"Yan! Come out! I know you're in there!"
If you don't come out, we'll break down the door!
Outside the door, someone was shouting at the top of their lungs.
Ding dong.
Ding dong.
Ding dong.
Alongside the nonstop doorbell, there was also the sound of palms slapping against the iron gate.
How did they manage to track me down?
Joy Zheng's face changed slightly when she heard the noise.
Yan, who was sitting on the sofa, shuddered in fear, her face turning pale.
Evan Lin glanced at her and finally noticed the deep and shallow marks on Yan’s wrist and neck—clear signs of being beaten.
I... I'll go out.
Yan looked panicked, her eyes filled with fear.
But hearing the shouting outside, she didn’t hesitate for long and still stood up, trembling.
Her action earned Evan Lin a bit of goodwill toward her.
It's fine, I'll go take a look.
Evan Lin walked over, opened the door, and stepped into the yard.
Outside the iron gate of the yard stood two men.
One tall, one short.
Both were around forty; the tall one was fat with a big belly, while the short one had a rat-like face and wore a light blue T-shirt.
"What's up?"
Evan Lin stood at the door, looking at the visitors.
Behind him, Joy Zheng held the trembling Yan in her arms, standing at the villa's front door and glaring angrily at the two men outside the iron gate: "I've already said, Yan's future studies and life have nothing to do with you anymore. You don't need to pay another cent, and I even left you two thousand yuan—so why are you still following us here?"
"What exactly do you want?!"
Joy Zheng was furious.
"You want to know what we want?"
The tall man looked toward Joy Zheng and sneered, "Teacher Zheng, you know perfectly well—my third brother only left behind Yan as a daughter. As her second uncle, I can't just ignore her life!"
"Yeah, yeah, and as her eldest uncle, it's my duty to make sure Yan's future is taken care of! I've already arranged with the Lao Zhang family in town—Yan's going to marry their son! You can't just take her away now! Lao Zhang gave me a five thousand yuan bride price!"
The short man shouted.
Hearing this, Joy Zheng grew even angrier, while Yan in her arms was filled with terror.
"Did you even ask Yan for her consent before making this decision?"
Joy Zheng was indignant.
"Why bother asking her? Girls don't know anything!" The short man scoffed. "Besides, the Lao Zhang family are butchers, they're well-off. For them to take a liking to a girl with no parents, that's her good luck!"
"I don't want to get married, I want to study! And that guy's an idiot!" Yan protested.
Hearing the short man's words, Yan became even more uneasy, her eyes reddening.
"What's the big deal? So he's got cerebral palsy, can't speak well, can't control his bladder, not much brains, can't take care of himself!"
"Other than that, isn't he just a normal person?"
The tall man was dissatisfied: "Besides, they're offering fifty thousand yuan as a bride price, and you don't need to bring any dowry! What good is studying for a girl? In the end, you'll just be someone's wife, serving a man! Come home with us!"
The two men shouted as they grabbed the iron gate, trying to get in.
But the gate was locked from inside, so they couldn't open it. They turned to Evan Lin standing at the door: "What are you standing there for, kid? Open the gate!"
He shouted at Evan Lin.
"Isn't there any room to discuss this?"
Seeing how miserable Yan looked, Joy Zheng couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
"Discuss? Sure, we can discuss!"
The short man, still slapping the door, grinned slyly: "Look at you, Teacher Zheng, living in such a big villa and only giving two thousand yuan—way too little!"
"You want Yan to keep studying? Fine! Just give us twenty—no, five hundred thousand!"
He stuck out five fingers through the iron gate: "Just give us five hundred thousand, and we’ll let Yan go to school. How about it?"
"Five hundred thousand! Why don’t you just go rob someone!"
Joy Zheng was furious.
Yan looked terrified.
"What, you can't bear to give five hundred thousand? Then let Yan come home with me!"
The short man was annoyed: "The Lao Zhang family said, as long as Yan behaves and goes to their house, if she gives them a son, they'll pay twenty thousand; a daughter, ten thousand! No cap!"
"Stop making trouble. If you don't let Yan come home with me, I'll call the police!"
He cursed and complained, looking especially dissatisfied.
"You want five hundred thousand?"
A playful voice sounded nearby.
The short man turned his head, only to realize that somehow, the boy inside the gate had come right up to him.
"That's right! Five hundred thousand! Not a cent less!"
He pretended to be fierce, even pressing his face close to the iron gate.
"Truly, vicious rogues from a harsh land."
Evan Lin sneered.
"What did you say?! Are you looking to die?!"
The tall man was furious, rolling up his sleeves, ready to hit Evan Lin: "If you've got guts, open the door!"
As soon as he finished speaking—
Evan Lin stomped on the iron gate.
Boom!
The whole iron gate crashed outward.
Holy crap!
The short man was startled.
Before they could react, the whole gate had already pinned them to the ground.
Evan Lin stepped slowly onto the iron gate.
The metal of the gate twisted slightly under Evan Lin’s steps.
"Let's go inside."
Joy Zheng covered Yan’s eyes and led her into the house.
"What are you trying to do?!"
The tall man tried to get up, but found the iron gate on top of him weighed at least a thousand jin!
No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn’t break free.
"I’m not trying to do anything—just want to correct something you said."
Evan Lin squatted down.
"What did I say...?"
Seeing Evan Lin’s expression, the tall man felt a chill in his heart and grew even more terrified.
"I’m warning you, don’t do anything crazy! Otherwise I’ll just lie here and accuse you of attempted murder!"
The short man kept shouting.
Evan Lin reached out a finger and tapped him.
With just one tap, the short man was instantly silenced, his face flushing red in embarrassment, as if he was holding back a surge of energy inside.
"Bro, bro! What’s wrong with you?!"
The tall man kept shouting.
Pinned under the gate, he struggled to glance sideways.
But before he could see his brother’s face, the first thing he saw was the short man’s crotch tenting higher and higher.