Chapter 7

Yang Kang did not reply to that text message. Instead, he directly deleted it, along with the person's name and phone number...

He had already lost everything. Even if she didn't break up with him, he would do it eventually—it was just a matter of time. But, after all, they had been in love, and it still caused him some pain deep down.

Later, he became a dependent, living in someone else's storage room. With the help of his father's old friends, he worked as a small clerk in a pawn shop. No matter how good-looking he was, no girls pursued him anymore—reality was that cruel.

So, Yang Kang couldn't quite understand why Jiang Xiaoyue would like him. Could it be just because of his face? Could it be that women, like men, were all superficial?

Maybe. Otherwise, the idol stars in Korean dramas wouldn't need to dress up as pretty boys to boost their ratings.

Jiang Xiaoyue was a bit curious and took the book to look at it. She flipped through it briefly; it was all in English and quite old, looking like it had some history.

"What is this book?" Jiang Xiaoyue finally asked, voicing her confusion.

"It's a book of great man's sayings!" Yang Kang said with a mischievous smile. Jiang Xiaoyue was the same age as him, and her English had always been terrible in high school. He had even tutored her, but it didn't help much. So, he could guarantee that she wouldn't understand a single sentence.

"What does it say?" Jiang Xiaoyue shook her head. She felt that reading this was just making her brain hurt. Her mother was right; Yang Kang was a person with a mental problem.

Yang Kang casually translated a couple of sentences, but Jiang Xiaoyue was completely lost. She couldn't help but say, "Yang Kang, your English is so good, why can't you find a job?"

Yang Kang was taken aback. Then he thought carefully and almost slapped himself. When he applied for jobs and filled out his resume, he naturally wrote down his major. When companies saw he studied history, they naturally had no interest.

But he had passed the CET-6. Finding a job as a secretary in a foreign company shouldn't be difficult, right? But if he didn't mention it, how would anyone know?

He deserved it!

Just as Yang Kang was about to speak, footsteps came from upstairs. Jiang Shanghua came down, glanced at Yang Kang, and coldly asked, "Yang Kang, why haven't you washed the lunch dishes yet? Are you not planning to eat dinner?"

Jiang Shanghua was two years older than him. They had fought a lot since childhood and never got along.

"I washed my own dishes. What does it have to do with you?" Yang Kang replied coldly.

"You—!" Jiang Shanghua was furious and shouted, "You eat and live for free at my house. Is it too much to ask you to wash a few dishes?"

Yang Kang stood up and walked towards the storage room without saying another word.

"Brother..." Jiang Xiaoyue whispered, "Brother, don't argue with him today."

"But, look—look at his attitude!" Jiang Shanghua was seething with anger.

"Brother!" Jiang Xiaoyue whispered in Jiang Shanghua's ear and then said, "Brother, don't worry. Once I find out that bastard Yang Chongxuan's supply source, he'll only be a dog in our house. You can humiliate him however you want, and we can finally get back at him for what happened when we were kids."

"Right, just mentioning it makes me angry!" Jiang Shanghua said angrily.

Jiang Shanghua was indeed furious. When they were kids, he and Yang Kang often fought. Boys are mischievous, and fighting wasn't a big deal—he was two years older than Yang Kang, so Yang Kang couldn't beat him. That summer, during the school break, he and his sister Jiang Xiaoyue came to play with Yang Kang as usual.

That year, he was thirteen, and Yang Kang was eleven. He remembered clearly that he wanted to see the new comic book Yang Kang had bought, but Yang Kang refused to lend it to him. So, he tried to grab it, and in the struggle, the book was torn. Yang Kang demanded compensation, and in anger, Jiang Shanghua pushed him hard. Yang Kang fell and hit his head on a bench, causing a large gash that bled profusely. He had to be taken to the hospital and got two stitches.

Yang Chongxuan was both worried and angry and couldn't help but scold Jiang Shanghua. At that time, Jiang Yan, to please Yang Chongxuan, slapped Jiang Shanghua and scolded him.

After the incident, Yang Kang continued as usual. Although they still argued sometimes, Jiang Shanghua hated both Yang Kang and Yang Chongxuan deeply.

To please Yang Chongxuan, Jiang Yan repeatedly taught his two children to cater to Yang Kang's preferences and never to argue or fight with him. This gradually made Jiang Shanghua and Jiang Xiaoyue resent Yang Kang.

However, these two couldn't help themselves. They were greedy for the large amounts of snacks, comics, and pocket money that Yang Kang had. Whenever they had free time, they couldn't resist going to his place.

Yang Kang walked into the storage room but didn't close the door. It was too hot, and this brother and sister were talking without any care, or perhaps they treated him like a dead person. Except for the few sentences Jiang Xiaoyue whispered, he heard everything they said.

However, in a few days, he planned to move out—he didn't want to stay here for a single day longer.

Not long after, Wei Yan came back from playing mahjong. Seeing the dishes soaking in the kitchen sink, she naturally scolded Yang Kang. But she didn't dare to delay and quickly washed the dishes and prepared dinner because Jiang Yan would be back soon, and she was very afraid of him.

Jiang Yan had something on his mind. Regardless of whether Yang Kang wanted to or not, he still asked Jiang Xiaoyue to invite him to eat together, then planned to take Jiang Shanghua, Jiang Xiaoyue, and Yang Kang to Langyuan.

"Old man, why are you bringing that ungrateful wolf?" Wei Yan objected, taking the opportunity to ask when Yang Kang went back to the storage room to change clothes.

"I have my reasons for bringing him. Don't ruin my plans, woman," Jiang Yan said coldly while smoking. "Don't talk nonsense later."

"Mom, listen to Dad. I'll explain when I come back," Jiang Xiaoyue hurriedly said and then rushed upstairs to change clothes.

Yang Kang changed into a blue shirt and carefully placed Ni Zan's "Ink Bamboo" in a file bag. He walked out, planning to sell the painting if he had the chance tonight to get some cash and rent a place to move out. This way, he could avoid being bullied by the Jiang family.

Jiang Shanghua deliberately changed into a new outfit, and Jiang Xiaoyue put on a long dress and even applied makeup. However, Yang Kang had to say that Jiang Xiaoyue's heavy makeup didn't look good. Her skin wasn't great, and she was a bit chubby. Usually, wearing loose T-shirts was fine, but now, in a tight dress, her chubby waist was fully exposed.