"Intermarriage?! You old bastard, this is the solution you came up with? You absolute piece of trash!"
Standing in his staff dormitory, Ye Nan clutched a bright red marriage certificate and roared into his phone.
The old coot up on the mountain had told him he was arranging a match for him, which was why Ye Nan had come to Jiangling.
He had just started a job as a security guard at the woman's company, but when he looked closely at the marriage certificate, it turned out the agreement required him to marry into her family as a matrilocal husband!
A live-in son-in-law? Not even a dog would do that!
"I've been learning martial arts from you since I was a kid—martial arts, medicine, astrology, feng shui, I've mastered every school of thought!"
"A dazzling man like me, shining like a firefly in the pitch-black night, and you want me to be a live-in son-in-law?!"
"Do you take my status as the Dark Emperor of Great Xia as some kind of joke?!"
Facing Ye Nan's fury, the old coot on the other end of the line was unfazed.
"Right, your status isn't a joke—you're the one who's a joke, acting like a complete slut!"
"Who the hell told you to sleep with all five of your senior sisters?! Huh?!"
"And now look at you! Five pure maidens, and you got them all hooked!"
"The First Senior Sister ordered the Chamber of Commerce Alliance across the seven northern provinces of Great Xia to hunt you down; the Second Senior Sister's fleet has blockaded the eastern waters of Great Xia; the Third Senior Sister even mobilized the frontier garrison troops in the western borderlands, digging three feet deep to catch you; the Fourth Senior Sister sent your photo and personal information to government departments at all levels across the six southern provinces, issuing a real-name wanted warrant!"
"Only the Fifth Senior Sister is currently being kept by me on the mountain, so she hasn't returned to Jiangling in Zhongzhou."
"Tell me, if you don't go to Jiangling, where else can you go?!"
Ye Nan instantly choked.
Sleeping with his senior sisters really wasn't very honorable, but they gave him way too much stuff!
As the Dark Emperor, the guardian deity of Great Xia, Ye Nan had spent recent years entirely dedicated to his country and its people. His fame and status had reached their absolute peak, but he was completely broke—poor as a church mouse.
"Hiding in Jiangling is fine and all, but marrying into the family..." Ye Nan muttered, lacking confidence.
"Cut the crap!" the old man snapped ungratefully. "Putting your senior sisters aside, this match was settled between me and the grandfather of that girl, Lin Qingrou. You have to agree to it!"
"I've already informed the old man of the Lin family. Lin Qingrou will be coming to find you shortly."
"Let me warn you, you little brat—if you dare defy this match, I'll expel you from the sect!"
With that, the old coot abruptly hung up.
Far away on the snow-capped peak in the northwest, the old man let out a light sigh. "My disciple, you are fated to face a human tribulation, and only a 'kindred spirit' can resolve it. Your master has done his best to find your destined match; the rest is entirely up to you..."
...
Ye Nan stood frozen in place for a long time, never expecting that old bastard to drop such a harsh threat this time.
"Damn it, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it!" Ye Nan gritted his teeth, his expression resolute.
Marrying into the family it is! The moment he saw Lin Qingrou later, he would start making trouble!
He would wreak havoc, raise hell, and court death!
When she couldn't take it anymore and wanted to call off the wedding, she couldn't blame him—after all, he wasn't the one breaking off the engagement!
Just as he was thinking this, the roar of an engine suddenly echoed through the courtyard of the staff dormitory.
A Lamborghini pulled up right in the center of the yard.
A tall, graceful figure stepped out of the car.
The woman was wearing a water-blue, tight-fitting long dress, and her proud melons were practically bursting out of the dress's V-neck!
Beneath a wasp-like waist, her thick, rounded buttocks were hugged tightly by the hem of the dress, revealing a pair of snow-white, long legs stepping into high heels.
