"Otherwise, my husband can leave your corpse on the street in a matter of minutes!"
"Oh?"
Ye Chen merely raised an eyebrow slightly. In this Jinling City, is there really anyone who could leave his corpse on the street?!
He was about to speak when Xia Qingyue caught him by the arm. She looked up at him with pitiful, tearful eyes and whispered softly, "Ye Chen... please don't cause trouble. I came back this time hoping to win my parents' forgiveness..."
Seeing Xia Qingyue's alluring peach-blossom eyes shimmering with mist and tears, Ye Chen's heart softened instantly. "Alright, I'll listen to you in everything!"
"Humph!"
Xia Lingwei let out a cold snort. "Cowardice is cowardice! Clearly too terrified to mess with the Jiang Family, yet you wrap it up in such affectionate words! Xia Qingyue, you and your wild man sure know how to put on a show!"
With that, Xia Lingwei swayed her waist and walked toward the red Lamborghini parked nearby.
By this time, Jiang Feichi had already stepped out of the car, his gaze burning with intense desire as it locked onto Xia Qingyue...
The moment he parked earlier, he had caught sight of the Pagani Huaiqi parked right at the entrance of the Xia family estate—the Yazi!
This was a luxury supercar with a landing price exceeding one hundred million!
Limited to only five worldwide, even the Jiang Family lacked the qualification to purchase such an exotic machine!
Of course, even if they had the qualification... the Jiang Family wouldn't have bought it!
While the Jiang Family's assets already amounted to several billion, doing business and splashing cash were two entirely different things. Asking the Jiang Family to shell out one hundred million for business operations was one thing... but spending one hundred million on a car?
That would be pure madness!
Jiang Feichi stared at the car with burning envy for a few seconds before his eyes shifted to Xia Lingwei and Xia Qingyue.
Having not seen her in so long, Xia Qingyue actually looked even more stunning than before... That lovely melon-seed face, with skin as fair and smooth as a freshly peeled egg, possessed a glossy radiance and even a visible, youthful bounce! And those alluring peach-blossom eyes—so pure and bright, yet endlessly captivating!
Aside from her face, Xia Qingyue possessed the kind of breathtaking figure every woman envied... long legs, a slender waist, and voluptuous curves!
"A, B, C, D... E?"
Jiang Feichi silently estimated in his mind, his eyes glued to Xia Qingyue, completely unable to tear them away.
Here was a woman dressed in plain clothes, having endured five years of hardship... yet her temperament and beauty completely crushed Xia Lingwei by a distance of ten streets!!
"Damn it!"
Jiang Feichi's sense of balance shattered instantly. Back then, he had pursued Xia Qingyue with absolute madness—to him, Xia Qingyue was his white moonlight, the unblemished scar of a cherished devotion!
It was such a pity... that Xia Qingyue had gotten pregnant out of wedlock and even given birth to a daughter!
Otherwise, Jiang Feichi would have broken off his engagement on the spot, ditching Xia Lingwei to choose Xia Qingyue instead!
"Darling!"
Seeing the look in Jiang Feichi's eyes, Xia Lingwei instantly lost her composure and complained, "Today is our good day of engagement... and Xia Qingyue, she—she brought some wild man here to make trouble, and he even bruised my wrist!"
As she spoke, Xia Lingwei hurriedly raised her arm, revealing a fiery red handprint squarely on her wrist.
It was the exact mark left by Ye Chen's grip just moments ago!
"You're the one who squeezed her wrist?!"
Jiang Feichi's gaze turned icy. As much as he was mesmerized by Xia Qingyue's beauty... Xia Lingwei was still his bride-to-be.
Bullying his fiancée in public—wasn't that the same as slapping Young Master Jiang right across the face?!
"I did."
Faced with Jiang Feichi's interrogation, Ye Chen gave a single, nonchalant reply.
"Damn it, you're courting death!"
"Bastard, how dare you mess with our sister-in-law? You're asking to die!"
