Old Man Zhong puffed up with self-importance, pointing at Lily Zhong and barking: "Let me tell you, girl! We invited a ton of people today—this wedding is giving our Zhong family serious face! So don’t you dare embarrass me, or I’ll disown you!"
"Who wants a dad like you anyway?" Lily Zhong shot him a cold glare, stood up, and shoved aside the two women doing her makeup. "If you want the money and the house so badly, go marry him yourself!"
You marry him and you’ll never worry about food or money again!
Lily Zhong stood there, grief and anger written all over her face.
Just as Lily turned to go, Old Man Zhong’s face changed in a flash. His fierceness melted into pitiful theatrics—he lunged forward, dropped to his knees, grabbed Lily’s leg, and wailed: "No, please! Daughter! Even if I want to marry someone off, nobody wants me! You have to get married today!"
"Let go!" Lily Zhong’s face was cold, her eyes rimmed red.
Other families have warmth and happiness—she’s never had a real home, never felt any comfort.
"What’s going on?"
Hearing the commotion, several people outside pushed open the door and stepped in.
A few burly, rough-looking thugs strode in. The leader frowned, sizing things up, then looked at Lily Zhong and said, "Miss Zhong, today’s your big wedding with Hank ‘Doggy’ Han. Don’t make things harder for us, okay?"
"And Hank said, if you refuse to marry, fine—tomorrow you can come collect your old man’s corpse. The dogs in the yard haven’t tasted human bones yet!"
The thug spoke coldly. Hearing this, Lily Zhong bit her lip hard. Old Man Zhong’s face turned pale with fear and he shouted, "She’ll marry! She’ll marry! Of course she’ll marry! Lily’s always been the most obedient! She’ll marry!"
"If you’re marrying, then hurry up and get ready! Hank should be here any minute!"
With that, the man and his crew all left the room.
Old Man Zhong dropped to his knees beside Lily again, begging desperately. Lily just stood there, helpless and miserable.
Even if she wanted to run, she couldn’t—the place was surrounded by Hank’s men.
"Miss Zhong, it’s time to change into your wedding dress." The two makeup women came over and sighed.
They took Lily Zhong and led her inside. Her eyes were empty, lifeless—she let herself be moved like a doll.
Not long after, the wedding cars arrived. Hank ‘Doggy’ Han, looking ridiculous in a suit, came inside. When he saw Lily Zhong in her wedding dress, a flicker of amazement flashed in his eyes.
Hank was only about 1.65 meters tall, hunched over, and his face looked just like a rat.
"Ah, my good son-in-law, you’re here!"
Seeing Hank walk in, Old Man Zhong rushed over, plastering on a big smile, practically begging and flattering him.
"So, is Lily ready yet?"
Hank glanced around. When he saw Lily in her wedding dress and makeup, that amazed look flashed across his face. He hurried over to grab her hand, but Lily dodged him for the first time.
Hank didn’t get mad—he just grinned. "Doesn’t matter if you won’t let me hold your hand now. There’ll be plenty of time tonight."
"Now that you’re with me, your dad’s set for life. Lily, it’s fine if you don’t like me—as long as I like you, that’s enough. Come on, it’s time. Let’s get in the car and head to Lakeview Pavilion."
Hank laughed and shot a look at the two makeup women. Each took one of Lily’s arms and led her out the door.
Old Man Zhong followed behind, grinning from ear to ear.
Outside, the wedding convoy was fifteen white BMWs. After Hank got in, the whole motorcade circled Clearstream County once, then headed for Lakeview Pavilion.
The convoy was impressive—tons of people came out to watch the spectacle.
Sitting in the car, Hank licked his lips and looked at Lily Zhong. "Lily, I know you don’t like me. Doesn’t matter. As long as I like you, that’s enough."
"After we’re married, you’ll give me a kid first. Once that’s done, do whatever you want, as long as you don’t run off. Oh, and I heard you had a student in Brightsea City who was real protective of you?"
Hank’s voice turned cold.
Lily’s lifeless eyes shifted. She turned, glared at Hank, and demanded, "What are you planning?"
The first person Lily thought of was Evan Lin. If Evan hadn’t been there at Imperial Grand KTV, she would’ve been ruined already.
"What am I planning?" Hank sneered. "I’m a law-abiding citizen—what could I possibly do?"
Your dad told me that kid’s pretty good at fighting, but here in Clearstream County, don’t expect him to save you. If he dares show up, I’ll deal with him myself!
So you’d better behave. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee I won’t get mad and go to Brightsea City to find that kid myself! He’s just a high-schooler—I could have him on his knees in seconds, believe it or not. If you care about his safety, don’t pull any stunts. Marry me, give me a kid, and don’t make trouble!
Hank’s words were vicious. Lily turned pale, shaking with anger.
The motorcade rolled triumphantly toward Lakeview Pavilion. Crowds waited at the entrance, craning their necks to watch.
"They’re here!"
Finally, when someone saw the wedding cars coming, they couldn’t help but shout.
In an instant, everyone turned to look, eager to see Lily Zhong in her wedding dress.
"Lily Zhong used to be the school’s famous beauty. Haven’t seen her in years—really curious what she looks like now."
"Don’t worry, she’s definitely prettier than before. Otherwise, why would Hank go through all this trouble just to marry her?"
"Come on, let’s go see!"
At Evan Lin’s table, the young guys all heard the commotion and went to the window.
The second-floor hall was set up for the wedding ceremony.
Evan Lin set down his teacup, got up, and stood at the window, looking outside.
At the end of the road, the fifteen BMWs rolled up and stopped in front of the building. The doors swung open, and Old Man Zhong, dressed in a suit, was the first to step out.