"Otherwise, my husband will leave you dead in the street in a minute!"
"Oh?"
Ye Chen merely raised an eyebrow slightly. Was there really someone in Jinling City who could leave him dead in the street?!
He was about to speak when Xia Qingyue grabbed his arm. Looking at him with pitiful eyes, she 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 brimming with mist and tears, Ye Chen's heart softened. "Alright, I'll listen to you in everything!"
"Humph!"
Xia Lingwei let out a cold snort. "Cowardice is just cowardice! Clearly, you don't dare to provoke the Jiang Clan, yet you put on such a loving act! Xia Qingyue, you and your wild man sure know how to act!"
With that, Xia Lingwei twisted her waist and walked toward the red Lamborghini.
By this time, Jiang Feichi had already stepped out of the car, his gaze burning with intensity as it locked onto Xia Qingyue...
The moment he parked just now, he had caught sight of the Pagani Huayra parked right outside the Xia family entrance—the Zonda!
This was a luxury supercar with an on-the-road price exceeding one hundred million!
Limited to only five worldwide, even the Jiang Clan was not qualified to purchase such a luxury vehicle!
Of course, even if they had the qualifications... the Jiang Clan wouldn't buy it!
Although the assets of the Jiang Clan already amounted to several billion—doing business and spending money were two entirely different things. Asking the Jiang Clan to fork out one hundred million for business was fine... but taking one hundred million to buy a car?
...They would have to be out of their minds!
After staring enviously at the car for a few seconds, Jiang Feichi's gaze shifted to Xia Lingwei and Xia Qingyue.
Having not seen her in so long, Xia Qingyue actually looked even more beautiful... That pretty, delicate face had skin as fair and smooth as a peeled egg, glossy and radiant, with a visible, springy elasticity! And those alluring peach-blossom eyes—pure and bright, yet endlessly captivating!
Aside from her face, Xia Qingyue possessed the kind of superb figure every woman envied... long legs, a slender waist, and striking curves!
"A, B, C, D... E?"
Jiang Feichi mentally estimated, his eyes locked onto Xia Qingyue, completely unable to tear them away.
Clearly a woman in simple clothes who had spent the past five years enduring hardship... yet her aura and looks left Xia Lingwei in the dust by a margin of ten streets!!
"Damn it!"
Jiang Feichi's sense of balance instantly tipped. Back then, he had pursued Xia Qingyue with crazed devotion—to him, Xia Qingyue was his white moonlight, his cinnabar mole!
It was a pity... that Xia Qingyue had conceived out of wedlock and even given birth to a daughter!
Otherwise, Jiang Feichi definitely would have called off the engagement on the spot, abandoned Xia Lingwei, and chosen Xia Qingyue instead!
"Darling!"
Seeing the look in Jiang Feichi's eyes, Xia Lingwei instantly lost her composure and said, "Today is the auspicious day of our engagement... Xia Qingyue, she—she brought some wild man here to make trouble, and he even bruised this person's wrist!"
As she spoke, Xia Lingwei hurriedly raised her arm, revealing a fiery red handprint on her wrist.
It was precisely the one Ye Chen had squeezed just moments ago!
"You're the one who squeezed it?!"
Jiang Feichi's gaze turned chillingly cold. While he was more infatuated with Xia Qingyue's beauty... after all, Xia Lingwei was his fiancée-to-be.
Bullying his fiancée in public—wasn't this equivalent to slapping him, Young Master Jiang, right across the face?!
"Yes."
Faced with Jiang Feichi's interrogation, Ye Chen gave a single, indifferent reply.
"Damn it, you're looking to die!"
"Hell, how dare you mess with our sister-in-law? You're asking for death!"
"Damn it, finish this bastard off!"
As soon as those words left his mouth, the sycophants trailing behind Jiang Feichi leaped forward one by one, threatening to tear Ye Chen to shreds.
"What is all this shouting about?!"
Right at that moment, an elderly man with white hair, supported by several people, slowly walked out.
The old man was around seventy years old. Although his physique wasn't particularly robust, his sharp, spirited eyes gleamed brightly, and his tone carried an air of great authority.
"Grandfather!"
Hearing that voice, Xia Lingwei immediately began to lodge a complaint: "It's Xia Qingyue... This bitch was clearly driven out of the Xia family, yet today she brought a wild man here to cause trouble, and he even injured my wrist! Just look at this!!"
