"You silly boy! I won't be a third wheel."
Seeing this, Fang Yun giggled. She mischievously stuck out her tongue and lightly grazed Chen Erbao's earlobe.
Then, swaying her hips, she left through the back door.
Leaving Chen Erbao with the view of her infinitely alluring figure from behind.
"Er Bao, are you home?"
Outside, Chen Jiaqi's impatient voice called out.
"Coming!"
Chen Erbao finally snapped out of it. He quickly took a breath to compose himself and opened the door.
There stood Chen Jiaqi, dressed in a daffodil-yellow miniskirt. She had fair skin and a pair of big, sparkling black eyes!
Chen Jiaqi was one of the prettier girls of the younger generation in the village, but compared to his sister-in-law, she lacked a certain mature and captivating charm.
"Jiaqi, you're here!"
Still feeling hot and bothered from his sister-in-law's teasing, Chen Erbao saw his girlfriend and eagerly reached out for an embrace.
SLAP!
But in the next moment, a large hand shot out from behind Chen Jiaqi and viciously smacked the back of Chen Erbao's hand.
"Chen Erbao, what do you think you're doing? Are you trying to get handsy?"
A brutish-looking man with a fleshy face stepped out from behind Chen Jiaqi, glaring menacingly at Chen Erbao!
This was Chen Jiaqi's older brother, Chen Qing!
He was thirty-five this year, but because he was a glutton and lazy, he just lazed around the village. As a result, he hadn't found a wife and was still a bachelor.
Chen Erbao had never liked his future brother-in-law. Now, with his hand stinging and his heart full of anger, he still chose to swallow his pride for his fiancée's sake. He forced a smile and said, "Brother Qing, Jiaqi and I are about to get married. How could this be considered getting handsy?"
"Marry her? You wish!"
Chen Qing said with a look of disdain, "I'm not going to waste my breath on you. If you can cough up a bride price of 880,000 today, I'll let Jiaqi marry you. Otherwise, from now on, you stay far away from my sister."
"A bride price of 880,000?"
Chen Erbao was stunned. He looked at Chen Jiaqi, bewildered, and forced a laugh. "Jiaqi, didn't we agree on a bride price of 88,000? Your brother must have misspoken, right?"
Chen Jiaqi bit her lip. "My mom said that was too low."
"88,000? Are you fucking kidding me? Is this charity for a beggar?"
Chen Qing sneered. "My sister's looks, figure, and disposition—is there any doubt she's one of the top girls in Bailong Village? And you think you can marry her for 88,000? You must be dreaming!
The price is 880,000. Not a penny less, or you can forget about marrying my sister."
Chen Erbao's expression turned grim. His parents had died when he was young, and he lived with his older cousin. Life was a constant struggle.
Even the 88,000 for the bride price was money he had painstakingly saved, bit by bit, by scrimping on food and expenses from his earnings as the village doctor.
A bride price of 880,000... Even if he sold his ancestral home, he could never scrape together that much money.
"Jiaqi, you know my situation. This 880,000 bride price... you could sell me and I still wouldn't be able to come up with that much money."
Chen Erbao looked at his fiancée with a pleading expression. "Besides, I've never heard of anyone in any of the surrounding villages paying such a high bride price. Please, help me talk some sense into your mom."
"Er Bao, there's nothing I can do."
Chen Jiaqi looked troubled. "This money is for my brother to get married and for my mother's retirement. 880,000 really isn't that much.
Just do it for me. Grit your teeth and bear it.
After all, once I marry you, I'll have to bear your children, wash your clothes, and cook your meals. I'll even have to live with Chen Dabao and his wife. Who knows how much I'll have to put up with in the future.
These days, people in the city pay sixty or seventy thousand a year just to hire a live-in helper.
Is it really so unreasonable for my mom to ask for a bride price of 880,000?"
'Not unreasonable?'
Chen Erbao was so angry he had to laugh. Supporting his future mother-in-law in her old age? Fine, he could accept that.
'But why was he expected to pay for Chen Qing to get a wife?'
'Did they really take him for a total sucker?'
Chen Erbao roared, "Is this something I can just grit my teeth and get through? I'm just a village doctor! I could grind my back teeth to dust and I still wouldn't be able to magically produce 880,000!"
