"Young Lord, what is wrong?" Ye Qingguo noticed that Lin Pingfan's expression had changed and asked hurriedly.
"It's nothing. I was just worried that Miss Ye might not be willing to marry me," Lin Pingfan said with a smile.
When the Lin Family fell into ruin, those who had once fawned over them not only failed to extend a helping hand but instead spat on him and drove him away. Only Ye Qingguo, ignoring the objections of his own family, had offered him aid. When their enemies came knocking, Lin Pingfan had his legs broken and was framed, leading to his imprisonment. Ye Qingguo had also been thrown in alongside him for helping him.
"By the way, don't call me 'Young Lord' anymore. Just call me Pingfan."
Seeing that he had no further reaction, Ye Qingguo felt relieved. Soon, they returned to the Ye Family Villa. Ye Qingguo pushed the wheelchair into the living room, where his wife, Liu Shufen, was watching television.
"Quick, look! See who’s back!"
Ye Qingguo's voice was unusually excited, but Liu Shufen, sitting on the sofa, looked sullen. Upon seeing Lin Pingfan, her eyes were filled with disgust and disdain.
"Ye Qingguo, you actually brought him home! Have you forgotten the lessons of the past?"
These words made Lin Pingfan's expression sink; after all, it was indeed he who had brought disaster upon the Ye Family back then.
"Shut up!"
"Didn't I tell you never to bring that up again?!" Ye Qingguo roared.
Seeing Ye Qingguo flare up, Liu Shufen snorted coldly and glared at Lin Pingfan in the wheelchair, but she did not retort again.
"Pingfan, wait here a moment. I'll go upstairs and call Yaxin down."
Ye Qingguo immediately went upstairs to fetch Ye Yaxin. Ye Yaxin had only recently returned home, and her body was still aching. When she walked downstairs and saw Lin Pingfan, their eyes met. Lin Pingfan remained relatively calm, but she was stunned, her mind going blank!
"Yaxin, this is Brother Pingfan. Go change into something nice, and we'll go register your marriage right away!"
Hearing this, Ye Yaxin snapped out of her stupor.
"Dad, I don't agree to this marriage!"
"He... he’s a cripple! And didn't you say he just got out of prison?!"
"If I marry him, it's not just my face that’s lost; it’s the entire Ye Family's!"
Ye Yaxin could never have imagined that the man she had slept with last night was actually Lin Pingfan! No wonder she had found a wheelchair in the room when she woke up. She had never wanted to marry Lin Pingfan, and after what happened last night, she wanted to even less! As the daughter of the Ye Family and the CEO of Jiahua Group, how could she hold her head high after marrying a disabled ex-convict who needed a wheelchair?
Lin Pingfan seemed to have anticipated this, though he only agreed to the marriage because of the Old Ghost's instructions; otherwise, he never would have consented.
"That's right! Daughter, you cannot marry him!"
"Whatever debt of gratitude we owed the Lin Family was paid off five years ago. I will not let you marry him!"
"Back then, the trouble with the Lin Family ruined us!"
As a mother, Liu Shufen absolutely refused to let her daughter jump into a fire pit. The two of them took turns humiliating Lin Pingfan, which finally enraged Ye Qingguo.
"Insolence!"
"I am not asking for your opinions; I am informing you!"
"What is wrong with Pingfan? It is the blessing of a lifetime for our Ye Family that Yaxin can marry him!"
"Yaxin, go register the marriage with Pingfan right now. If you don't, there is no need for you to return to this house!"
Ye Qingguo’s face was livid as he turned his gaze to Liu Shufen. "And you! If you have any complaints, you don't need to stay in this house either!"
In this moment, Ye Qingguo once again displayed the formidable authority of the head of the household.
"Hmph, Ye Qingguo, if anything happens to our daughter because of him, I won't let you hear the end of it!"
Liu Shufen was so angry her face flushed, but she dared not say more and turned to leave. With her mother intimidated into silence, Ye Yaxin had no choice but to angrily agree.
Eventually, accompanied by bodyguards, Lin Pingfan was lifted into a car, and he and Ye Yaxin went to register their marriage. As the two walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau with their marriage certificates in hand, ready to leave, Ye Yaxin blocked Lin Pingfan's path.
"Something the matter?" Lin Pingfan raised an eyebrow, looking up at her from his wheelchair.
"Lin Pingfan, I advise you to be sensible. Don't think that because something happened between us last night, I will accept you!"
"I could never marry an ex-convict, let alone a cripple!"
"My father is only letting you marry into our family because he pities you!"
"But that is no reason for you to cling to him. I’ll give you one month to go to my father yourself and ask for a divorce."
"Otherwise, there is nothing I wouldn't do!"
With that, Ye Yaxin glared at Lin Pingfan, then hopped into her car and sped off. After she left, Lin Pingfan told the bodyguards they didn't need to follow him and sent them away.
"If it weren't for the Old Ghost insisting I stay in this wheelchair in front of people who know me, I wouldn't be stuck in this thing all day."
As Lin Pingfan muttered to himself, a black business car pulled up in front of him.
"Young Lord!"
A bloated man with squinting eyes stepped out of the car. Wearing an expensive suit, he stood before Lin Pingfan with a humble, smiling expression.
Lin Pingfan frowned as he looked at the man. "Old Sun, what are you doing here?"
"Young Lord, I heard you were back, so I just happened to come by to see you!"
If any outsider were here, they would be shocked to see this scene! Because this fat man was none other than the Medicine King of Haizhou, Sun Wanxing!
Lin Pingfan waved his hand to cut him off, knowing he wouldn't come to find him without a reason. "Speak. What do you want from me this time?"
Sun Wanxing stopped smiling, rubbed his hands together, and chuckled. "As expected, nothing escapes the Young Lord's keen eyes!"
"There is indeed a matter. I would like to ask for your help, Young Lord!"
Hearing this, Lin Pingfan’s calm face stiffened, and his brow furrowed slightly. He didn't respond, waiting for Sun Wanxing to continue.
"Young Lord, Zhao Anran, the richest man in Haizhou, has had a recurrence of an old illness. None of the famous doctors we've hired have had any effect, so I thought..."
"And what does that have to do with me!?"
Before Sun Wanxing could finish, Lin Pingfan’s retort forced him to swallow the rest of his words.
"Young Lord, I am currently collaborating with the Richest Man Zhao on a Traditional Chinese Medicine project, and the press conference is happening very soon."
"If the Richest Man Zhao cannot attend, the project will fall through."
"The prospects for this project are excellent, so I humbly ask for your assistance!"
Sun Wanxing’s greasy face was a mask of misery, his words filled with entreaty. Lin Pingfan showed not a shred of sympathy; instead, he grew colder, his voice turning icy.
"Sun Wanxing, are you planning to break the Young Lord's rules!?"
"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare!"
Cold sweat broke out on Sun Wanxing's forehead, and his legs went weak. Under Lin Pingfan’s rebuke, he could barely stand. He frantically wiped the sweat from his brow, trembling. Finally, gritting his teeth, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a jade token.
Engraved upon it were three vigorous, sweeping characters:
Young Lord's Token!