"Lin Kefu heard Chu Hao's words, and a look of sheer astonishment instantly washed over his old face. He stared blankly at Chu Hao, and then looked over at Su Nian standing beside him!
Immediately afterward, his expression darkened. 'So... you had a wife all along? Then what on earth was your purpose in coming to the Lin family?'
He glared at Chu Hao with a gloomy gaze. 'You were never here to fulfill the engagement in the first place? And on top of that, you were hands-on with Shuyu? Chu Hao... do you take the Lin family for pushover?'
'Pushover?' Chu Hao shook his head. 'Elder Lin, that's a heavy accusation. In your own words, I'm nothing more than a country bumpkin, unworthy of high-society ladies like Miss Lin Qinyi.'
'When I came to Jiangcheng to fulfill the engagement, your Lin family gave me the cold shoulder. When I finally managed to see you, you set me up, filmed a video, and beat me half to death. Back then, I was still blind, yet you dumped me on the roadside all alone.' Chu Hao said indifferently, 'Is this the Lin family's hospitality?'
'Fine, you wanted to break off the engagement, and I broke it off.' Chu Hao said, 'As for being plotted against, I can't even be bothered to hold a grudge, given your past relationship with my grandfather.'
'How is it that now, whoever I choose to marry is somehow your business?' Chu Hao asked. 'Su Nian and I got married this morning, right after you called off the engagement.'
Lin Kefu's expression flickered slightly. 'Set you up and filmed a video? What do you mean?'
'It seems the story they fed you was that I made a pass at your precious Lin Shuyu, right?' Chu Hao said.
'I saw the video with my own eyes,' Lin Kefu retorted. 'Don't try to talk your way out of it!'
'If you insist on seeing it as an excuse, then I won't bother explaining.' Chu Hao said, 'The only reason I came here today was because of that talisman from my grandfather, just to pay you a visit and formally inform you that the engagement is dead. You tore it up with your own hands. I already have a wife, and I have nothing whatsoever to do with the Lin family anymore. There's no need for any further contact between us.'
At this moment, Su Nian smiled slightly, stepped forward, and linked her arm through Chu Hao's. 'Elder Lin, thank you for letting someone as exceptional as Chu Hao go to me.'
Hearing this, Lin Kefu's expression became extraordinarily complicated.
From her figure to her looks and temperament, Su Nian was indeed a cut above Lin Qinyi.
Moreover, judging by the aura she exuded, Lin Kefu, a man who had seen all kinds of people in his life, could tell with absolute certainty that Su Nian was by no means anyone ordinary.
At that moment, Chu Hao gave a slight cupped-fist salute. 'Elder Lin, if there's nothing else, I'll... take my leave.'
Lin Kefu remained silent as Chu Hao turned around. With Su Nian holding his arm, they walked out of the hospital room.
As they reached the doorway, Lin Shuyu caught sight of Su Nian clinging to Chu Hao's arm and cursed, 'Slutty fox!'
Su Nian stopped in her tracks. She turned around, walked right up to Lin Shuyu, and looked down at her from above. 'I've always had a very good temper, but your mouth is filthy. Didn't your elders teach you how to respect people?'
Her gaze was piercingly cold!
Having occupied a position of authority for years, she naturally radiated a powerful aura.
Faced with this, Lin Shuyu couldn't help taking a step back, looking at Su Nian with a hint of fear. 'What do you think you're doing?'
'Since your family failed to teach you, I'll teach you what basic human respect means on their behalf!' With that, Su Nian raised her hand.
'Stop right there!' At that exact moment, a voice rang out.
Chu Hao glanced over and saw Lin Teng, dressed in a sharp business suit, striding toward them. Looking at Chu Hao with a dark expression, Lin Teng demanded, 'What do you think you're doing!'
Su Nian's lovely eyes shifted. She turned her head to look at Lin Teng.
The moment Lin Teng saw Su Nian turn around, his body gave an involuntary shudder. 'Director... Director Su...'
When Su Nian came to Jiangcheng, her cover story was investment, so upon arrival, she had hosted a banquet for every prominent entrepreneur in the city.
The purpose was twofold: first, to scout for projects; second... to get acquainted with the local power players.
As the chairman of the Lin Group, Lin Teng was naturally among those invited.
At the banquet, Su Nian had chatted with Zuo Cheng for quite a while and had shown deep interest in Zuo Cheng's e-commerce platform!
That was precisely one of the reasons why Lin Teng had agreed to let Lin Qinyi be with Zuo Cheng.
Zuo Cheng had been pursuing Lin Qinyi for a year or two, but the family had never been fully on board.
This time, however, once Zuo Cheng latched onto the powerful backing of the Su family of Yanjing, his career would undoubtedly skyrocket.
Therefore... Lin Teng had relented.