Her facial features were utterly flawless—a cold, breathtakingly beautiful face, offset by a natural beauty mark just below her left eye that added a touch of allure. She was an absolute masterpiece of a human being!
The president of Jiangling's Haiqing Group—Lin Qingrou!
Looking through the open door, Ye Nan's eyes lit up.
Holy crap, this chick is spicy!
She was not a bit inferior to those peerless senior sisters of his!
Click-clacking in her high heels, Lin Qingrou walked straight to Ye Nan's dormitory.
"You're Ye Nan?" Her cold, beautiful eyes looked him up and down, filled with deep contempt and disdain.
The man her grandfather found for her was this guy?
Aside from a decent face, he was completely worthless from head to toe—just a poor security guard, worlds apart from her own status.
Why on earth did it have to be this way?!
Lin Qingrou felt ten thousand objections in her heart.
But she had no choice; her grandfather's attitude this time was overwhelmingly firm, giving her no room for opposition.
Frowning in deep thought for a moment, an idea suddenly flashed through Lin Qingrou's mind.
She would figure out a way to make Ye Nan call off the engagement so that even her grandfather couldn't blame her!
"It's me." Ye Nan nodded and handed over the marriage certificate directly. "Check the document."
Lin Qingrou reached out to take it.
"Ah!"
Both of them let out a soft cry at almost the exact same time.
The edges of the marriage certificate turned out to be unusually sharp. As Lin Qingrou pulled it from Ye Nan's grip, both of their fingers were accidentally nicked by a small cut, and blood stained the paper.
"Huh?"
Ye Nan frowned slightly, staring intently at the marriage certificate in Lin Qingrou's hands to examine it closer.
Good grief!
Paper woven from Kunlun snow silkworms, ink mixed from North Sea giant octopus ink, and the golden embroidered patterns on the paper were actually high-level talisman arrays!
This marriage certificate was a top-tier magical artifact!
He had been so busy glaring at the two words "matrilocal marriage" in anger earlier that he hadn't even noticed!
That old bastard went to such massive trouble to make this marriage certificate? Why?!
At the same time, Lin Qingrou on the other end was experiencing even greater shock.
After her finger was nicked, a mystical sensation suddenly welled up in her heart.
Immediately following that, a voice inexplicably popped into her head.
[That old bastard went to such massive trouble to make this marriage certificate? Why?!]
Who? Who was speaking?!
Startled, Lin Qingrou turned pale, looking around the room in panic.
Yet the voice did not stop.
[Could it be that this Lin Qingrou and I are truly fated?]
[The old coot's destiny calculations actually hold some weight. Could it be he foresaw something, which is why he spared no expense to make this marriage certificate?]
Lin Qingrou finally figured it out—this was Ye Nan's voice!
"What did you just say?" Lin Qingrou asked, her expression a mix of shock and suspicion.
"Huh? I didn't say anything!" Ye Nan looked completely bewildered.
[Huh? Why is this woman's face so pale? She looks like she's seen a ghost!]
[Hah, whatever, I'm not thinking about it anymore! Anyway, from now on, I'm going to stir up trouble! I'll make trouble until she can't stand it and calls off the wedding! A live-in son-in-law? To hell with that!]
Lin Qingrou was finally certain.
She stared right at Ye Nan; he truly hadn't spoken aloud, yet the voice still echoed in her mind.
She could hear Ye Nan's inner thoughts!
This... how was that even possible?!
Yet the facts were right before her eyes, and no matter how hard it was to believe, she had to accept it.
What made Lin Qingrou even more astounded was that this poor security guard named Ye Nan shared her exact plan—both of them wanted the other person to call off the engagement!
Lin Qingrou instantly grew furious.
What right do you have?!
You're a stinky security guard, and I'm a female CEO. Having you marry into my family is already a blessing your ancestors spent eight generations accumulating!
What qualifications do you have to look down on being a live-in husband?!
Unaware that his inner thoughts had been completely exposed, Ye Nan plunged into his performance with great enthusiasm.
