a tenth of the man Shen Yanzhi was.
Jiang Li closed her eyes, not wanting to answer the question.
As someone in the know, Zhong Mufeng shot a cold glare her way. "What’s it to you? Mind your own damn business."
Guo Yao rolled her eyes and retorted, "If she had found someone like Shen Yanzhi, I wouldn’t have bothered saying anything."