Yet Lin Teng never imagined that Su Nian would show up at the hospital with Chu Hao, and judging by her posture, she actually intended to slap Lin Shuyu.
Not daring to delay, Lin Teng hurried over, nodding and bowing apologetically. 'Director Su, I have no idea how my unfilial daughter has offended you to make you want to raise a hand against her.'
Su Nian cast a cool glance at Lin Teng and let out a cold laugh. 'Director Lin certainly has impressive family tutoring, raising a daughter who calls me a slutty fox to my face.'
Hearing this, cold sweat broke out all over Lin Teng's forehead.
Just who was Su Nian? His Lin family might be considered powerful and influential in Jiangcheng, but compared to the Yanjing Su family, they were merely a drop in the ocean. If the Su family wanted to ruin them, it would be effortless!
*Smack!*
Without a second thought, he swung his hand and delivered a vicious slap straight across Lin Shuyu's face!
Lin Shuyu stood there completely frozen.
She bit her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes.
Lin Teng hurriedly bowed and offered profuse apologies. 'Director Su, I am so sorry. My family discipline has been too lax.'
Standing nearby and watching this scene, Chu Hao felt a strange, inexplicable sensation in his heart.
Earlier, when Lin Teng faced him, he had put on a thoroughly arrogant and condescending air. Yet now, upon recognizing Su Nian, he was nodding, bowing, and acting like a spineless lackey.
The sharp contrast left Chu Hao somewhat speechless.
This world, it seemed, was entirely ruled by money.
Because he had no money, the Lin family looked down on him. Because Su Nian had money, Lin Teng was willing to bow and scrape.
Had he swaggered in with the appearance of a wealthy man from the start, he wouldn't even have needed to seek out the Lin family; they would have fawned all over him long ago.
Su Nian gave Lin Shuyu a cold glance. 'Watch your mouth from now on!'
With that, she turned back to Chu Hao's side, linked her arm through his, and said, "Darling, let's go!"
Hearing those words, Lin Teng froze completely in his tracks.
It wasn't until Chu Hao and Su Nian were far away that he muttered in a daze, "Did I hear that right? Did Su Nian just call Chu Hao *darling*?"
"Chapter 15: You Are the Ones Who Killed Her
The moment Chu Hao and Su Nian walked out of sight, Lin Shuyu's tears finally broke through.
Lin Teng hurried over and grabbed her hand. 'Shuyu, did that hurt?'
A bright red handprint was starkly visible on Lin Shuyu's pretty face. She pointed an accusing finger at Lin Teng and yelled, 'You actually hit me because of some other woman! When I get home, I'm telling Mom!'
Lin Teng's expression shifted drastically. He quickly hissed, 'Do you even know who that woman was? Su Nian, the eldest daughter of the Yanjing Su family!'
Lin Shuyu went blank. She covered her face and stammered, 'You mean... the woman who came to Jiangcheng looking for investments? But she just called Chu Hao *darling*! How could Chu Hao possibly know someone like that?'
'Come inside, both of you!' At that moment, Lin Kefu's voice rang out from the hospital room.
Lin Shuyu hastily wiped her tears and followed Lin Teng into the room.
Inside, Lin Kefu wore a deeply troubled expression. Lin Teng immediately chimed in, 'I've already finished the paperwork with the hospital. We'll have Yiyi transferred to the best hospital in the provincial capital shortly.'
Lin Kefu let out a long, heavy sigh. 'I overheard your conversation at the door. Are you telling me that the young woman just now was the eldest daughter of the Yanjing Su family?'
Lin Teng was startled. 'You met Chu Hao?'
Lin Kefu nodded bitterly. 'Alas, it's too late. Everything is too late. Chu Hao just told me that he and Su Nian got married this morning!'
Both Lin Shuyu and Lin Teng froze in their tracks.
Earlier, when they heard Su Nian call Chu Hao *darling*, they had been shocked and completely baffled as to what was going on.
Now, Lin Kefu's words hit them with the force of absolute devastation.
Su Nian, the eldest daughter of the Yanjing Su family, had married Chu Hao?
Chu Hao—a country bumpkin who used to be blind! Of course, looking at him now, his blindness must have been an act.
Even so, their minds simply refused to accept it.
'Su Nian told me just now,' Lin Kefu raised an aged, trembling hand to cover his haggard face, 'she said she wanted to thank me for letting someone as exceptional as Chu Hao go to her.'
'Impossible! Chu Hao? How could anyone call him exceptional?' Lin Shuyu protested. 'You have no idea how pathetic he is! Day in and day out, he wore that wretched homespun tunic made of the coarsest fabric—probably cost a few yuan at most. His manners and behavior were utterly boorish! How could someone like Su Nian ever look at him? She must have been tricked by him!'