"Hey, beautiful, how old are you?" Ye Nan arched an eyebrow with a roguish look and asked flippantly.
When had Lin Qingrou ever been treated with such rudeness? A surge of anger rushed straight to her head.
No!
Don't be impulsive, don't get angry!
This scumbag was deliberately trying to provoke her so she would call off the wedding!
She must not play right into his hands!
"Twenty-five," Lin Qingrou forced herself to steady her emotions and said coldly.
"Well, that's just great! I'm twenty-two—they say an older woman brings golden bricks!" Ye Nan gave a carefree grin.
Lin Qingrou let out a soft huff; seeing that he could speak like a normal human being, her anger subsided slightly.
Yet the very next moment, the voice in her head rang out again.
[Hmph! Just an old hag!]
Lin Qingrou: "???!!!"
An old hag?!
Lin Qingrou almost vomited blood from anger.
She was in the prime of her youth, the reigning beauty of Jiangling, yet some stinky security guard had called her an old hag?!
Yet she couldn't blow her top, seeing as she was listening to his inner monologue.
"Come home with me!"
Forcing her temper down once more, Lin Qingrou spat out the cold words and turned to leave.
Ye Nan was taken aback.
[We're going home to meet the parents just like that?]
[Well, makes sense—she's an old hag, nobody wants her, so being in a rush is only natural!]
Suppressing the urge to beat the bastard to death with her bare hands, Lin Qingrou got into the car with a face as dark as iron.
The current situation was terribly awkward.
Both she and Ye Nan wanted to call off the wedding, but due to their own reasons, each wanted the other to be the one to break it off.
After thinking it over, Lin Qingrou came up with a plan. Turning to Ye Nan, who had just climbed into the passenger seat, she said coldly, "Put on your seatbelt!"
The Lamborghini sped down the road, pulling up in front of the Lin family villa a dozen minutes later.
"Oh, Qingrou, you're back!"
As they stepped into the living room, a glamorous matron greeted them with a beaming smile.
Ye Nan had familiarized himself with the Lin family's situation and knew this was Lin Qingrou's mother, Li Jinlan.
"Huh? Qingrou, why did you bring a security guard into the house!"
"The place was just cleaned, and now we'll have to disinfect it again!"
Seeing Ye Nan's security uniform covered in grime, Li Jinlan looked at him with utter disgust and contempt.
Ye Nan instantly felt annoyed, thinking to himself: *You're the one who's toxic!*
"His name is Ye Nan. Grandfather arranged this marriage—it's him," Lin Qingrou said indifferently.
"What?!"
As expected, Li Jinlan blew her top on the spot.
"Has your grandfather lost his mind? Letting you marry a stinky security guard?!"
Frowning, Ye Nan finally couldn't hold back and snapped, "What's wrong with being a security guard? Did I eat your family's rice or dig up your ancestors' graves?"
Li Jinlan shrieked, "What kind of family is the Lin family? We're the tycoons of Jiangling! Take a look in the mirror and see what you look like! A toad lusting after a swan's meat! Do you think you're worthy? A poor, arrogant ruffian!"
With that, Li Jinlan turned to Lin Qingrou and said, "Qingrou, we are not acknowledging this marriage! I'm going to talk to your grandfather! Listen to your dad and mom—you should marry Zhao Chuanping instead! The Zhao family is the richest in Jiangling. If you hook up with that connection, not only will you live in luxury from now on, our Lin family will soar to greatness too! Once your younger sister takes over Haiqing Group later on, she'll have smooth sailing as well!"
Lin Qingrou sneered inwardly.
When it all came down to it, this wasn't for her happiness at all; they just wanted to use her as a tool for political marriage!
Why didn't they make her younger sister do the marriage alliance?
Haiqing Group had always been managed by Lin Qingrou; what had Lin Qingxuan ever done?
