"You hit... the eldest daughter of the Bai family?"
The elderly couple's bodies trembled, paralyzed by despair and utterly unable to speak.
Ye Tianming stood expressionless, looking down at Bai Yuruo on the ground, and said coldly:
"This engagement can be broken! But it is not up to your Bai family to call it off!"
"It is I, Ye Tianming, who is breaking it!"
"Your Bai family is not worthy of breaking the engagement with me, Ye Tianming!"
"It is I, Ye Tianming, who is divorcing you!"
"Get out!"
A single word, carrying an unmatched, arrogant force, shook everyone's heart!
On the ground, with her hair in disarray, Bai Yuruo covered her swollen face and stared at Ye Tianming in terror, shrieking:
"How dare you hit me?"
"So what if I hit you?"
Bai Yuruo's heart jolted. Looking at the calm expression on Ye Tianming's face, a turbulent storm raged within her.
Why was this man so confident?
How could he possibly dare to hit her? Did he have any idea what kind of existence her Bai family was in Longhai City?
Bai Yuruo looked up and locked eyes with Ye Tianming, a shiver running through the very depths of her soul!
This man's gaze was so bone-chillingly cold; in his eyes, she was nothing more than an ant!
In all her twenty-odd years of life, this was the first time Bai Yuruo had ever felt this way.
Covering her face, she pointed at Ye Tianming, wanting to curse, but the words caught in her throat and she swallowed them hard.
Taking a few steps back, Bai Yuruo braced herself and squeezed out a bone-chilling sentence from between her teeth:
"So what if you hit me? The engagement is still going to be broken! No one here will ever agree to marry you today, just you wait and see!"
Ye Tianming frowned and glanced at Bai Yuruo. Right at that moment, the sound of footsteps came from outside the small courtyard.
Several women walked in, their voices ringing out frostily.
"Today, my Tang Family annuls its engagement with you, this good-for-nothing!"
"My Xiao family is also calling off this engagement!"
"My Lin family is calling it off too!"
"My Lu Family is calling off the engagement today as well!"
Four letters of annulment came flying toward Ye Tianming all at once!
Fluttering through the air, they scattered completely right in front of Ye Tianming.
A dead silence fell over the small courtyard.
At that moment, Liú Cuìróng and Yè Jiànguó went weak at the knees and slowly collapsed onto the ground.
Ye Tianming paused slightly, looking at the people who had just walked into the courtyard.
Did they all really come to break off the engagement?
His gaze slowly turned cold and terrifying, a heart-stopping chill welling up in the depths of his eyes.
They had all deliberately rushed to come on the exact same day and at the exact same time to call off the engagement.
Seeing that the others had also appeared, Bai Yuruo instantly regained her courage and laughed arrogantly:
"Did you see that, Ye Tianming? You are so pitiful, so pathetic!"
"Did you really think I was the only one who looked down on you?"
"Use your brain and think: who would ever be willing to marry a man like you? A family like yours? Compared to influential families like ours, you're nothing more than a joke."
Bai Yuruo laughed triumphantly, her laughter echoing through the small courtyard: "Ye Tianming, don't you feel like an absolute clown? No one is ever going to marry you!"
As her voice trailed off, the next second, a crisp, cold voice suddenly drifted in from the entrance of the small courtyard.
The voice was detached, carrying an air of nobility and an arrogant presence.
The courtyard immediately grew quiet.
"I haven't arrived yet. Who said no one is marrying him?"
"Your families may be at the peak of your power today, but if not for the old gentleman's help back then, where would your present glory come from?"
"Now that you're burning the bridge after crossing it, don't you feel any shame at all?"
"Even though his status is humble, my Jiang Family is not devoid of loyalty and righteousness."
"Since the engagement was set back then, and since no one else wants to marry him,"
"Then today, this marriage—"
"I, Jiang Muwan, accept it!"
The entire scene erupted in a commotion. Everyone's eyes turned toward the woman standing at the entrance.
Ye Tianming looked at her too, and his heart gave a violent jolt.