"Damn it, finish this guy off!"
Hearing this, the hangers-on behind Jiang Feichi leaped forward one by one, threatening to tear Ye Chen into ten thousand pieces.
"What is all this shouting about?!"
Right at that moment, an elderly man with hair as white as snow slowly walked out, supported by several people.
The old man was around seventy years old. Although his physique wasn't entirely robust, his sharp, piercing gaze gleamed brightly, and his tone carried an air of absolute authority.
"Grandfather!"
Hearing that voice, Xia Lingwei immediately rushed over to lodge her complaint. "It's Xia Qingyue... This shameless woman was already driven out of the Xia family, yet today she brings some wild man here to cause trouble and even injured my wrist! Look at this, Grandfather!"
"Qingyue?"
Before the old man could speak, a middle-aged couple and a young girl standing behind him felt their gazes tremble.
Then, their eyes locked firmly onto Xia Qingyue, and they said with trembling voices, "You... you've finally come back!"
The young girl standing behind them was Xia Qingyue's younger sister, Xia Qingcheng.
And that spirited old man with the piercing gaze was naturally the head of the Xia family—Xia Jiang!
Xia Jiang had two sons: the eldest was Xia Junyuan, and the second son was Xia Junjie.
Xia Lingwei was the daughter of Xia Junyuan... Furthermore, Xia Lingwei had an older brother named Xia Tianqi.
Because of the old man's deep-rooted preference for boys over girls, Xia Junjie's family had never enjoyed the old man's favor.
Especially when Xia Qingyue became pregnant out of wedlock, bringing disgrace upon the Xia family name—that made the old man detest their branch of the family even more.
As for Xia Qingcheng, she was still too young, only nineteen, studying at Jinling City University. She couldn't be married off just yet, nor could she bring any immediate benefits to the family!
By comparison, the old man greatly favored Xia Junyuan's household.
The eldest son, Xia Junyuan, had a son of his own... who was also the only male heir of the Xia family.
In the future, the family assets of the Xia family would undoubtedly be passed down to this male heir, Xia Tianqi, to inherit!
As for Xia Lingwei, her impending marriage alliance with the third young master of the Jiang Family would undoubtedly shower the Xia family with countless benefits down the road...
Now, that was what true descendants of the Xia family should look like!!
"Hmm?"
Seeing the injury on Xia Lingwei's wrist, the old man's expression darkened. "Xia Qingyue, you have already been expelled from the Xia family. Why have you come back to stir up trouble today?!"
"I..."
Xia Qingyue bit her lower lip and said, "I didn't stir up trouble. The moment I got back... Xia Lingwei pointed right at my daughter's nose and cursed her, calling her a wild—"
She couldn't bring herself to finish the rest of the sentence.
Yet everyone present already understood what had happened.
However, the old man stared at Xia Qingyue with eyes full of ice and barked sternly, "You are no longer a member of the Xia family, yet you dare come here to make trouble? Right now, I order you to apologize to Weiwei!"
"Grandfather..."
Hearing this, Xia Qingyue's lips quivered slightly, but she stubbornly replied, "I won't apologize. She was the one who insulted my daughter first!"
"Your daughter? Humph!"
The old man let out a heavy snort. "Your daughter is nothing more than a bastard child! Was Weiwei wrong in what she said?!"
At those words, Ye Chen clenched his fists so tightly that a series of sharp, popping sounds—like roasting beans—crackled from his knuckles.
From this incident alone, it wasn't hard for him to gauge the Xia family's attitude toward Xia Qingyue, nor was it hard to imagine how Xia Qingyue had managed to survive the past five years.
...Xia Qingyue desperately wanted the approval of her parents! Remembering what Xia Qingyue had said just moments before, Ye Chen finally managed to hold back and refrained from throwing a punch.
Instead, he asked with icy interrogation, "Since Qingyue is no longer a member of the Xia family, by what right do you give her orders?!"
"Who are you?"