They were born of the same mother, so why were her parents showing such blatant favoritism?!
She glanced at Ye Nan, surprised to see that he wasn't angry at all; instead, his piercing gaze was fixed on Li Jinlan as if he were looking at some rare specimen.
What was this guy doing? He got insulted and didn't even react—could it be he didn't even have any self-respect?
Just as she was thinking that, Ye Nan's inner voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
[Soar to greatness? Give me a break! In your condition, lasting another year is going to be a struggle!]
What?!
Lin Qingrou shuddered violently all over, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief.
How did he know her mother had less than a year to live?!
Only Lin Qingrou and her father, Lin Zhenghai, knew that Li Jinlan had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and they had kept it a secret from Li Jinlan herself, not daring to tell her.
No way!
Staring at Ye Nan with a mix of shock and suspicion, Lin Qingrou shook her head slightly.
It must just be that this scumbag was furious from being cursed out and was just wishing ill on her in his head—a total coincidence!
It had to be a coincidence!
However, the inner monologue did not stop.
[Well well, chronic muscular atrophy. Today I finally get to see a live one!]
[Right now it's just weakness in the legs, but soon it's going to spread to her upper limbs.]
[In a year at most, her throat will atrophy, her trachea will close up, and she'll suffocate to death!]
[Tsk tsk tsk, what a scene. Just thinking about it is thrilling!]
Ye Nan looked Li Jinlan up and down with glowing eyes.
Ever since mastering medicine under the old coot, this was his first time running across such a rare case.
[To catch a disease this awesome—bravo, my dear mother-in-law!]
Lin Qingrou was completely dumbfounded.
Everything Ye Nan said in his thoughts was spot on!
Whether it was the symptoms, the timeline of the spread, or the ultimate outcome, it matched the medical examination results without a single error!
How was this possible?!
You had to know that when Li Jinlan first noticed weakness in her legs, her family took her from hospital to hospital for ages before finally pulling strings to go to the Capital, utilizing the most advanced equipment and specialists just to get a definitive diagnosis.
Yet Ye Nan had taken barely two glances before making an utterly precise diagnosis!
How on earth did he do that?!
Was he really just a stinky security guard?
Before Lin Qingrou could ponder further, Ye Nan's inner voice came through again.
[Old bastard, don't you blame me this time!]
[Even though you warned me not to stand by and watch someone die, you also said that a true man draws a clear line between gratitude and resentment!]
[She cursed me out, so I'm not saving her life—that's completely fair!]
[No, wait!]
[She only loses a worthless life, whereas I lost my precious dignity!]
[Damn it, I'm still getting the short end of the stick!]
Lin Qingrou shuddered violently once more.
He could save her?!
Ever since her mother fell ill, Lin Qingrou and her father Lin Zhenghai had been searching everywhere for a cure, only to be told that worldwide, this was an incurable terminal illness!
Could Ye Nan actually save her?!
Thinking of how Ye Nan had accurately diagnosed her mother's condition with just a couple of glances, Lin Qingrou felt the probability of him being able to cure her was extremely high!
Even though her mother favored her younger sister and was cold and ungracious by nature, she was still her real mother after all!
If there was a way, Lin Qingrou couldn't harden her heart enough to watch her die without lifting a finger.
Seeing that her mother was about to start yelling again, Lin Qingrou quickly grabbed Ye Nan's hand, turned around, and rushed out the door. "Come with me!"
"Qingrou, what are you doing?! Get back here right this instant!"
"Flirting around with a lowly security guard—what kind of behavior is this?!"
Li Jinlan was still roaring behind them.
Ignoring her completely, Lin Qingrou pulled Ye Nan into the car.
"My mother has a difficult personality. Please forgive her."
After holding it in for ages, Lin Qingrou finally lowered her posture.
"It's fine, I'm very magnanimous." Ye Nan smiled indifferently.
