When they left the Civil Affairs Bureau, Su Qingning's beautiful, peach-blossom eyes grew even redder, and her pitiable appearance was heart-wrenching. Staring at the glaring marriage certificate in her hand, Su Qingning knew she was about to become the laughingstock of Jinling City. She wasn't afraid of being laughed at; she just felt utterly suffocated and desperate.
"Don't be sad. You'll soon realize that marrying me was a stroke of incredible luck!" Lin Xiao consoled her.
Su Qingning didn't speak, but her eyes grew increasingly dim.
When had she fallen so low that she needed 'a stroke of incredible luck' just to marry a beggar?
PFFT. Zhao Qingqing burst out laughing as if she had just heard the greatest joke in the world.
"That's right, Su Qingning. To marry this filthy beggar, you must have saved the galaxy in your past life. So from now on, you'd better live a good life with this filthy beggar," Zhao Qingqing said with a malicious expression. "If you dare to divorce him, I'll never let you off the hook. Do you hear me?"
Su Qingning nodded numbly. As they were speaking, a luxury car zoomed over. Before the car had even come to a steady stop, a well-dressed, aristocratic young man hopped out.
Su Qingning froze when she saw him, but a radiant smile spread across Zhao Qingqing's face. She quickly went up, latched onto the young man's arm, and asked coyly, "Shaoyang, did you see my Moments post?"
With a gloomy expression, the young man shook off Zhao Qingqing's arm. His gaze was fixed on the marriage certificate in Su Qingning's hand as he asked icily, "Zhao Qingqing, did you force Qing Ning to marry this beggar?"
"That's right, Shaoyang. A slut like Su Qingning could never be worthy of you. This filthy beggar is her perfect match," Zhao Qingqing said smugly.
Hearing this, Lin Xiao finally understood. So it was all for this guy's sake. That's why Zhao Qingqing had been so vicious as to drug Su Qingning with a potent aphrodisiac and arrange for me to sleep with her.
Looking at the man's eyes, which were practically spitting fire, Lin Xiao knew he was in for a good show.
Sure enough, the thought had barely crossed his mind when—SMACK! Liu Shaoyang gave Zhao Qingqing a vicious backhand slap across the face.
Zhao Qingqing clutched her burning cheek, completely stunned. "Shaoyang, you—why did you hit me?"
"Shut up! If it weren't for the long-standing friendship between our families, I'd kill you right now!" Liu Shaoyang roared furiously.
Zhao Qingqing's anger flared. Her Zhao Family and his Liu Family were both among Jinling City's top-tier families, yet now, for the sake of a bitch, Liu Shaoyang had actually struck her.
"Liu Shaoyang, I know you like Su Qingning, but I refuse to let you have her! And I'm not afraid to tell you: I already had this filthy beggar defile that slut!"
BOOM! Liu Shaoyang's eyes instantly turned blood-red, like those of a completely enraged beast. Without another word, he violently kicked Zhao Qingqing, sending her flying.
Zhao Qingqing crashed hard onto the ground and burst into loud sobs. His rage unsated, Liu Shaoyang pounced on her again and began raining blows down on her head and face.
Lin Xiao watched with a silent smile. Su Qingning, however, had a somber expression, her thoughts unreadable.
After what felt like an eternity, Liu Shaoyang stopped. He turned and strode up to Lin Xiao, his eyes as sharp as daggers.
"Kid, if you don't want to die, go and divorce Qing Ning right now!" he said coldly.
Lin Xiao was instantly annoyed. This piece of trash dares to speak to me like that? Liu Shaoyang might be a big shot in Jinling City, but in Lin Xiao's eyes, he was nothing but a lump of crap. After all, setting aside his several masters, even the current Human Emperor was his senior brother.
Just as Lin Xiao was about to respond, Su Qingning spoke calmly, "There's no need. I will not divorce Lin Xiao."
