Chapter Four: I Won't Be Leaving After All

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw Yang Jiekai, the simpleton, holding a banana, peeling it nonchalantly as he said, “I know the laws of Huaxia—marriage is a matter of personal freedom. I want a divorce.”

At this, everyone was stunned, not understanding what he was up to.

“You…” Han Ning stared at Yang Jiekai, both shocked and angry; this wasn’t part of the plan!

Yang Jiekai quickly finished eating the banana, wiped his nose, and then looked at Han Ning with utter seriousness. “Little Ning, I know you love me deeply and can’t bear to part with me, but I must tell you the truth. I actually stopped loving you long ago. I only married you just now because I didn’t want to hurt you, but I’ve thought it over. Since I don’t love you, marrying you would be irresponsible to you. So I want a divorce.”

Han Ning was momentarily taken aback, then a wave of joy surged within her. Now the other party had initiated the divorce—this way, she wouldn’t be defying her grandfather’s orders, and she could finally escape this quagmire!

Han Erye, standing nearby, had the same thought as Han Ning. If the divorce went through, all this chaos would vanish in an instant.

With this thought, Erye’s expression eased. He was about to speak when the heavily made-up, overweight woman interjected first, “No, absolutely not! This marriage was arranged by the old master himself. I will never agree to a divorce.”

Another woman, her face caked with foundation, chimed in, “Exactly! Who do you think the Han family is? This marriage cannot be dissolved!”

Suddenly, a chorus of scheming relatives all voiced their unwavering opposition to the divorce, erupting into chaos.

“Silence!”

Erye, mortified and enraged, glared at the crowd. He knew exactly what these people were plotting and shouted, “Marriage is a matter of personal freedom. I make the decisions today. The marriage ends!”

“No!” The woman, Han Chunhua, was wary of Erye—but only so long as it didn’t threaten her interests. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity she couldn’t miss. Straightening her neck, she retorted, “This marriage was arranged by the old master himself! It cannot be dissolved!”

“Han Chunhua!” Erye shouted, “Since when is it your place to speak here?”

Han Chunhua, undeterred, said, “Erye, I know I shouldn’t speak here, but this is the old master’s will. Do you mean to defy him? Don’t forget, he is the head of the family. Don’t overestimate your own importance!”

They say money is almighty—clearly, it’s true. When faced with her interests, even Han Chunhua dared to talk back to the second most powerful figure in the Han family.

Smack!

Erye slapped Han Chunhua across the face. Caught off guard, she toppled to the floor, clutching her face and furiously shouting, “Han Kunpeng! Don’t think I’m scared of you; you’re pushing me too far!”

She turned to the nearby men in black and shouted, “What are you waiting for? Get him!”

Erye’s expression didn’t change. He looked at Han Chunhua and sighed softly, showing neither fear nor intent to dodge.

One of the men in black lunged at Erye, ready to strike, when a dull thud sounded, and the man was sent flying across the room.

Xiaobing, having dispatched one man, moved like lightning, fists and feet a blur. In less than a minute, the floor was littered with fallen bodies.

Everyone was left gaping in shock. Han Chunhua’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. She knew her bodyguards’ abilities—any one of them could handle two or three ordinary men with ease—yet here they’d been taken down in moments.

Xiaobing, after finishing the job, didn’t even bat an eye. He simply retreated to Erye’s side as if nothing had happened.

Han Chunhua, regaining her senses, suddenly knelt before Erye and kowtowed frantically. “Erye, please, I beg you—let me go this time, I’ll never dare again…”

Erye sighed. “It’s too late.”

He signaled to Xiaobing, who stepped forward, lifted the nearly two-hundred-pound Han Chunhua with one hand, and landed a swift punch to each of her legs. Two sharp cracks sounded, Han Chunhua screamed in agony, and then fell unconscious.

Erye swept his gaze around the room. “Han family law: defiance against elders warrants broken legs. Does anyone else have anything to say?”

