"What in the world is going on? Lin Guo’er actually disagrees? What is happening?" someone muttered absentmindedly, completely baffled by the situation.
Lin Wanli hadn’t expected his daughter to object at this moment. Especially after the Zhao Family had connected with Li Jiachen, he thought his good days were coming. He never anticipated that his own daughter would refuse.
"Guo’er, what nonsense are you talking about!" Lin Wanli gently nudged Lin Guo’er and hissed, his voice low and filled with a fury he expertly restrained. "Stop joking. This isn’t the place for it. If you want to joke around, we can do it when we get home."
At that moment, Zhao Shunyang also snapped back to reality. Though furious, he managed to maintain his composure.
"I’m sorry, Dad. I’m sorry, Mr. Zhao. This isn’t the marriage I want. What I want is to be with the person I love, to live our lives together, to get married and have children. So, I cannot agree to this!" Lin Guo’er said again, her words incredibly firm. Now that the words were out, she didn’t care anymore. Besides, this truly wasn’t the life she wanted. As for the consequences, she wasn’t going to think about them. Whatever happens, happens.
Hearing Lin Guo’er’s words a second time, the crowd understood this wasn’t some illusion. It was real: Lin Guo’er was refusing the marriage.
This was, without a doubt, a blatant slap in the face. Zhao Shunyang’s expression turned exceedingly ugly.
It wasn’t just Zhao Shunyang; Zhao Zhenlin’s expression was just as grim. He had never expected things to get to this point. If he had known this would happen, he never would have arranged an engagement ceremony and would have just settled it privately.
How was he supposed to salvage this? No matter how he handled it, the loss of face was now a certainty!
At this thought, Zhao Zhenlin’s expression grew even darker, his gaze toward Lin Guo’er filled with rage.
Li Jiachen hadn’t expected this turn of events either. While it was somewhat disrespectful, he didn’t particularly mind. Given his calm disposition, he had learned to take most things in stride. Besides, some things simply couldn’t be forced.
"Ahem, Guo’er, Guo’er... about this, we should discuss it back at home. It’s not appropriate to talk about it here, so let’s go back first," Zhao Shunyang said, suppressing his anger. His only thought was to get Lin Guo’er home, as there was no way to salvage the situation here.
"Go back? Why? I’m not going back! I’ll tell you all right now, I already have someone I like. He’s my man, and he’s in this crowd right now!" Lin Guo’er said calmly.
Hearing this, the crowd erupted into an uproar. No one had expected Lin Guo’er to say something so explosive.
"Guo’er, stop this nonsense!" This time, Zhao Shunyang shot to his feet. Despite his immense patience and deep-seated cunning, he couldn’t control himself any longer. This was an absolute, utter humiliation!
"Nonsense? I’m not talking nonsense; I’m just stating a fact. Lin Kuang, your woman is being bullied, aren’t you going to come out?" Lin Guo’er called out irritably.
We’re at this point already, and that bastard still hasn’t shown himself? Is he doing this on purpose? Lin Guo’er fumed inwardly.
Hearing her words, everyone in the room began to look around, searching for this so-called Lin Kuang.
In the crowd, Chu Zhongtian was taken aback for a moment before a broad grin spread across his face.
Excellent. Just excellent. Lin Kuang, oh, Lin Kuang, it seems you’re determined to offend every single powerful person in East Sea. Tsk, tsk. Let’s see how you get out of this one! he thought to himself, feeling quite pleased.
Meanwhile, Lin Kuang, who had been enjoying the food, gave a wry smile.
That woman is doing this on purpose, just trying to paint a target on my back!
Even so, he was, for all intents and purposes, Lin Guo’er’s boyfriend, so he had to step forward.
"Shilin, little Witch, wait for me here. I’ll be right back," Lin Kuang said somewhat awkwardly to Liu Shilin and the little Witch beside him.
Although Liu Shilin knew Lin Guo’er was doing this intentionally, her heart still ached seeing Lin Kuang step forward, especially since she had already confessed her feelings for him.
The little Witch, however, was clueless and just thought it was all an act.
"Go get ’em, bastard! Snatch Sister Guo’er back!" the little Witch chirped, looking as if she was reveling in the chaos.
Lin Kuang squeezed Liu Shilin’s small hand, then walked around the coffee table, parted the crowd, and approached Lin Guo’er.
The moment Lin Kuang stepped out, all eyes converged on him. The onlookers were stunned at first, then surprised. Based on looks alone, Lin Kuang was quite handsome—perhaps even more so than Zhao Shunyang.
"So it’s this pretty boy," someone in the crowd murmured.
Of course, while some saw it that way, others did not. Lin Kuang’s recent actions had been quite shocking, and without knowing his true identity, these merchants were smart enough not to say much.
By then, Lin Kuang had reached Lin Guo’er, who naturally looped her arm through his. Her face wore a sweet, slightly shy smile, and she looked incredibly happy.
"You bastard, took you long enough!" Lin Guo’er muttered under her breath, her small hand pinching his palm hard.
"Ahem, my apologies. I seem to be a little late," Lin Kuang said with a casual laugh. "Anyway, Guo’er is my girlfriend, so... why don’t we just call this whole thing off? Pretend it never happened. I’ll take her with me now. You all can continue your chat." With that, he took Lin Guo’er’s hand and turned to leave.
"Stop right there!" Lin Wanli demanded, forcing down his rage. He didn’t know Lin Kuang’s identity, so he had to restrain himself for the moment. "And just who are you?"
"Uh, who am I? Uncle, I’ll be your son-in-law soon enough. Can’t you see that?" Lin Kuang said with feigned surprise. In truth, he was annoyed with Lin Wanli; using one’s own daughter as a bargaining chip was something that infuriated him.
Hearing Lin Kuang’s words, Lin Wanli’s face flushed with anger. He struggled to contain his rage as he said, "Stop quibbling with me. I’m asking you, what do you do for a living? And how did you and Guo’er meet?" Despite his fury, he still wanted to ascertain Lin Kuang’s background, worried he might be someone important.
"Me? I work with Guo’er. I’m a bodyguard and a secretary. It’s a very relaxing job," Lin Kuang said with a cheerful grin.
His words elicited a wave of derisive laughter, but Lin Kuang seemed oblivious to it. Instead, his face bore an inexplicable pride, as if it were a very honorable profession.