'Is that so?' Lin Kefu said. 'You all claim he's so worthless, but have you ever stopped to think why Su Nian would choose him, and why she rushed to marry him the very moment we broke off the engagement? Su Nian... must have had her eye on Chu Hao for a long time.'
Lin Teng and Lin Shuyu desperately wanted to refute this, but with the facts staring them in the face, any argument felt weak and hollow.
'You!' Lin Kefu let out a deep, shuddering sigh, pointing a shaky finger at Lin Shuyu. 'Shuyu, come here!'
Lin Shuyu crept closer. 'Grandfather?'
'Tell me the truth. What really happened with that video?' Lin Kefu demanded.
Lin Shuyu bit her lip, looking aggrieved as she confessed, 'You and Dad both looked down on Chu Hao, so you told me to go get him and make him realize he wasn't good enough for us. I made him give me a massage, and then I pulled him down onto me, and then... Sister and Zuo Cheng burst in and filmed the video to make it look like he was trying to force himself on me... I...'
By the end, her voice trailed off into a whisper as she lowered her head.
Watching Lin Kefu's face grow increasingly despairing, Lin Teng quickly interjected, 'Dad, I'm sure Su Nian must have been misled by something. There's just no way Chu Hao is—'
'Get out!' Lin Kefu roared, his voice cracking with fury. 'If Yiyi dies, you—her father—and you—her aunt—will be the ones who murdered her with your own hands!'
***
Outside the hospital, Chu Hao and Su Nian were standing together waiting for a taxi.
Su Nian was still holding onto Chu Hao's arm, a faint, delicate fragrance wafting from her body and drifting into Chu Hao's senses. Chu Hao kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, doing his absolute best to remain composed.
Their pairing—a striking beauty alongside a seemingly ordinary man—drew no small number of sidelong glances from passersby.
While waiting for a cab, Chu Hao heard at least ten different men look over from afar and mutter things along the lines of, "What a waste of a fine flower on a pig."
Su Nian smiled faintly and asked, "I didn't make you lose face, did I?"
"Of course not!" Chu Hao replied. "The looks on Lin Teng and Lin Shuyu's faces when they found out you were my wife were priceless."
Just then, a taxi pulled up. Su Nian opened the door, got in with Chu Hao, and took a seat in the back. She gave the driver a destination: "Baiya Tower!"
Baiya Tower was a nationwide famous tourist attraction in Jiangcheng. Perched atop the tower was White Elephant Temple, a millennium-old ancient temple. Combined with the stunning surrounding scenery, the area had been developed into a gorgeous resort zone, thronged with tourists day in and day out.
Chu Hao had heard of it, but because he used to be blind, he had never actually visited despite living nearby for quite some time.
As the car started moving, Su Nian smiled slightly. "I went to university at Donghai University and met Sister Ranran there. Donghai University isn't far from Baiya Tower. Back when I was in college, whenever I felt unhappy, I loved going to White Elephant Temple up at Baiya Tower to sit in quiet contemplation."
"So... you're in trouble?" Chu Hao looked at her with a curious expression.
Su Nian nodded. "Mm, I'll fill you in on the details once we get to Baiya Tower!"
Chu Hao smiled faintly without leaving a trace. He guessed that the real reason Su Nian had asked him to marry her was about to come out.
***
While the two of them were heading toward Baiya Tower, in the heart of Jiangcheng, inside the Luo family's traditional courtyard, a burly man strode into a room located in the rear courtyard!
Ordinarily, members of the Luo family were strictly forbidden from entering this particular room.
The entire chamber was filled with numerous antiques; any single piece taken outside would fetch an astronomical price!
Externally, the Luo family merely ran a martial arts gym, but that was only because they preferred to keep a low profile. In terms of true hidden assets, they were no weaker than any prominent family in Jiangcheng.
The burly man twisted a mechanism on an antique piece, and moments later, a hidden door in the room slid open. Dropping to his knees before the secret entrance, the man called out, "Old Ancestor, Luo Mo, the seventh-generation head of the Luo family, has matters to report."
"Speak!" A hoarse voice echoed from deep within the dark passage.
The interior of the hidden door was pitch black, thick with a faint, foul stench tinged with the smell of blood.
"Old Ancestor, someone came to the estate today asking to see you," the burly man said.
"Did you see their face?" the hoarse voice demanded again.
"No, I did not," Luo Mo replied. "Also... Chu Hao, the fellow engaged to the Lin family girl whom you specifically instructed us to keep an eye on, is currently in Jiangcheng."
Silence stretched on for a long time from within the dark passage before a muttered voice finally came: "Calculated by the time, the day of that girl's relapse is almost here."
"Chapter 16: Screwed Up in the Head
At the entrance of Baiya Tower, crowds bustled back and forth endlessly, flanked by numerous storefronts on either side.
