The expression on the Fang patriarch’s face froze. “There must be a reason for this. Why? Did that little brat upset Ruyuan? When I get back, I’ll make sure he learns his lesson!”
Lin Ruyuan looked at the old man before her, who had spent his whole life crawling and struggling in the military district, and she remembered clearly how kind he had been to her in her past life.
Indeed, the Fang patriarch’s kindness toward her was genuine.
He had spent his whole life repaying the debt he owed her grandfather for saving his life.
“Grandpa Fang, Fang Shijun already has a son. I don’t want to marry him,” Lin Ruyuan said honestly.
The old man froze. What son? When had his grandson had a child?!
“Fang Shijun! You tell me clearly—what exactly is going on?!” The patriarch’s fury erupted instantly.
Fang Shijun snapped back to attention at his grandfather’s roar.
The one he feared most at home was his grandfather. Swallowing hard, he said, “Grandpa, I—”
But he stammered, too afraid to speak the truth. Then he remembered what Lin Ruyuan had said and the injuries on Bai Jingshu…
If he didn’t seize this chance now, there would never be another opportunity!
With that thought, Fang Shijun gritted his teeth and confessed.
He couldn’t believe it—if he denied it, his grandfather really wouldn’t leave them a single penny!
“Yes, Grandpa. You have two great-grandsons. The twins Bai Jingshu gave birth to are mine.”
The Fang patriarch was so furious he nearly fainted from the shock.
“Fang Chief, since the engagement has been annulled, we’ll just head back for now.”
Lin Baoguo gestured to take his wife and daughter away, but the patriarch spoke up again to stop them.
“Baoguo, now that this has happened, I can only do my best to make it up to Ruyuan. Here’s the deal—I won’t let them claim the children back into the Lin family. I only recognize the children Ruyuan bears, and all my assets will be hers! If that little brat dares to wrong her again, you won’t need to say a word—I’ll deal with him myself!”
The patriarch refused to cancel the engagement under his own terms.
Fang Shijun’s face immediately changed. How could Grandpa like Lin Ruyuan so much—so much that he wouldn’t even recognize his own great-grandsons?!
“Grandpa—”
“Shut up!” the patriarch snapped, pointing at Fang Shijun’s nose. “You have no say here!”
“Grandpa Fang, what I want is a partner who treats me sincerely—not someone like Fang Shijun,” Lin Ruyuan said calmly. “And… I don’t even like finance.”
She hated business schemes, backstabbing, and manipulation.
This life, she would live for herself.
“Ruyuan, you—” The patriarch wanted to persuade her again. Marriage wasn’t a joke, and annulment wasn’t something to treat lightly.
But before he could finish, Elder Qin, who had earlier joked that he could “be invisible,” spoke again. “Old Fang, what kind of world do you think we live in? You can’t force someone’s heart. The girl has made herself clear—why insist otherwise?”
The patriarch furrowed his brow, thinking carefully.
Indeed, Ruyuan had been treated unfairly.
Sigh. Well, if anyone was to blame, it was just that they were not meant to be together.
And it was his fault for failing to properly educate his grandson.
The patriarch agreed to the annulment.
Lin Ruyuan didn’t ask for any compensation.
He felt uneasy about it, but Lin Ruyuan knew the patriarch’s stubbornness—today’s smooth annulment was largely thanks to him.
The happiest person in this whole matter was Fang Shijun. Finally, he could openly be with Bai Jingshu and their children.
The patriarch had been made sick with anger!
Of course, Lin Ruyuan only learned this later.
After the annulment, she felt completely free. She slept a full day and night, and when she emerged again, she was refreshed and clear-headed.
Worried that her daughter might be saddened by the annulment, Lin Baoguo and Zhao Guixiang had hidden the dowry they had prepared halfway.
Upon hearing that her younger sister had annulled the engagement, Lin Ruyi returned home immediately, eight months pregnant, to see what had happened.
Seeing her elder daughter returning while heavily pregnant, Zhao Guixiang inevitably scolded her a bit.
“You’re in the late stages of pregnancy—you could give birth any time. Don’t go running around outside!”
“And this is your second child! The second birth will be faster than the first. You’re a mother—why so restless?”
“Mother, I came back because I heard Ruyuan annulled the engagement and the Lin family would be anxious,” Lin Ruyi said, brow furrowed in worry. “How is Ruyuan? Is she okay?”
“She’s…”
“Sister!” Zhao Guixiang was about to say she was fine—eating, sleeping, and acting perfectly normal. In fact, she had even gone to school today.
Lin Ruyuan was now in her third year of university. Compared to her first two years, her course load was lighter, but she had gone to school today to handle an important matter—her graduation might be delayed.
Back home, she saw her sister had returned. Lin Ruyuan and Lin Ruyi were very close; the sisters shared almost everything.
“That’s good,” Lin Ruyi said with a faint smile. As long as her sister wasn’t affected by the annulment, that was enough.
“There are plenty of good men out there. After you graduate, you’ll have time to find someone better,” Lin Ruyi added confidently. She believed her sister would find a man far better than Fang Shijun, a hundred, a thousand times better!
“Sis! I don’t want to marry right now. I want to stay with Mom and Dad for a few more years,” Lin Ruyuan said honestly.
Lin Ruyi looked at her indulgently. “You think you won’t marry? Do you want to stay home as an old maid?”
“Mm… I guess that’s fine too,” Lin Ruyuan said nonchalantly.
“Nonsense!” Lin Ruyi scolded playfully. “You’ll have to find someone eventually! When the right person comes along, you won’t be saying this anymore.”
While the sisters talked quietly, Zhao Guixiang happily went out to buy chives. Today, their eldest daughter was home—they would make dumplings for lunch!
Suddenly, Lin Ruyuan asked, as if remembering something, “Sister, is your husband treating you well?”
“Yes!” Lin Ruyi smiled, happiness evident and unforced on her face. “He treats me very well~”
Lin Ruyuan noticed a trace of complexity in her sister’s gaze. Her sister’s relationship with her husband was still good.
Their main conflict had been over their firstborn daughter, and now the second child was also a daughter—they hadn’t had a son.
Lin Ruyuan thought about it and realized that even if she reminded her sister now, it probably wouldn’t help.
It was better to think ahead for her sister…
Most importantly, her sister was pregnant. She couldn’t afford to worry—mother and child’s safety came first.
The three of them made dumplings quickly. Lin Baoguo returned for lunch.
After eating, he wouldn’t rest—he needed to go back to work immediately.
His work was physical labor, and he wouldn’t be able to keep it up when he got older.
Lin Ruyuan calculated that she needed to find a way to earn money herself.
She had to make sure her family could live a good life!