Zhao Mingze had not just arrived. He had already been standing under the tree for more than half an hour.
Having to depend on someone else and having no say in his own marriage was bad enough.
Now he did not even have any freedom before marriage!
Early that morning, Xiao’s mother had forced him to come to the Lin family home, under the pretext of checking on what his fiancée still needed.
What could Lin Ran possibly need?
Did she need him?
What she wanted was the Xiao family’s connections!
If she hadn’t been unable to curry favor with Xiao Jingwen, would Lin Ran have set her sights on him?
Put simply, he was nothing more than a stepping stone Lin Jianguo was using to climb into the Xiao family’s good graces!
The matter was so obvious that he refused to believe the elderly couple couldn’t see it.
And since they had seen through it yet still forced him to marry her, weren’t they simply planning to treat him as a discarded pawn?
What a hypocritical Xiao family!
They kept saying they would take care of him and treat him like their own son, but in reality, they did not consider his interests at all!
There were clearly other ways to settle the matter—paying some money or owing someone a favor would have been enough. Why did they insist on making him marry Lin Ran?
Lin Ran…
Heh. She was an idiot too.
She actually thought that after stealing Lin Xi’s dowry, he would willingly marry her.
The daughter of a mistress really had such shallow ambitions.
Did she think that just because Lin Jianguo coveted the Bai family’s assets, he did too?
Hah!
Was money what he wanted?
What he wanted was Lin Xi’s status as the orphan of a fallen martyr!
Lin Xi’s status as a martyr’s orphan was something Li Yufen had accidentally let slip when she first introduced Lin Xi to him.
Li Yufen had said that although Lin Xi had lost her mother, her mother had died while carrying out a classified mission for the country, making her a martyr.
Li Yufen had said this because she was afraid he would look down on Lin Xi.
And at the time, he really had looked down on her.
The daughter of a capitalist family, with no family fortune left and quite the temper… Marry her?
In your dreams!
But… Bai Keling had actually been a martyr?
That changed everything!
Zhao Mingze immediately changed his mind.
He knew exactly how he had climbed step by step to the rank of company commander over the years, and the soldiers in his unit knew it too.
It was all thanks to Xiao Jingwen’s military achievements.
Xiao Jingwen could use his own military merits to support Zhao Mingze for three or five years, but could he support him for the rest of his life?
Even if Xiao Jingwen agreed, Xiao’s mother had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the situation over the past two years.
So he needed a new source of support.
A powerful family through marriage.
Lin Xi was the orphan of a martyr. If he married her, the country’s policies provided special consideration for families of fallen martyrs, which would greatly help his future promotions!
He had already agreed to marry Lin Xi.
He was only one step away… just one step away!
Every time, he was always just one step short!
When he was young, his father’s death had left him one step short of enjoying a life as comfortable as the Xiao family’s.
When he missed out on a promotion selection at work by one step, he had no choice but to go to Tibet.
And now even his marriage was one step away!
Why was Heaven so unfair to him…
Fortunately, these gossiping women had just given him some important information.
Lin Xi actually did not want to marry Yu Zichen?
With such an excellent family background, why would Lin Xi refuse?
Unless…
Unless Lin Xi already had someone she liked.
Thinking of how Lin Xi had suddenly slapped Lin Ran in the middle of the road yesterday…
Zhao Mingze pondered for two seconds before suddenly realizing it!
If he wasn’t mistaken, the person Lin Xi liked was him!
Otherwise, why would she refuse the marriage proposal? Why would she slap Lin Ran right in front of him? Why would she take a single IOU all the way to the neighborhood committee?
All these actions were nothing more than an expression of the resentment in her heart.
And if that was the case…
Zhao Mingze narrowed his eyes.
Perhaps there was still room to turn this marriage around.
They loved each other, and both were daughters of the Lin family. Lin Jianguo would not obstruct them too much.
As long as the Lin family backed down, Commander Xiao would not force him to marry Lin Ran either.
All he needed to do was win Lin Xi over!
Once he had made up his mind, Zhao Mingze began waiting outside the Lin family’s courtyard.
Half an hour passed.
Lin Xi finally came out.
