“Get married?!”
Lin Yao exclaimed in surprise.
“That’s right. I’ll lend you ten million as long as you marry me!”
Huo Boyan looked at her and repeated his words. For some reason, he felt certain that the woman before him would agree.
Lin Yao had initially thought she had met a good person willing to lend her ten million, but she never expected his condition would be for her to marry him.
It seemed she couldn’t escape the fate of having to marry after all.
But if she didn’t agree to him, who else could help her?
Lin Yao glanced at Huo Boyan and found him staring back at her. The determination in his eyes made her quickly turn away, unable to meet his gaze.
The man before her didn’t seem very old. Since she had to marry anyway, why not choose someone young and handsome? Moreover, this man had already slept with her.
Lin Yao thought of that night, and her face flushed involuntarily.
All her expressions were clearly observed by Huo Boyan standing before her. He watched as she seemed to make up her mind.
“Alright! I agree! Since I have to marry anyway, I might as well marry you! Can you give me the ten million now?”
Lin Yao blurted it all out in one breath, lowering her head, too embarrassed to look at Huo Boyan. After all, she had just agreed and was immediately asking for money.
Ten million was no small amount, and she wasn’t sure if this man could produce it right away.
What she didn’t know was that ten million was a mere minute’s work for Huo Boyan.
“Since you have to marry anyway? What do you mean?”
Huo Boyan asked, puzzled.
Lin Yao froze, about to brush off the question when she heard him say,
“I don’t like being deceived. From now on, you’ll be my wife, and I expect you to tell me the truth!”
The warning in his words silenced Lin Yao. In the end, she decided to be honest with him.
“My father’s company is about to go bankrupt, and we need ten million now. I came here today to meet the man I’m supposed to marry.”
After saying this, Lin Yao felt a pang of fear. What if he thought she was a woman who could be bought with money and refused to help her?
But then again, she realized she was exactly that kind of person now.
“The person you were originally supposed to marry is that old man you met as soon as you walked in, right?”
Huo Boyan sneered, feeling inexplicably irritated. This woman was willing to marry someone old enough to be her grandfather for a mere ten million!
“How did you know?” Lin Yao asked in surprise, never expecting him to figure out that Uncle Qian was the man she was supposed to marry.
Huo Boyan sneered again, ignoring her question and instead asking, “What’s your name?”
“Lin Yao, the Yao with the jade radical,” she answered honestly.
“Alright, I know. Someone will come to see you shortly and transfer ten million to you. Stay here and don’t wander off.”
After saying this, Huo Boyan turned to leave without another glance at her, but Lin Yao called out to stop him.
“Hey, you haven’t told me your name yet. How am I supposed to contact you later?”
“You’ll find out soon enough!”
Lin Yao watched his retreating figure, feeling that this strange and aloof man was angry.
Before long, the person Huo Boyan mentioned arrived.
“Are you Lin Yao, Miss Lin?” Qin Hao, who had hurried over, asked.
“Yes, I’m Lin Yao,” Lin Yao nodded, looking at the young man before her.
A few minutes later, Lin Yao received a text message on her phone—a bank notification informing her that ten million yuan had been deposited into her account.
“Please leave me a phone number, Miss Lin, so that the young master can contact you.”
Young master? Was the young man in front of her his assistant?
Lin Yao gave him her phone number and asked, “What’s your young master’s name?”
Qin Hao only smiled and said, “Lin Yao, the banquet is about to officially begin. You should hurry back.”
As soon as Lin Yao returned, her stepmother grabbed her. “Where have you been? You were gone for so long! Your Uncle Qian waited here for you for ages and got so angry when you didn’t come back that he left!”
Her stepmother had no idea that in the short time Lin Yao had been away, she had already secured ten million yuan.
“I know you dislike him for being older, but think about it—older men know how to cherish their partners. Once you marry him, all you’ll have to do is spend money and enjoy life!”
“You won’t have to keep struggling with that unprofitable cake shop anymore! And our family will be saved. Isn’t that wonderful?”
“Once the banquet is over, you don’t need to come back with me. You can just leave with your Uncle Qian!”
Her stepmother continued trying to persuade Lin Yao, even going so far as to decide that she should just leave with the old man right then and there.
Although Lin Yao knew her stepmother was doing this to save her father, she still felt somewhat angry.
“Auntie, I won’t go with him, and I won’t marry him either! I borrowed ten million yuan from someone, and I’ll transfer the money to Dad as soon as we get back.”
Upon hearing Lin Yao’s words, her stepmother was momentarily stunned before asking excitedly, “Who did you borrow money from? Are you out of your mind? How are you going to repay such a huge amount in the future?”
“Our family doesn’t have the money to help you repay it. You need to return that money immediately! Once you marry your Uncle Qian, forget about ten million—you can spend the money he gives you however you want!”
Only then did Lin Yao realize that her stepmother’s motive for wanting her to marry Uncle Qian wasn’t just about the ten million yuan. It seemed she also wanted to keep taking money from her in the future.
“I don’t need you to repay it! I’ll repay it myself! The reason you’re so eager for me to marry him is because you want to get money from me, isn’t it?”
Lin Yao questioned her stepmother, who, caught off guard by the accusation, couldn’t bring herself to respond out of guilt.
“I hope you can—”
“Thank you all for attending this old man’s birthday celebration. I’m getting on in years and don’t know how much longer I have left, so today I’d like to introduce someone to all of you.”
Lin Yao was about to say something more when she was interrupted by a voice from the stage.
On the stage stood a white-haired old man—none other than Old Master Huo, the wealthiest man in the entire capital city, whom everyone knew.
But what surprised her was that the man who had lent her ten million yuan was standing right beside Old Master Huo.
Could he be Old Master Huo’s assistant? If so, it made sense that he could lend her ten million yuan—after all, working for the wealthiest man surely came with a high salary!
“This person standing beside me is Huo Boyan, my grandson!”
“He just returned from abroad, and many of you haven’t met him yet. So, I’m taking advantage of this birthday celebration to introduce him to everyone. Starting tomorrow, I’ll also be handing over the management of my company to him.”
“As he’s just joined the company, I hope you’ll be patient with him if there’s anything he doesn’t understand yet!”
Applause erupted from the audience.
What?!
He was actually Old Master Huo’s grandson!
Lin Yao clapped along in a daze, staring incredulously at Huo Boyan on the stage, unable to snap out of her shock for a long time.
I thought he was just a wealthy playboy, but who would have guessed he was actually the grandson of the richest man!
Wait! He’s already the richest man now!
With all his wealth, he could find anyone he wanted—why would he still want to marry me? Could it be because we slept together?
The next day, Lin Yao was awakened by a call on her phone. She picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number—probably a loan promotion call! She didn’t answer.
But after she hung up, it rang again. It seemed like they would keep calling until she answered, so Lin Yao reluctantly picked up. Just as she was about to yell at the caller, she heard a deep voice on the other end.
“Bring your documents and meet me at the Civil Affairs Bureau to get our marriage certificate!”