That beautiful oval face featured skin as fair and smooth as a peeled egg, glowing and glossy, with a plump, youthful elasticity visible to the naked eye. Then there were those alluring peach-blossom eyes—clear and bright, yet endlessly captivating.
Beyond her face, Xia Qingcheng possessed the kind of figure every woman envied: long legs, a slender waist, and exquisitely curved waistlines.
"A, B, C, D... E?"
Jiang Feichi mentally estimated, his eyes locking onto Xia Qingyue and refusing to budge.
Clearly a woman in simple clothes who had spent five years enduring hardship... yet her temperament and beauty left Xia Lingwei trailing a dozen streets behind!
"Damn it!"
Jiang Feichi's sense of balance instantly collapsed. He had once pursued Xia Qingyue with frantic obsession—to him, Xia Qingyue was his white moonlight, his unblemished cinnabar mole!
The only pity was... Xia Qingyue had gotten pregnant before marriage 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 could no longer hold back her composure and said, "Today is our auspicious engagement day... Xia Qingyue, she brought some wild man here to make trouble, and even squeezed his grip so hard my wrist turned red!"
As she spoke, Xia Lingwei hastily raised her arm, revealing a bright red handprint right on her wrist.
It was precisely the one Ye Chen had squeezed just moments ago!
"You did that?!"
Jiang Feichi's gaze grew cold. As much as he was mesmerized by Xia Qingyue's beauty... Xia Lingwei was his fiancée-to-be.
Bullying his fiancée in public—wasn't that tantamount to landing a slap across Young Master Jiang's own face?!
"Yes."
Faced with Jiang Feichi's interrogation, Ye Chen answered with a single, calm word.
"Damn it, you're asking for death!"
"Shit, how dare you mess with our sister-in-law? You're dead!"
"Damn it, crush this bastard!"
As soon as these words fell, the sycophants behind Jiang Feichi began to jump out one by one, threatening to tear Ye Chen limb from limb.
"What is all this racket about?!"
At that very moment, a white-haired elder slowly walked out, supported by a crowd of people.
The old man was around seventy years old. Although his physique was no longer entirely robust, his sharp, spirited eyes sparkled brightly, and his tone carried immense authority.
"Grandpa!"
Hearing that voice, Xia Lingwei immediately began to complain: "It's Xia Qingyue... This bitch was clearly expelled from the Xia Family, yet today she brought some wild man here to cause trouble, and even injured my wrist! Look at this!"
"Qingyue?"
Before the elder could speak, a middle-aged couple and a young girl behind him all experienced a violent tremor in their pupils.
Then, fixing their gazes tightly on Xia Qingyue, they said with trembling voices: "You... you're back?!"
***
That middle-aged couple was none other than Xia Qingyue's parents, Xia Junjie and Zhang Lan.
The young girl behind them was Xia Qingyue's younger sister, Xia Qingcheng.
And that sharp-eyed, spirited elder 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 precisely Xia Junyuan's daughter... moreover, Xia Lingwei had an older brother named Xia Tianqi.
Because of the elder's deep-rooted preference for boys over girls, Xia Junjie's family had never been favored by him.
Especially when Xia Qingyue became pregnant out of wedlock, bringing disgrace to the Xia Family name—that made the elder hold their family in even greater disdain.
As for Xia Qingcheng, she was too young, only nineteen, and studying at Jinling City University. She couldn't get married yet, nor could she bring any benefits to the family!
By comparison, the elder favored Xia Junyuan's family immensely.
The eldest son, Xia Junyuan, had a son under his knee... who was also the only male heir of the Xia Family.
In the future, the Xia Family's assets would undoubtedly be inherited by that male heir, Xia Tianqi!
As for Xia Lingwei, entering a marriage alliance with the Jiang Family's third young master would surely bring abundant benefits to the Xia Family down the road...
Now, that was what descendants of the Xia Family ought to look like!
"Hmm?"
Seeing the injury on Xia Lingwei's wrist, the elder's gaze darkened as he said, "Xia Qingyue, you have already been expelled from the Xia Family. Why have you returned to cause trouble today?!"
"I..."
Xia Qingyue bit her lower lip hard and said, "I didn't cause trouble. The moment I came back... Xia Lingwei pointed right at my daughter's nose, cursing her, calling her a wild—"
She didn't have the heart to say the rest.