"Qingyue?"
Before the old man could speak, a middle-aged couple and a young girl standing behind him all trembled slightly.
Then their gazes locked tightly onto Xia Qingyue, and they said with trembling voices, "You... you're back!!"
The young girl standing behind them was none other than Xia Qingyue's own 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 named Xia Junyuan, and the second son was named Xia Junjie.
Xia Lingwei was precisely Xia Junyuan's daughter... furthermore, Xia Lingwei had an older brother named Xia Tianqi.
Because the old man held deep-rooted views favoring boys over girls, Xia Junjie's family was never favored by him.
Especially since Xia Qingyue's unwed pregnancy had brought shame upon the Xia family's reputation—this made the old man look upon their family with even greater disfavor.
As for Xia Qingcheng, she was too young, only nineteen, and still studying at Jinling City University. She couldn't marry yet, nor could she bring any benefits to the family!
By comparison, the old man greatly favored Xia Junyuan's household.
The eldest son, Xia Junyuan, had a son under his knee... who was also the sole 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!
As for Xia Lingwei, through her current marriage alliance with the Jiang Clan, she would surely bring countless benefits to the Xia family in the days to come...
Now *this* was how the descendants of the Xia family ought to behave!!
"Hmm?"
Seeing the injury on Xia Lingwei's hand, the old man's gaze darkened. "Xia Qingyue, you have already been driven out of the Xia family. Why have you come back to make trouble today?"
"I..."
Xia Qingyue bit her lip hard. "I didn't cause trouble. The moment I came back... Xia Lingwei pointed right at my daughter's nose, cursing her, calling her a wi—"
She couldn't bear to say the remaining words out there in the open.
Yet everyone already understood what had happened.
However, the old man stared at Xia Qingyue with icy eyes and rebuked sternly, "You are no longer a member of the Xia family, yet you come here to stir up trouble? Now, I command you to apologize to Weiwei!!"
"Grandfather..."
Hearing this, Xia Qingyue's lips trembled 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 wild seed. Was Weiwei wrong to say so?"
At these words, Ye Chen's fists clenched tightly, producing a cracking sound like popping beans.
From this incident alone, it wasn't hard for him to discern 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 to win the recognition of her parents! Recalling what Xia Qingyue had said just moments before, Ye Chen finally managed to restrain himself from throwing a punch.
Instead, he asked with icy interrogation: "Since Qingyue is no longer a member of the Xia family, what right do you have to give her orders?!"
"Who are you?"
The old man frowned, fixing his gaze squarely on Ye Chen as he rebuked harshly, "This is the territory of the Xia family. At the entrance of the Xia family home, I am disciplining a traitor of the Xia family. It has nothing to do with an outsider like you, and there is even less need for an outsider like you to stick your nose in!"
"My name is Ye Chen."
Ye Chen showed not a trace of fear, locking eyes directly with the old man like sharp points meeting head-on. "I am Xia Qingyue's husband, and Ye Yuqing's father! You insult my daughter and bully my wife, yet you dare say it has nothing to do with me?!"
"You... you are Xiao Ningning's father?"
Hearing these words, Xia Junjie, Zhang Lan, and Xia Qingcheng were all stunned.
Regarding Xiao Ningning's biological father, they had asked Xia Qingyue countless times, but she had never given 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 quite dashing... It's just that his clothes are too ordinary!"
"Don't just look at the clothes. This man... just drove here in a Pagani Huayra. Look over there, it's that black supercar!"
"A luxury car worth over a hundred million—gasp!! I know this car, the Zonda, limited to five worldwide!!"
"Being able to drive a car like this, could he be a young master from some prominent family in Yandu?!"
"It's possible... Only this makes sense. A portion of the nobility over in Yandu are imperial relatives!! Could it be that Xia Qingyue fought tooth and nail to conceal this man's identity for this very reason?!"
In an instant, everyone in the Xia family began wildly speculating.
Even the old man wore a solemn expression. What if this turned out to be true?
Xia Lingwei and Jiang Feichi frowned. They had been too consumed by anger just now and had completely forgotten the value of that car... That vehicle had indeed been driven here by Ye Chen.
