Chapter 152 Anyone who touches her again, just try it!
Lin Xuqiu's face turned deathly pale, and he could barely stand.
She abruptly turned her head and glared at Yan Tingnan, her voice squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"You knew all along?"
Yan Tingnan lowered his eyes and adjusted his sleeves.
"Aunt Lin, what are you saying? You were the one who released the video, how could I have known beforehand?"
Lin Xuqiu tried urgently to salvage the situation.
"Dad! Yiyao was definitely forced!"
Her voice was shrill, and she had long lost her composure.
"Ting Nan, it's you! You deliberately orchestrated all of this to escape!"
"Yi Yao!"
Her voice trembled, carrying a last glimmer of hope.
"Tell me the truth, did Lu Zhuo force you?"
All eyes were on Lin Yiyao.
She stood at the intersection of light and shadow, her slender shoulders and back taut and straight.
Her face was pale, and her skirt was wrinkled from being gripped, but she slowly raised her head.
“There was no coercion.”
The sound was soft, yet clear.
"It was my own choice."
Lin Li abruptly pushed away the person who was helping her and pointed at her nose while cursing.
"What nonsense are you spouting! Did Lu Zhuo bewitch you?!"
Lin's mother also became anxious and rushed over to grab her arm.
"Are you crazy? Do you know what you're saying? Apologize to your dad and aunt right now!"
Lin Yiyao staggered as she was pulled, but stubbornly pursed her lips and refused to lower her head.
For the first time in twenty-five years.
She looked up, her gaze sweeping over her parents' furious faces before finally settling on Lin Xuqiu's pale face.
"Dad, Mom, Aunt."
“My brother is a good person, but I only see him as a brother. I don’t want to get married.”
“For the past twenty-five years, I have been obedient, sensible, and followed the grid you drew for me every step of the way.”
"Learn etiquette, practice piano, wear the clothes you choose, and meet the people you appoint."
"There are rules about how many teeth to show when you smile and how loud you should speak."
Her voice trembled slightly, yet remained firm.
“I am the most convenient gift you have; just tie a ribbon on me and you can give it away.”
"But I am a person, not an object!"
Lin Li flew into a rage and raised his hand to slap her across the face.
"You've gone too far!"
Snap!
A crisp sound.
But it didn't land on Lin Yiyao's face.
Lu Zhuo appeared out of nowhere and shielded her tightly behind him.
The slap landed squarely on his chin, leaving a red mark.
He pressed the tip of his tongue against his cheek and chuckled.
"Uncle Lin, isn't it inappropriate to hit a woman?"
Lin Li's hand was still frozen in mid-air, his lips trembling with anger.
"Lu Zhuo! How dare you stand up like that?!"
"You seduced my daughter, ruined her reputation, and you still dare to act so arrogantly here!"
Lu Zhuo ignored him, only turning his head to look at Lin Yiyao behind him, and rubbing her pale face with his thumb.
"Were you frightened?"
Lin Yiyao shook her head, her fingers secretly clenching the hem of his clothes.
Lu Zhuo then looked up at Lin Li, his tone lazy but his words impactful.
"What constitutes seduction?"
"Why does it sound so awful to you when the man and woman are both unmarried and in love?"
He wrapped his arm around Lin Yiyao, pulling her even closer into his embrace.
His gaze swept over Lin Xuqiu's ashen face and Lin Li's furious eyes, and he laughed without a care in the world.
"Besides, how is marrying me inferior to marrying Old Yan?"
"Is my Lu family less wealthy than the Yan family, or less ethical than my brother?"
“She didn’t want to get married, but you forced her to.”
"Now that she's found someone she wants to marry, you're all jumping up and down in protest."
"So, the daughters of the Lin family can only live according to your script?"
He looked down at Lin Yiyao in his arms, and his tone suddenly became a little more serious.
"Or is it that the Lin family insists on putting their daughter in the arms of someone they don't like for it to be considered proper?"
The entire room fell silent.
Only Lu Zhuo's voice echoed, carrying both mockery and ruthlessness.
"I'm telling you this now: I want this person."
"Try touching her again."
Lin Yiyao looked at his broad back.
She took a deep breath, stepped forward, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Lu Zhuo.
"Dad, Mom, I'm not discussing this."
"I'm informing you."
"I will choose my own path from now on."
Even if I make the wrong choice, I'll accept it.
Her eyes were clear and bright, like the moon finally breaking through the clouds.
