"You're out of your mind!"
Liu Tianlong's expression shifted drastically. "Young Master Li proposed to you last night, and today you actually go and register a marriage with some dirt-poor farmer? What do you take marriage for? Where does that leave Young Master Li's dignity? And where does the Liu family's face go?"
After throwing down this heavy accusation, Liu Tianlong felt a lingering sense of dread. Forget about him—the entire Liu family probably couldn't bear the wrath of Young Master Li.
In Young Master Li's heart, Liu Ruyun had long been regarded as his private possession.
As the undisputed number one young master of Xianhai, only Liu Ruyun, the foremost among the three great beauties of Xianhai, was worthy of him.
"I call the shots when it comes to my marriage. What? Don't I even have the right to choose the person I love?"
Liu Ruyun knitted her delicate brows, her expression instantly turning several degrees colder.
Ever since graduating from university, Liu Ruyun had devoted herself wholeheartedly to her work, striving to develop and maintain clients, giving everything she had for the Liu family and Yunshang Group. Hadn't she given enough already?
"You call the shots? Hah, bitch, do you dare disobey Grandma's words?"
Liu Tianlong sneered. "Grandma has already agreed to the marriage between Young Master Li and you. The two sides are meeting in the next couple of days to get engaged, and we'll pick an auspicious date to hold your wedding. Instead of living the good life of a wealthy wife, you actually go marry a dirt-poor peasant—you really are a cheap bone..."
"Bang!"
Unable to listen any longer, Xiang Feng struck again.
No, this time he used his foot!
With just a single kick, Liu Tianlong went flying three meters away, groaning in pain and failing to get back up for a long time.
"What's going on?"
The massive commotion drew everyone out from inside the house.
Upon seeing who had arrived, Liu Tianlong pointed at Liu Ruyun and Xiang Feng, crying out grievances one after another.
"Grandma, you must seek justice for me! Liu Ruyun doesn't know where she dug up this bumpkin to use as a shield, claiming they're already married. When I merely scolded her for not discussing such a major life decision with the elders of the family, she beat me black and blue. Just look at my face, and my stomach..."
"Ruyun, have your wings grown stiff?"
Although the white-haired old lady leaned on a cane and showed her advanced age, the gaze in her eyes was full of intimidation, like a sharp blade scraping across Liu Ruyun's face.
For a moment, almost everyone looked toward Liu Ruyun.
"Ruyun, why don't you hurry up and apologize to your brother Tianlong? Can't you see your grandma is angry?"
Second Uncle Liu Hong glared at Liu Ruyun.
"Outrageous, simply outrageous! Turning your back on your own family before you're even married—I think you've completely lost your mind! Apologize, apologize right now!"
Wang Huilan glanced at her son's swollen face, her heart aching so much she trembled.
"Apologize?"
Liu Ruyun smiled bitterly.
She had experienced this kind of public denunciation, stern reprimands, and cold glares many times before; she was already thoroughly sick of it.
"Grandma, he was the one who called me a bitch first. If you don't believe me, you can check the surveillance cameras."
Taking a deep breath, Liu Ruyun stood her ground and said, "The Liu family gave me life and raised me. I will be grateful and give back whatever is in my power to give, but I have the right to pursue my own happiness and the right to choose my own husband."
"My marriage should naturally be decided by me."
"Grandma, listen to that! What kind of talk is this? She completely ignores the words of a matchmaker and the orders of her parents. She has no respect for you at all."
Liu Tianlong continued to fan the flames.
"So what if he called you a bitch?"
Wang Huilan scolded bitterly, "Young Master Li is the only son of the Li family, the son of the richest man in Xianhai, and the future successor of the Li Group. In what way is he not good enough for you?"
"Giving up the chance to be a proper wealthy wife just to marry a dirt-poor peasant—if this isn't asking for it, what is? You're just a cheap piece of work by nature..."
"Slap!"
A crisp sound of a slap rang out once more.
Wang Huilan, who had been gesticulating wildly right in front of Liu Ruyun's nose, stumbled and crashed to the ground.
And the dirt-poor peasant they kept talking about—Xiang Feng—stood before Liu Ruyun like an unmovable mountain.
"Although I don't hit women, I do make exceptions when someone dares to curse my wife."
A fierce glint flashed in Xiang Feng's eyes as he shot a cold glare at Wang Huilan.
"Who the hell are you? How dare you put your hands on people in the Liu Family Manor?"
Liu Changsheng couldn't sit still any longer. His son had been beaten, and his wife had been beaten; if he still didn't say anything, could he even be called a man?
"Let me introduce myself: Xiang Feng, Ruyun's husband."
Xiang Feng pulled out the marriage certificate for everyone to catch a glimpse of before putting it back into his pocket. "I don't care about any Young Master Li or Young Master Zhang, but if you lot try to bully Xiang Feng's woman, I'll be the first one to say no!"