Chapter 6: A Pretense
Ye Tianming looked at her too, and his heart gave a violent jolt.
How could it be her?
This was the woman he had a one-night stand with last night, the very same woman who had told him to get lost just a few hours ago.
She turned out to be the fiancée he had an engagement with from years ago?
How could such a coincidence possibly exist in this world?!
However, what shocked Ye Tianming even more was that Jiang Muwan had actually agreed to marry him right now?
Why would she do that?
Clearly, she despised him to the core; she should have wanted to break off the engagement even more eagerly than anyone else.
At this moment, Jiang Muwan, standing opposite him, gazed at Ye Tianming with deeply conflicted eyes.
She had no idea why she had just agreed to this marriage either.
Perhaps it was because she had heard Ye Tianming being humiliated by so many people outside the courtyard and suddenly felt that this guy was quite pitiful?
Maybe so...
Aside from pitying him, she couldn't find any other explanation.
She certainly couldn't have fallen in love with this man because of a one-night stand?
Impossible. Not only had she not fallen in love with Ye Tianming, but she felt even more a trace of disgust toward him.
If she hadn't seen this family being humiliated to such a pathetic degree, she would never have done this.
Looking at Ye Tianming's parents, Jiang Muwan hesitated for a moment, bit her lip, and proactively walked up to the elderly couple.
The next second, a faint smile bloomed on her face as she extended her hands toward the two elders and said with a smile:
"Hello, Uncle, Auntie. My name is Jiang Muwan, and I am Tianming's fiancée."
Yè Jiànguó and Liú Cuìróng stared blankly at Jiang Muwan standing before them, unable to believe it for a moment.
They were so stunned they couldn't even speak.
One after another, five letters of annulment had not only insulted Ye Tianming as utterly worthless, but had also dragged their dignity through the dirt.
Yet right at this moment, another young woman had arrived.
This young woman had more poise than the previous ones, looking even more stunning and breathtaking—truly like a fairy descended from heaven.
To put it bluntly, at this very moment, Jiang Muwan was like a ray of dawn, illuminating everything in this gloomy, sunless little courtyard.
Liú Cuìróng looked at Jiang Muwan, her lips trembling as her eyes suddenly grew red.
The next second, she grabbed Jiang Muwan's hand tightly, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she choked out:
"Child... are you... are you really willing to marry my son? Do you... do you really not mind him?"
Looking at Liú Cuìróng's snow-white hair, Jiang Muwan sighed softly, took Liú Cuìróng's hand in return, and comforted her with a smile:
"Auntie, I was originally betrothed to your son, so naturally I will marry him."
Hearing this, Liú Cuìróng could no longer hold back. Tears streamed down her aged face as she wept:
"Child, you are a good person... For my Tianming to have a wife like you is a blessing he cultivated over eight lifetimes!"
Standing to the side, Ye Tianming narrowed his eyes as he watched all this, keeping his gaze fixed on Jiang Muwan.
In those deep, ocean-like eyes of his, a strange, unfamiliar emotion flickered to life...
However, right at that moment, Bai Yuruo's harsh, piercing voice rang out.
"Are you out of your mind, Jiang Muwan? You're going to marry this trash who picks up garbage?"
Jiang Muwan turned around and caught sight of Bai Yuruo, whose face was twisted with malice and mockery.
She furrowed her brow and retorted, "What of it?"
Bai Yuruo rolled her eyes, her face full of disdain as she let out a sneer:
"Nothing of it. Your Jiang family is supposed to be one of the Six Great Influential Families of Longhai, yet you're actually willing to marry a garbage-picking trash. What a rare spectacle! Are all the talents in the Jiang family like you now?"
Jiang Muwan looked at Bai Yuruo, her brows slowly knitting together.
Bai Yuruo let out a cold snort: "Why aren't you speaking? Cat got your tongue because you realize how shameless you are? To have the hots for a low-class man like that, you, Jiang Muwan, are pretty low-class yourself. Birds of a feather flock together—you might as well go scavenge for garbage with him from now on, Jiang Muwan."
