Chapter 1
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Chapter 1: Enduring Humiliation
The luxurious Xiao family villa was brightly lit.
Tonight was the 70th birthday banquet for the head of the Xiao family, Grandma Xiao.
A crowd of grandsons, granddaughters, and grandsons-in-law presented extravagant gifts one after another.
“Grandma, I heard you love tea. This century-old Pu’er tea brick is worth five hundred thousand. It’s a birthday gift for you.”
“Grandma, I heard you believe in Buddhism. This jade Buddha is carved from Hetian jade and is worth seven hundred thousand…”
Grandma Xiao looked at the various gifts and laughed heartily, the whole family was filled with joy.
At that moment, Grandma Xiao’s eldest granddaughter’s husband, Ye Chen, suddenly spoke up, “Grandma, can I borrow a million? Aunt Li from the welfare home has developed uremia and needs money for treatment…”
The entire Xiao family was shocked.
Everyone looked at Ye Chen with incredulous expressions.
This son-in-law was too bold, wasn’t he? It was Grandma’s birthday, and not only had he not prepared any gifts, but he also dared to ask Grandma to borrow a million?
Three years ago, when the late Grandpa Xiao was still alive, he had insisted on marrying his granddaughter Xiao Churan to Ye Chen, who at that time was penniless, practically a beggar.
After they got married, Grandpa Xiao passed away, and since then, the Xiao family had been scheming to drive him away.
However, Ye Chen remained calm and indifferent, unaffected by the insults from others, and continued to live as a son-in-law in the Xiao family.
Today, asking Grandma for money was a last resort.
The Aunt Li who had taken him in and saved his life at the welfare home had developed uremia, and dialysis and a kidney transplant would require at least a million. He had no other choice but to approach Grandma.
He thought that since it was Grandma’s birthday, she might be in a good mood and willing to help.
Unexpectedly, Grandma Xiao, who had been laughing just a moment ago, immediately turned serious.
She threw her teacup to the ground and shouted angrily, “You ungrateful wretch! Are you here to celebrate or to borrow money?”
Xiao Churan hurriedly stepped forward to explain to Grandma, “Grandma, Ye Chen doesn’t understand. Please don’t take it to heart.”
As she spoke, she tried to pull Ye Chen aside.
At that moment, Xiao Churan’s cousin, Xiao Weiwei, sneered from the side, “Sister, look at the trash you married! My fiancé Yunfei only proposed to me and hasn’t even married me yet, but he already gifted Grandma a Hetian jade Buddha. And your husband? He didn’t bring any gifts and even has the nerve to ask Grandma for money!”
“Exactly! Brother Ye Chen, as the eldest son-in-law of the Xiao family, you really are a failure!”
The man speaking was Xiao Weiwei’s fiancé, Wang Yunfei, a young master from a prominent local family.
Although Wang Yunfei was about to marry Xiao Weiwei, in his eyes, Xiao Weiwei’s beauty was leagues ahead of Ye Chen’s wife, Xiao Churan.
Xiao Churan was a well-known goddess in Jinling, but seeing her marry such a useless man made Wang Yunfei quite displeased.
“Such trash should leave the Xiao family as soon as possible!”
“Right! This guy has brought shame to the Xiao family!”
“I think he’s just pretending to borrow money; he’s really here to ruin Grandma’s birthday party!”
Ye Chen felt the entire Xiao family targeting and insulting him, and he couldn’t help but clench his fists.
If it weren’t for needing to raise medical funds for his savior, he would have left this place of turmoil long ago.
However, recalling his father’s teachings from childhood about repaying kindness, he suppressed the humiliation in his heart and said to Grandma Xiao, “Grandma, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I beg you to show mercy…”
Someone snorted coldly and scolded, “Ye, stop trying to sweet-talk Grandma. If you want to save someone, figure it out yourself. Why should Grandma pay for your savior? Who do you think you are?”
The speaker was Xiao Weiwei’s brother, Xiao Hailong.
The siblings had always held a grudge against Xiao Churan, who excelled in every aspect, so they loved to seize opportunities to mock Ye Chen.
Xiao Churan looked a bit awkward and said, “Grandma, Ye Chen lost his father when he was eight. Aunt Li from the welfare home raised him. His desire to repay her kindness comes from a grateful heart. Please help him…”
Grandma Xiao’s face darkened, “Help him? Sure, unless you divorce him and marry Young Master Zhang. If you do that, I’ll immediately give him a million!”
The Young Master Zhang mentioned by Grandma was Zhang Wenhao, who had been pursuing Xiao Churan. The Zhang family was a prominent family in Jinling, much more powerful than the Xiao family, and Grandma had always wanted to curry favor with them.
At that moment, the butler rushed in and announced loudly, “Young Master Zhang has sent a birthday gift! A jade Buddha carved from old pit jade, worth three million!”
