Chapter 8: Bearing the Dragon Mark

"You are not allowed to enter my daughter's room. If you need the restroom, you must go outside! At night, you can't sleep on the sofa, only on the floor!"

"If the Lin family gets through this ordeal, it's not impossible for you to marry my daughter—if you meet the four requirements!"

"A bride price of ten million! A villa! A Maybach! And a wedding that will stun the entire city!"

As she spoke, Zheng Mei glanced at Ye Tianci with a look full of disdain. "Well, what do you say?"

She made things so difficult for Ye Tianci deliberately, hoping to force him away, or at least frighten him off.

Yet Ye Tianci remained calm and nodded slowly. "As you wish."

"Mom, what are you saying?" Lin Qingqian shot her mother a reproachful glance and took Ye Tianci's hand. "Come with me, I have something to discuss with you."

The two of them went into her room, and Lin Qingqian closed the door.

Outside, Zheng Mei knocked insistently. "My silly girl, don't stay alone with him! He might force himself on you!"

"You are the Lin family's treasure, you must protect yourself before marriage!"

Lin Qingqian ignored her mother. Solemnly, she turned to Ye Tianci. "I’ll say it again: thank you for saving my grandfather. Your medical skills have made me see you differently, but nothing more."

"You want to call off the engagement, is that right?" Ye Tianci looked at her with quiet detachment.

Lin Qingqian gave a bitter smile. "And what if I don't end it? Tonight, with the negotiation with Liang Wei, I know exactly what I'm facing."

A gentle sigh escaped her, sorrow shadowing her beautiful face.

Lin Qingqian was all too aware that tonight, that scoundrel Liang Wei would surely defile her.

The thought chilled her to the bone, and two silent tears slipped down her cheeks.

Seeing her exquisite face clouded with grief, Ye Tianci reached out, wanting to wipe away her tears.

Lin Qingqian instinctively moved away, quickly dabbing her tears herself. "Sorry for making a fool of myself in front of you."

"You want to break off the engagement? No problem. Let's talk about it after tonight," Ye Tianci said calmly.

Lin Qingqian nodded.

Glancing at Ye Tianci's clothes, Lin Qingqian found a Zhongshan suit. "This belonged to my father when he was young. Try it on."

"Tonight, wear this when you accompany me to the Liang family for negotiations."

As Ye Tianci took off his jacket, Lin Qingqian couldn't help but widen her eyes in surprise.

His previous clothes had been loose, hiding his form, but now, with his shirt removed, his muscles were revealed—powerful and well-defined.

What surprised Lin Qingqian even more was the dragon-shaped mark on Ye Tianci's back.

"You have a tattoo on your back?"

Ye Tianci, pulling on the Zhongshan suit, replied, "That's not a tattoo, it's a birthmark. I was born with a dragon on my back."

"A dragon birthmark? There’s really such a thing in the world? How strange!" Lin Qingqian exclaimed in amazement.

Ye Tianci smiled faintly, his tone even. "That's also why, at the age of five, I was crippled—my bones broken and tendons severed."

Lin Qingqian's curiosity deepened. "Who could be so cruel as to do that to a five-year-old? What kind of hatred could drive someone to such lengths?"

"Can you tell me about it?"

Ye Tianci was about to answer when Lin Qingqian’s phone rang.

It was Lin Changren, reminding her repeatedly to go to the Liang family for the negotiations immediately after dinner. He also told her that she would be accompanied by Old Master Lin’s bodyguard, Wang Qing.

Wang Qing was a secular disciple of Shaolin, with over twenty years of martial training and formidable skills, able to break bricks and stones with his bare hands.

After hanging up, Lin Qingqian felt slightly relieved. With Wang Qing along, and Ye Tianci’s own abilities, perhaps she could escape disaster tonight.

She went to the dressing room to change.

Ye Tianci returned to the living room and sat quietly on the sofa.

The more Zheng Mei looked at him, the more she disliked him, never ceasing her sarcasm.

"Dear, that’s enough," Lin Changli finally spoke up. "Even if Ye Tianci may never become our son-in-law, it’s still fate that he’s come to our house."

"Fate? Nonsense!" Zheng Mei glared, spattering Lin Changli’s face with saliva. "Who asked for your opinion? Go cook!"

Lin Changli dared not retort and went to the kitchen in dejection.

Ye Tianci looked at Zheng Mei and said quietly, "Auntie, your poodle ate its own feces, and then you kissed it. Within three days, you’ll have oral ulcers."

"If it gets bad, you won’t be able to speak or even drink water."

Zheng Mei immediately flew into a rage. "What do you mean, ate feces? My little boy is obedient—how could he do that?"

"And you say I’ll get oral ulcers? Nonsense!"

"I say a few words to you and you curse me? Are you even a man?"

Her poodle barked furiously at Ye Tianci, as arrogant as its owner.

Ye Tianci’s eyes narrowed slightly, and in an instant, the poodle shrank back, its tail between its legs, its head buried in Zheng Mei’s arms, trembling violently.

"My baby boy, don’t be afraid. Mommy isn’t scolding you."

Ye Tianci was speechless. How did Lin Qingqian end up with a mother like this?

Perhaps she’d eaten too many brain-damaging pills in her youth.

When Zheng Mei’s mouth broke out in ulcers and she could no longer speak, would she still be this arrogant?

Soon, Lin Changli finished preparing dinner: four dishes and a soup, with chicken and fish.

"Tianci, though I didn’t know you before, you saved Old Master Lin and taught Gao Hongqiang a lesson for us. I respect you as a real man!"

"I made four dishes especially for you," Lin Changli said, wiping his hands on his apron, his face beaming.

Zheng Mei snorted coldly, shooting him a glare.

Lin Changli’s smile disappeared; he lowered his head and ate in silence, putting away the wine bottle he’d prepared, not daring to drink.

Lin Qingqian had no appetite, Zheng Mei drank only a small bowl of porridge, and Lin Changli didn’t eat much either.

Seeing most of the meal untouched, they hadn’t expected Ye Tianci to pick up his chopsticks and, like a whirlwind, polish off everything on the table.

Zheng Mei fumed. "It’s bad enough you’re crippled, but you eat like a pig! What a glutton!"

Fortunately, just then, her friends called. Zheng Mei dressed up flamboyantly, took her poodle, and went out for mahjong, completely unconcerned about her daughter’s impending negotiation at the Liang family.

Lin Changli called Ye Tianci aside, his expression solemn. "Tonight, I entrust Qingqian to you. You must protect her."

"She’s my only daughter, my entire hope. I… I beg you."

He even prepared to bow to Ye Tianci.

Ye Tianci stopped him. "Uncle Lin, that’s not necessary."

"Rest assured, with me here, no one can lay a finger on your daughter."

"One more thing: your twenty-year ill-fated marriage is coming to an end. In about a month, you’ll meet your true partner."

Lin Changli stood there, stunned.

"Master Yong’an from Qingshan Temple once read my fortune. He said Zheng Mei wasn’t my destined match, just a karmic entanglement that would last twenty years before ending."

"Ye Tianci’s words match Master Yong’an’s exactly, down to the timing of my true partner’s appearance. Could it be that his abilities surpass even those of Master Yong’an?"

Amazement filled Lin Changli’s face as he muttered to himself.

He wanted to ask more, but Ye Tianci had already left with Lin Qingqian, heading together to the Liang family for negotiations.