The old man furrowed his brows, locking his gaze tightly onto Ye Chen as he shouted sternly, "This is my Xia family's territory. Right here at the gates of the Xia family, I am disciplining a traitor of our clan. It has nothing to do with an outsider like you, and you have no right to stick your nose into this!"
"My name is Ye Chen."
Ye Chen showed not a shred of fear, meeting the old man's gaze directly like sharp needles clashing against pointed awns. "I am Xia Qingyue's husband, and the father of Ye Ningning! You insulted my daughter and bullied my wife, yet you dare claim it has nothing to do with me?!"
"You... you are Xiao Ningning's father?"
Hearing those words, Xia Junjie, Zhang Lan, and Xia Qingcheng were all stunned.
They had asked Xia Qingyue countless times about Xiao Ningning's biological father, but she had never given them an answer.
Today, this man had finally appeared.
Aside from Xia Junjie's family of three, the other members of the Xia family were also quietly observing Ye Chen.
"He does look rather upright and handsome... It's just that his clothes are far too ordinary!"
"Don't just look at his clothes. This man... he drove up here in a Pagani Huaiqi just now! Look over there, that black supercar!"
"A luxury car worth over one hundred million—gasp! I recognize that car! It's the Yazi, limited to only five worldwide!!"
"To be able to drive a car like this, could he possibly be a young master from one of the prominent aristocratic families in Yandu?!"
"It's entirely possible... Only that explanation makes sense. A portion of the nobility in Yandu are imperial relatives and descendants of royalty!! Could it be that Xia Qingyue went to such desperate lengths to conceal this man's identity for this very reason?!"
In an instant, the members of the Xia family began to wildly speculate among themselves.
Even the old man wore a solemn expression. What if this turned out to be true?
Xia Lingwei and Jiang Feichi furrowed their brows. Earlier, they had been too consumed by rage to remember the value of that car... but that car had indeed been driven here by Ye Chen.
If Ye Chen was capable of driving a luxury vehicle worth over one hundred million, then Ye Chen's background... was it something they could afford to provoke?
The thought sent a cold sweat creeping down the backs of the two younger individuals.
"This... is this car really yours?"
Xia Qingyue's mother, Zhang Lan, finally couldn't help but ask.
"I suppose... you could say that..."
Ye Chen frowned, thought for a moment, and answered truthfully, "This car was a gift from my disciple!"
A disciple? ...Gifting it to you?
Hearing that response, the crowd first furrowed their brows in skepticism. Who on earth would give away such an expensive luxury car as a gift?!
Could it just be a joke between friends?
Then, a vivid scene flashed through their minds:
Ye Chen asks, 'Can you lend me this car for a spin?'
The other person replies, 'Go ahead and drive it. Given our relationship, I'll even give it to you...'
You actually took a polite figure of speech between friends seriously? As if someone would genuinely gift away a car like that!
Once they figured that out, an uproar broke out among the crowd, and looks of utter disdain once again surfaced in their eyes. "Heh heh, if it's not even your own car, stop driving it over here just to put on a show!"
"That's right! I actually thought he was some young master from a Yandu noble family. Come to think of it, that's completely impossible... Which young master would dress up in such shabby clothes?"
"Xia Qingyue is truly pitiful. She waited in bitterness and agony for five years, only to end up with a down-and-out wanderer who has to borrow cars!"
"Hahaha..."
Amidst the mocking laughter of the crowd, Xia Junjie's face instantly flushed red, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
How humiliating! This was just too humiliating!
"Sis..."
Xia Qingcheng bit her lower lip. The words "brother-in-law" ultimately refused to pass her lips, so she asked with as much indifference as she could muster, "Then... what kind of work do you do?"
Xia Qingcheng figured that even if Ye Chen lacked background, as long as he had a decent profession, it would mean her sister hadn't misjudged him after all.
Perhaps then, people would stop mocking him!
"My job?"