Grandma Xiao was overjoyed and exclaimed, “Quick, bring it here! Let me see!”
The butler immediately presented a piece of green jade Buddha, and everyone present gasped in amazement.
This jade Buddha was vibrant green and crystal clear, with no impurities, clearly a top-quality item.
Seeing this jade Buddha after gifting the Hetian jade Buddha, Wang Yunfei felt a bit embarrassed. He hadn’t expected Zhang Wenhao, who had no ties to the Xiao family, to be so generous!
Grandma Xiao joyfully admired the jade Buddha and said excitedly, “Oh, Young Master Zhang is truly thoughtful! If he could be my grandson-in-law, I would be so happy I’d wake up laughing from my dreams!”
After saying that, she looked at Xiao Churan, “So, what do you think? Will you consider my condition?”
Xiao Churan shook her head, “Grandma, I won’t divorce Ye Chen.”
Grandma Xiao’s expression instantly turned dark, and she angrily shouted, “You’re ungrateful! You insist on hanging onto this useless man! Get this useless man out of my sight! He’s not allowed to attend my birthday banquet!”
Ye Chen was completely disappointed in the Xiao family and felt he had no face to stay any longer, so he said to Xiao Churan, “Churan, I’m going to the hospital to see Aunt Li.”
Xiao Churan quickly replied, “I’ll go with you.”
At that moment, Grandma Xiao scolded, “If you leave too, then I’ll have no granddaughter! You and your parents can all roll out of the Xiao family with this useless man!”
Xiao Churan was taken aback, not expecting Grandma to say something so harsh.
Ye Chen hurriedly said, “You stay. Don’t worry about me.”
As he spoke, before Xiao Churan could react, he turned and walked out.
Xiao Hailong laughed behind him, “Oh my good brother-in-law, you’re leaving on an empty stomach. You’re not going to beg on the street, are you? If that’s the case, you’ll really bring shame to the Xiao family! I have a coin here; go buy a bun to eat!”
As he spoke, Xiao Hailong took out a coin and tossed it at Ye Chen’s feet.
The entire Xiao family burst into laughter.
Ye Chen gritted his teeth and left the Xiao family without looking back.
…
Upon arriving at the hospital, Ye Chen immediately went to the payment counter, hoping to negotiate for a delay in the medical fees.
However, when he inquired with the nurse, he was suddenly informed that Aunt Li had been sent overnight to the best hospital in Yanjing for treatment.
Ye Chen was shocked and hurriedly asked, “How much will it cost? I’ll find a way!”
The nurse replied, “A total of three million is needed. One million has already been paid, but two million is still outstanding. It must be paid within a week.”
“Who paid that one million?”
The nurse shook her head, “I don’t know.”
Ye Chen was puzzled and was about to clarify the matter when he turned around and saw a man in a black suit, with slightly graying hair, around fifty years old, standing behind him.
Their eyes met, and the man bowed to him, saying, “Young Master, you’ve suffered all these years!”
Ye Chen frowned, and his demeanor changed as he coldly asked, “You are Tang Sihai?”
The man replied excitedly, “Young Master, you remember me!”
Ye Chen’s expression hardened, and he murmured, “Of course I remember! I remember each of you! Back then, you forced my parents to take me away from Yanjing and flee. In the process, my parents died in an accident, and I became an orphan. What do you want from me now?”
Tang Sihai said painfully, “Young Master, when your father passed away, the old master was heartbroken. He has been looking for you all these years. Now, come back with me to see him!”
Ye Chen coldly replied, “You can leave. I will never see him in my lifetime.”
Tang Sihai asked, “Young Master, do you still blame the old master?”
“Of course,” Ye Chen said word by word, “I will never forgive him!”
“Ah…” Tang Sihai sighed deeply and said, “Before I came, the old master said you might not forgive him.”
“Well, at least he has some self-awareness!”
Tang Sihai continued, “The old master knows you’ve suffered over the years and asked me to give you some compensation. If you don’t want to go back, I can buy the largest enterprise in Jinling and give it to you, along with this card. The password is your birthday.”
As he spoke, Tang Sihai handed over a top-tier black gold card from Citibank.
“Young Master, there are only five of these cards in the country.”
Ye Chen shook his head, “Take it back. I don’t want it.”
Tang Sihai insisted, “Young Master, your savior still needs two million for medical fees. If you can’t pay, her life may be in danger…”
Ye Chen furrowed his brows, “Are you deliberately plotting against me?”
Tang Sihai hurriedly said, “I wouldn’t dare! If you accept this card, it will be enough to cover that amount.”
Ye Chen asked, “How much is on this card?”
Tang Sihai replied, “The old master said this card is just a little pocket money for you, not much, a total of ten billion!”