Hearing these words, Ye Tianming's gaze turned icy, shooting toward Bai Yuruo like a cold, sharp sword.
"Watch your mouth, unless you want me to slap you again."
Bai Yuruo's face paled and she took two fearful steps back; that single gaze felt like ten thousand piercing blades slicing through her heart.
Meanwhile, another burst of mocking laughter rang out from the side—it was Lu Mengwei, the eldest daughter of the Lu Family.
She glanced at Jiang Muwan, tilting her chin up with a look of utter disgust, and said disdainfully:
"Your Jiang family is, after all, one of the Six Great Influential Families of Longhai. The man you, Jiang Muwan, find should at the very least be on the same level as us."
"Yet the man you found is a garbage-picking piece of trash!"
"You are simply smearing the faces of the rest of our families!"
"You've thrown away all our dignity!"
"Despicable!"
"Spit!"
Jiang Muwan's entire body trembled, her pretty face turning deathly pale. Those few sentences drove into her chest like knives!
As the eldest daughter of the Jiang family, when had she ever been subjected to such humiliation in all these years?
Now, one harsh remark after another was hurled at her, and her face burned with pain!
It hurt as if boiling water had been splashed across it!
However, at that very moment, a blur flashed across her field of vision, and before Jiang Muwan could even react—
*Crack!*
A miserable scream rang out!
Lu Mengwei's body spun as she was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground. Blood poured from her nose and mouth, and her entire face was caved in and warped from the slap.
Ye Tianming dusted off his hands, stepped onto Lu Mengwei's face, and said indifferently:
"Who did you call despicable? Say it again?"
With her face pinned under his foot, Lu Mengwei still spoke with a venomous, hoarse rasp:
"I said... I said you're all des—"
Before she could finish, Ye Tianming abruptly increased the pressure of his foot, eliciting a blood-curdling squeal from Lu Mengwei!
She felt as though her face was about to be crushed to pieces. Tears streamed from her eyes as she begged for mercy in agony:
"I was wrong... I was wrong... I'm the despicable one..."
"Good as long as you know. You lot are the despicable ones."
The faces of the other women turned dark, but not a single one dared to utter a word.
Casually dusting off his hands, Ye Tianming walked back to Jiang Muwan's side and wrapped an arm around her waist.
Jiang Muwan's body trembled as a tingling sensation washed over her.
She nearly lost her footing, her face flushing crimson in an instant.
It was the first time in her life she had ever been held like this by a man, and she instantly tried to pull away.
However, Ye Tianming's grip was so tight that it made breaking free impossible.
With so many people watching, she felt completely helpless, and glared at Ye Tianming in shamed fury.
Ye Tianming glanced at the group of women opposite him, his voice devoid of any emotion:
"Listen to me clearly, all of you. From today onward, Jiang Muwan is my woman. Keep your mouths shut, and don't force me to slap you again."
"Also, you want to break off the engagement with me, Ye Tianming? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourselves in the mirror to see if you're even worthy?"
"As it stands, I am the one dumping the lot of you. Take your letters of annulment and get lost; someone will have the formal divorce papers delivered to your homes by tonight."
A dead silence hung in the air. The women stared at Ye Tianming, their expressions shifting uncertainly.
They were actually being dumped by a garbage-picking piece of trash?
If word got out, there was no telling how much they would be mocked.
Yet, having witnessed Ye Tianming's unreasonableness firsthand, none of them dared to say another word now.
Aside from Bai Yuruo and Lu Mengwei, the complexions of the remaining women flickered unpredictably.
Looking at Jiang Muwan, they found her behavior increasingly bizarre.
They truly could not understand Jiang Muwan's actions.
As the daughter of an influential family, why on earth would she want to get entangled with a garbage-picking trash of a man?
Wasn't this pure mental deficiency?
The women stepped back a little, putting even more distance between themselves and Jiang Muwan.
It was glaringly obvious that they thought Jiang Muwan was making a fool of herself and wanted nothing to do with her.