Everyone had been frightened into utter silence; not a soul dared utter a word, not even a breath out of place as cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.

Erye snorted coldly at the crowd, ready to speak with Yang Jiekai again—only to suddenly realize, as he looked around, that Yang Jiekai was gone!

“Where is he?!” Erye roared in fury. The room had been in chaos, and no one had noticed how Yang Jiekai had slipped away.

At that moment, Yang Jiekai was in the villa’s back garden, holding an old, paint-chipped black-and-white cell phone, on the verge of tears.

What have I done to deserve this? All I wanted was to marry a rich woman and get divorced to split the fortune—why is this happening to me?

Earlier, amid the chaos, a mysterious old man had called Yang Jiekai with news that nearly made him cough up blood: Han Ning owned nothing in her name!

His dreams of overnight wealth were shattered. Clearly, the Han family had anticipated everything and transferred their assets before the wedding. Yang Jiekai had planned for everything except the Han family’s intelligence. If they could be tricked so easily, they wouldn’t be where they were today.

As everyone speculated about where the young man had gone, Yang Jiekai shuffled back from the back garden.

“About the divorce…” Erye started as soon as he saw Yang Jiekai, but Yang Jiekai interrupted with a note of resignation, “Forget it. I won’t be divorcing after all.”

Another bombshell—but this time, the rest of the people in the room found it music to their ears. Having seen Erye’s ruthlessness, no one dared object any longer. When it seemed the cooked duck was about to fly away, this young man suddenly gave them renewed hope.

“Outrageous!” Erye was momentarily stunned, then erupted in anger, feeling as if he were being played for a fool.

“Yang Jiekai, what exactly do you want?” Erye shouted, pointing at him.

Yang Jiekai shrugged, unconcerned, and wiped his nose. “Nothing—just changed my mind. I won’t divorce.”

He wasn’t an idiot. Even though the Han family had moved all the assets out of Han Ning’s name, Yang Jiekai understood the value of patience. Since there was no better option, he’d simply stick around—who knew, maybe his pretty wife would be rich again someday.

Erye’s patience was at its limit. Had he been younger and more hot-blooded, he would have torn this boy to pieces for making a fool of him again and again.

Without even a signal, the look of fury in Erye’s eyes was enough for Xiaobing—his trusted aide—to know what to do.

Whenever Erye wore that expression, someone was bound to be crippled—or, in a few cases, never open their eyes again.

Xiaobing attacked with a ruthless move meant to cripple Yang Jiekai, chopping toward his shoulder. If that landed, even a bull would lose its arm.

But just as his hand was about to strike, Yang Jiekai’s form blurred—he dodged!

The crowd then saw a bizarre scene: Yang Jiekai was forced by Xiaobing to scurry around the room, hands over his head, shouting, “Gentlemen use words, not fists! Hey, stop hitting me, I’m about to cry!”

To others, the scene seemed a bit comical, but to Erye, it was unbelievable.

He noticed a detail everyone else missed: under Xiaobing’s relentless assault, this young man was utterly unscathed!

After less than a minute, Xiaobing, without a word from Erye, stopped and silently retreated behind him. Erye saw a look in Xiaobing’s eyes he’d never seen before—fear.

Erye, a man seasoned by storms, gave Yang Jiekai—who looked disheveled—a long, thoughtful look, then sighed. “As the Han family’s second master, I hereby declare: from this moment on, Yang Jiekai is the Han family’s son-in-law!”

He gave Yang Jiekai a meaningful glance, then turned and left.

Those who had no idea what had transpired finally breathed a sigh of relief, wishing they could rush up and hug Yang Jiekai. With this marriage sealed, they, the relatives, stood to gain the most!

On the way out of the Han estate, Erye sat in the back of the car, eyes closed in meditation. After a while, he said, “Xiaobing, how strong is that young man?”

Xiaobing, driving, held up three fingers. Erye was startled. “You mean you could only last three moves against him?”

Xiaobing shook his head, his voice dull. “Just now, he had at least three chances to kill me.”