"Shall we take the cable car up or walk?" Su Nian asked, looking at Chu Hao.
Instead of answering, Chu Hao stopped dead in his tracks and stared fixedly into the distance!
Not far away, sitting by the roadside, were an old monk and a young monk.
Both were bald. The old man wore a filthy, tattered kasaya robe, while the little boy was curled up sleeping against the old monk's leg, drooling all over the old monk's clothes.
The old monk, however, seemed completely unaware of it.
Spread out before him was a piece of cloth marked with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, upon which sat a few talismans and an old almanac.
Beside them stood a pole flying a small banner emblazoned with four large characters: "Calculating All Fates."
The catch was that the cloth banner was evidently so ancient that the top radical of the character for "fate" had completely faded away.
Suddenly, the little monk gave a start, sat bolt upright, and announced, "Master, I'm hungry!"
"Your master hasn't opened for business yet," the old monk replied. "Take the alms bowl and go find something to eat!"
"You mean go begging?" the little monk asked.
"How can you call it begging for a man of religion?" the old monk said, exasperated. "It's called alms-seeking!"
"It's all the same thing," the little monk grumbled. Picking up the wooden bowl from the ground, he looked around, apparently scouting out which of the nearby vendors sold his favorite treats.
"What's wrong?" Seeing Chu Hao staring intently, Su Nian asked, "Want to go get your fortune told?"
Chu Hao chuckled. "No, just found it a bit interesting. Let's go in!"
Su Nian nodded. "I've already bought the tickets. Are we taking the cable car or walking?"
"I'm fine with either!" Chu Hao looked at her. "Your call!"
"Beauty... handsome!" At that moment, the old monk suddenly waved at them.
Chu Hao looked over in puzzlement.
Sitting there by the roadside, the old monk smiled faintly. "I observe that the spaces between both your eyebrows are darkened—a sign of impending disaster. Why not spend a little money to avert misfortune and clear away bad luck?"
"How much?" Chu Hao asked.
"A flat rate of five hundred per person. Fair to young and old alike, guarantees the removal of illness and disaster," the old monk said.
Chu Hao rolled his eyes. "Forget it then!"
Given Chu Hao's spending habits, asking him to part with five hundred yuan for a fortune-telling session was enough to make him prefer death!
"Let's go, they're just street swindlers," Su Nian said.
Chu Hao nodded, and the two of them passed through the ticket barrier and headed into the scenic area.
Su Nian chose to take the cable car. After purchasing the tickets, an attendant instructed them, "Four people per cable car. There are already two people ahead of you; go right on in and you can depart immediately!"
"Thank you!" Su Nian smiled slightly and, guided by the staff, walked into the cable car cabin with Chu Hao.
Two men were already inside the cable car, both wearing sunglasses. The moment Chu Hao and Su Nian stepped in and sat down, an astonished voice rang out: "Su Nian!"
Su Nian froze. She raised her head and looked over, a puzzled expression crossing her face.
At that moment, the two men simultaneously removed their sunglasses. "It's us! Qin Yu and Yang Tian."
Seeing the two of them, Su Nian's expression flickered slightly, growing somewhat unnatural. Out of basic politeness, however, she managed a faint smile. "I didn't expect such a coincidence, running into you here. Isn't it a work day? Why are you two here?"
The man named Qin Yu wore an air of arrogant pride. "My family owns the company, so I come and go as I please. Yang Tian happened to come looking for me today, so I brought him here to revisit old times. I never expected to run into you."
With that, his gaze shifted to Chu Hao, his brow furrowing slightly. "And this is..."
"A friend of mine!" Su Nian said.
Hearing this introduction, Chu Hao's expression shifted slightly, though he didn't pay it too much mind.
Qin Yu, however, clearly displayed a trace of hostility as he looked at Chu Hao. "Hello, I'm Qin Yu, Su Nian's college classmate."
He extended a hand.
Chu Hao reached out and shook it.
To his surprise, Qin Yu began applying pressure, seemingly intent on crushing the bones in Chu Hao's hand.
Chu Hao frowned and looked at him.
Qin Yu kept a smile plastered on his face while pouring more and more strength into his grip.
At that moment, the cable car jerked into motion, beginning its ascent up the mountain.
After squeezing for a long time, Qin Yu felt like he was exerting every ounce of strength he had, yet Chu Hao maintained a completely calm and unbothered expression.
Silently glaring at Chu Hao, Qin Yu finally pulled his hand back.
"This brother here is truly blessed. Su Nian was the ultimate campus belle of our Donghai University. Back then, countless guys tried to ask her out to climb Baiya Tower and never got the chance. I never thought you'd land such an opportunity." He cast a resentful glance at Su Nian. "I pursued you for all four years of college, but the moment we graduated, you blocked me on WeChat. My heart was broken for the longest time!"