After calling his daughter out, Lin Youqiang explained the matter of the substitute marriage. Only then did Lin Xingwei stop making a fuss and pretended to run away from home according to her father’s plan.
The next day, Lin Youqiang specifically asked Zhang Xuemei to take Lin Xingyao shopping for clothes.
Zhang Xuemei was very generous when spending money on her own daughter, but extremely stingy toward others. The clothes she bought for Lin Xingyao were all from night market stalls, deliberately choosing the cheapest ones. It looked like she had bought a lot, but the total cost was actually minimal.
Lin Xingyao remained silent, appearing dull and slow-witted. When she put on the cheap new clothes, she even showed an expression of delight. This made Zhang Xuemei look down on her even more, thinking: She really is a country girl who has never seen the world, so easy to fool.
After shopping, they returned home to find Lin Youqiang sitting on the sofa, sighing heavily and looking troubled.
Zhang Xuemei hurriedly stepped forward and asked, “What’s wrong, dear? Are you having trouble with business?”
Lin Youqiang said, “The Jun Family has sent someone, demanding that we marry our daughter over within three days, or they’ll force our company into bankruptcy!”
He glanced at Lin Xingyao and deliberately raised his voice, “The Jun Family is really too much! Relying on their status as a wealthy family, they insist on getting engaged to our Weiwei. Weiwei ran away from home last night because of this, and I’ve been searching for her all day without success. Ah, how am I supposed to explain this to the Jun Family?”
Zhang Xuemei then played along with her husband’s act: “We can’t afford to offend the Jun Family, but Weiwei is nowhere to be found. If we can’t produce someone within three days, not only will we lose our property, but our lives might be in danger too!”
Seeing that Lin Xingyao remained unmoved, Zhang Xuemei cursed silently: Idiot!
Lin Youqiang suddenly grabbed Lin Xingyao’s hand and pleaded, “Yaoyao, your uncle and aunt have been so good to you, you can’t just stand by and watch us die!”
Lin Xingyao spoke woodenly, “B-but I don’t know where Cousin went either. How about… I help you look for her?”
Lin Youqiang was almost infuriated by her stupidity, thinking to himself, “Who asked you to look for Weiwei? Can’t you just offer to take her place?”
Still unwilling to give up, he continued to coax her patiently, “The Jun Family is a top-tier wealthy family. Marrying into it means a lifetime of luxury and wealth, far better than marrying an ordinary man and struggling day and night for food and shelter. Yaoyao, don’t you agree?”
Lin Xingyao obediently nodded, “Yes, that’s right.”
Lin Youqiang finally smiled, “So…”
“So, why did Cousin run away from the marriage? Uncle, do you want me to persuade her?” Lin Xingyao earnestly agreed, “Okay, I understand. When I find Cousin, I’ll help you talk to her.”
Lin Youqiang was furious: Is this stupid girl a blockhead? Why can’t she understand what I’m saying?
Zhang Xuemei pushed Lin Youqiang aside and got straight to the point, “Your uncle isn’t asking you to find your cousin. He wants you to take your cousin’s place and marry Jun Xuanye. Look at you—you’ve wasted ten years, didn’t finish school, and can’t find a decent job. Instead of struggling with life in the future, why not marry into a wealthy family and enjoy luxury and wealth? This is something many girls dream of but can’t get. If you weren’t a member of the Lin Family, this opportunity wouldn’t even come your way.”
Lin Xingyao thought their reasoning was full of holes. If Jun Xuanye was really that great, why wouldn’t Lin Xingwei marry him?
She didn’t expose their scheme either, as everything was going exactly as she wished. So she pretended to be very surprised: “Let me… let me take my cousin’s place in marriage? Isn’t that deceiving people?”
“How is that deceiving?” Lin Youqiang said, “Anyway, the Jun Family only said they wanted a daughter from our Lin Family back then. They never said a niece wouldn’t do.”
“But…”
“Enough with the ‘buts’! Think about the life you used to live, and then think about the future life as a wealthy young madam. Your uncle and aunt care about you, that’s why we’re giving you this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
After such persuasion, Lin Xingyao nodded in agreement.
Lin Youqiang and Zhang Xuemei exchanged a glance, unable to suppress a hint of smugness.
They knew this girl would be easy to fool, and indeed, just a few words were enough to trick her. Once she was married off, even if she later discovered the other party was a madman and wanted to regret, cry, or make a scene, it would then be the Jun Family’s internal affair, having nothing to do with their Lin Family.
Back when Lin Xingyao’s father died, all the family assets ended up benefiting Lin Youqiang’s family. Now, this foolish daughter had returned, once again rescuing his own daughter. So-called relatives should be utilized to their fullest potential.
Just as Lin Youqiang was feeling smug, he suddenly heard Lin Xingyao ask, “I remember my parents left behind a house back then, along with a death compensation payment. Shouldn’t those be returned to me now?”
Zhang Xuemei immediately shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: “What house? What compensation payment?”
Lin Youqiang remained relatively calm, trotting out the lie he had prepared long ago: “That’s right, your parents did have a house and a compensation payment. But later, didn’t you go missing? At that time, your uncle searched for you everywhere, from north to south, and had to pay people to gather information. The money flowed like water. For your sake, the house was sold, and the compensation payment was all used up.”
Back when he learned his niece was missing, he was overjoyed—how could he possibly have been kind enough to look for her? The house was indeed sold, but the money was taken by him to invest in business. Now, asking him to cough it up? Impossible.
“Is that so.” Lin Xingyao nodded, seemingly convinced.
Just as Lin Youqiang’s hypocritical smile began to creep back into the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes, Lin Xingyao suddenly added another sentence: “Then prepare some dowry for me. After all, as a daughter of the Lin Family, it wouldn’t be good to marry off too shabbily. It doesn’t need to be too much—two million will do.”
Two million—neither too much nor too little—was exactly the total sum of her parents’ house and compensation payment.
Lin Youqiang’s smile froze. “Yaoyao, how much did you say?”
How would this country bumpkin know to ask for a dowry? And to open her mouth asking for two million right away? Had she ever seen that much money? He must have misheard.
So Lin Xingyao held up two fingers and said earnestly, “I’ve thought about it—two million is just right. It’s not too flashy, yet not too shabby either. Although my bank card is from a rural credit union, it seems cross-bank transfers can still work. The card number is: 55000xxxx.”
Lin Youqiang was stunned: She was actually serious.
Zhang Xuemei was practically fuming with anger, but at this moment, she could only suppress her rage and say, “Yaoyao, you’re marrying into the Jun Family to become the Second Young Madam. The Jun Family is very wealthy—they’ll give you as much money as you want then.”
Lin Xingyao blinked, revealing an innocent, simple, yet earnest expression: “But don’t all families give dowries when marrying off a daughter? That’s how it is even in our small mountain village, let alone in a big city? If no dowry is given, won’t the Jun Family suspect I’m a fake daughter?”
Suddenly, she showed a hint of fear: “What if they realize I’m a fake? I… I’m timid. What if they press me, asking why the Lin family didn’t prepare anything for their daughter’s marriage? I… I’m bound to slip up. No, no, we should find my cousin and bring her back. I… I’m scared.”