Chapter 28: The Real Price Might Be You
Just last night, Huo Wenhao had sent Xiao Ye the file on Ding Qi.
The Ding Family had indeed been a major family, but they started going downhill years ago. Now, they couldn't even compare to the Chu Family, let alone the Huo Family!
Although this Ding Qi was a member of the Ding Family, he was an illegitimate son.
For years, he had passed himself off as a true member of the Ding Family, tricking naive women—or those desperate to marry into wealth—into spending money on him.
Once he had drained them of all their money, he would kick them to the curb.
Most of those women had no power and didn't dare to confront the Ding Family head-on.
And so, Ding Qi's true colors had remained hidden until now!
'His going after Lin Chuyue is obviously a scheme to swindle her money!'
'What's more, he's definitely aiming to take both her money and her body!'
'I can't let a scumbag like that get away with it!'
Xiao Ye walked down the stairs. "Wife, don't sign that! The contract is a scam. His goal is to drain all of the Lin Family's liquid assets."
"If you really give him the money, not only will you get nothing in return, but you'll also plunge the Lin Family into even greater hardship!"
Lin Chuyue's brow furrowed. "Why did you come out? Go back upstairs! This is Lin Family business; we don't need you meddling!"
Xiao Ye's tone was firm. "You're my wife. I can't just stand by and do nothing."
"You... Don't just call me that! I'm not your wife!"
Lin Chuyue was both furious and frustrated. Every time Xiao Ye showed up, her emotions were thrown into turmoil!
"Kid, get the hell out of the Lin Family's house!"
A loud shout came from the doorway.
A crowd of people rushed in—they were all members of the Lin Family clan.
When the Lin Family had faced a crisis before, every last one of them had run faster than anyone else, terrified of being implicated.
Now that they heard the Lin Family's crisis was over, and that there might even be a new windfall, they all came scurrying back, afraid they'd miss out on their share if they were a moment too late.
The one who had just shouted for Xiao Ye to leave was none other than Lin Chuyue's second uncle, Lin Yinghao.
His eyes were filled with disgust as he looked at Xiao Ye.
The other members of the Lin Family quickly chimed in.
"Kid, if it weren't for you, how could the Lin Family have ended up in this mess!"
"First you took out the Han Family, then the Chen Family, stirring up so much trouble. How dare you still show your face in the Lin Family home? Get lost!"
"If you don't scram now, don't blame us for what happens next!"
Lin Yinghao walked over to Lin Chuyue's side, sat down without ceremony, and grabbed Ding Qi's hand. "Young Master Ding, we have you to thank for resolving the Lin Family's crisis!"
"On behalf of the Lin Family, I sincerely thank you! As for this business venture, I'm in!"
The Lin Family members who had come in with him all swarmed forward, talking over each other.
"I'm in too! Young Master Ding, you'd better keep a clear record of how much each of us invested. You can give us our dividends directly when the time comes."
"I'll invest one million! Young Master Ding, what do you think? Is that enough?"
"I'll invest two million!"
"All of you, shut up! Haven't you embarrassed yourselves enough?"
Lin Aoshan, who had been sitting quietly to the side, was now so angry his beard was bristling and his eyes were wide.
He clutched his chest, his face flushed red. "You... You are not worthy of being members of the Lin Family!"
"When there was danger, you ran faster than rats! Now you know everything's fine, and you have the nerve to come back!"
"Xiao Ye took action against the Han Family to help us! You all acted like deserters, so what right do you have to criticize him?!"
"If anyone dares to say one more word, get out of the Lin Family! We have no room for scum like you!"
Hearing Lin Aoshan speak, the returned Lin Family members were clearly displeased, but they quieted down somewhat and all looked toward Lin Yinghao.
Lin Yinghao cleared his throat. "Dad, how can you call us deserters?"
"In that situation, if we hadn't left, were we supposed to wait for the entire Lin Family to be wiped out? As long as the Lin bloodline survives, we can always make a comeback in the future!"
"That's right, Old Man! We didn't leave to save our own skins; we left to find friends to help!"
"We absolutely cannot let this Xiao Ye stay! He's just a brainless country bumpkin! He's bound to offend someone else in the future and drag our Lin Family down with him!"
The crowd started bickering again, all clamoring for Xiao Ye to be kicked out.
Lin Chuyue's pretty face turned ice-cold. She slammed her hand on the table. "Grandpa's heart is just starting to recover! Can you all just say a little less!"
"Xiao Ye did help our Lin Family before. We owe him for that! We can't just burn the bridge after we've crossed it!"
"If anyone says another word, you can forget about getting any dividends!"
Though Lin Chuyue was a woman, she had been raised by Lin Aoshan to have an extraordinary presence. More importantly, she controlled the majority of the Lin Family's shares.
The rest of the Lin Family, though unhappy, didn't dare say anything more.
After all, their biggest backer at the moment, Ding Qi, was only here to help because of Lin Chuyue.
A smile appeared on Xiao Ye's face. 'Looks like my wife does care about me after all.'
'She's just been deceived by a villain. It's okay. I'll expose that scoundrel Ding Qi's true colors!'
'And then, the misunderstanding between us will be cleared up.'
Thinking this, his tone softened considerably. "Wife, I would never lie to you, much less harm you."
"You can't sign this contract. Even if the Ding Family could come up with six hundred million, there's no way they'd let the Lin Family get away with contributing so little."
"The real price, in the end, will most likely be you!"
Lin Chuyue did indeed have the destiny of a Nine Heavens Phoenix Maiden, a fate of indescribable wealth and nobility.
Anyone who could marry her would be like a tiger that had grown wings!
There were many extraordinary people in this world; the aforementioned Ding Shan Jia had seen it.
Back when his master descended the mountain, all the credit-sellers he selected were people connected to Xiao Ye's own destiny.
And the daughters of these people's descendants were bound to have exceptional fates as well. Otherwise, they wouldn't be worthy of being his, Xiao Ye's, fiancées.
Lin Chuyue shot up from her seat, glaring at him. "Xiao Ye, can you just shut up!"
"What did Ding Qi ever do to you? Why are you slinging so much mud at him?!"
"If he really had designs on me, he could have just watched as the Huo Family made their move against us. Once the Lin Family was gone, wouldn't it be even easier for him to get what he wants from me?"
Xiao Ye shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. He doesn't just want you; he wants your money too."
"Enough! The Lin Family has fallen so low, what money do we have left?"
"Ding Qi is from the Ding Family. He wouldn't even look twice at such a paltry sum!"
Lin Chuyue didn't want to hear another word. It felt like talking to a brick wall. "Get out. I don't want to listen to you anymore!"
Seeing this, the Lin Family members started up again.
"Did you hear that? Even Chuyue is telling you to get lost! Stop freeloading off the Lin Family!"
"A country bumpkin like you really think you can marry into the Lin Family just because you know a little kung fu? Dream on!"
"Get out! Get out now!"
Sitting amidst the crowd, Ding Qi, who had been silent, put on a deeply wronged expression. He retracted the contract and stood up as if to leave.
"Chuyue, if you don't believe me, then perhaps it's better not to sign this contract!"
"But rest assured, I won't be taking this contract to anyone else."
"The Ding Family may be wealthy, but we're not a charity."
"I was only doing this as a favor to you."
"My sincere intentions shouldn't be sullied like this."