Chapter 2 Because You’re My Wife

When she heard this voice, Lin Yuzhen trembled a little. She looked up at Lin Xiao who was standing in front. Her grandpa had never seemed concerned about her since she was born. Lin Xiao never even looked at her when she was born, because she was a girl. Now he was going to choose her husband and make a decision that would affect the rest of her life. Lin Yuzhen breathed heavily. She was angry and frustrated and she opened her mouth to protest, but suddenly she saw Lin Wen seated on his wheelchair shaking his head at her, begging her with his eyes. So she didn’t say anything. “Ladies and gentlemen, after a selection process by our family, among the ten wonderful applicants, we have chosen the best one to be Yuzhen’s husband. I hope everyone here will bless the new couple!” With that, everyone applauded. To Lin Yuzhen, this applause was mocking her. Or even pitying her. Her eyes were turning red, and she struggled to keep her tears from rolling down. “Dad, this is the man.” Lin Qiang took out a beautifully designed card and passed it to Lin Xiao. The name of their final choice was written on it. They had checked carefully already. This guy had no background to speak of, an orphan, over thirty years old, poorly educated, uncultured, no skills and was homeless – you could say he could be considered a completely useless man. And he even suffered intermittent bouts of insanity. They heard that it was hereditary! If so, then after this man married Lin Yuzhen, on top of cutting the family business off from Lin Yuzhen, even her children could forget about taking a single cent from the Lins! Lin Qiang looked at Lin Yuzhen and family seated in one area, and there was a moment of glee on his face. “Now I would like to announce our final choice!” Lin Xiao was longsighted and couldn’t see clearly, so he narrowed his eyes and looked carefully at the card before announcing, “It’s this lucky young man, Jiang Ning!” The moment the name was announced, everybody turned to look at the back door of the hotel. He was marrying into the family, so of course he could only walk in from the back door. The back door opened and a young man walked in. Lin Wen and his wife couldn’t bear to look. They knew that Lin Qiang would definitely choose the worst man to be Lin Yuzhen’s husband. But Lin Yuzhen turned to look. She wanted to see who would become her husband. Jiang Ning looked up and met her eyes, but neither said anything. He walked right across the hall and everyone was looking at him. Strangely the expression on his face seemed mocking, as well as some schadenfreude. “Jiang Ning, congratulations for making it as Lin Yuzhen’s husband and marrying into the Lin family.” Lin Qiang added on, “You don’t have to thank us, we just hope that you will take good care of Yuzhen.” To him, Jiang Ning should be eternally grateful to the Lins for giving a homeless orphan like him a home. Lin Qiang walked over to Lin Yuzhen and gently took her hand, his face full of care and concern. “Come along, Yuzhen.” He took Lin Yuzhen’s hand and brought her in front of Jiang Ning, then placed her hand on Jiang Ning’s hand. All the guests started clapping again when they saw this, as if they were attending a blissful engagement ceremony. But Lin Wen and family knew that everyone was just laughing at them! By tomorrow, all of Donghai would know that a man had married into the Lin family as Lin Yuzhen’s husband, and it was going to be the talk of the town. Lin Yuzhen’s mind went blank, as if she had been completely emptied out. She couldn’t seem to hear or see anymore, and didn’t even know what time the banquet ended. Once the banquet ended, Sumei immediately left crying, while Lin Wen quickly rolled his wheelchair along after her. At the hotel entrance, a cold wind blew on her face and Lin Yuzhen came to her senses. She looked at Jiang Ning who was standing next to her. Her face was expressionless, but her voice was hoarse. “Uncle, I don’t blame you.” She quietly continued, “You are to be pitied too.” Jiang Ning was ten years older than her, so it seemed appropriate to call him Uncle instead. Jiang Ning didn’t say anything. He hadn’t said a word all day. The person in front of him was that little girl from fifteen years ago. She was still as kind as ever. She tolerated this situation and suffered this sort of bullying just so that her parents could live happily. “Oho, my dear cousin, congratulations!” Suddenly a man walked out from the entrance and smiled with his hands clasped together as he smiled, “Congrats on getting such an outstanding husband!” He purposely emphasized the word ‘outstanding’, and said it with great sarcasm. Lin Yuzhen frowned and bit her lips. She looked at Lin Feng and clenched her fists. “My dad and the family worked hard over your marriage,” Lin Feng sighed as he said. “Well now that it’s all settled and you’ve found someone, my uncle can be at peace too.” He didn’t care about Lin Yuzhen going pale in the face and turned to throw a glance at Jiang Ning. This useless man was found by his father, Lin Qiang. When he thought about the information they had on him, he couldn’t resist laughing. So a man could be this useless. “To my new cousin-in-law: now that you’ve married into the Lins, you’d better be nice to my cousin here,” Lin Feng gleefully continued. “Quickly have kids ok? It will make Grandpa happy too.” “No matter what your kid looks like, or even if you give birth to a retarded one, the Lins can afford to raise him.” Lin Yuzhen couldn’t stand it anymore. “Lin Feng, are you quite done!” “Yuzhen, I’m just giving my blessings to you guys,” Lin Feng replied. “Grandpa also said that he hopes that you guys will have kids soon. I think you’ll complete this mission tonight.” If they really had a retarded kid, that would be even funnier. “You!” Lin Yuzhen lifted a hand and Lin Feng’s face immediately darkened. “What, you want to hit me?” Lin Yuzhen bit her lips, angry and indignant. If she dared to hit the eldest grandson of the Lins, then tomorrow her family would be chased out of the family! To her grandfather, only grandsons were Lin family members. She…was not eligible. Lin Feng became even more gleeful when he saw Lin Yuzhen put her hand down. Since they were young, only he got to bully Lin Yuzhen. Lin Yuzhen could dream on about taking advantage of him. “I’m doing this for your own good, but you don’t appreciate my good intentions,” Lin Feng purposely sighed loudly, “Your father has been paralyzed for so many years, and your family would have starved to death long ago if the Lin family didn’t support you. Now we’ve taken so much effort to find you a husband and you’re not just ungrateful but you also want to hit me. If Grandpa knows you tried to hit me, the consequences…” Lin Yuzhen started shaking. She looked at Lin Feng with great fury – how could a person be this shameless! She turned to leave, but Lin Feng blocked her way again. “Yuzhen, this is Grandpa’s decision. If you’re not happy, go tell him.” Lin Yuzhen started crying from her indignation and her anger had been pushed to its limit. “What do you want to do?” Jiang Ning suddenly broke his silence. Lin Yuzhen lifted her head and looked at Jiang Ning, and blurted out, “I want to give him a tight slap!” PAK! She had just finished talking and there was loud sound of a slap. Lin Feng held his face as he collapsed on the ground, and he didn’t even have time to shout. He only managed to react when he felt a burning sensation coming from his face. He was the one who got slapped! It was Jiang Ning who slapped him! Lin Feng was stunned, and so was Lin Yuzhen. Jiang Ning dared to hit Lin Feng? He was just a man who married into the family! “You…” Lin Yuzhen’s face paled immediately from fright. Lin Feng was going to kill Jiang Ning! “Why did you listen to me?” Lin Yuzhen murmured. “That’s because you’re my wife now,” replied Jiang Ning.