If Ye Chen was capable of driving such a hundred-million-yuan luxury car, then Ye Chen's background... was it something they could afford to provoke?
At this thought, cold sweat suddenly beaded on the backs of the two youngsters.
"This... is this car really yours?"
Xia Qingyue's mother, Zhang Lan, finally couldn't help asking.
"Maybe... I suppose so..."
Ye Chen frowned, thought for a moment, and answered truthfully, "This car was given to me by my disciple!"
A disciple? ...Gave it to you?
Hearing this response, everyone first frowned! 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 drive?'
The other person replies, 'Go ahead and drive it. With our relationship, I'd even give it to you...'
You actually took a polite remark between friends seriously? As if someone would really just give away a car like that?
Having figured this out, an uproar broke out among the crowd, and looks of disdain once again surfaced in their eyes. "Heh, since it's not your own car, stop driving it here to put on airs!"
"That's right. I actually thought he was some young Yandu aristocrat. Now that I think about it, that's simply impossible... Which young master would dress so shabbily?"
"Xia Qingyue is truly pitiful. She bitterly waited for five years, only to end up with a down-and-out vagrant who borrows cars!"
"Hahaha..."
Amidst the roaring laughter of the crowd, Xia Junjie's face instantly flushed crimson, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
It was too humiliating, simply too humiliating!
"Sis..."
Xia Qingcheng bit her lip hard. The words "brother-in-law" ultimately failed to pass her lips, and instead, she asked with as much indifference as she could muster: "Then... then what kind of work do you do?"
Xia Qingcheng thought to herself that if Ye Chen lacked background but possessed a decent profession, it would at least mean her older sister hadn't misjudged her man.
Perhaps, because of that, people wouldn't laugh at him anymore!
"My job?"
What was his job? Sovereign of Kunlun Mountain? Patriarch of the second-generation disciples? Master of the third-generation disciples? ...Or perhaps the teacher of God of War Ye Junlin and God of Slaughter Nie Wuji?
This question genuinely cornered Ye Chen.
Seeing Ye Chen hesitate and look troubled, Xia Qingcheng was instantly disappointed: "Don't tell me you don't even have a job? I really don't know what my sister saw in you!"
"I... well, I suppose I'm a teacher!" Ye Chen could only say helplessly.
"A teacher?"
"And you *suppose*...?"
"Could it be 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 to run wild right at the gates of the Xia family?!"
"And just now he even grabbed Weiwei and offended Young Master Jiang! Tsk tsk tsk, a temporary teacher, and he's got some real nerve!!"
"I'm afraid he'll be left dead in the street in a moment, without even enough pieces to make a whole corpse?!"
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"I'm sorry... Ye Chen, it's all my fault..."
"It has nothing to do with you."
Ye Chen gripped Xia Qingyue's delicate hand tightly, speaking word by word: "These people who mock us—one day, they 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 prominent Yandu family?"
"Utterly ridiculous!"
The members of the Xia family laughed coldly, and the old man let out a furious roar: "Someone come here! Chase this pair of shameless dogs out of my sight, lest they stain 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 eyes clean!"
"Humph."
Jiang Feichi let out a cold snort, his gaze locked firmly upon the stunning and radiant Xia Qingyue as he calculated in his heart how to trick her into bed for a few rounds.
"The betrothal gifts have arrived!!"
Right at that moment, a high-pitched, resonant voice echoed from the distance.
Eight black Maybachs were seen slowly driving over. Once the cars came to a stop outside the Xia family gates, a middle-aged man dressed like a butler stepped out and asked respectfully, "Is this the Jinling Xia family?"
"Yes... May I ask who you are?" the old man inquired.
Yet the middle-aged man ignored him entirely, saying indifferently, "Since this is the Xia family, then there is no mistake. Bring out the betrothal gifts!"
Following the older man's command, young men dressed in black suits emerged from each of the eight black Maybachs.
Holding precious treasures in their hands, they walked over in neat, orderly fashion.
Only then did the middle-aged man speak up in a resonant voice: "I have come under orders to deliver the betrothal gifts to the pearl of the Xia family... The gifts are as follows!"
"Blooming Wealth and Honor: Cash of eight million eight hundred thousand!"
"Phoenix Returning to the Nest: One gold-inlaid jade phoenix hairpin!"