Yet everyone already understood what had happened.
However, the elder simply stared at Xia Qingyue with ice-cold eyes and barked harshly, "You are no longer a member of the Xia Family, yet you dare come here and make a scene? Right now, I order you to apologize to Weiwei!"
"Grandpa..."
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, hmph!"
The elder let out a heavy snort. "Your daughter is nothing more than a bastard seed. Was Weiwei wrong?!"
At those words, Ye Chen clenched his fists 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 survived these past five years.
...Xia Qingyue desperately wanted the approval of her parents! Remembering what Xia Qingyue had said earlier, Ye Chen finally managed to hold back from throwing a punch.
Instead, he demanded 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 elder furrowed his brows, locking his gaze tightly onto Ye Chen as he snapped harshly, "This is my Xia Family's territory. Right outside the Xia Family gates, 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 no fear whatsoever, locking eyes with the elder in a clash as sharp as opposing needle points. "I am Xia Qingyue's husband, and Ye Yuning's father! You insult my daughter and bully my wife, yet you dare say it has nothing to do with me?!"
"You... you are little Ningning's father?"
Hearing these words, Xia Junjie, Zhang Lan, and Xia Qingcheng were all stunned.
Regarding little Ningning's biological father, they had asked Xia Qingyue countless times, but she had never answered.
Today, this man had finally appeared.
Aside from Xia Junjie's family of three, the rest of the Xia Family members were also quietly observing Ye Chen.
"He does look rather dashing... it's just that his clothes are far too ordinary!"
"Don't just look at his clothes, this man... he was driving a Pagani Huayra when he pulled up just now! Look over there, it's that black supercar!"
"A luxury car worth over a hundred million yuan—gasp! I know that car, the Zaijian, a global limited edition of only five!"
Could it be that he is a young master from some prestigious family in Yandu?"
"Maybe... that's the only logical explanation. Some of the nobility over in Yandu are closely tied to imperial royalty! Could that be why Xia Qingyue fought so hard to keep this man's identity a secret?!"
In an instant, the members of the Xia Family began wildly speculating among themselves.
Even the elder's expression grew grave. What if this turned out to be true?
Xia Lingwei and Jiang Feichi furrowed their brows. Just now, they had been too consumed by rage to remember the car's value... that car had unquestionably been driven here by Ye Chen.
If Ye Chen was capable of driving a luxury car worth over a hundred million, then Ye Chen's background... was it something they could afford to provoke?
At that thought, cold sweat suddenly beaded on the backs of the two youngsters.
"Is... is that car really yours?"
Xia Qingyue's mother, Zhang Lan, finally couldn't help asking.
"I suppose... you could say that..."
Ye Chen thought with a frown and spoke truthfully, "This car was a gift from my disciple!"
A disciple? ...Gifted to you?
Hearing this answer, the crowd first furrowed their brows in disbelief! Who on earth would give away such an expensive luxury car as a gift?!
Could it just be a joke between friends?
Then, a specific scene flashed through their minds:
Ye Chen asked, "Can I borrow this car for a drive?"
The other person replied, "Go ahead, given our relationship, I'd even give it to you..."
A piece of polite small talk between friends, and you actually took it seriously? Would the other party really hand over a car like that?
Once they figured this out, an uproar broke out among the crowd, and looks of disdain once again surfaced in their eyes. "Hmph, since it's not even your car, stop driving it here to put on airs!"
"Yeah, for a second I thought he was some Yandu noble young master. Now that I think about it, that's simply impossible... Which young master would dress in such a shabby state?"
"Xia Qingyue is truly pitiful. She waited bitterly for five years, only to end up with a broke vagrant who borrows cars!"
"Hahaha..."
Amidst the jeers of the crowd, Xia Junjie's face instantly flushed crimson, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
How humiliating, utterly humiliating!
"Sis..."
Xia Qingcheng bit her lower lip. The words "brother-in-law" ultimately failed to pass her lips, and she instead asked with as much indifference as she could muster, "Then... what kind of work do you do?"
Xia Qingcheng thought to herself that even if Ye Chen lacked a background, having a decent profession would at least mean her older sister hadn't misjudged her choice in men.
