civilwarnovels Chapter 122 A New Problem
Chapter 122 A New Problem
As summer vacation began, a heat wave swept across the entire city.
Lu Yuan, Ye Yixian, Gao Zhe, and Wang Qingyu hid in a milk tea shop on the street corner, trying to find a bit of coolness.
Ye Yixian held the milk tea in front of him, but hardly drank any of it, his expression slightly indifferent.
Having endured the grueling years of studying in his senior year of high school, Lu Yuan had planned to take her on this holiday to experience the joys he had had to give up due to financial constraints: go out for a big meal, visit an amusement park, and see the latest movie.
After all, Ye Yixian was about to enter university, and Lu Yuan didn't want her to still harbor that lingering inferiority complex, which would become a stumbling block to her future growth.
However, plans can't keep up with changes. Ye Yixian remained uninterested, his fingers tightening slightly as he held the straw, his expression downcast and anxious.
"What's wrong, Yixian?" Wang Qingyu keenly noticed her friend's unusual behavior and couldn't help but ask with concern, "The college entrance exam is over, why do you look so unhappy?"
After Wang Qingyu's reminder, Lu Yuan and Gao Zhe also turned their inquiring gazes towards her.
Ye Yixian was somewhat at a loss. After a moment of silence, she forced a smile and said, "I'm fine, everyone don't need to worry."
Perhaps feeling that this flimsy explanation was too weak to soothe everyone's worries, she paused and added in a low voice, "I was just thinking about whether I could find a summer job to save some living expenses for the start of the semester."
The moment the topic was brought up, the air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Wang Qingyu was also in a dilemma.
Everyone knows that Ye Yixian comes from a poor family. Even though he was admitted to university and received local subsidies or applied for student loans to cover his tuition, the few hundred yuan a month for food is still a real problem that stands in his way.
Wang Qingyu and Gao Zhe looked at Lu Yuan simultaneously, their eyes filled with tacit entrustment. Ye Yixian was now Lu Yuan's girlfriend, and for both emotional and logical reasons, Lu Yuan had to come up with a reasonable solution for her.
Lu Yuan stared at Ye Yixian, understanding dawning on his mind.
He fully understood Ye Yixian's predicament and was capable of resolving it, but the intricacies were too complex to explain in a short time. He could only smile gently and say, "Don't worry, there are always more solutions than problems. This is not a difficult issue."
"That's right, Yixian, Lu Yuan has spoken up, he can definitely help you solve it." Wang Qingyu has always trusted Lu Yuan.
"Yes, it's okay, there's still plenty of time." Ye Yixian smiled slightly, trying to appear relaxed.
In the afternoon, the four of them gathered together for food and drinks, and didn't disperse until evening. Lu Yuan and Ye Yixian finally had some rare time alone together.
Hand in hand, we walked home, the evening breeze dispelling the daytime heat.
Ye Yixian suddenly stopped and said seriously to Lu Yuan, "Lu Yuan, I know what you're thinking, and I know your family is rich. But you've already helped me a lot. I'll have to figure out how to cover my living expenses at university myself."
Ye Yixian was perceptive and easily guessed that Lu Yuan might be planning to ask his family for help.
With the Lu family's current strength, spending one or two thousand yuan a month on living expenses is just a drop in the ocean.
Moreover, Lu's parents seem to like her very much, so they probably won't mind covering this expense.
But this made Ye Yixian feel unworthy of it.
She is currently only Lu Yuan's girlfriend. Although she is determined to be with him forever, she cannot feel at ease considering herself as a member of the Lu family until everything is settled, nor can she accept the financial gifts from the Lu family.
"Yes, I understand." Lu Yuan nodded, knowing that Ye Yixian was a girl with a very strong sense of self-respect. "You don't want to accept gifts and hope to be self-reliant. That's good, and I support you."
"Thank you for understanding me." A glint of light flashed in Ye Yixian's eyes. Lu Yuan was always so understanding. "I'll contact my brother later. Maybe he can find me a temporary job in the provincial capital. If I can save three thousand yuan this summer, things should be much easier when I go to university."
"If you go to the provincial capital for a summer job, we won't see each other for more than two months." Lu Yuan tightened his grip on Ye Yixian's hand, his tone full of reluctance.
Ye Yixian blushed slightly and said softly, "Then we can call each other every day."
"Phone calls are expensive." Lu Yuan reached out and ruffled her hair, saying helplessly, "Can't we just not go to such far-away places?"
The journey from Jiangcheng to the provincial capital takes four to five hours by car, which is indeed too far for couples in love.
"But we don't have that many summer jobs here," Ye Yixian muttered to herself, her expression full of difficulty.
Lu Yuan pondered for a moment, then said seriously, "How about this, don't contact your brother for now. I'll think of a way for you in the next couple of days. If I have any connections, you won't need to go to the provincial capital."
"This... should work too." Ye Yixian didn't dare to have too high hopes, but not wanting to spoil his mood, she obediently agreed.
……
Lu Yuan himself is not under any financial pressure.
In fact, he was born into a family that was both materially and spiritually wealthy.
As an only child, he was pampered by his parents, who would grant him almost any wish.
It can be said that the hardships Lu Yuan encountered in his two lifetimes stemmed from the wrong choices he made at crossroads in his previous life.
In this life, he proceeded cautiously, made the right choices, and naturally avoided those hardships.
But Ye Yixian is different.
Born into poverty, she lacked parental care and love from a young age, and her life was full of thorns.
It was these hardships that forged her indomitable spirit and made her unwilling to easily accept charity from others.
She had meticulously recorded the cost of the last time she was allowed to stay at school, intending to repay Lu Yuan when she was able to earn money in the future.
With this old score still unresolved, she would never accept direct financial assistance from the Lu family again, even if her life depended on it.
This gave Lu Yuan a real headache, so much so that he sat there sighing and groaning during dinner, his mind elsewhere.
"Ah Yuan, what's wrong?" Mom and Dad couldn't help but ask while eating.
Lu Yuan put down his chopsticks and sighed, "Ye Yixian plans to go to the provincial capital to work and earn her living expenses for university. I was thinking, could I help her and persuade her not to go to the provincial capital?"
"She's just a young girl going to work in the provincial capital?" My mother was the first to object. "If my daughter did that, wouldn't her old friends laugh at me for not loving her?"
My father, unusually serious, chimed in: "Even if the girl is to be raised in luxury, we can afford two thousand a month for living expenses. Tell her not to go; we'll cover the cost for her."
"That's right, our family can afford it." Mom said seriously. "Here's what we'll do, Lu Yuan, bring Yi Xian over for dinner tomorrow, and I'll talk to her myself."
"Mom and Dad, bringing her over for a meal is fine, but giving her money directly as living expenses is probably not going to work," Lu Yuan explained with a serious expression. "She's shy and hates being pitied. To her, what you're doing is charity, and she definitely won't accept it."
"But she's just a young girl, isn't she the kind of girl who needs us to take care of her?" Mom said anxiously. "No matter what, she's already your girlfriend, so she's our Lu family's future daughter-in-law. Is it wrong for us parents to treat her well?"
"Yes! That's right." Dad wholeheartedly agreed.
Lu Yuan scratched his forehead and said helplessly, "That makes sense, but I really don't think it will work."
Lu Yuan knew perfectly well that Ye Yixian's willingness to be his girlfriend was definitely not because she was after the Lu family's money.
If the Lu family were to provide her with financial assistance based on this relationship, it would only cause her immense pressure and discomfort.
After much deliberation, Lu Yuan suddenly had a flash of inspiration, his eyes lighting up: "Dad, doesn't our garment factory also hire summer workers?"