"Auspicious and Ruyi: One emerald-green ruyi scepter!"
"Wealth Incarnate: One complete set of pure gold jewelry!"
"Bound in Marriage: A pair of red jade mandarin ducks!"
"Bound in Marriage: One carved imperial-green jade statue..."
Listening to the middle-aged man's high-pitched, resonant voice, along with the exquisitely handcrafted gold jewelry, jade carvings, and other items, everyone's eyes widened in shock!
Even the old master of the Xia family couldn't help but freeze when he saw these betrothal gifts!
Cash of eight million eight hundred thousand!! Not to mention the exquisitely crafted pure gold jewelry!! Priceless imperial-green jadeite!! ...Putting all these items together, they were worth a whopping twenty million and more easily!!
"Darling... Th-this is the betrothal gift you prepared for me?" Xia Lingwei stared at the glittering gold and lush green jadeite, utterly dumbfounded.
"This... Uh, yes, of course it is!"
Jiang Feichi nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling incomparably shocked inside as well...
*'Holy crap! Putting all this stuff together, it's worth at least thirty million, right? Could it be... it really was sent by our Jiang family?!'*
*'No wait... When I left home, 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 be the heir to the family!'*
At this thought, Jiang Feichi instantly regained his confidence. With a glowing and spirited expression, he declared, "In the entire Jinling City, apart from our Jiang family, who else has such a grand display when taking a wife?! Weiwei, don't you worry. Once you marry into our Jiang family, I guarantee you'll eat well, drink well, and enjoy wealth and glory without end!"
"As expected of Young Master Jiang, truly so generous!"
"These betrothal gifts are worth tens of millions... In the entire 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 lingered on Jiang Feichi's face as he secretly glanced over to gauge Xia Qingyue's reaction.
Sure enough, envy and a sense of desolation appeared in that woman's eyes!
Even though Xia Qingyue hid it as best as she could, what woman didn't dream of having a wedding she longed for?!
* 'Hehehe... Go ahead and envy away. Once you've had enough of a life of poverty, I'll find a way to make you my mistress!!'*
Jiang Feichi thought darkly. Possessing Xia Qingyue's body had already become an obsession burning in his heart.
"They really were all meant for me! Darling, you are simply the best, darling..."
Overjoyed, Xia Lingwei hugged Jiang Feichi tightly and exclaimed loudly, "From now on, I am the happiest woman in the entire world!!"
With that, she lowered her voice and whispered in a tone only the two of them could hear: "Darling... tonight I'm going to the hotel with you. Whatever ways you want to play, we'll play however you like."
"Hehehe."
The corners of Jiang Feichi's mouth curled into a smile as he swaggered, "A mere tens of millions is nothing. Naturally, my woman deserves to enjoy the finest things in the world!"
"Wow!" Xia Lingwei was melting with happiness, dissolving limply into Jiang Feichi's embrace as she cried out, "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, in this lifetime, you are only fit to live in the mud!"
Ye Chen stared at Jiang Feichi with icy eyes, speaking word by word: "Who said these are the Jiang family's betrothal gifts?"
With that, Ye Chen glared at Xia Lingwei, asking coldly, "Who said you are the only precious pearl of the Jiang family?"
As soon as those words fell, everyone was stunned.
"If they aren't given to me, who are they for? These betrothal gifts... surely they couldn't be for Xia Qingyue, could they!?"
Xia Lingwei shouted aloud, "These things were all given to me by my husband... Darling, these betrothal gifts were prepared for me by the Jiang family!! Tell him right now!!"
Jiang Feichi had no idea what was going on either, but riding the tiger, he had no choice. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he could only grit his teeth and say, "Yes, they're for you!"
Unexpectedly, the moment Jiang Feichi's voice trailed off, a black stretched Bentley slowly pulled up to the Xia family gates.
A middle-aged man around forty years old, dressed in a silver Tang suit, looked prosperous and affluent, with imperial-green jade rings of various colors adorning all ten of his fingers.
"This person... this person is actually the Jadeite King of Suzhou and Hangzhou, Shi Tianqi!"
"I heard Shi Tianqi is the number one jadeite merchant in the Great Xia Country, and his net worth has long exceeded three hundred billion..."
"What! Shi Tianqi, the Jadeite King..."