Honestly, Su Qingning knew Liu Shaoyang liked her. She also knew that if she married him, all her current troubles would be resolved in an instant. From then on, no one in all of Jinling City would dare to bully her. But Su Qingning wasn't a fool. She knew perfectly well that she and Liu Shaoyang were from two different worlds.
Lin Xiao was stunned for a moment. He had assumed that with someone now sticking up for her, Su Qingning would jump at the chance to divorce him without a second thought. He never imagined she would say something like this.
Liu Shaoyang grew frantic. "Qing Ning, even though you've been defiled, I swear I don't hold it against you! Listen to me, divorce this beggar immediately. He can't give you a happy life."
Su Qingning shook her head and said indifferently, "I'm sorry. I'll say it again: I will not get a divorce." Her voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally firm.
Liu Shaoyang exploded with rage. "Fuck! Su Qingning, you really are a slut, aren't you? What, did you get addicted to this filthy beggar screwing you? Can't bear to leave him now? Dammit! Haven't I been good to you? Without my protection, do you think your shitty little bar would have ever gotten off the ground?"
Su Qingning's face turned deathly pale, and she swayed as if she might collapse at any moment.
Lin Xiao's anger flared. "Alright, cut the fucking act! You just want to steal my wife's fortune, yet you're putting on this 'great lover' charade!"
At these words, a flash of shock crossed Liu Shaoyang's eyes. Even Su Qingning looked on in astonishment.
"You filthy beggar, what the hell are you talking about?" Liu Shaoyang roared.
"Talking about?" Lin Xiao scoffed, then directly ripped the pendant from Su Qingning's neck.
Liu Shaoyang's heart leaped into his throat. He wanted to stop him, but it was too late. The pendant was inlaid with a huge, ruby-like gemstone, but it wasn't a ruby. It was commonly known as a Blood Droplet, a Magic Artifact created by a feng shui master specifically to siphon a person's fortune. And Su Qingning just so happened to be a person of great fortune—otherwise, she would never have met him.
Lin Xiao had noticed the object the very first time he met Su Qingning. His plan had been to cure her of the poison first and then destroy this thing. But before he had the chance, she had forced herself on him.
"Using a Blood Droplet on her, and you still have the gall to say you've been good to my wife," Lin Xiao said with a cold laugh.
Su Qingning asked in a trembling voice, "Lin Xiao, what... what do you mean?"
"My silly wife, haven't you noticed your luck has been terrible ever since you started wearing this thing? To put it bluntly, it's designed to siphon away your fortune."
Su Qingning's heart skipped a beat. Lin Xiao was right. Ever since she started wearing the pendant, her luck had become abysmally bad. She had nearly been hit by a car several times, not to mention being schemed against by Zhao Qingqing today.
Could it really be that this thing absorbs my fortune? Then again, Zhao Qingqing has wanted to plot against me for a long time; I just couldn't avoid it this time. It doesn't seem to have much to do with my luck. Besides, Lin Xiao is just a beggar. How could he possibly know about such things?
Liu Shaoyang, however, began to panic. He never expected this beggar to recognize the artifact. If Su Qingning believed the filthy beggar's words, his family's entire plan would be ruined.
"Qing Ning, don't believe this trash's nonsense! How could I possibly give you such an evil object? Tell you what, to show my sincerity, I'm willing to invest one hundred million to support your bar!"
Lin Xiao laughed coldly. "Oh, still struggling, are we? If you had run into anyone else, you might have gotten away with it. But you were unlucky enough to run into me. Tell me, Liu Shaoyang, what do you think will happen to the Liu Family if I crush this thing?"
Liu Shaoyang was instantly frantic. The Liu Family had paid a fortune to have a feng shui master craft that artifact. If it were destroyed, not only would the Liu Family's fortune completely collapse, but most importantly, his very own birth chart was tied to the Blood Droplet. If it shattered, he would be severely injured, if not killed.
"You filthy beggar, you fucking dare!" Liu Shaoyang roared.
Lin Xiao shrugged disdainfully and crushed the Blood Droplet in his hand.