Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Wu Xiaojiu was so furious he was practically smoking from the ears.
After Wang Qiang temporarily took over the phone, he coaxed and persuaded until he finally managed to “invite” the Wu Dan family over.
The place Wu Dan lived was remote and shabby. His family had been poor since he was little. Although he had used the wager agreement to squeeze several hundred thousand out of Bo Suihan, it was still nowhere near enough to buy a home in the city.
On top of that, he was a lazy good-for-nothing who spent his days drinking and gambling. Those tens of thousands had very quickly been lost at the tables.
The only reason he could still live comfortably in the village now was because the Village Chief gave him face. The moment Wu Yuting divorced the Village Chief’s idiot son, Wu Dan’s situation would become awkward overnight.
So when his family came, they had already made up their minds. Wu Yuting was a daughter married out, water thrown away. Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. What was done could not be undone. No matter what, they absolutely could not agree to let her divorce.
As for Wu Xiaojiu, he was just some wet-behind-the-ears brat, idling around all day. A grown man who had even climbed into another man’s bed-what future could he possibly have?
Naturally, Wu Dan had no idea that Bo Suihan was the big shot behind the scenes who had funded him and supported the Wu Family through the wager agreement.
He only felt that he had someone backing him up, so a useless little thing like Wu Xiaojiu was nothing to be afraid of.
After hanging up, he slept.
The next day, he downed a whole bottle of cheap baijiu. Reeking of alcohol, drunk and disheveled, he showed up at the Wu Family Villa.
Wang Qiang had not left the night before. He had taken a few days off work specifically to stay at the Wu Family Villa and help Wu Xiaojiu handle everything inside and out.
Wu Xiaojiu had been feeling a little lonely lately because Bo Suihan had gone abroad to take over the Han Family business and could not stay by his side.
Fortunately, Wang Qiang was there, and the two of them had slipped back into their old carefree, cheerful routine.
When Wu Dan arrived, the Wu Family Villa was in the middle of being renovated.
Wu Xiaojiu and Wang Qiang were sitting on the garden swing. In front of them was a small grill, and beside it stood a table piled with barbecue and seafood, the meat sizzling and dripping with oil.
The moment Wu Dan saw it, his eyes lit up with greed. Acting as if he owned the place, he grabbed a chair and sat down. Before Wu Xiaojiu could say a word, he tore into the food on the table, wolfing it down like a starving man.
“Hey, you-does that belong to you? Who said you could eat it?”
Wang Qiang jumped off the swing and bared his teeth at Wu Dan like a dog guarding its food.
Wu Dan’s face was flushed red; one look told them he had been drinking. He raised his head in feigned confusion, wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth, and chuckled.
“You’re not letting me eat? I saw it all laid out so generously and thought Xiaojiu had prepared lunch to celebrate our arrival. So it wasn’t?”
That was what he said, but his body was much more honest. He reached out and grabbed another big handful of skewers straight from the grill, clutching them in his hand as he ate until oil shone around his mouth.
“But what kind of person is Xiaojiu now? He’s the richest man’s darling. Thanks to him, we’re relatives of the richest man too, and our status isn’t what it used to be. Xiaojiu can afford a few skewers, and we can afford to eat them.”
Wang Qiang could hardly bear to look at his disgusting behavior. It was not that he felt bad about a few skewers. The main issue was that Wu Dan had made Wu Xiaojiu’s whole family miserable.
They had called him here today for a serious matter.
Yet this grown man showed not the slightest guilt. He did not feel in the least that he had ruined Wu Yuting’s life. Instead, he swaggered in, sat there stuffing himself, and even wanted to trick some benefits out of Wu Xiaojiu.
“It’s fine. Let him eat. I asked you to come because there’s something I want your help with. You know my sister’s situation. She may not be some dragon or phoenix among people, but she’s still the treasure of our family. The wager agreement may have been written clearly, but we’re relatives after all. This is something we should discuss properly.”
Wu Dan’s eyes darted craftily, and he immediately laughed.