*I'll be the first one to say no!*
The phrasing was outrageously crude, especially that line—"Xiang Feng's woman"—yet it caused a fine mist to cloud over Liu Ruyun's eyes. Her nasal bridge ached slightly, and she almost couldn't hold back her tears.
After all these years, this was the first man who had stood up to protect her.
"Good, good, good. Ruyun, you certainly broadened this old lady's horizons. Is this the man you picked?"
The old lady finally spoke again, striking her cane heavily against the ground, her face as dark as water.
"Grandma, I..."
"Old lady, what do you mean by 'what kind of man'?"
Xiang Feng wasn't happy. He blocked Liu Ruyun and asked with a frown.
"Hmph, what do I mean?"
The old lady turned her nose up, puffing out a breath of cold air, with pure contempt written all over her face.
"Are you the scion of a wealthy family, or a business tycoon? Can you secure the nation with your pen, or put on a military uniform to guard the borders? Or can you plant rice with a pair of muddy legs?"
With that, the look of disdain on the old lady's face deepened.
"Oh, none of those things. But I do know one thing: you only have three days left to live."
***
"What?"
The old lady's gaze turned sharp, the corners of her mouth twitching with anger.
"How dare you curse me?"
"Believe it or not. You might not even last three days."
Xiang Feng curled his lip in indifference.
"Where did some little bastard crawl out from? Shut your damn mouth!"
Liu Changsheng glared fiercely. "Butler, throw this person out."
"Ruyun, you are too disappointing."
Second Uncle Liu Hong said with a heart-wrenching expression, "Listen to your second uncle, cut ties with this brat immediately and apologize to your grandma."
"Second Brother, an apology is all it takes? Tianlong and I were beaten for nothing?"
Wang Huilan rubbed her burning cheek, staring with venomous hatred at Xiang Feng before finally fixing her gaze on Liu Ruyun.
"Take a look at the man you found. Aren't you going to be happy until you've scared the old lady to death?"
"That's right, Grandma is so good to you, and this is how you repay her?" Liu Tianlong added fuel to the fire from the side. "Finding a man like this—aren't you afraid you haven't humiliated our Liu family enough?"
Liu Ruyun bit her red lips tightly, glancing at Xiang Feng with a hint of worry in her heart.
This shield was very strong, but Liu Ruyun didn't want to make relations too tense. After all, she was still a member of the Liu family, and the Liu family was the one that had given her everything!
However, it was impossible for her to just cast Xiang Feng aside now either.
Everything this man had done was for her sake.
"I'm not talking nonsense. The old lady has an underlying illness; I'm afraid she might not even make it through the next three days."
Facing the verbal attacks from everyone, Xiang Feng remained completely calm and composed.
"Are you a doctor?"
The old lady frowned, her expression shifting slightly.
"Yes."
Xiang Feng nodded.
"Heh."
The old lady sneered, narrowing her eyes. "Then tell me, what terminal illness does this old woman have that I can't even last three days?"
"Why should I tell you?"
Xiang Feng gave a proud, haughty roll of his eyes and pulled Liu Ruyun's slender, fair hand. "I came here today just to tell you all: from this moment on, Liu Ruyun is Xiang Feng's woman, and none of you are to entertain any ideas about her. As for that so-called Young Master Li, tell him to get lost and stop disturbing our happy life as a married couple."
"Hmph!"
With that, Xiang Feng pulled Liu Ruyun and turned to leave.
"Scoundrels, lawless, simply lawless!"
"Bitch, once you leave, don't ever think about coming back!"
Xiang Feng and Liu Ruyun could no longer hear the curses, as the car had already driven far away.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess and making you suffer. Being a human shield doesn't feel very pleasant, does it?"
Liu Ruyun smiled bitterly.
"It's fine."
Xiang Feng waved his hand dismissively.
"But you don't look very happy. It's not too late to regret it now; I can handle the divorce procedures with you right away," Liu Ruyun reminded him again.
At first, her decision to register her marriage with Xiang Feng was partly meant as retaliation against the Liu family—she didn't want her fate controlled by others—and partly out of retaliation toward Xiang Feng himself. After all, this fellow had stripped off her clothes and touched her body...
The tense atmosphere back at the Liu Family Manor worried Liu Ruyun deeply, and she had no idea how she was going to face the wrath of Donghao Li and the entire Li family next.
"I don't regret it. I was just pondering a question and couldn't figure it out for a moment."
Xiang Feng shook his head.
"What question? Tell me, maybe I can answer it for you," Liu Ruyun asked out of curiosity.
"Well, it's like this."
Xiang Feng said, "I heard from experienced people that after getting married, a couple can hug, kiss, sleep together, and then have babies. So I wanted to ask you, Wife, can we go home and make babies?"
