Chapter 100: We Really Cannot Afford It

Lu Chuan was still trying to use soft persuasion, coaxing her to stay close to him. “In the provincial city, we can take things slowly. It is not impossible.”

Fang Yuan said, “Stop messing around. Focus on your studies.”

Alright then, Lu Chuan understood. When money was placed together with him, Fang Yuan still cared more about money.

Fang Yuan was not fully reassured. “You really will not mess around, right?”

Lu Chuan knew clearly that he could not be vague about this. Even if Fang Yuan did not come to the provincial city, trust between husband and wife had to be solid. He had to make her feel at ease.

Lu Chuan said, “No. Besides, there is no one better looking than you. In my heart, you are the best looking.”

He had to add the second sentence, otherwise Fang Yuan would overthink it.

Fang Yuan pointed ahead at a girl wearing a red dress with a high ponytail. “Can she be better looking than me?”

Lu Chuan glanced over. “A female ghost, she looks scary.”

Fang Yuan instinctively looked at Lu Chuan, then pointed at another girl nearby with a scholarly temperament. “What about that one?”

Lu Chuan said, “A mourning face, looks unlucky.”

Fang Yuan confirmed it. “Then I will take you to the hospital first to check your eyes.” It was not that other people had a problem, it was that Lu Chuan’s eyes had a problem.

Fang Yuan had no sense of comparison in looks. She only compared people in terms of earning money.

Lu Chuan had never seen such a clear headed girl. “You are not proud of your looks at all?”

“My eyes are fine,” Lu Chuan said.

Fang Yuan felt doubtful. They probably were not fine.

Fang Yuan said, “Tell me honestly, what counts as pretty in your heart. Do not say me.”

To calm her down, Lu Chuan did not even blink. “Our mothers, both our mothers. Beautiful, hardworking, simple and honest. My mother in law also has wisdom.”

Fang Yuan nodded. This was acceptable. Then she added, “I only finished junior middle school, I know about teacher student relationships. Do not fall for female teachers. That is against the rules.”

Lu Chuan turned and walked away, no longer wanting to deal with her. If I liked elderly grandmothers, would you go report me to the police for being a pervert?

It was so hard to give her a sense of security.

Fang Yuan followed behind him calmly. She was not that easy to fool.

But the girls at this university really were different.

What reassured Fang Yuan was that they were all educated people, proud and aloof. Who would randomly fall for a man who already had a wife, and one from the countryside at that?

Anyone with half a brain would not do something so foolish. She trusted the wisdom of educated people.

Lu Chuan took Fang Yuan to his dormitory. Only one particularly distant classmate had arrived so far, the rest were not here yet. He was actually early.

After putting down their luggage, Fang Yuan helped him pick a lower bunk near the window with heating. She did not bother with the rest.

She let him arrange his own bedding.

In Fang Yuan’s words, the lower bunk made washing feet easier without needing to ask others. It was also convenient for meals without needing to bring a basin, and you would not block the door when sleeping. It was just right.

Lu Chuan liked hearing her give such practical advice. “How do you even know all this?”

Fang Yuan looked very proud. “My father could not control my studies, but he taught us all these life skills. I have five older siblings, so I learned from experience.”

That really was experience.

A nearby classmate immediately changed his bedding to the ideal position Fang Yuan described.

He asked, “Is this your relative?”

Lu Chuan introduced formally, “Fang Yuan, my wife. Married, legally registered.”

Fang Yuan was not shy at all. She nodded openly, approving his introduction.

In those days, it was not common for students to be married, and even rarer to admit it so openly.

The classmate stretched out his hand. “Uh, sister in law, or junior sister in law?”

Lu Chuan said, “I started school late and I am older. Just call her sister in law.”

The classmate felt awkward. In his hometown there was no proper school, people only started studying in their teens, so he was probably older. But Fang Yuan looked young, and “sister in law” felt hard to say.

Fang Yuan said generously, “From now on you are classmates with Lu Chuan. When you introduce him to others, do not forget to say he has a wife. I will bring you some meat paste later, my mother fried it.”

The newcomer was stunned and stammered, looking at Lu Chuan. “Fang Yuan, right? You are joking, right?”

So the marriage was unstable, and the girl was not confident?

Fang Yuan said seriously, “Not joking.”

Lu Chuan smiled and added, “You are willing to give away my mother fried meat paste to others? I want to keep it for myself when I introduce her.”

Then he discussed with Fang Yuan, “Come to school more often on weekends to see me. Then no one needs to introduce me. Everyone will know I have a wife the moment they see you.”

Fang Yuan refused. “Forget it. Too exhausting.”

The bus ride was too crowded. She did not want to come.

The classmate watching the couple interact realized their relationship was good and very open. “I will take the job for the sake of the meat paste.”

Fang Yuan was satisfied. “Even if it is for the meat paste, you are still not bad.”

Lu Chuan did not think Fang Yuan was blunt. In his eyes, she was simply straightforward and bright. Having her at home made him feel secure.

But seeing the new classmate constantly talking to Fang Yuan made him uncomfortable. “Let us go. I will take you to see the construction site nearby.”

Fang Yuan immediately ignored everyone else and focused on the construction site. “Let us go.”

She moved decisively.

Lu Chuan thought to himself that he did not need to worry about Fang Yuan being taken away by anyone. Her mind was not on people at all. It was on money.

The remaining dormitory classmate felt like he had just dreamed it. In a blink, the couple was gone.

After leaving the school, it was already getting late. Lu Chuan originally planned to take her to eat and walk around the provincial city.

But Fang Yuan was already heading straight for the construction site.

Even in school, apart from looking at a few girls, she had mostly been observing the buildings.

What she marveled at was not how tall the buildings were or how prosperous the city was. What she marveled at was how much such a huge project must cost, and how much they could earn from building one.

Lu Chuan looked at her and suddenly realized that even as a university student himself, he could not match Fang Yuan’s way of thinking. The gap was exactly here.

He took her to a construction site that was under development and said seriously, “Do you see this? We do not even have this kind of machinery or technology. Even if we had a project like this, we could not take it on.”

Of course, the main issue was that they did not have the qualifications to contract such projects.

He continued, “I have been looking into it recently. These kinds of projects are all state owned. Private individuals need a lot of qualifications to take them on. I have not fully figured it out yet.”

Fang Yuan stared at the crane. Her eyes were even more intense than when she looked at Lu Chuan. “This can be bought privately? This can even be rented out?”

Lu Chuan felt something was going wrong. If Fang Yuan started thinking about buying cranes, there was no way he could manage that. Even if his mother in law supported it, it would still be impossible.

Lu Chuan said quickly, “Do not overthink it. We really cannot afford this.”