"You've controlled me for twenty-five years, that's enough."
Lin's mother was so angry that she trembled all over.
"We're doing this for your own good!"
"For my own good?"
Lin Yiyao chuckled softly, but tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Is it still for the good of the Lin family?"
"You just want to use me to find a more reliable backer!"
"Sorry, I'm not going to be a puppet anymore."
The entire audience erupted in uproar.
No one expected that the usually docile and timid Miss Lin would harbor such a rebellious streak.
She appears gentle and docile, but harbors the courage to blow up a bunker.
Lin Xuqiu staggered a step, looking incredulously at his obedient niece who had been well-behaved since childhood.
She suddenly felt that all her scheming throughout her life had been a joke.
The guests in the hall exchanged various glances, and whispers rose like a tide.
Lin's mother clutched her chest, her face ashen.
"Good, very good!"
"The Lin family has nurtured you for twenty-five years, providing you with fine clothes, delicious food, and renowned teachers, and yet you've become such a shameless wretch!"
"You stood on the shoulders of the Lin family to see the world, and now that you've grown up, you turn around and complain that your own family is too dirty for you?"
"From this day forward, the Lin family will not have a daughter like you!"
Lu Zhuo suddenly raised his hand and firmly covered Lin Yiyao's ear with his warm palm.
Don't listen, it's disgusting to your ears.
Those harsh words instantly blurred into a buzzing sound.
Lin Yiyao's eyelashes trembled, and tears silently fell onto the back of his hand.
He looked down at her reddened eyes, and a soft spot in his heart felt like it had been twisted.
He looked up at the Lin family members, his gaze chillingly calm.
"Finished yelling?"
"Okay, then I'll say a few words."
"I will marry her; I'm not asking for your opinion."
"The Lu family is not as powerful as the Yan family, and they could easily support ten daughters of your Lin family."
Upon hearing this, Lin's mother cried out and rushed over to hit Lu Zhuo's arm.
"You've ruined my daughter's reputation! Now you want to ruin her whole life too?!"
"Our Lin family will never accept a son-in-law like you! Don't even think about it!"
He raised his eyes, scanning the furious faces of the Lin family members, and spoke each word clearly.
"We'll post an invitation for the wedding; it's up to you whether you come or not."
"Anyone who dares to insult her again is going against the entire Lu family!"
Lu Zhuo stopped looking at her and whispered to Lin Yiyao in his arms.
"They're gone."
"It's a terrible mess here."
He turned around with his arm around her and strode out.
The crowd parted to make way, their gazes fixed on the two unconventional figures with complex emotions.
Huo Siyue quickly covered her mouth, but her eyes narrowed into slits as she whispered something.
"Ahhh, a straight shot beats everything! This plot is even more exciting than the serial I've been following!"
Song Shengsheng calmly raised an eyebrow and sipped her wine.
"Tsk, I thought we were going to see President Yan fight for love, but instead a bigger melon ripened right in the melon patch."
When Lu Zhuo passed Yan Tingnan, he did not stop walking, but only nodded slightly to him.
"I'm taking the person with me."
"You'll handle the follow-up problems."
Yan Tingnan's lips curled slightly.
"Um."
He looked up and gazed at Yan Hongyi.
"Grandpa, the engagement is meaningless now."
"Why not grant their request, thus preserving the dignity of both families?"
Yan Hongyi closed his eyes and instantly understood all the moves.
That grandson of his...
They had foreseen this all along!
Ruthless, truly ruthless!
A single move lured them into a trap, only to wipe them out completely!
When he opened his eyes again, he had regained the solemnity of the head of the household.
"What Tingnan means is the same as what the Yan family means."
"This marriage is off."
Yan Tingnan nodded and turned to Lin Xuqiu.
Once a move is made, there's no going back; decisive action is taken.
“I reject the conditions that Aunt Lin just mentioned on behalf of Grandpa.”
"But the reason for annulling the engagement probably needs to be changed."
Yan Tingnan turned slightly to face all the guests.
"I apologize for today's farce, which has spoiled everyone's enjoyment."
His tone returned to its usual composure.
"The engagement party ends here."
"but……"
He changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and landing on Su Ruan.
A slight smile played on her lips, and the frost in her eyes melted away, leaving only a lingering warmth.
"Since all our elders and friends are here, I'd like to announce something else."
He reached out his hand to Su Ruan.
"Ruan Ruan, come here."
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