Ye Feng had a dream. He dreamed he'd found the girl, and she was running toward him, facing the rising sun.
Seeing the girl's smile, as radiant as a blooming flower, Ye Feng excitedly moved forward to embrace her, but she suddenly vanished.
With a jolt, Ye Feng sat bolt upright. He glanced around, only to see Xiao Yufei lying on the bed, sleeping soundly.
Ye Feng shook his head with a bitter smile. 'It was just a dream.'
He murmured, "My dearest girl, I will find you."
...
As the first ray of morning sun touched her bed, Xiao Yufei rubbed her eyes, yawned, and sat up.
Suddenly remembering something, she let out a shriek and frantically threw back the covers. Only when she saw her clothes were still perfectly intact did she breathe a long sigh of relief!
She looked at Ye Feng, who was now sitting up from his spot on the floor, and blurted out, "Are you sick in the head?!"
Ye Feng turned to look at Xiao Yufei, a glint in his eyes. He chuckled. "Sick? Why don't you examine me and find out?"
"Get lost!" Xiao Yufei cursed, her face flushing red.
Ye Feng chuckled and turned to leave. "Let's go ask your grandfather for the Jade Pendant. The moment I have it, I'm gone."
With that, he walked out without a moment's hesitation.
"Check on Grandpa again!" Xiao Yufei called out, and then went with Ye Feng to her grandfather's room.
Ye Feng examined Xiao Wenyuan and nodded. "You're recovering well. I'll prescribe another medicine for you. Make sure you take it as scheduled. After one full course of treatment, I guarantee you'll be as good as new.
Now, you can give me back the Jade Pendant."
Xiao Wenyuan looked at Ye Feng, a wide grin on his face. "Ah, Ye Feng, I'll keep the Jade Pendant safe for you. I promise nothing will happen to it, so don't you worry."
Xiao Yufei quickly interjected, "Um, Grandpa, Ye Feng has some urgent business. He needs to leave for a while, so you should give him the Jade Pendant!"
"Leave?" Xiao Wenyuan glanced at Xiao Yufei. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a cunning glint. He looked at Ye Feng, shook his head, and said with a sly grin,
"My boy, I can't give you the Jade Pendant just yet. Two months. If Yufei is pregnant in two months, I'll return the Jade Pendant to you immediately!"
What?
Pregnant?
Xiao Yufei stumbled, nearly falling to the floor. 'This... this is just cruel!'
'He won't stop until my life is ruined! How could I possibly agree to this?'
So she glared at Xiao Wenyuan and said through gritted teeth, "Grandpa, I refuse!"
Xiao Wenyuan's brow furrowed as he looked at Xiao Yufei. "You little brat, don't think I can't tell you still want to call off this marriage.
You still want to do such a heartless thing!
You refuse, is that it? Fine. Starting today, I refuse all treatment. Just let me die and be done with it. If I can't even hope for a chubby great-grandson, what's the point of living!"
With that, he shoved the bowl of medicinal soup off the table, sending it crashing to the floor.
Hearing the noise from outside, Xiao Gang hurried in. Seeing the scene, he asked Xiao Wenyuan urgently, "Dad, what are you doing?"
Xiao Wenyuan pointed a trembling finger at Xiao Yufei, shouting between heavy breaths,
"This girl wants to call off the marriage with Ye Feng! I've lost all hope of ever seeing a great-grandson, so what's the point of me going on?
So I'm refusing treatment! I might as well just die!"
Xiao Gang instantly grew anxious. He whirled around, glared at Xiao Yufei, and yelled,
"Yufei, how could you call off the marriage? We can't go back on our word! Where else would we find a son-in-law this good? It's not just your grandfather who disapproves—I disapprove too!"
Xiao Yufei froze, completely dumbfounded.
'How did my own ally turn traitor?'
Ye Feng knew exactly what ulterior motives Xiao Gang was hiding. He looked at Xiao Gang and spoke calmly,
"Uncle Xiao, let me be honest with you. Chairman Mu and her people... we're not actually related. They only came yesterday to put on a show for me."
"You... aren't... related at all?" Xiao Gang's voice trembled.
Ye Feng nodded and said earnestly, "We don't even have the same last name. How could we be related?
Do you know why they tore up that five-billion check yesterday? It's because they never had any intention of giving it to you."
Xiao Gang stared at Ye Feng, his breath catching in his throat.
Ye Feng sneered inwardly. 'That should keep you out of it!'
He turned to Xiao Wenyuan. "Elder Xiao, the truth is, I'm just a poor nobody. So now, you can return the Jade Pendant to me, right?"
But Xiao Wenyuan just looked at Ye Feng, shook his head, and said with conviction, "When I agreed to arrange this marriage, I made a promise. I intend to honor it, whether you're rich or poor, healthy or not. I will see this through no matter what."
Ye Feng became desperate. He looked at Xiao Wenyuan and said hurriedly, "Elder Xiao, please just give me the Jade Pendant. I have an urgent need for it!"
Xiao Wenyuan smiled. "I can give you the Jade Pendant, but only after Yufei is pregnant. If you try to force my hand now, I'll destroy it!"
Ye Feng's gaze turned icy as he looked at Xiao Wenyuan. 'This old fox is playing me!'
Seeing Ye Feng's cold glare, Xiao Wenyuan knew exactly what little scheme was running through his mind. He gave a small smile and said,
"Are you thinking of torturing me to force me to tell you where the Jade Pendant is?
Let me tell you, you'd better give up that idea. I've already taken precautions against it.
I've placed the Jade Pendant in an iron box fitted with an explosive device. I have several remotes. If I press any one of them... BOOM! The Jade Pendant will be blown to dust. You won't get a single piece of it."
Ye Feng stared at Xiao Wenyuan, completely flabbergasted. 'Are you serious?'
Xiao Wenyuan burst out laughing. "Ye Feng, my boy, stop racking your brain for crooked schemes. Just go back and... 'communicate' with my Yufei. The only shortcut to getting that Jade Pendant is to have her pop out a little one for me as soon as possible. Understand?
Now go, go! It's your wedding day! Why are you wasting time chattering with an old man like me? Go do what you young people love doing most! Haha..."
Ye Feng was so exasperated by the shameless old coot that he was left speechless. He had no choice but to return to the room with Xiao Yufei.
Ye Feng looked at Xiao Yufei and said helplessly, "Hey beautiful, why don't I just bite the bullet here? Let's just make a kid.
But don't worry. The moment you're pregnant, I'll grab the Jade Pendant and be gone. I swear I won't bother you ever again!"
Xiao Yufei was about to explode with rage.
'Just listen to him! Get her pregnant, then walk away without a care, promising not to 'bother' her again? Are those the words of a human being?'
Xiao Yufei couldn't hold back any longer. She glared at Ye Feng and roared, "Ye Feng, don't you even think about it!"
Ye Feng held up his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Then what do you suggest?"
"You... You're the man and you're asking *me*?!" Xiao Yufei was furious. She wished she could just kick him out. Out of sight, out of mind.
But there was nothing she could do. Her grandfather was an immovable obstacle.