"Swish!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Ruyun's face turned crimson.
She had only wanted to find a human shield; she hadn't considered making any little monkeys at all.
"S-Shouldn't we get to know each other better first?"
"I know you very well."
Xiang Feng blurted out, "Wife, you're 1.65 meters tall, weigh 98 catties, have a bust of 73D, legs 1.2 meters long, and your period ended three days ago—it's the absolute best time for embryo incubation and cultivation... Oh right, and you're still a virgin..."
"Screech!"
With a sudden slam on the brakes, Xiang Feng almost slammed his head straight into the windshield.
"Wife, did I say something wrong?" Xiang Feng looked at Liu Ruyun with a bewildered expression, a wicked, mischievous smile flashing deep within his eyes.
"Y-You, how did you know I was a virgin?"
Liu Ruyun stared at the man in utter shock.
In the fast-paced life of the 21st century, romantic relationships moved quickly too. Cohabitation among men and women was common, and many even lost that layer of protection back in their student days.
But Liu Ruyun was different. Though she seemed to walk at the forefront of fashion and could occasionally act like a seasoned veteran making fast-paced jokes, she was actually very conservative. Her first kiss had been stolen by Xiang Feng just today.
"Because I'm the little divine doctor of Qingyun Mountain! I just had to take a careful look at your complexion to figure it out easily. Look, the legendary *shougongsha*."
Xiang Feng said with a beaming smile.
"A divine doctor? Does that mean you weren't just trying to scare them earlier—my grandma is really sick?"
A wave of shock washed over Liu Ruyun's heart, and she quickly asked.
"It's not just a sickness, it's an underlying illness—a chronic condition she's had for decades." As he spoke, Xiang Feng pointed to his chest. "The root is in her lungs. She has only a few days left."
"There's something wrong with her lungs?"
Liu Ruyun knitted her delicate brows. "Is that true? Grandma goes for a physical examination at a major hospital every year, and Director Zhou, who is in charge of her checkups, is an expert from the First People's Hospital. He always says Grandma's body is completely fine."
"They're all quacks. Are instruments really bound to be better than Traditional Chinese Medicine?" Xiang Feng looked disdainful, looking down on Western medicine from the bottom of his heart.
Cutting people open for surgery at every turn—was that curing diseases or butchering pigs?
"..."
Liu Ruyun earnestly looked at the naive yet bumpkin-like little husband beside her, a myriad of thoughts flashing instantly through her mind. Was he really a divine doctor?
If he didn't know medicine, how did she know about her menstrual cycle? How did she know she had broken her leg when she was a child?
Those eyes were as sharp as perspective vision; in front of him, she seemed to have no privacy at all.
"Wife, where are we going next? Are we going home to make babies?" Xiang Feng was much more concerned about this question. He had picked up a beautiful-as-a-flower maiden as his wife right after coming down the mountain; he couldn't be happier.
"Xiaofeng, give me some time. I'm not ready yet."
Liu Ruyun said earnestly, "On one hand, work is busy, and I simply can't find peace of mind to focus on pregnancy. On the other hand, you and I have only known each other for a day, and getting our marriage certificate was just a way to find a shield. As for taking things further, I really haven't thought about it. I hope you can give me a bit of time."
"Does that mean I was tricked into marriage? I like you so much, and I can't even feast my eyes on your body?"
Xiang Feng was unhappy.
His pretty wife wasn't playing fair—she was only meant to be looked at from afar, not touched...
"Xiaofeng, please give me some time, okay?"
Liu Ruyun also felt a sense of guilt. The man had kindly saved her life, only to be used as cannon fodder without gaining any benefits; naturally, he would be upset.
"We can date and get to know each other slowly first. Once our feelings have developed properly, we can discuss having babies, okay?"
"Sigh, alright then."
Xiang Feng let out a heavy sigh. "Who asked me to like you this much? You're pretty, so whatever you say is right."
"Thank you, Xiaofeng."
Liu Ruyun felt a lot more relaxed and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, what are your plans for next time? Are you going back to Qingyun Mountain, or staying in Xianhai?"
"I'm not going back! You couldn't beat me back there even if you killed me!"
Xiang Feng shook his head like a rattle-drum, giving a triple refusal.
"I plan to open a traditional Chinese medicine clinic. I'll take charge of making money to support the family, and you can focus on being gorgeous, while casually popping out a few babies for me..."
***
Go back to Qingyun Mountain? Absolutely not!
Xiang Feng had worked hard for eighteen years, finally defeating that old diehard just so he could come down the mountain. How could he possibly return easily without figuring out his own life origins and having a bunch of babies first?
Besides, there was someone else he had to find. Only after finding that person would his cultivation advance to the next level.
"Opening a TCM clinic doesn't necessarily mean making money, you know. As far as I know, quite a few TCM clinics in Xianhai have gone out of business. People trust Western medicine much more nowadays," Liu Ruyun reminded him.
