Yang Xiaofei ignored Yang Xiaodong and walked off.
Yang Xiaodong was furious. His handsome face flushed red with anger as he raged at Wang Chenning, "Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to come here and break off the engagement?
In what way is my sister not good enough for you? You should take a good look in the mirror!
Even if the engagement is going to be broken, my sister should be the one to do it."
’My sister is a princess. She’s the one who turns down other men, not the other way around. How dare a country bumpkin like Wang Chenning look down on her and call off the engagement?’
Glancing at the expressionless Yang Xiaofei as she walked toward the courtyard, Wang Chenning chuckled at the fuming Yang Xiaodong. "A couple of days ago, you said I was a toad trying to eat swan meat, that I wasn’t worthy of your sister, and you told me to cancel the engagement. Now that I’ve taken the hint and backed off, you’re still not satisfied and think I’ve humiliated her. Does this mean that in the minds of you rich folk, we poor people don’t even have the right to make our own choices?"
"You..." Yang Xiaodong was left speechless.
Wang Chenning draped an arm over Yang Xiaodong’s shoulder and asked amiably, "Who was that guy who wet his pants the other day? What happened to him?"
Yang Xiaodong’s face instantly paled, and he shoved Wang Chenning’s hand away as if he’d seen a ghost.
Wang Chenning added, "I was just wondering, want a taste of that yourself?"
Yang Xiaodong’s face went white with fear, and he turned tail and ran.
As Wang Chenning followed Yang Xiaofei into the main hall, Yang Liansheng came out to greet him personally, flanked by his sons and a crowd of his grandchildren.
"Chenning, please, come in and sit!" Yang Liansheng gave Wang Chenning a deep bow. "Thank you so much for saving me. If it weren’t for you, and I’d let this bunch of little rascals continue their foolishness, this old life of mine would have ended at Yandu Hospital."
"Grandpa Yang, you’re too kind!" Wang Chenning quickly bowed in return, then added with a laugh, "Grandpa Yang, your time isn’t up yet. King Yama won’t be coming for you."
"You’re the one who dares to snatch lives back from King Yama! Even the chief physicians at Yandu Hospital are calling you a young miracle doctor!" Yang Liansheng laughed heartily and grabbed Wang Chenning’s hand. "I truly admire Brother Chongjiu for raising such an outstanding grandson. I have to admit, I’m no match for him!"
After a few more pleasantries, Yang Liansheng introduced the people around him to Wang Chenning.
Yang Liansheng had three sons, four granddaughters, and three grandsons. His eldest son, Yang Tianming, had one son and two daughters, while his second and third sons, Yang Tianyou and Yang Tianning, each had a son and a daughter. They were all present today, and Yang Liansheng made them give Wang Chenning a deep bow in front of everyone to show their gratitude.
Given Yang Liansheng’s firm stance, no one dared show Wang Chenning any disrespect—not even Yang Tianyou, who utterly despised him.
Seeing the large group of Yang family members bowing to him, Wang Chenning quickly bowed in return and told them not to stand on ceremony.
"Grandpa Yang, this is too much! You’re embarrassing me."
During the bow, Wang Chenning noticed Yang Xiaofu. She was dressed quite attractively today, seemingly in subtle competition with Yang Xiaofei for the spotlight. However, she didn’t come forward to cozy up to him. She didn’t even glance his way, treating him like a complete stranger.
’This girl has a few tricks up her sleeve.’
After the formalities, everyone sat down for tea, and Yang Liansheng once again expressed his gratitude to Wang Chenning for saving his life.
He also recounted the great debt the Yang family owed the Wang family from many years ago. When he was a young man, a rival had treacherously poisoned him, bringing him to the brink of death. Fortunately, Wang Chenning’s grandfather, Wang Chongjiu, had risked his own life to save him, allowing him to survive.
"Back then, if Brother Chongjiu hadn’t risked his life to save me, the Yang family would have been finished!" Yang Liansheng chuckled, gesturing to the people around him. "If I had died, none of you would exist!"
"The Yang family will never forget the great debts we owe the Wang family." Yang Liansheng rose and gave Wang Chenning another respectful bow before turning to his family. "Today, I have an announcement to make:
From now on, the descendants of the Yang family will be at the beck and call of the Wang family!"
With the exception of Yang Xiaofei, who remained expressionless, the color drained from the faces of every other member of the Yang family.
"Dad, how can you say that?" Yang Tianyou sputtered in frustration. "What if he wants the Yang family’s fortune? Are we supposed to just hand it over?"
"That’s right!" Yang Tianning immediately chimed in. "If they tell us to die, are we supposed to just stab ourselves?"