What was his job? Sect Master of Kunlun Mountain? Patriarch of the Second-Generation Disciples? Master of the Third-Generation Disciples? ...Or perhaps, the teacher of God of War Ye Junjun and God of Slaughter Nie Wuji?
This question genuinely cornered Ye Chen.
Seeing Ye Chen hesitate and struggle for an answer, Xia Qingcheng felt a wave of immediate disappointment. "Don't tell me you don't even have a job? I really don't know what my sister ever saw in you!"
"I... well, I suppose you could say I'm a teacher!" Ye Chen could only say helplessly.
"A teacher?"
"You *suppose*...?"
"Could it be that you're just a temporary worker, the kind who doesn't even have a driver's license?!"
"Hahaha, what a clown. A mere temporary worker, and he dares come running to the gates of the Xia family to act wild?!"
"And on top of that, he just scratched Weiwei and offended Young Master Jiang!! Tsk tsk tsk, for a temporary teacher, he sure has a lot of nerve!"
"I'm afraid he'll be leaving this place with his corpse strewn across the streets very soon—won't even have enough pieces left to make a full body?!"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"I'm sorry... Ye Chen, it's all my fault..."
"It has nothing to do with you."
Ye Chen tightly grasped Xia Qingyue's delicate hand and said word by word, "Someday, all these people who mock us will kneel before us and kowtow in apology!"
"Ha, kowtow in apology to you? Who do you think you are?!"
"Do you really think you're some young master from a Yandu aristocratic family?"
"How laughable!"
The members of the Xia family sneered coldly. The old man let out an angry roar, "Men, chase this pair of shameless dogs out of here before they contaminate the engagement banquet of my granddaughter and future grandson-in-law!"
"Hehehe~!"
Xia Lingwei laughed until her shoulders shook. "Xia Qingyue, oh Xia Qingyue, is this the man you chose? ...Hehehe, next time you pick a man, remember to wipe your glasses clean!"
"Humph."
Jiang Feichi let out a cold snort, his gaze locked tightly onto the stunning and radiant Xia Qingyue, while his mind raced on how to trick her into his bed for a few rounds.
"The betrothal gifts have arrived!"
Right at that moment, a high-pitched, resonant voice echoed from the distance.
They saw eight black Maybachs slowly driving toward them. Once the cars came to a halt at the Xia family gates, a middle-aged man dressed like a head butler asked respectfully, "Is this the Jinling Xia family?"
"It is... may I ask who you are?" the old man asked.
However, the middle-aged man ignored him entirely, saying indifferently, "Since this is the Xia family, then we have the right place. Bring out the betrothal gifts!"
At the butler's command, eight young men dressed in black suits stepped out of the eight black Maybachs.
Holding precious treasures in their hands, they marched over in neat, orderly rows.
Only then did the middle-aged man speak up again, his voice ringing out clearly: "I have been sent under orders to deliver the betrothal gifts to the pearl of the Xia family... The gifts are as follows!"
"May flowers bloom and wealth follow: eight million eight hundred thousand in cash!"
"A phoenix returning in grandeur: one jade-inlaid gold phoenix hairpin!"
"Ausperciousness and all wishes granted: one emerald green Ruyi scepter!"
"Riches and honor upon your person: one complete set of pure gold jewelry!"
"A harmonious union for a hundred years: a pair of red jade mandarin ducks!"
"A harmonious union for a hundred years: one carved imperial green jade statue..."
Listening to the middle-aged man's resonant, high-pitched voice, along with the exquisitely handcrafted gold jewelry and jade carvings being presented one by one, everyone's eyes widened in shock!
Even the head of the Xia family couldn't help but stare in astonishment at the sight of these betrothal gifts!
Eight million eight hundred thousand in cash!! Along with exquisitely handcrafted pure gold jewelry!! Priceless imperial green jadeite!! ...Adding all these items together amounted to well over twenty million!!
"Darling... is—is this the betrothal gift you prepared for me?" Xia Lingwei stared at the gleaming gold and emerald green in absolute disbelief.