"That's all the more reason to open one to revitalize traditional medicine, starting with me..."
"Beep beep... beep beep beep..."
Before Xiang Feng could finish, Liu Ruyun's phone rang abruptly.
"Hello? What?"
Liu Ruyun's expression turned unsightly in an instant. "Wait for me, I'll be at the company in twenty minutes to handle it."
"Wife, what happened?" Seeing the look on Liu Ruyun's face, Xiang Feng asked out of concern.
"Something's happened in the sales department. I need to hurry back. Why don't you look around by yourself, and I'll come find you later?" Liu Ruyun's delicate brows were tied into a knot.
The Li family's warning came really fast!
In less than an hour before and after, all the contracts previously signed by the sales department were completely voided.
At almost the exact same time, more than two-thirds of the large shopping malls in Xianhai pulled all of Yunshang Group's products off their shelves.
"It's fine, I'll go to the company with you to look around. You're so pretty, I wouldn't be at ease letting you handle trouble all by yourself." Xiang Feng's flattery hit the mark perfectly.
This time, Liu Ruyun didn't think too much about it. She stepped on the accelerator and headed straight for Yunshang Group.
It was midday in midsummer, and the sun was scorching.
Yet when Liu Ruyun arrived at Yunshang Group, her heart felt ice-cold.
The entire sales department was in utter chaos, shrouded in a dark shadow from top to bottom.
"Manager Liu, what should we do now?"
The secretary held a stack of documents, her face full of worry.
"Starting with Gaoda Shopping Mall, our products have been driven into a dead end across Xianhai City and even the entire Jiangnan Province. Several of our top sales representatives suddenly submitted resignation letters to the personnel department, taking away a massive number of clients from Yunshang Group. Look at this..."
"Just notify all employees in the sales department to focus on their work. Leave the rest to me."
Liu Ruyun rubbed her tense brow.
She knew very well where these bullets were being fired from.
Turning her head, she saw Xiang Feng sitting in the lounge area drinking tea, looking around at his surroundings with wide-eyed curiosity and a completely relaxed demeanor. Suddenly, Liu Ruyun felt a trace of regret.
Had she been too impulsive?
This was what courting the consequences of offending Donghao Li looked like.
A mere hour was enough to plunge Yunshang Group into a massive crisis.
"Liu Ruyun, what the hell are you doing?"
The moment the secretary left, Liu Tianlong stormed into the office looking murderous, slamming a stack of documents heavily onto the desk.
"Do you want your performance to make all the company employees starve? Do you want Yunshang Group to go bankrupt?"
"I'll handle it..."
Liu Ruyun frowned, knowing full well that Liu Tianlong was making a mountain out of a molehill to deliberately pressure her. But she wouldn't surrender easily!
"Handle it? How are you going to handle it?"
Liu Tianlong sneered and rebuked, "In a single day, the company lost two-thirds of its orders, and two-thirds of its goods were forcibly returned off the shelves. Do you have any idea how huge the losses are for the company? I'm warning you..."
"Slap!"
Xiang Feng moved. Like a ghostly figure, with a *swish*, he suddenly appeared right in front of Liu Tianlong, and a heavy palm landed mercilessly. A crisp sound exploded inside the office!
"I'm warning you, speak a little more gently to my wife, or I'll knock out your front teeth."
Xiang Feng's voice wasn't loud, but it was icy cold.
Those clear, bright eyes were as vast and deep as a starry night sky right now, making it impossible for anyone to fathom their depth!
"..."
Liu Ruyun moved her lips, ultimately choosing not to stop him.
On one hand, she despised Liu Tianlong from the bottom of her heart; on the other hand, she wanted to see just how capable this naive-looking college-student-esque fellow really was.
"Yo, who's talking about destroying who?"
Just at that moment, the door to Liu Ruyun's office was pushed open gently, and a hearty laugh followed.
Immediately afterward, a young man walked in.
He wore a tailored off-white suit with a golden watch glistening on his wrist.
Behind him followed two powerfully built bodyguards dressed in black.
Donghao Li.
The heir to the Li Group.
The only son of the Li family.
And the number one young master of Xianhai City.
"Ruyun, long time no see."
Upon entering, Donghao Li's attention remained firmly fixed on Liu Ruyun. There was undisguised lust beneath the smiling expression on his fair, handsome face.
That's right, Donghao Li had been drooling over this woman's body for more than just a day or two, going to great lengths for her. Unfortunately, less than half an hour ago, he received news—Liu Ruyun had gotten married!
Donghao Li wasn't about to let it go. After launching a series of combined strikes, he had brought people here personally to storm into Yunshang Group.
No one could take away a woman that Donghao Li had set his eyes on!
"Young Master Li..."