Chapter 13: The Final Verdict

Faced with such a situation, Old Master Su and Uncle Su Zhengjun were so terrified that their hair stood on end, their souls nearly fleeing their bodies, and intense regret appeared on their faces. As his wife, Su Rulan was the most deeply moved; it seemed that, in this very moment, all the scattered pieces fell into place, revealing the real answer.

The Ye family—what a colossal and formidable power! Even the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce was but a plaything in their hands, their foundations unfathomable. The Ye family’s servants alone were too numerous to count! If such a connection were true, it would mean soaring to the heavens in a single leap, a carp transforming into a dragon. Yet all this was something Su Rulan had never dared to dream. Now, it was placed before her in stark reality.

Even Su Weimin and Gao Yulan, at this moment, could hardly contain their joy, feeling as if they might ascend to immortality right where they stood.

But just then, Su Yicai stepped forward abruptly. With a face full of disdain, he said, “What nonsense are you all imagining? It was settled long ago—there’s not the slightest possibility of such a thing. In my opinion, it’s just as I said before.”

“You mean we guessed wrong?” Su Weimin was not convinced; he hadn’t even had a chance to show off yet, and now someone was dousing his excitement.

Su Yicai snorted coldly and said dismissively, “The only reason Young Master Ye has intervened twice is out of pity. Just two simple contracts, and look how pleased you are! Pathetic.”

“You’re talking nonsense,” Gao Yulan snapped, thoroughly annoyed.

A mocking smile played on Su Yicai’s lips. “I’m not talking nonsense. Think about it—Young Master Ye taking a fancy to my sister was already the Su family’s attempt to marry above our station. If the Ye family ever found out that the Su family had such poor relatives, how humiliating would that be?”

Old Master Su pondered briefly, then nodded in sudden realization. “Yicai’s explanation makes sense. Young Master Ye is someone who cares about appearances. If word spread, he’d be laughed at to death. Giving you two contracts isn’t excessive.”

Uncle Su Zhengjun let out a sigh of relief, patting his chest. “You nearly scared me to death! Turns out Yicai makes sense. It’s your family, lost in delusions, that’s truly laughable.”

Su Weimin and Gao Yulan were left speechless, unable to find a suitable retort after much thought. Their elation plummeted, and inwardly they cursed their own foolishness for almost believing it—for almost taking that fool for Young Master Ye.

Next, Su Yicai approached Su Rulan with a look of condescension. “You’d better make good use of these two contracts, because I doubt there’ll ever be a third!”

Uncle Su Zhengjun raised his voice, showing off. “That’s right—this is the last benefit you’ll get from us. Think of it as saving face for the future, so you won’t drag us down and embarrass us!”

Old Master Su said coolly, “Thirty million for two contracts is nothing. The betrothal gift alone was already extremely generous—just the villa in Bihui Bay is probably worth over a hundred million.”

With that, Old Master Su and the uncle and cousin headed straight into the office.

Su Rulan remained in place, feeling somewhat disappointed, but she was still content with the two contracts in hand. Such unattainable dreams would always remain far beyond her reach.

Collecting herself, Su Rulan said, “Dad, Mom, you two go home first. I won’t take the afternoon off; I’ll stay at the office and finish the proposal early, so there won’t be any trouble.”

Su Weimin curled his lip, having lost all desire to clean toilets. He left the company with Gao Yulan, driving straight back to their rented apartment.

Upon entering and seeing Ye Tianlin sitting on the sofa, Su Weimin’s anger flared. “You brainless fool—you almost got Rulan into serious trouble!”

“What happened?” Ye Tianlin stood up.

Gao Yulan replied irritably, “Song Meili came to the office to make a scene, looking for an excuse to suspend the partnership and forcing Rulan into a corner. If Zhao Qing from Gaosheng Group hadn’t shown up with another contract and put Song Meili in her place, we’d have been in big trouble today!”

Only then did Ye Tianlin understand. No wonder Su Rulan had been called back to the office—it was because of this mess. It seemed he needed to have a word with Zhao Shanhe about the matter; he couldn’t just let it go.

“But since Zhao Qing from Gaosheng Group stepped in, haven’t you guessed who Young Master Ye really is?” Ye Tianlin frowned slightly.

“Funny you should say that. Earlier at the office, we almost thought you were Young Master Ye. But after what Su Yicai said, we realized it was impossible,” Su Weimin replied with a sneer.

Gao Yulan continued, “Young Master Ye did all this, just as Su Yicai explained, for the sake of appearances. He doesn’t want the Ye family to know that the Su family has such impoverished relatives—he just wants things to look respectable in the future.”

Hearing this, Ye Tianlin was genuinely surprised. He thought Su Yicai’s way of reasoning was certainly unique, managing to come up with such an explanation.

The truly hilarious and exasperating thing, however, was that the entire Su family believed it.

Ye Tianlin shook his head and said, “What if I told you there’ll be a third contract soon?”

Su Weimin snorted with undisguised disdain. “We should be grateful just to have two contracts. You expect the same thing to happen a third time?”

“The money from these two contracts should be about eight million, enough for us to live comfortably and with dignity. Besides, Young Master Ye isn’t running a charity. Unless you know how to behave in front of your uncle and cousin, you might be lucky enough to pick up the scraps they don’t want,” said Gao Yulan.

Ye Tianlin smiled. “I can guarantee there will be a third contract very soon. I’m quite curious as to what excuse Su Yicai will come up with next.”

“You really are an idiot, talking without thinking. If you turn out to be right, I’ll bring you water to wash your feet every day and serve you like a lord!” Su Weimin vowed solemnly.