At that moment, Bai Yuruo shook her head, a mix of pity and mockery in her eyes as she said:
"Jiang Muwan, oh Jiang Muwan, look at the man you've chosen. He has no other skills, but when it comes to picking up garbage and beating people up, he's quite the expert. Impressive, truly impressive."
A layer of frost coated Jiang Muwan's face as she retorted coldly:
"Enough. What I, Jiang Muwan, choose to do is not for the likes of you to point fingers at."
"Besides, so what if the man I chose picks up garbage? As long as he's the man I, Jiang Muwan, have set my sights on, he won't be lacking in anything!"
With that, a cold, mocking smirk tugged at the corner of Jiang Muwan's mouth.
"Who knows, maybe the real clowns here are you lot. Use your brains and think: if he really were just a garbage-picking good-for-nothing, would I, Jiang Muwan, ever fancy him?"
"Did it ever cross your minds that all of this might just be an act he put on on purpose?"
Hearing this, the group of women froze instantly.
Chapter 7: Ten Billion
As soon as Jiang Muwan finished speaking, she actually took the initiative to hold Ye Tianming's hand.
She looked at the group opposite her, a playful smile on her face as she said:
"Though, it doesn't really matter whether you figured it out or not. Your engagements are all void anyway, and now I am his fiancée."
The brows of the women opposite her slowly knitted together.
Bai Yuruo's expression cycled through countless changes in a split second.
She stared at Jiang Muwan and Ye Tianming, a lingering sense of unease finally sprouting in her heart.
Right... if this Ye Tianming really were such a good-for-nothing, how could Jiang Muwan possibly agree to this engagement?
Could it be that this fellow really wasn't as simple as he looked on the surface?
Was all of this just a facade put on to pull wool over their eyes?
Yet... Bai Yuruo's mind began to churn with doubt again... yet... he certainly didn't look out of the ordinary at all?
Sloppy, slovenly, and hanging about with a carefree swagger—he looked entirely like a worthless loser. What kind of talent could he possibly possess?
The rest of the women also changed their expressions slightly, casting appraising looks at Ye Tianming.
At this moment, not only those women, but Ye Tianming himself was harboring doubts in his heart.
Could it be that this Jiang Muwan had actually seen through his abilities?
A wave of curiosity welled up within him, and he leaned in close to Jiang Muwan's ear, whispering mischievously:
"Wife, how did you know I was just pretending?"
Jiang Muwan instantly shuddered all over, glared at Ye Tianming, and said coldly:
"Who's your wife? Show some respect."
"Besides, you're just overthinking things. I don't think you have any real ability at all; I just said that on purpose to feed those women a line."
The smile on Ye Tianming's face stiffened as realization hit him.
Feeling rather depressed, he muttered, "There's no need to look down on people this much, right? By your account, everything you just said was just a front? You aren't actually willing to marry me either?"
Jiang Muwan rolled her eyes: "Your family picks up garbage, who would want to marry you? I simply thought it was pathetic how you were being repeatedly humiliated by these women, so I wanted to play along and put on a show for you. Don't go getting any ideas."
A few black lines appeared on Ye Tianming's forehead, and just as he was about to speak, Bai Yuruo on the opposite side suddenly sneered:
"Surname Jiang, do you take us for fools who are easy to fool? Blinded by your own stupidity, you fall for a garbage-picking loser, and now you want to come here and bluff?"
"I, Bai Yuruo, will put my words right here today: this man of yours is nothing more than a useless piece of trash! Let's wait and see!"
Noncommittal, Jiang Muwan replied indifferently:
"Then let's wait and see. I only hope your faces won't hurt too much when the time comes."
Bai Yuruo offered a cold smile: "Fine. I'd love to see how you plan to slap me in the face. I'll be waiting."
Jiang Muwan's eyes suddenly rolled as she raised an eyebrow and said:
"Bai Yuruo, do you and your friends dare to make a bet with me?"
"What bet?"