"You want to get married when you don't have any money?"
Chen Qing's face was a mask of impatience. "Cut the crap. 880,000. If you can't pay, there are plenty of others eager to. So, either you come up with the money, or you stay a bachelor for life. Make your choice."
Hearing this, Chen Erbao suddenly recalled his sister-in-law's words. He stared hard at Chen Jiaqi and gritted out, "Jiaqi, tell me the truth. Have you been cheating on me?"
Chen Jiaqi couldn't meet his gaze. She turned her head away, flustered. "Wh-what nonsense are you talking about? I'm not that kind of person!"
They had been together for two years, after all. Chen Erbao could see the guilt in his fiancée's eyes immediately. His heart twisted as if stabbed, and he let out a bitter laugh. "You can never look me in the eye when you're lying."
"I..."
"Jiaqi, why are you wasting your time talking to this broke loser?"
Chen Qing looked at Chen Erbao with utter contempt. "I don't mind telling you. Wang Dazhu, the young master of the wealthiest Wang Family in Cyan Mountain Town, has taken a fancy to my sister. He's willing to pay a bride price of 880,000. All my sister has to do is say yes, and he'll come to propose marriage immediately.
So if a broke loser like you can't afford it, don't get in the way of my sister's happiness."
"Wang Dazhu?"
Chen Erbao was in utter disbelief. The man was a massive slob, weighing well over two hundred pounds. On top of that, he was blind in one eye—a one-eyed man.
Chen Erbao was overcome with rage. "Jiaqi, do you really love money that much? Are you really willing to marry a man like Wang Dazhu just for money?"
"What's that supposed to mean, Chen Erbao?"
Chen Jiaqi reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her face flushed red as she grew agitated. "What's wrong with Dazhu? So he's a little overweight and has a disability. But his spirit is strong despite his handicap! He used his own abilities to manage his family's business and keep it running smoothly.
What right do you, a small-time village doctor, have to look down on him?"
"Jiaqi, why are you wasting so much breath on this loser?"
Chen Qing shot Chen Erbao a contemptuous look. "Kid, since you're broke, get ready to be a cuckold!"
With that, he grabbed Chen Jiaqi and started to leave.
"Stop! Jiaqi, I don't believe you're this kind of person. I need to hear it from you."
In a panic, Chen Erbao grabbed Chen Qing's arm, his eyes locked on Chen Jiaqi.
They had been dating for two years. And while they hadn't taken that final step, their feelings for each other had been real. He couldn't believe Chen Jiaqi would be so heartless.
"Fuck off!"
Chen Qing kicked Chen Erbao, sending him flying. His head slammed hard against the wall.
Blood instantly gushed from his head. Chen Erbao's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Brother, you... you killed him."
Chen Jiaqi's face went white as she stammered in a trembling voice.
"Relax, he just passed out. It's not that easy to die!"
Chen Qing glanced down at him, sneered, and pulled Chen Jiaqi away.
Chen Jiaqi glanced one last time at Chen Erbao. Her mouth opened, but in the end, she said nothing and left.
Meanwhile, Chen Erbao opened his eyes to find himself in a great plaza paved with white Jade.
A woman of devastating beauty, with the ethereal aura of a goddess, was gazing at him with fiery eyes.
At a single glance, Chen Erbao found he couldn't look away.
The woman was simply too beautiful; it would be no exaggeration to say her looks could topple nations.
Even his sister-in-law, Fang Yun, would pale in comparison.
Most crucially, this goddess of a woman was draped only in a thin, white gauze.
Her graceful figure was faintly visible beneath it, an utterly tantalizing sight.
"My husband, do you find me beautiful?"
The woman's red lips parted slightly, and her voice was so seductive it could melt the very bones.
"Y-yes, beautiful."
Chen Erbao stammered.
"Then... do you want me?"
Suddenly, the white gauze slipped from her body, revealing her flawless, naked form.
She took a step, her lithe body coiling around Chen Erbao like a water snake.
BOOM!
Chen Erbao's mind exploded. All reason vanished. No longer able to control himself, he pulled the woman into a fierce embrace...