“Xiaoxi!”
The sun had come out, and the neighborhood aunties at the end of the alley gradually returned home to escape the heat.
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was paying attention, Zhao Mingze grabbed Lin Xi and pulled her behind the tree.
“Xiaoxi! I’ve finally been waiting for you!”
A filthy old lecher?!
The moment she was grabbed, Lin Xi’s body reacted before her brain did.
One hand clamped down on Zhao Mingze’s wrist, preventing him from pulling away, while her other hand swung with all her strength and slammed straight into his nose!
The nose was the most vulnerable part of the face.
One punch was enough to make him double over in agony.
Zhao Mingze had never expected Lin Xi to attack him. He did not have time to dodge and took the punch full force.
Tears immediately streamed from his eyes, yet he still reached out to grab her.
“Xiaoxi?”
Lin Xi rubbed her wrist and put some distance between them.
“Get lost.”
The disgust in her eyes was unmistakable.
She was clearly still angry.
Knowing that Lin Xi had a fierce temper, Zhao Mingze had come prepared.
He took two steps forward and apologized obsequiously.
“Xiaoxi, don’t be angry yet. Listen to me. I didn’t come to propose yesterday of my own accord!”
“It was Lin Ran! That bitch climbed into my bed herself, then went to the Xiao family and forced them into marriage! I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I’m innocent too!”
What a load of “innocent”!
For the first time in her life, Lin Xi had heard that sex could apparently be accomplished by one person alone.
What, was there a rule in this world where the rooster could refuse while the hen somehow insisted on doing it?
Lin Xi laughed.
She looked at Zhao Mingze.
Only a man with no class would try to humiliate an ex-girlfriend or a woman pursuing him in order to make himself look better and wash his hands of the situation.
Disgusting.
Just looking at this pervert made her want to throw up.
Lin Xi raised her voice and shouted, “Lin Ran!”
“Lin Ran! Li Yufen!”
“Neighbors! Aunties! Is anyone home? Come out and take a look!”
The moment she shouted, Zhao Mingze panicked.
He rushed forward and tried to cover Lin Xi’s mouth.
“Xiaoxi, what are you trying to do?!”
He had managed to grab her just now because she had been caught off guard.
Did he really think he could touch her again?
Dream on!
Lin Xi turned and ran, shouting as she went,
“Help! Someone’s harassing me! Lin Ran, your fiancé is harassing me!”
Auntie Wang was cooking in the kitchen, and her house was closest to the entrance.
The moment she heard someone shouting about being harassed, she immediately grabbed the slop bucket and rushed out.
One glance was enough to confirm that a man really was chasing Lin Xi.
Without a second thought, Auntie Wang swung the bucket and poured its contents straight over Zhao Mingze’s head.
“In broad daylight! Let’s see who has the nerve to behave so shamelessly!”
This was why, when it came to fighting, you still had to count on the old-timers!
That ferocious spirit made Lin Xi want to applaud Auntie Wang on the spot.
She immediately slipped behind Auntie Wang.
“Thank you, Auntie.”
“Don’t mention it! Stay behind me. Let’s see what he dares to do!”
The moment she finished speaking, a scream came from nearby.
“Ah! Lin Xi, what are you doing?!”
Lin Ran and Lin Jianguo had heard the commotion and came out of the courtyard.
When they saw Zhao Mingze standing in the alley covered from head to toe in foul-smelling wastewater, they were completely dumbfounded!
The slop bucket contained dirty water, as well as children’s urine collected overnight.
After being baked by the summer sun, the smell was absolutely unbearable!
Lin Ran glanced at Zhao Mingze but did not approach him.
Instead, she screamed at Lin Xi,
“Lin Xi, what kind of madness are you up to again?!”
Her shriek woke up the people who had been taking their afternoon naps. One after another, doors opened as the neighbors came outside.
“Perfect. Everyone’s here.”
Lin Xi stepped out from behind Auntie Wang.
“Then I’ll just say everything at once.”
“This man is Zhao Mingze!”
Lin Xi pointed at Zhao Mingze.
“He’s Lin Ran’s fiancé.”
“He’s shameless. He was harassing me just now!”