Chapter 179: The Honest Man's Dishonesty

After finishing a cigarette, Li Dong was silent for a moment before saying, "I'll transfer the money to you later. First, find a way to get the kidney transplant done. We'll deal with the rest once the illness is treated."

Fang Qingfei, with reddened eyes, whispered, "Thank you."

She continued, "I'll write you an IOU later. I'll be promoted to lecturer in the second half of the year, and my salary will go up. I'll definitely pay you back."

"No need."

Before Li Dong could finish, Fang Qingfei stiffly said, "Don't think I'm trying to gain sympathy. I'm just sharing this because I feel suffocated. I'll definitely repay you; this money is for Jia Jia. When Jia Jia has money, she'll return it to me. You don't need to worry about it!"

Li Dong shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever you say. Do you know where Jia Jia is now?"

Fang Qingfei shook her head, a worried look on her face. "I don't know where she went. She said she'd come back as soon as possible. At the end of July, there was an extra 2,000 yuan in my account, which must have been sent by her. I don't know how she's doing now…"

As she spoke, Fang Qingfei sighed. It was easy to guess that things weren't going well.

Her father had just passed away, her mother was still in the hospital, and she was being pressured by high-interest loans, forced to flee. It was no wonder she was struggling.

Li Dong said nothing, stood up, and said, "I'm leaving now. If you run into any trouble, call me. Jia Jia is also my friend. Even though she's not here, I'll help with her mother if I can."

Fang Qingfei thanked him again.

Watching Li Dong's figure gradually disappear, Fang Qingfei felt a great sense of relief, as if a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

She was just a woman and couldn't bear such heavy pressure.

---

On the way back, Li Dong continued to feel pity for Jia Jia.

Since he met Jia Jia, it seemed she had always been unlucky.

First, she was fired from Longhua, then harassed by Zhu Hongtao at Global, and finally lost her job there.

After Zhu Hongtao's incident passed, her father committed suicide, her mother fell seriously ill, and she had to leave home, becoming homeless…

For a woman to face so many hardships all of a sudden, it was remarkable that Jia Jia hadn't gone mad. She must be quite strong-willed.

Sighing, Li Dong didn't dwell on it further.

Even if he wanted to help Jia Jia, she might not be willing to accept it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone out of her way to avoid him when she was selling her house.

Putting aside his distracting thoughts, Li Dong looked out the car window.

At that moment, Li Dong quickly said, "Pull over!"

Zhou Haidong immediately slowed down and parked the car by the roadside.

Li Dong rolled down the window and called out, "Cousin, what are you doing here?"

Cao Feng, who was crouched by the roadside and looking around, turned to see Li Dong. He immediately looked embarrassed and said, "Dongzi, I'm not skipping work."

Li Dong chuckled. Was that an admission of guilt? However, he had a good impression of his cousin. For over a month, Cao Feng and Cao Yu hadn't caused him any trouble, and he hadn't heard of them abusing their position.

They were two honest people; otherwise, Li Dong wouldn't have stopped to ask.

Seeing Cao Feng looking uneasy, Li Dong smiled and asked, "I didn't say you were skipping work. What are you doing crouched here?"

Cao Feng awkwardly said, "Nothing much. I was just tired from walking and needed a rest."

Li Dong glanced at him and noticed that Cao Feng kept glancing at a nearby women's clothing store. He guessed something and said with a smile, "Let's get in the car. I'll give you a ride wherever you're going."

"No, no need!"

Cao Feng quickly waved his hand, glanced back at the women's clothing store, and added, "Dongzi, you go on with what you're doing. Don't let me delay your business."

"It's fine. I'm not busy today. Cousin, how about we go out for a meal together?"

Cao Feng looked embarrassed, wanting to refuse but not knowing how to. He stammered and couldn't come up with a reason.

Li Dong decided not to tease him further and said with a smile, "Then continue resting. I'll leave for now. Next time, I'll treat you and Cousin Cao Yu to a meal."

Cao Feng sighed with relief and quickly said, "Okay, you head back first. When you have time, I'll invite you and Cao Yu out for a meal."

Li Dong agreed, was about to leave, when a woman with shoulder-length hair walked out of the clothing store and approached Cao Feng. She said, "Cao Feng, why did you run so far? I thought you were lost."

As she spoke, the woman reached Cao Feng's side.

Cao Feng's face turned red, and he looked a bit flustered.

Li Dong decided not to leave immediately. He got out of the car and took a closer look at the woman, then winked at Cao Feng and said, "Cousin, want to introduce me?"

Cao Feng, flustered, was about to introduce her when the woman with shoulder-length hair smiled and said, "Hello, I'm Lin Meng. Are you Cao Feng's cousin?"

"Li Dong."

Li Dong introduced himself and said, "We ran into each other by chance. How about we have a meal together later?"

Before Lin Meng could respond, Cao Feng hurriedly said, "No, Dongzi, Lin Meng and I have some things to do later. You carry on with what you're doing. We can eat together another time."

Lin Meng, following Cao Feng's lead, added, "Cao Feng and I have some plans later. Cousin, you go ahead with your business. There will be other chances to have a meal."

Li Dong glanced at her and then at Cao Feng, smiling as he said, "Alright, next time we'll have a meal together."

After bidding them farewell, Li Dong got back in the car and slowly drove away.

Once Li Dong had left, Lin Meng pinched Cao Feng's arm and asked, "Was that really your cousin?"

Cao Feng sighed, knowing this was coming, and nodded, "Yes, he's my cousin."

"And that car, is it also your cousin's?" Lin Meng continued to question.

Cao Feng's eyes shifted. Just as he was about to deny it, Lin Meng pinched his arm hard and said, "Don't lie!"

Cao Feng, deflated, nodded, "Yes, it's my cousin's."

He then quickly added, "But my cousin and I aren't very close. Don't get any ideas about him."

Lin Meng rolled her eyes and said, "What do you mean by 'getting ideas'? Am I that kind of person?"

Cao Feng looked embarrassed and said, "That's not what I meant. But could you not push your products on people all the time? Our supervisor is already scared of you. He says you've almost sold ten insurance policies to him. Please don't approach him again."

Lin Meng snorted and said, "How can the supervisor say that? Buying all those policies together doesn't even total ten thousand yuan. As for the big company's leaders, I've sold more to random elderly people."

She then asked, "I noticed your cousin seems quite wealthy. How about I recommend a fifty thousand yuan life insurance policy to him?"

Cao Feng looked dejected and muttered, "Fifty thousand, or even five hundred thousand, he won't be interested."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

---

In the car, Li Dong pondered Lin Meng.

It wasn't that Li Dong had any ill intentions; he was just considering Lin Meng's character.

Cao Feng and Cao Yu had come all the way from Qian Province to stay with him. Now that they were dating and didn't have any relatives or friends around, Li Dong needed to keep an eye on things.

Cao Feng was a grown man. Even if he was deceived, it wouldn't be a huge loss.

But Li Dong needed to be more cautious with Cao Yu. He couldn't just leave her in the supermarket and forget about her. If these honest people were tricked once they settled in Pingchuan, he would have a hard time explaining to his mother.

Thinking about honest people, Li Dong suddenly cursed inwardly. Honest people weren't always truly honest.

Cao Feng had moved quickly; in just over a month, he was already dating someone. Li Dong had underestimated his cousin; it seemed he was quite the player in the dating scene.