[Why bother arguing with someone who's about to kick the bucket? Little me doesn't have that kind of spare time!]
Lin Qingrou was left speechless.
Great. This guy was dead set on refusing to save her.
What on earth was she supposed to do now?!
Anxiety surged wildly within Lin Qingrou.
Screw it, she'd take him to see her grandfather first!
Maybe, for the sake of her grandfather, he would change his mind.
Seeing Lin Qingrou suddenly start the engine, Ye Nan asked, "Where are we going now?"
"To see my grandfather," Lin Qingrou replied.
Just as Ye Nan was about to speak, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.
"Cough cough... My disciple, your master thought about it just now. Making you marry into the family really is a bit unfair to you."
"Coincidentally, master calculated that you have another destined match, and I've already arranged it for you. Hurry up and go see the old master of the Lin family—everything will become clear then. Keep it up!"
Ye Nan stared in bewilderment as the old coot on the other end hung up.
What was going on here?
What kind of episode was this old man having again?
Too lazy to overthink it, Ye Nan figured that since the old coot was always mentally unhinged anyway, and Lin Qingrou was taking him to see Elder Lin right now, he might as well just go along with it.
...
At the peak of the northwest mountains, the snow-capped mountains.
"Who would've thought? Both of the Lin family's daughters are that little brat's destined matches!"
"Good thing your old master has boundless cultivation and had a sudden flash of insight to calculate it out!"
"Now the little bastard's chances of surviving his human tribulation are even higher!"
"Splendid! Simply splendid!"
Lin Qingrou hadn't heard the contents of Ye Nan's phone call, and Ye Nan hadn't transmitted any particular inner thoughts.
"I heard you have a master?" Lin Qingrou decided to try breaking the ice with Ye Nan.
"Yeah, just some old coot." Ye Nan closed his eyes to rest, not wanting to bother, and brushed her off.
"I heard your master's medical skills are very high," Lin Qingrou probed. "Did he teach you anything?"
"Nope!"
Without even opening his eyes, Ye Nan denied it flat out, without a moment's hesitation, even adding a triple denial.
"Medical skills? Who is that? We're not close, never heard of them, don't know them."
[Damn it! If I let you know my medical skills are god-tier, would you still let me leave?!]
Furious, Lin Qingrou started grinding her teeth again.
This bastard was truly as slippery as an eel!
After a moment, Lin Qingrou rolled her eyes, her face flushing slightly. "When you have time, could you ask your master about something for me?"
"What is it?" Ye Nan finally opened his eyes helplessly.
[Why does this old hag talk so much?! Can't a guy get some sleep?!]
A fresh wave of anger surged in Lin Qingrou.
She really wanted to grab this bastard by the collar and roar: *Do you have any idea how many men in all of Jiangling would kill for a chance to say a single word to me?! How dare you complain that I talk too much?!*
*I'll endure it!*
*Impulsiveness is the devil!*
"Haa..." Lin Qingrou suppressed her emotions and said rather unnaturally, "I have a friend..."
"Oh..." Ye Nan narrowed his eyes, breaking into a deeply meaningful smile.
[Uh-huh, makes total sense—you can be friends with yourself!]
Realizing she had been seen through, Lin Qingrou's pretty face flushed bright red, looking breathtakingly stunning.
"Cough... My friend... she's been having chest pains lately, and then..."
Before she could finish, Ye Nan was already staring intently at her majestic peaks while his inner voice rang out.
[Could tell right away!]
[Mammary hyperplasia, has a lump. At least three months old.]
[Let's see here... lump is about 23 millimeters. Tsk tsk, impressive! Big melons growing a lump—makes sense!]
[Fortunately it's benign, no malignancy.]
This rapid-fire stream of inner thoughts left Lin Qingrou shocked, annoyed, and deeply embarrassed all at once.
What did he mean by *big melons growing a lump*?!
Shameless!
Beastly!
But what on earth were this bastard's eyes made of?!