Jiang Muwan smiled faintly: "Let's bet on whether your judgment was wrong. Within a month, if you misjudged him, then one month from today, you will bring your respective families and come here in person to apologize for breaking off this engagement. How about that?"
"Conversely, if my judgment was wrong, I will take my family and go door-to-door to apologize. What do you say?"
A faint smile remained plastered across Jiang Muwan's face.
"What is the evaluation standard for whether our judgment was wrong or not?" Bai Yuruo asked apathetically.
Jiang Muwan's beautiful eyes shifted as she smiled: "That's simple. He's a garbage picker right now. Within a month, if he can earn one hundred million, it counts as your judgment being wrong. If he doesn't earn it, then my judgment is wrong. How's that?"
Bai Yuruo couldn't help laughing, her laughter dripping with sarcasm.
"You're asking a garbage-picking piece of trash to make one hundred million in a month? Jiang Muwan, have you lost your mind?"
Just as Jiang Muwan was about to speak, Ye Tianming chimed in indifferently:
"What's so great about one hundred million? How about this—ten billion. How's that?"
Silence descended upon the courtyard as everyone stared fixedly at Ye Tianming.
Yè Jiànguó and Liú Cuìróng were frightened so badly their legs went weak, almost collapsing to the ground.
Ten billion... That was a figure utterly beyond their imagination.
Jiang Muwan was also startled. "Are you crazy? Ten billion?!"
With a mischievous grin, Ye Tianming reached out and gave Jiang Muwan's gorgeous backside a sneaky pinch before flashing a wide smile.
"Not crazy. Listen to your husband."
"You—"
Jiang Muwan's face flushed so red it looked ready to drip blood. She was consumed by shame, anger, and fury!
She was about to be driven mad; not only had she been slept with by this guy last night—though she had been drunk and unconscious then—
—but right now, under these circumstances, she had actually gotten her backside pinched and been taken advantage of.
She gnashed her teeth in anger, but had no choice because she was locked in Ye Tianming's embrace and couldn't flare up!
If looks could kill, she would have killed Ye Tianming a hundred times over by now.
Yet Ye Tianming remained completely unfazed. He glanced at the women opposite him and said calmly:
"It's settled then. Within a month, I will earn ten billion on my own, and you lot will come over and apologize to my parents. If I don't earn it, I'll go to your homes and apologize."
The women stared at Ye Tianming as if he were an absolute idiot. Ten billion in a month?
Even their own families couldn't make that much!
As Bai Yuruo and the others looked at the calm expression on Ye Tianming's face, their expressions couldn't help but shift.
Why was Ye Tianming so confident?
Could he have some sort of trump card up his sleeve?
They hesitated for a moment.
On the surface, the stake of the bet was just an apology, but in reality, it required their several influential families to bow their heads to Jiang Muwan, to Ye Tianming, and to this garbage-picking family!
For aristocratic families like theirs, the thing they cared about most of all was face, dignity!
If they really lost the bet and had to go apologize, they would lose face so thoroughly it would be catastrophic.
It would probably become a joke for the entire Longhai City, and the price was simply too heavy to bear.
Ye Tianming said indifferently: "What's wrong, cat got your tongue? Too cowardly? I thought you actually had some backbone, but I guess it was all just a show."
Hearing this, Bai Yuruo's face flushed red and white in alternation. In a fit of hot-headed anger, she snapped:
"We'll bet! But I want to add a clause! Whoever loses has to come over, kowtow, and apologize!"
Jiang Muwan was startled. Kowtow and apologize on top of that?
She panicked a little. When she had mentioned one hundred million earlier, she actually had her own little plan in mind—
At worst, she could help Ye Tianming out, and one hundred million wouldn't have been a problem.
But ten billion? She was utterly powerless against that figure!
She hurriedly tried to stop Ye Tianming, ready to call off the bet altogether.
However, Ye Tianming spoke up calmly at that moment:
"No problem, I'm fine with all of it, just as long as you lot don't try to welch on the deal when the time comes."
Bai Yuruo smiled coldly: "Fine! Whoever reneges on the deal will have their entire family line cut off!"