Perhaps that way, 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 being the teacher of figures like God of War Ye Junling and God of Slaughter Nie Wuji?
This question truly stumped Ye Chen.
Seeing Ye Chen hesitate and struggle to answer, Xia Qingcheng was instantly disappointed. "Don't tell me you don't even have a job? I really have no idea what my sister saw in you!"
"I... sigh, I suppose I'm a teacher!" Ye Chen could only say with a helpless shrug.
"A teacher?"
"You *suppose*...?"
"Could he 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 come make a scene at the gates of the Xia Family?!"
"On top of that, he just manhandled Weiwei and offended Young Master Jiang! Tsk tsk, a temporary worker teacher has some serious guts!"
"I'm afraid he'll be leaving his corpse in the streets shortly, not even leaving enough of a body to put together!"
"Hahahaha!!!"
***
Listening to the sneers and laughter of the crowd, Xia Qingyue felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.
"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, speaking word for word, "These people who mock us will, one day, 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 laughed coldly, and the elder let out an angry bellow, "Someone, throw this pair of scandalous wretches out so they don't stain my granddaughter and future grandson-in-law's engagement banquet!"
"Hehehehe~!"
Xia Lingwei laughed until her shoulders shook, saying, "Xia Qingyue, oh Xia Qingyue, is *this* the man you chose? ...Hehehe, next time you pick a man, remember to wipe your eyes a bit clearer!"
"Hmph."
Jiang Feichi let out a cold snort, his gaze locked tightly onto the stunning and vibrant figure of Xia Qingyue while his mind calculated how to trick her into bed for a few rounds.
"The betrothal gifts have arrived!!"
At that precise moment, a loud, resonant voice echoed from the distance.
Eight black Maybachs slowly drove into view. Once the cars came to a halt in front of the Xia Family gates, a middle-aged man dressed like a butler stepped out and asked respectfully, "Is this the Jinling Xia Family?"
"It is... and you are?" the elder asked.
However, the middle-aged man ignored him entirely, stating calmly, "Since it's the Xia Family, then we've got the right place. Deliver the betrothal gifts!"
Following the elder man's command, a young man dressed in a black suit stepped out of each of the eight black Maybachs.
Holding precious treasures in their hands, they walked forward in neat, orderly fashion.
Only then did the middle-aged man speak up in a resonant voice, "I come under orders to deliver the betrothal gifts to the pearl of the Xia Family... The gifts are as follows!"
"Flowers blooming with prosperity, eight million eight hundred thousand in cash!"
"A phoenix paying homage, a single gold-inlaid jade phoenix hairpin!"
"Auspendous and auspicious, an emerald green jade Ruyi scepter!"
"Wealth and prosperity embodied, a complete set of pure gold jewelry!"
"A lifelong union of branches, a pair of red jade mandarin ducks!"
"A lifelong union of branches, a single carved Emperor Green jade ornament..."
Listening to the middle-aged man's loud and resonant voice, along with the exquisitely handcrafted gold jewelry, jade carvings, and other such items, everyone's eyes widened in shock!
Even the head of the Xia Family couldn't help starting in surprise upon seeing these betrothal gifts!
Eight million eight hundred thousand in cash!! Along with exquisitely handcrafted pure gold jewelry!! Priceless Emperor Green jade!! ...Adding all these things together amounted to well over twenty million yuan alone!!
"Darling... are, are these the betrothal gifts you prepared for me?" Xia Lingwei stared in utter astonishment at the glittering gold and verdant jade.
"This... um, yes, of course they are!"
Jiang Feichi nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead, feeling utterly shaken inside as well.
'Holy crap! Adding all this stuff up, it's gotta be worth at least thirty million? Could it... could it really be sent by our Jiang Family?!'
'That's not right... when I left home, I didn't see 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 as the family successor!'
At that thought, Jiang Feichi instantly regained his confidence, puffing out his chest as he said radiant with pride, "In all of Jinling City, besides our Jiang Family, who else takes a wife with such an extravagant display?! Weiwei, don't you worry. Once you marry into our Jiang Family, I guarantee you'll live in luxury and enjoy endless wealth and prosperity!"
"As expected of a young master of the Jiang Family, truly generous with his wealth!"
"These betrothal gifts 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 blessed! You and Young Master Jiang are truly a match made in heaven!"
