Making a living in Dongguan, her fiery red lips offer me tenderness.

"What's wrong with you? You're dating Qinghe, and you're saying you're having a baby with Tan Yan. What's going on?"

"Mom, to be honest with you, I was initially with Tan Yan purely to make money, but later I realized I had fallen in love with her."

"Qinghe is Lin Laosi's daughter and also Second Grandma's niece. She was idle at home after graduating from high school. I just came back, and her parents asked me to take her out to work."

"During my time in Shenzhen, I often looked after this girl and gave her some money to spend. I never expected that she would fall in love with me."

"Hmph, you're definitely doing this on purpose, aren't you? She's a young girl in the throes of first love, and she's never seen much of the world. If you treat her well, how can she not be smitten?"

"Hehe, I really did have ill intentions."

"Mom, these days all the good women are taken by rich men. I don't want to pick up scraps. Qinghe is like an egg peeled from its shell. If I don't eat her, someone else will take a bite."

"Being near the water tower gives you an advantage, and I don't want to regret it when I'm old."

"A man should meet one or two virgins in his life to make it worthwhile. I don't want to regret it when I'm old and end up picking up secondhand goods."

"You're insane, you scumbag."

"Mom, there's nothing to hide from you. At first, I held back a little, thinking it would be too selfish."

"Later, it was Cui Cui who persuaded me. She said that if you don't make a move, someone else will. Even if you let her go, she won't be grateful to you. No woman will ever feel grateful because you didn't sleep with her back then. She will only feel that it is a regret, or even think that you are incompetent."

"People are selfish, and I think that makes sense. These days, if you let others go, no one else will necessarily let you go. If you don't sleep with someone, plenty of others will. Once you miss your chance, you may not have another one."

"What kind of twisted logic is that? Who is Cui Cui? Is she your aunt's daughter?"

"Yes, she is my aunt's daughter."

"She's in Shenzhen too?"

"She used to work in a factory, and I introduced her to Tan Yan's company as an HR person."

"Does Qinghe know about your relationship with Tan Yan?"

"I know, she knows perfectly well, and I didn't hide it from her. Besides, she even went to Tan Yan's house."

"She knows you're with Tan Yan, and she's still with you? What an idiot!"

"Mom, this era is not like yours. Nowadays, young girls already know the realities of life even in school."

"Back then, everyone was poor and didn't have much of a competitive spirit. But it's different now. People know how to compete and understand the importance of money at a young age."

"Qinghe, don't let her timid demeanor fool you. She actually has extremely high emotional intelligence. She rarely asks questions she shouldn't. She may seem incredibly innocent, but she's probably not someone to be trifled with."

"She wants a rich boyfriend—he has to be both wealthy and handsome. Aren't I exactly what she wants?"

"But she knows about you and Tan Yan. Won't she tell Tan Yan?"

"She won't do that. She wants me to make more money, right? What good will it do her if I become penniless?"

"So, this girl is really pragmatic?"

"Mom, these days, how many people aren't realistic once they enter society? No matter how innocent a child is, send them to a factory to tighten screws for a month, and they'll become realistic."

"What if Tan Yan finds out you're having an affair with Qinghe?"

"They probably won't find out yet. I'll be careful. Even if they do, I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of anything. She's pregnant now, so I'm even less afraid."

"The house is in my name only. Even if she breaks up with me now, I still have the house and the car. How many migrant workers in Dongguan and Shenzhen can afford to buy a house in Shenzhen?"

"These days, as long as you have a certain amount of capital, there aren't many rich women out there, right? Even if I lose Tan Yan, I can still find Li Yan or Wang Yan."

"At Lianhuashan Matchmaking Park, I can meet eight rich women a day."

"Go away, look at how capable you are! Can't you learn something good?"

"Well, as the saying goes, 'A man can't get rich without unexpected wealth, and a horse can't get fat without night grazing.' What's wrong with us making some money by taking advantage of our own strengths?"

"Hmph, you're nothing like your father. Your father was a very honest man, so how did he give birth to such a thing as you?"

"Whatever you say!"

"Mom, Tan Yan's child is mine. If it's a boy, Tan Yan is unlikely to have a second child at her age. In the future, all of Tan Yan's family business will belong to my son. I'll become the father of a third-generation rich kid. Sometimes I wake up laughing in my dreams."

"Our Ding family has been poor for eight generations, but finally, it's my generation's turn to turn our lives around."

"You're really good at scheming. If Tan Yan knew, he'd be so angry he'd vomit blood."

"Mom, even if she finds out, there's nothing she can do. It's true he's my child, but he's also her son. Can she leave her inheritance to someone else?"

"You're really amazing."

"Mom, don't go to America. I bought a ready-built house, and we can start decorating it now. Just stay with me in Shenzhen."

"If we're meant to be, you can find a boyfriend you like. If we're not, then you can just live alone. I'll take care of you."

"What's Chanel, LV, Hermes? You can buy whatever you want. Isn't that much better than opening a restaurant in America?"

"Xiaoyang, Mom still has some things to take care of, so I have to go back."

"Mom, no more, I don't want anything. I don't need this little bit of money. Didn't you get married over there? Just give those things to them."

"You can drive, right? How about I buy you a BMW?"

"Xiaoyang, I'm going there to divorce him and go through the divorce proceedings. Mom is planning to go back to China. In the future, when Nuozhen dates someone, she can't possibly be keeping it from a married man, can she?"

"So, if you go to America and then come back, how long will it take?"

"At most a month."

"Will it take that long?"

"It might take 10 days or half a month."

"Mom, then promise me you won't settle down in the US anymore. You have to come back. If he refuses to divorce you, then don't divorce him. Just come back."

"As for the finances, give him everything. Don't argue with him about how to distribute it. We don't need that. All you need is for him to come back."

"Okay, Mom will listen to you."

"Mom, you should get some rest and go to bed early. I'm going to the next room. Call me if you need anything."

"Um!"

Ding Yang returned to his room.

Qinghe was already lying in bed in her pajamas.

"Brother, why are you talking for so long?"

"Not long after, I talked to my mom about something."

"Did you take a shower?"

"I washed it, but I didn't wash my hair."

"Brother, why don't you go wash up too?"

"OK!"

Ding Yang opened the box, took out a pair of underwear, and went into the bathroom.

ten minutes later……

Ding Yang lifted the blanket and lay down.

"Brother, is your mom asking about me and Tan Yan?"

"What else could it be? You've been cursing me for ages."

"Brother, will your mom not accept me?"

"No, that's not it. She's saying I'm a womanizer."

"Hmph, you've always been a womanizer."

"Qinghe, if I weren't a womanizer, could I afford a house and a car? If I weren't a womanizer, even if we were dating, we'd only be staying in a cheap hotel that costs 30 yuan a night. How could we afford a five-star hotel?"

Do you know how many girls on assembly lines in Dongguan's industrial zones are working overtime and sweating right now?

"Do you know how many rural girls have been deceived by a bowl of fried rice noodles? A temporary rental room costing 20 yuan a night has witnessed their virginity. How cheap is that?"

"These days, a woman's virtue is maintained by her ugliness, and a man's character is maintained by his poverty."

"If you don't want to be poor, you have to find a way. Youth has no price, and once an opportunity is lost, it will never come back."