During the dinner banquet, Lou Chang revealed his intention for inviting everyone over this evening.
“The reason I asked all of you to come to the old residence for dinner today is mainly so everyone can get properly acquainted with Yan Yan.”
Currently, the Lou family’s old residence is inhabited by Lou Chang and his wife Zhao Laifang, along with Lou Minhe, Song Ying, Lou Minping, Yang Mu, Lou Jingyang, and two children.
Lou Minmin has always been accustomed to living a carefree life and only returns to the old residence at the end of her travels.
Lou Jingqi, working as a journalist, travels all over the country and rarely stays at home.
As for other distant relatives and collateral branches, there is even less need to mention them—they only gather together when there is an important event. In a large family, everyone values harmony above all else. Since these collateral branches still rely on the Lou Corporation for their livelihood, they always actively cooperate whenever something happens at the Lou family’s old residence.
After hearing Grandpa Lou’s words, Yan Hao nervously clutched at her clothes. This was because Lou Jingyi, who was sitting right next to her, had not expressed any stance from beginning to end regarding the fact that they were about to get married.
Yan Hao had no idea what he was thinking in his heart.
After a long silence, Lou Jingyi finally spoke up.
“Grandpa, Grandma, I don’t plan on having a wedding. Let’s cancel the wedding.”
Yan Hao’s heart instantly sank to the bottom of the valley. She just knew that nothing good was going to come out of today.
As soon as those words were spoken, everyone at the dining table fell silent.
Lou Jingyang frowned and looked at Lou Chang and Zhao Laifang; their expressions had already turned extremely ugly.
“Brother, stop talking nonsense.”
Everyone knew how much Grandpa and Grandma valued this wedding. Given that Yan Hao’s parents had both passed away and their betrothal had been established long ago, the family naturally couldn’t go back on their word.
“That’s right, Big Brother, how can you not have a wedding when getting married? This is the moment countless girls dream of.”
Sensing Yan Hao’s dejection, Lou Jingqi also began to persuade her eldest brother.
Yan Hao lowered her head in embarrassment. So that was why—they had brought her back to the old residence precisely for this…
Everyone present wanted to persuade him otherwise, but Lou Jingyi remained unmoved.
Lou Minmin became a bit angry and directly scolded, “Jingyi, such an important matter—did you even discuss it with Yan Yan?”
“How could you just blurt out something so major right on the spot? How can you be so disrespectful to your fiancée?”
Angered, Lou Chang slammed his hand down on the table. “You unfilial wretch!”
Some of the tableware on the dining table was shaken off and shattered on the floor.
Seeing the old patriarch fly into a rage, the rest of the people dared not speak even more.
Song Ying stood up, walked over to Yan Hao’s side, and placated her, “Yan Yan, it’s fine. Jingyi is just running his mouth.”
With that, she reached out and hit Lou Jingyi on the shoulder, trying to give her son a way out and hoping he would be sensible. “What time is it? Take back your nonsense!”
Lou Jingyi still insisted, “Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, a wedding without affection—let’s just skip it.”
Zhao Laifang furiously scolded, “What kind of nonsense are you spouting!”
Realizing the situation was escalating and fearing that his grandfather might resort to physical violence, Lou Jingyang walked over to soothe him.
“Grandpa, Big Brother is just…”
“Bring me my cane!”
The servant looked hesitatingly at Lou Minhe.
Lou Minhe could only nod angrily, leaving his father to deal with this rebellious son!
Lou Minhe: “If you weren’t willing, why didn’t you say so earlier? Why wait until now to embarrass Yan Hao on the spot? What kind of man do you call yourself?!”
Lou Minping waved his hand to signal the servants to take the young children away, then rebuked, “Jingyi, you really went too far today.”
Yan Hao felt her head buzzing with dizziness, hearing one reprimand after another.
Enduring her heartache, she raised her head slightly to see that the servant had already handed the cane to Lou Chang.
Lou Chang swung the cane down directly onto Lou Jingyi.
Bang!
Yan Hao could no longer care about anything else. “Grandpa!”
The cane struck Lou Jingyi’s back. He let out a muffled groan of pain, yet still refused to yield.
“Grandfather Lou… please don’t hit him anymore, I…”
Lou Chang struck down with all his might, but it wasn’t enough to appease him. He softened his tone and said to Yan Hao, “Child Yan, you don’t need to plead for him!”
So as not to interfere with her father-in-law’s performance, Song Ying pulled Yan Hao further away. “Yan Yan, just stay put. He deserves a beating.”
“Grandpa! It was me who didn’t want to have a wedding!” Yan Hao rushed to Lou Chang’s side, grabbing onto his cane and refusing to let go. “Grandpa, it was me who didn’t want the wedding, I don’t want a wedding…”
“Yan Yan, you’re actually taking this brat’s side!” Lou Chang felt the indignation of having his beloved granddaughter of many years coaxed away by some punk.
Seeing that Song Ying couldn’t hold Yan Hao back, Zhao Laifang secretly signaled Lou Jingqi to pull Yan Hao away.
“Sister-in-law, stop standing in Grandpa’s way.”
She whispered quietly in Yan Hao’s ear, “No matter what, let Grandpa vent this temper first.”
After Yan Hao was pulled away, Lou Chang brought the cane down two more times.