"This... um, yes, of course it is!"
Jiang Feichi nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling a surge of profound shock in his heart as well...
*'Holy crap! Adding all this stuff up, it's gotta be worth at least thirty million? Could it be... did our Jiang Family actually send this after all?!'*
*'That's not right... when I left the house, I didn't see nearly this much stuff...'*
*'Could it be that Mom and Dad wanted to give me a surprise? With this kind of scale... they must be grooming me to take over as the family successor!'*
The thought gave Jiang Feichi an immediate boost of confidence. Standing tall and radiant, he proclaimed, "In all of Jinling City, aside from our Jiang Family, who else could pull off such a grand display when taking a bride?! Weiwei, don't you worry. Once you marry into our Jiang Family, I guarantee you'll live in luxury, eating and drinking the finest things with wealth beyond measure!"
"As expected of Young Master Jiang, what incredible generosity!"
"These betrothal gifts alone are worth tens of millions... In all of Jinling City, only the Jiang Family has this kind of capability!"
"Young Master Jiang is mighty! Weiwei, you really are so blessed! You and Young Master Jiang are truly a match made in heaven!"
The members of the Xia family showered Jiang Feichi with endless praises in unison...
A smile spread across Jiang Feichi's face as he cast a covert glance to check Xia Qingyue's reaction.
Sure enough, envy and a sense of desolation flickered in that woman's eyes!
Even though Xia Qingyue hid it well, what woman didn't dream of having the wedding of her dreams?!
*Heh heh heh... Go ahead and envy me with all your heart. Once you've had enough of a life of poverty, I'll find a way to make you my mistress!!*
Jiang Feichi thought darkly to himself; possessing Xia Qingyue's body had long since become an obsession burning in his heart.
"They really were meant for me! Darling, you are simply the best..."
Xia Lingwei hugged Jiang Feichi tightly in her joy, shouting aloud, "I am going to be the happiest woman in the entire world!!"
With that, she lowered her voice and whispered in a tone meant only for the two of them, "Darling... tonight I'll go to the hotel with you. Whatever you want to do with me, however you want to play, we can do it."
"Hehehe."
A smile crept to the corner of Jiang Feichi's mouth as he said swaggeringly, "A mere few tens of millions is nothing. My woman, of course, deserves to enjoy the finest things this world has to offer!"
"Wow!" Xia Lingwei felt like she was melting from happiness, going completely limp in Jiang Feichi's arms as she sneered, "Xia Qingyue, did you see that? This is my man! Look at the betrothal gifts my man gave me, and then look at your man? ...Hehehe, your entire life is only fit for wallowing in the mud!!"
Ye Chen stared coldly at Jiang Feichi, speaking syllable by syllable, "Who said these are betrothal gifts from the Jiang Family?"
With that, Ye Chen glared at Xia Lingwei and asked coldly, "Who said she is the only treasured pearl of the Jiang Family?"
As those words fell, everyone froze in place.
"If they aren't for me, then who are they for? These betrothal gifts... they couldn't possibly be for Xia Qingyue, could they?!"
Xia Lingwei shouted loudly, "These things were all given to me by my husband... Darling, tell him these betrothal gifts were prepared for me by the Jiang Family!!"
Jiang Feichi had no idea what was going on either, but having been pushed onto a tiger's back, with all eyes upon him, he could only grit his teeth and say, "That's right, they're for you!"
To everyone's surprise, the moment Jiang Feichi's voice trailed off, a black stretched Bentley slowly pulled up to the gates of the Xia family estate.
A middle-aged man in his forties wearing a silver Tang suit stepped out. He looked wealthy and refined, with all ten fingers adorned with imperial green jadeite rings of varying shades.
"This man... this man is actually the Jade King of Suzhou and Hangzhou, Shi Tianqi!"
"I heard that Shi Tianqi is the number one jade merchant in Daxia Country, and his net worth exceeded three hundred billion long ago..."
"What! Shi Tianqi, the Jade King..."