"Don’t you dare judge a gentleman by your own petty standards! Do you really think your Grandpa Chongjiu or Chenning would even give a damn about the Yang family’s fortune?" Yang Liansheng waved his hand dismissively. "If they really wanted it, I’d give it to them without a second thought!"
"Grandpa Yang, you’re being too serious!" Wang Chenning said quickly. "Saving the dying and healing the wounded is the duty of a doctor. We’ve never expected anything in return. Not in the past, and not ever!"
"See? Just look!" Yang Liansheng sneered at his children and grandchildren. "Stop assuming everyone else is as narrow-minded as you are!"
Cowed by Yang Liansheng’s authority, no one else dared to voice any objection.
The dinner was lavish. Between Wang Chenning and all the members of the Yang family, they filled four tables. Yang Liansheng insisted that Wang Chenning sit at the main table with him.
As everyone was taking their seats, Yang Xiaofu came over to briefly greet him before slipping away to a secondary table.
But the sly look she tried to hide as she greeted him betrayed her true feelings.
Yang Liansheng had Yang Xiaofei and Yang Xiaodong sit on either side of Wang Chenning. During the meal, he even told Yang Xiaofei to serve some food to Wang Chenning.
Yang Xiaofei didn’t defy her grandfather. She served Wang Chenning food twice and poured him wine three times.
Yang Xiaodong sulked the entire time. But in front of his grandfather and the rest of the Yang family, he didn’t dare show any sign of discontent, so he just kept his head down and ate.
Wang Chenning didn’t ignore him. He served him food several times, piling Yang Xiaodong’s bowl with an unwanted chicken leg and large chunks of fatty meat.
As a pampered young master, Yang Xiaodong was a very picky eater. He had a refined palate and never touched heavy, greasy meats.
’What kind of rich person eats this stuff anymore?’
He almost gagged at the sight of the chicken leg and fatty meat in his bowl.
But he knew his grandfather hated it when the younger generation wasted food. He was also afraid his grandfather would find out about his conflict with Wang Chenning, so he had no choice but to force himself to eat the greasy meat Wang Chenning had given him. By the time he finally choked down the chicken leg and fat, he was on the verge of throwing up.
With no other choice, he clapped a hand over his mouth and ran out, claiming he needed to use the restroom.
After reaching the bathroom and vomiting up all the heavy meat, Yang Xiaodong felt like he was half-dead.
He hadn’t expected that the moment he sat back down, he would see Wang Chenning had placed a large chunk of lamb in his bowl. A wave of nausea hit him, and he immediately shot up and ran back to the bathroom to be sick again. He didn’t return for the rest of the meal.
At Yang Xiaofei’s insistence, Yang Liansheng didn’t bring up the engagement during dinner, sparing everyone the awkwardness.
After all, Yang Liansheng was still recovering from a serious illness and needed his rest, so after they chatted for a while post-dinner, Wang Chenning urged him to go lie down.
After a short break, Wang Chenning gave Yang Liansheng another acupuncture treatment.
When the treatment was over, Yang Liansheng fell into a deep sleep.
The atmosphere with Wang Chenning was rather awkward, and the brothers—Yang Tianming, Yang Tianyou, and Yang Tianning—claimed they had other business to attend to. After Yang Liansheng fell asleep, they and the other family members all took their leave one by one.
After finishing Yang Liansheng’s treatment, Wang Chenning sat down to rest.
Yang Xiaodong, who had been gone for some time, suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He demanded furiously, "Were you doing that on purpose to get back at me?"
Wang Chenning looked at Yang Xiaodong with an air of indifference. "So what if I was? I haven’t even settled the score with you for what happened last time."
"..." Yang Xiaodong hadn’t expected the bastard to just admit it. Now he was the one at a loss for words.
"A growing boy like you needs lots of protein. You should eat more meat." Wang Chenning said, then pointed to a teacup beside him. "Go make me a cup of tea."
"You..." Yang Xiaodong was so furious he nearly jumped out of his skin.
’This guy really thinks he’s somebody, ordering him, the eldest young master of the Yang family, to fetch him tea!’
"Go make the tea!" Wang Chenning’s tone sharpened. "What did your grandfather just say? From now on, the Yang family descendants are at my beck and call. What, I can’t even get you to handle a simple request like making a cup of tea? Or was your grandfather’s promise just a load of hot air?"
Though Yang Xiaodong was seething with rage, he had no choice but to sullenly go and make the tea.
When he returned with the tea, however, there was a triumphant smirk on his face that he couldn’t quite hide.
’Heh, you think you can mess with me? You’re still way too green!’