Ye Feng smiled calmly and said, "That doesn't seem important. What's important is that I said I'd make Qingya Cosmetics soar, and I did. Isn't it time to settle our bet?"
Xiao Yufei had been deeply grateful to Ye Feng for all his help, but his words made her expression change in an instant. Her face turned cold as she said:
"Ye Feng, let me tell you, you and I are impossible!"
Ye Feng was stunned for a moment, but he quickly understood. He looked at Xiao Yufei and chuckled. "You think I want to fulfill our marriage contract? You're overthinking it. I mean it's time for me to get my Jade Pendant back."
With that, he turned and walked away. His calm voice drifted back to her, "Go back and tell your parents that I will cure the old man's illness tomorrow. Please have the Jade Pendant ready to return to me. After tomorrow, all debts between us will be settled for good."
He then walked to the parking lot, got into a Rolls-Royce Phantom, and drove off.
Xiao Yufei's eyes went wide. 'He... how does he have such a luxurious car?' She wanted to go over and ask Ye Feng what was going on, but she quickly extinguished the thought.
Ye Feng was right. They were just strangers who had met by chance, destined to go their separate ways.
But when she recalled how he had so commandingly protected her just moments ago, a ripple spread through Xiao Yufei's heart. She quickly suppressed it.
'My heart is already full. How could I possibly make room for someone else?'
She took a crudely made sachet from her pocket and gazed at it affectionately, her eyes instantly filling with tenderness.
「A scene from ten years ago instantly flooded her mind.」
It was the Dragon Boat Festival. She had been fast asleep in her room when a boy, who was being hunted, hid inside. She had wrapped him in her quilt, helping him escape from his pursuers.
She hung a sachet she had sewn herself around the boy's neck and told him it would keep him safe.
She still remembered the boy's heartfelt words as if it were yesterday: "I saw your body, so I'll take responsibility for you. The day I return, I will marry you to repay you for saving my life and protect you for all of eternity!"
The vow was childish and laughable back then, but those words were deeply seared into her mind.
Over the past ten years, not only had they not faded, but they had grown even clearer.
To present her best self to that boy, she constantly exercised to maintain a perfect figure, even going to the hospital to have a mole on her chest removed, though it wasn't very noticeable...
But after waiting all these years, he still hadn't returned to her side.
Gazing at the sachet in her hand, a sweet look appeared in her eyes, but it quickly turned to bitterness.
"I've waited for you for ten years. How much longer are you going to make me wait?"
As Xiao Yufei spoke, the rims of her eyes instantly turned bright red.
Just then, a car screeched to a halt beside Xiao Yufei. The door opened, and Xiao Gang hurried out, asking anxiously,
"Yufei, how are things? Is the problem solved?"
Xiao Yufei snapped back to reality. She quickly put the sachet back in her pocket, rubbed her eyes, and hurriedly said to Xiao Gang,
"Dad, it's already been resolved!"
She briefly explained what had happened. Xiao Gang's eyes lit up, and in the next moment, he burst into laughter.
"Heaven is truly blessing the Xiao family! Blessing the Xiao family! There's no way Qingya Cosmetics won't rise now! Haha, this is wonderful, just wonderful!"
Xiao Yufei nodded and added, "Dad, we should really thank Ye Feng this time. If he hadn't asked Mayor Yuan to come..."
Before she could finish, Xiao Gang cut her off. "What? You're saying Ye Feng invited Mayor Yuan? Do you think that's possible? Do you think that country bumpkin has that kind of influence?
Let me tell you, he didn't!
I was the one who pulled a ton of strings to get a big shot like Mayor Yuan to come and support you. As for Ye Feng, hah, he had nothing to do with it."
But Xiao Yufei felt it wasn't that simple. She was about to argue, but she held her tongue. 'We're just strangers who met by chance,' she thought. 'There's no point in dwelling on it.'
So she looked at Xiao Gang and said, "Still, he did run around and put in a lot of effort for this. I guess that means he's fulfilled his side of the bet.
Let's go back, get the Jade Pendant from Grandpa, and return it to him. That way, we'll be even."
Xiao Gang nodded, and then he and Xiao Yufei drove back home and went to Xiao Wenyuan's room.
Thanks to Ye Feng's treatment, Xiao Wenyuan was recovering well and was sitting on the sofa, leisurely sipping tea.
Xiao Yufei looked at Xiao Wenyuan and got straight to the point. "Grandpa, all of Qingya Cosmetics' problems have been solved. Ye Feng has fulfilled the bet, so I think..."
Before Xiao Yufei could finish, Xiao Wenyuan's booming laughter interrupted her. "The bet is fulfilled? Wonderful! That kid Ye Feng is really capable! Are you saying you want to honor the marriage contract and get to the wedding night right away? Fine, I approve."
Xiao Yufei was at a complete loss. 'Did I say that? It sounds like you're just making it all up in your head.'
He then looked at Xiao Gang and exclaimed gleefully, "Xiao Gang, it's too late today. Make the preparations. Tomorrow, we'll hold the wedding for Yufei and Ye Feng and send them straight to the bridal chamber! I'm still waiting to hold my great-grandson! Haha..."
Xiao Yufei's face darkened. "Grandpa, that's not what I meant! I'm asking you to return the Jade Pendant to him..."
Xiao Wenyuan was old and cunning. The moment he heard that, his face fell. "What's this? You want to break the engagement? Cast him aside now that he's served his purpose? Let me tell you, unless I'm dead, you won't be doing such an unconscionable thing on my watch!"
As he spoke, his face turned ashen, his body began to tremble uncontrollably, and his breathing became extremely rapid.
Xiao Gang panicked and immediately shouted, "Yufei, call Ye Feng, quick! Your grandpa's having another episode!"
Xiao Yufei acknowledged and quickly called Ye Feng.
Before long, Ye Feng arrived. After he inserted a few silver needles, the old man's condition immediately improved.
Seeing that the old man was out of danger, everyone let out a long sigh of relief.
Xiao Gang's eyes darted around. 'If the old man keeps this up, he won't just force the issue, he'll turn it into a complete disaster!'
'How can this be happening? This is going to be the death of me! Xiao Yufei is my greatest asset for marrying into a powerful family. If that bastard Ye Feng really plucks this flower, I'll cry myself to death.'
'Therefore, he absolutely could not let this happen. Absolutely not! Under no circumstances!'
An idea struck him. He pulled Ye Feng outside, took out a bank card, and handed it to him. "Ye Feng, there's a million yuan in here. Take it. Find a way to get the old man back to full health as soon as possible. Can you do that?"
Ye Feng looked at Xiao Gang and replied calmly, "I'll give him a few more acupuncture treatments today and tomorrow. By tomorrow, I can guarantee he'll be as good as new. As for the money, I don't need it. Take it back. Just remember to return my Jade Pendant tomorrow."
With that, he turned and left.
Xiao Gang stared after Ye Feng, his eyes full of confusion. 'Isn't he pestering Xiao Yufei to fulfill the marriage contract because he's after wealth and status? So why is he refusing a million yuan now? What does he mean by this?'
But he quickly understood. 'Compared to our family's fortune, a million yuan is nothing!'
'This guy is clearly after something much bigger!'
Xiao Gang sneered to himself. 'Ye Feng, oh Ye Feng, as long as I'm around, you bastard will never get what you want.'