As the truth slowly surfaced, the expressions of the Lin Family members grew complex. They began to realize that things might not be as simple as they had imagined.
"A favor? How did he come up with such an idea?"
"Does this guy think this will make Lin Xiangyu jealous enough to come crawling back to him?"
"Hahaha... Gu Yuan is truly at his wit's end. To think he'd resort to such a method—it’s utterly speechless."
After the Lin Family members finished their murmurs, they turned in unison to look at Lin Xiangyu. As expected, Lin Xiangyu, being the ex-wife, simply shook her head in disappointment.
*Oh, Gu Yuan, Gu Yuan. How could you have so little backbone? Do you think that because I’ve been doing well since our divorce, you can deliberately use a tactic like this to provoke me and make me jealous? Unfortunately, the more you do this, the more I look down on you.*
With this thought, Lin Xiangyu sighed lightly and said to her mother, Li Xiuqin, and the rest of the family, "I’m going to prepare the outfit I’ll wear to the Qian Family wedding. You all continue your chat." With that, she walked straight upstairs.
Seeing her daughter so composed, Li Xiuqin breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that Lin Xiangyu might be moved by Gu Yuan out of a rekindled sense of nostalgia. It turned out that Gu Yuan was indeed nothing more than an ignorant man.
"Enough, he’s just a clown. There’s no need for us to waste our time on him." Li Xiuqin waved her hand, signaling her son, Lin Lei, not to mention this man in front of his sister again, lest it disturb the harmony of the family.
However, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Lin Lei. "Mom, I think we can treat this matter as if it were true."
Li Xiuqin looked at her son, puzzled.
"If he cheated before the wedding, he would have to walk away with nothing—he wouldn’t even need to pay a breakup fee."
Lin Lei’s words made Li Xiuqin’s eyes light up immediately. She slapped her thigh, gripped Lin Lei’s hand tightly, and said happily, "Xiaolei, you’re absolutely right! If he cheated during the marriage, why should our family have to give him a cent? That’s right, we’ll hold onto this point and make sure that guy doesn't get a single penny. Let's go, we’ll go find him and settle the score right now."
Meanwhile, unaware of all this, Gu Yuan was busy at the Qian Family residence preparing for the upcoming wedding. Between the wedding arrangements and the bridal photo shoot, he had been swamped for the past few days. At that moment, he was trying on a suit while finding a spare moment to answer a call.
"Hello!"
"Boss, our Jiutian medicinal formula has been bought by a wealthy investor. They are inquiring if there are any other formulas available."
Gu Yuan replied, "Tell them there are none for the time being."
"Understood!"
Although he held many precious formulas, Gu Yuan knew these were the company’s treasures. If it weren't for the company’s capital turnover, he would not have easily sold any of them.
Just as he was immersed in his own world, a knock sounded at the door. Gu Yuan put down his phone, walked over, and opened it. At first glance, the beautiful sight before him left him stunned.
Qian Ruixue stood there wearing a bridal gown as white as snow, breathtakingly beautiful. She looked at his surprised expression and playfully asked, "What? Are you not willing to marry me? Or do you lack the courage to even try on the suit?"
Gu Yuan gave a bitter smile, his heart full of questions. "I was just wondering, what will my status be after the marriage? A business partner, or a real husband?"
Qian Ruixue’s face flushed slightly as she replied, "Of course, both."
"That sounds a bit vague," Gu Yuan teased.
"I can fulfill my duties as a wife—we’ll have the wedding first and fall in love later," she said.
Facing her jest, Gu Yuan could only offer a helpless smile. "Alright, then you go about your business!" With that, he prepared to head out to try on the suit.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he felt the complex gazes of the Qian Family relatives. The father-in-law and mother-in-law looked as if they had lost something precious, while Qian Ruixue’s uncles wore expressions of gloating, seemingly dissatisfied with this poor son-in-law.
Only the patriarch of the Qian Family, Qian Rushan, looked at them with kindness in his eyes. He knew that choosing Gu Yuan to be part of the Qian Family was one of the best decisions he had made as the head of the house.
Just as Gu Yuan was about to head to the fitting room, his phone rang. The caller ID displayed Li Xiuqin’s name, causing his brow to furrow involuntarily. After he picked up, Li Xiuqin’s voice came through the receiver, impatient and demanding to know his location, stating she had something important to discuss.
Gu Yuan informed her that he was at the Kim Kardashian bridal shop.
Hearing this, Li Xiuqin was stunned for a moment, and then she actually laughed. "So it’s true. Xiaolei told me you had a fiancée, but I thought he was joking. I didn't expect you to be getting married so soon?" she mocked.
"Um..." Gu Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Alright, alright, that’s enough talk. I’m heading over there now. Don’t you dare leave—I have a lot to talk to you about!" Li Xiuqin hung up, leaving Gu Yuan standing there alone to ponder the impending conversation.
As soon as the call ended, Li Xiuqin turned to the anxiously waiting Lin Lei. He asked eagerly, "Mom, did you find out? Where is he?"
Li Xiuqin answered casually, "Oh, he said he’s at the Kim Kardashian bridal shop."
"What?" Lin Lei’s eyes widened in surprise. "The Kim Kardashian bridal shop! Mom, did you hear that right? The wedding dresses there are worth a fortune—one set costs hundreds of thousands!"
Li Xiuqin was taken aback as well. She started to murmur to herself: *Where would Gu Yuan get the money to buy such an expensive dress? Even though my daughter gave him a breakup fee, it hasn't even hit his account yet.*
"Gu Yuan is getting married and he's buying such an expensive dress for his fiancée? Something isn't right here," Li Xiuqin said, feeling deeply confused.
After pondering for a moment, Lin Lei had a sudden epiphany. "I get it! How could that beauty have chosen someone like Gu Yuan? He must be faking wealth to scam her. Going to such a high-end bridal shop is definitely just for show to trick the girl."
"Hmph... we’ll just happen to go and expose him, and make a massive fool out of him." With a hint of malicious joy, the mother and son hurried toward the bridal shop.
But what they didn't know was that the wedding dress had been bought by the Qian Family for their own daughter. Furthermore, even if the Qian Family hadn't paid for it, Gu Yuan had just received a transfer of 330 million U.S. dollars from an overseas bank, with the taxes already covered by the sender.
When they arrived downstairs, they called Gu Yuan. Gu Yuan was in the middle of trying on his wedding suit. Hearing the phone ring, he offered an apologetic smile to Qian Ruixue beside him. "Please excuse me for a moment; I have something I need to handle."
Qian Ruixue seemed to have already guessed the situation. "Do you need me to send someone to help you deal with it?" She clearly wanted to teach these two troublemakers a lesson.
Gu Yuan shook his head. "This is my own affair; let me handle it myself." With that, he offered a slight smile to Qian Rushan and the other members of the Qian Family, then walked downstairs.
Downstairs, Lin Lei was still complaining about Gu Yuan’s stupidity, planning how they would expose his true colors and let the beautiful girl see his real nature.