“Are you going to hold the wedding or not?!”
“No.”
Lou Chang’s cane blows carried immense force. After three strikes, fine beads of sweat had already broken out across Lou Jingyi’s forehead.
Just as Lou Chang raised the cane to strike again, Yan Hao broke free from her restraint and ran over to block the blow.
Seeing Yan Hao hurl herself in the way, Lou Chang had no choice but to pull back his cane to avoid hurting her.
Even though he saw how furious his grandfather was, Lou Jingyi still clenched his jaw tightly, refusing to give in.
He simply hadn’t expected that Yan Hao would actually shield him at a time like this. In the Lou family, whenever his grandfather lost his temper, very few people dared to intercede.
“Grandpa, we won’t have the wedding, okay? Let’s just have a simple meal together, alright?”
“Yan Yan, you… sigh!” Lou Chang threw the cane away in exasperation, slumped heavily into his chair, and turned his back to Yan Hao without another word.
Zhao Laifang sat down next to her husband, and a servant quickly stepped forward to remove the cane.
Yan Hao walked over and stood between Lou Chang and Zhao Laifang. “Grandpa, Grandma, I really don’t like weddings.”
Zhao Laifang let out a heavy sigh. “Yan Yan, why must you defend him like this?”
“Grandma, I mean it. Having our whole family eat a meal together is already wonderful.”
Unwilling to let Yan Hao suffer any grievances, Zhao Laifang didn’t agree immediately. “We’ll talk about this matter later. The two of you go and get your marriage license tomorrow.”
“Okay, I understand, Grandma.”
Lou Minping ordered, “Butler, send Jingyi and Yan Hao back.”
“Understood, Second Master.”
With his parents’ anger still unabated and his eldest aunt and uncle in a fit of rage as well, sending them home immediately was the safest course of action.
Because of the wounds on his back, Lou Jingyi leaned sideways against the car window to prevent his injuries from touching the seatback. With the driver present, Yan Hao found it difficult to say anything.
Upon arriving at Jingyuan, Lou Jingyi hurried into the living house, with Yan Hao following closely behind him.
“Aunt Chen, call the doctor.”
“Right away, Young Master.” Aunt Chen immediately made a phone call.
Supporting his forehead, Lou Jingyi looked in severe pain; whenever his grandfather took action, he never held back.
“Young Master, I’ve already called the doctor, but what happened to you?”
Lou Jingyi waved his hand to dismiss her. “It’s nothing, you can go about your chores.”
“This…”
Yan Hao spoke up, “Aunt Chen, having me here is enough, you can go downstairs.”
“Alright.”
Lou Jingyi took off his jacket and reached to unbutton his shirt, but suddenly stopped and looked at Yan Hao. “You should go back to your room and rest first.”
“…I’ll help you.”
As soon as she said it, she felt the words sounded a bit wrong, as if she were offering to strip off his clothes.
Yan Hao awkwardly bit her lip. “I’ll help you apply the medicine later…”
Just as Lou Jingyi was about to refuse, Yan Hao added, “Don’t turn me down, or my conscience won’t let it rest.”
By this point, Lou Jingyi had calmed down. Neither of them had done anything wrong in this matter. However, his actions back at the old residence had been done without consulting Yan Hao, causing her to be publicly embarrassed—he truly had been imprudent.
Before long, the doctor arrived.
Yan Hao went to open the door for him.
With his shirt unbuttoned, three shocking red welts were laid bare.
Standing nearby, Yan Hao could see them clearly. Everything that happened today had only occurred because she came along.
After examining the injuries, the doctor frowned and muttered, “Did Grandfather Lou have to go that heavy-handed?”
“Stop talking and just apply the medicine.”
Li Sixuan said nothing more. He simply cleaned Lou Jingyi’s wounds, lowered his head to retrieve medicine from his kit, and accidentally caught sight of Yan Hao staring anxiously at Lou Jingyi’s back.
Fine, he thought. I’ll play the good guy today.
Li Sixuan picked up a bottle of medicated lotion, but instead of applying it, he looked straight at Yan Hao.
Taken aback by the sudden gaze, Yan Hao looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Li Sixuan smiled. “You’re Miss Yan, right?”
“Jingyi’s regular family doctor had an emergency, so they asked me to fill in. But since I was assigned on short notice and don’t have much time, I’ll have to trouble you to apply this for him.”
In reality, Li Sixuan had a rare day off and plenty of time to spare.
“Li Sixuan!” With his shirt off, exposure to the cool air made his back sting even worse, and Lou Jingyi desperately wanted to wipe that smile off his face.
“Oh, right…” Li Sixuan smiled as he looked back at Lou Jingyi. “This medicine needs to be applied twice a day. Since he’s injured and won’t be able to take a proper shower for the next couple of days, could I also trouble Miss Yan to help him wipe down?”
“I don’t mean to be presumptuous, but since this is rather private business and no one else can help, you are his fiancée after all…”
In a daze, as if she had been hypnotized, Yan Hao nodded. “…Okay.”
Li Sixuan set down the required medicine and packed up his medical kit.
“I’ll be off then. Goodbye.”
“Take care, Doctor,” Yan Hao obediently replied.
Hearing this, Li Sixuan turned back to her and said, “My name is Li Sixuan. See you next time, Sister-in-law.”