“Young Master, why are you so stubborn about this? Women are no better than chickens, ducks, or dogs. They’re money-losing goods. No matter how well your parents marry her off, if they go stay at their daughter’s house, they’re only guests. Only you-once you start your own family and career, your parents can stand tall and live in your home, ordering around your wife, their daughter-in-law.”
Wu Dan smacked his lips as he spoke. Then he suddenly laughed, raised a hand, and gave his own mouth a token slap, conveniently wiping the grease from his fingers onto the table.
“Right, I forgot. The Village Chief’s son married into his wife’s family, and so did you. Your parents will never be able to hold their heads up for the rest of their lives.”
At that, Wu Dan’s wife and mother burst into chuckles behind him. The old woman was over fifty, her face full of wrinkles. She circled around to stand in front of Wu Xiaojiu and, without a word, grabbed one of his hands, speaking with heartfelt sincerity.
“You two can’t have children. At most, you’ll adopt one in the future. The Wu Family line ends with you. But since we’re relatives, if you let your sister properly serve the Village Chief’s son, give your cousin a few tens of thousands more, and sign a contract stating that after you die, all your property will go to your cousin, I’ll have your cousin bring you one of his sons to raise. That way, you won’t have wasted all that effort raising someone else’s child.”
Goosebumps broke out all over Wu Xiaojiu, and a chill of disgust crossed his face. Before he could lose his temper, Wang Qiang stood up first.
He slapped the old woman’s hand away, his features scrunched in revulsion as he shoved her back by the shoulder. Wu Dan’s mother still wanted to say something, but Wang Qiang clicked his tongue at her, and only then did she reluctantly shut her mouth.
“I can give you tens of thousands, even over a hundred thousand. The Wu Family isn’t short on money now. The only person I can’t stop worrying about is my sister. As long as you agree to void that clause in the wager agreement, I can pay whatever amount you want.”
Wu Xiaojiu knew there was no reasoning with them, so he could only lower his head and take the loss, planning to spend more money to settle the matter.
Money was a small thing. What mattered was not letting his sister fall ill from being trapped in that oppressive environment for so long.
When Wu Dan heard him say that, his eyes visibly lit up.
But then he remembered what Bo Suihan had told him and shrank back a little.
“Words are cheap. You have to show some sincerity first. Give me twenty percent of the Wu Family shares and let me see how much you care about your sister.”
No.
Judging by how much Wu Xiaojiu cared about his sister, Wu Yuting absolutely could not be allowed to divorce.
Wu Dan knew his own position was limited and that the wager agreement was not something he had the final say over. But seeing how troubled Wu Xiaojiu was over this matter, he understood that he could use his status as the person named in the wager agreement to fool some money out of him.
Although demanding twenty percent of the shares was indeed excessive, Wu Xiaojiu was ready to grit his teeth and force himself to agree for his sister’s sake.
After all, Wu Yuting was his only sibling. To him, his sister was no less important than his parents-if anything, she mattered even more.
Wu Yuting had always doted on him too. Despite how unfortunate her own life was, when she saw Wu Xiaojiu suddenly rise with the wind at his back, she had never shown the slightest jealousy or tried to trip up her younger brother. Instead, she helped him openly and in secret.
From the bottom of his heart, Wu Xiaojiu wanted to be good to his sister.
He hoped his sister could live well.
So no matter how unreasonable Wu Dan’s demand was, Wu Xiaojiu had to agree for Wu Yuting’s sake.
Wu Xiaojiu nodded and hopped down from the swaying swing. Just as he was about to speak, a rush of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the villa.
At the same time, a chorus of voices shouted in perfect unison.
“Greetings, Dragon King’s Consort!”
“May the Dragon King’s Consort and the Dragon King enjoy a hundred years of happiness together!”
A strong gust of wind swept through. Dozens of people in black trench coats, black sunglasses, and black hats-dressed like mysterious hackers straight out of a movie-surged into the courtyard in a grand, imposing wave.