The Xia Family members heaped praise upon praise onto Jiang Feichi...
A smile hung on Jiang Feichi's face as he covertly stole a glance at Xia Qingyue's reaction.
Sure enough, envy and dejection had surfaced in that woman's eyes!
Even though Xia Qingyue hid it remarkably well, what woman wouldn't yearn for the wedding of her dreams?!
'Hmph hmph hmph... Go ahead and envy away. Once you've had enough of living in poverty, I'll find a way to make you my mistress!!'
Jiang Feichi thought with dark malice; acquiring Xia Qingyue's body had become an obsession burning in his heart.
"They really were all meant for me! Darling, you are simply the best..."
Xia Lingwei happily hugged Jiang Feichi tight, crying out loudly, "From now on, I'm the happiest woman in the entire world!!"
With that, she lowered her voice to a whisper audible only to the two of them. "Darling... tonight I'll go with you to the hotel. Whatever way you want to play, we'll play."
"Hehehe."
The corners of Jiang Feichi's mouth curled into a smile as he swaggered, "A mere tens of millions? Naturally, my woman deserves to enjoy the finest things this world has to offer!"
"Wow!" Xia Lingwei felt like she was melting from happiness, going limp in Jiang Feichi's arms as she crowed, "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, you are only fit to live in the mud for the rest of your life!!"
Ye Chen stared coldly at Jiang Feichi, pronouncing every word clearly: "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?"
At those words, everyone froze.
"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 cried out loudly, "These things were all given to me by my darling... Darling, tell him these betrothal gifts were prepared by the Jiang Family for me! Hurry up and tell him!!"
Jiang Feichi had no idea what was going on either, but having been put on the spot in front of everyone, he could only grit his teeth and say, "That's right, they're for you!"
To everyone's surprise, no sooner had Jiang Feichi's voice fallen than a black extended Bentley slowly pulled up to the gates of the Xia Family.
A middle-aged man around forty years old, dressed in a silver Tang suit, exuding an aura of wealth and opulence, wore Emperor Green jade rings of various shades on all ten fingers.
"This person... this person is actually the Jade King of Suzhou and Hangzhou, Shi Tianqi!"
"I heard that Shi Tianqi is the number one jade merchant in the Great Xia Country, and his net worth exceeded three hundred billion long ago..."
"What! Shi Tianqi, the Jade King... he, why has he come to Jinling City!"
"Could these jade pieces have been sent by Shi Tianqi himself?!"
"What on earth is he doing in Jinling City?"
Just as the crowd chattered in heated discussion, Shi Tianqi wore an expression of utmost reverence as he walked step by step toward Ye Chen and Xia Qingyue!
With every step Shi Tianqi took, Jiang Feichi and Xia Ziwei's hearts sank heavily... At that moment, they seemed to guess something, yet their hearts refused to accept it, unwilling to even believe it!
'No, we must have guessed wrong. The Jade King could only possibly be helping this punk deliver betrothal gifts!'
'Impossible! Absolutely impossible!'
Jiang Feichi and Xia Ziwei both screamed frantically in the depths of their hearts.
***
Amidst the shocked gazes of the crowd, Shi Tianqi walked step by step right up to Ye Chen and Xia Qingyue!
Then, bowing respectfully, he said, "I never expected Master to be here as well. The betrothal gifts have been delivered. I wonder if Master and Madam are satisfied?"
Swish!
As those words were spoken, everyone stood frozen in stunned silence.
So these betrothal gifts turned out to be for Xia Qingyue after all!
So the pearl of the Xia Family they kept referring to was actually Xia Qingyue!
"Gasp..."
"If these betrothal gifts came from the hands of Shi Tianqi, their value goes far beyond just tens of millions!"
"That's right, I heard that this Jade King's collection consists entirely of masterworks. A single piece by a master craftsman has a carving fee running into six or seven figures alone..."
"Doesn't that mean the finished product is even more expensive?!"
After the members of the Xia Family drew in sharp breaths of cold air, the looks in their eyes when they turned back to Ye Chen had completely transformed.
Just what kind of background did this young man have?!
"You put thought into this."
Facing these betrothal gifts worth tens of millions, Ye Chen merely offered a calm three-word reply.