Chapter 5 Playing the Role of Cao Cao

Before Chen Wei could start complaining, Chen Yanzi cleared her throat with a couple of light coughs, then, linking arms with Lin Fan in a clear display of ownership, announced, “Xiao Wei, aren’t you going to thank your brother-in-law? Look how good he is to you! He knew you were getting engaged and immediately went to the bank to withdraw 388,000 yuan in cash for you!”

The moment she spoke, those around them suddenly understood, and all the previous talk of “stealing the bride” turned into praise. Even the Chen family elders were soon surrounded by people congratulating them on having found such a fine son-in-law.

Amid this storm of compliments, the two elders of the Chen family and Chen Wei himself were a little dazed by the flattery, and even Chen Yanzi wore a proud smile, as if their whole family were the main characters of the day.

While the Chens and their guests exchanged greetings, Lin Fan kept his eyes on the woman standing by the cash box.

Honestly, until today, Lin Fan had never met Chen Wei’s girlfriend; in fact, he’d rarely seen Chen Wei himself, except on those occasions when Chen Wei needed money and would appear before him or send him a message.

He had little choice in the matter—after all, the Chen family had always looked down on him.

Lin Fan gave a self-deprecating smile and continued observing the woman in front of him.

She was, indeed, beautiful. Seeing her in person, he finally understood why Chen Wei was so determined to marry her, come hell or high water. It was simple: she was stunningly pretty, her beauty gentle and unthreatening.

Her face was small and delicate, her large eyes clear, holding no tears, but somehow evoking sympathy; her nose was high and elegant, her lips—perhaps glossed with some special lipstick—looked plump and glossy, like a piece of jelly one couldn’t help but want to take a bite of.

Lin Fan thought to himself that spending money on her didn’t feel like a loss; if it were going to Chen Yanzi, he’d be furious.

Lost in his thoughts, Lin Fan was suddenly interrupted by someone approaching, grumbling loudly, “Chen, are you giving the bride price or not? If not, stop wasting my daughter’s time! Let me tell you, plenty of men want to marry my daughter—no one’s desperate for you!”

The woman, scolding as she came, pushed toward Chen Wei’s fiancée—Xiao Xue.

She paused when she spotted the pile of cash on the table, her expression softening a little. “Hmph, at least you know your place!”

“Mom, he’s the one who gave it,” Xiao Xue said, pointing to Lin Fan. She then took out her phone and offered to add Lin Fan on WeChat. “Since you’re Chen Wei’s brother-in-law, we’re all family now.”

It was a decent excuse. Lin Fan ignored the first half of her sentence, took out his phone, and added Xiao Xue on WeChat, catching a glimpse of her full name—Zhu Ruoxue. “That’s a lovely name,” he remarked.

“Thank you, I think so too,” Zhu Ruoxue replied with a smile.

At that moment, the system that had been silent in Lin Fan’s mind suddenly became active:

[Name: Zhu Ruoxue.]
[Age: 24.]
[Height: 168cm.]
[Weight: 42kg.]
[Attractiveness: 9.5/10.]
[Purity: 100.]
[Intimacy: 0.]
[System reminder: When intimacy reaches 100%, the ‘devoted follower’ value is achieved. The host may then choose a new target or reverse roles.]

Lin Fan paused, taking in the data in his mind, then slowly smiled. It seemed he was about to play the role of the infamous Cao Cao.

“A fine young man, isn’t he? Being able to put up 388,000 at his age—he’s going places!” someone praised.

“Exactly! Not like certain people who have to rely on their brother-in-law for the bride price,” another added.

As Zhu Ruoxue’s mother spoke, she all but pointed at Chen Wei’s nose.

Already upset that Lin Fan and Zhu Ruoxue seemed to be getting along so well, Chen Wei’s face darkened even further at Zhu’s mother’s jibe, his expression black as the bottom of a pot.

He wanted to retort, but he knew that if he dared to argue with Zhu’s mother, he’d lose his fiancée before the day was out.

Meanwhile, Chen Yanzi still had her eyes fixed on the cash box, her heart bleeding at the loss of 388,000 yuan—more than half of her own bride price, gone just like that!

Unlike the complicated emotions of the Chen siblings, Lin Fan was untroubled. He simply looked at Zhu Ruoxue, who was gazing at him thoughtfully, and smiled. “Miss Zhu, may I invite you to dinner?”

“A family gathering?” she asked.

“No, just the two of us. Of course, you could also think of it as… a date.”

It was the first time Zhu Ruoxue had ever seen someone openly hit on his own brother-in-law’s fiancée, right in front of both his wife and brother-in-law. She covered her mouth, laughing as she nodded. “Of course, I’d be delighted.”

“Let’s go, then. I’ll drive,” Lin Fan said, jingling his car keys as he prepared to leave with Zhu Ruoxue.

Their sudden move left everyone stunned. Chen Wei, quickest to react, pointed at Lin Fan and shouted, “Lin Fan, have you no shame? That’s your sister-in-law! I’m still her fiancé, and you dare do this? Are you looking for trouble?”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Lin Fan replied, puzzled, gesturing at the cash box on the table. “I paid the bride price. Isn’t it only fair I take Xiao Xue to dinner? If you’re so unhappy, why don’t you put up 388,000 yourself?”

He didn’t wait for Chen Wei’s response, but started for the door with Zhu Ruoxue in tow.

Chen Wei looked pleadingly at Zhu Ruoxue, hoping she’d refuse Lin Fan, but to his disappointment, not only did she not refuse, she even took Lin Fan’s arm of her own accord.

With the two main actors in this farce gone, those left—both the Chen and Zhu families—were only just beginning to process what had happened.

Their perfectly good engagement party had been ruined by Lin Fan. The Chen elders, clutching their chests in anger, lashed out at Chen Yanzi: “Chen Yanzi, what’s wrong with you? Did you not explain things to Lin Fan? He was supposed to pay the bride price, not take Zhu Ruoxue out to dinner! And that Zhu Ruoxue, she’s a shameless hussy, an absolute disgrace!”

“Hey, now, I won’t stand for that,” retorted Zhu’s mother. “In-laws—no, former in-laws, I should say—let’s be honest, we never really wanted Xiao Xue to marry your Chen Wei. Look at him—he’s been working for years and still can’t come up with 388,000. Now someone else can, and he’s handsome besides. It only makes sense for Xiao Xue to go out with Lin… Lin Fan. Only a fool wouldn’t!”

“You! You! Have you forgotten that Zhu Ruoxue was promised to our family? How can you act like this? If the parents set a bad example, it’s no wonder the children go astray!”

“A bad example? What bad example? If you can’t even pay 388,000, what’s the point of promising her to your family? Maybe she was only promised to you in your dreams! But really, we should thank you. If it weren’t for your family, our Xiao Xue would never have met such an outstanding young man as Xiao Lin.”