Invincible Dad

"No, no, no." The truck driver waved his hands repeatedly, trying to slip Ruan Tang three thousand yuan to settle the matter privately.

Ruan Tang refused to accept the money.

She continued to apologize, and after sending the driver on his way, she actually gave him two thousand yuan for his lost wages.

"What are you doing, daughter?" Zhu Fen demanded, displeased. "Why are you giving him money? You could have extorted a fortune from him!"

Hearing her mother's shameless words, Ruan Tang rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

She really wanted to turn around, leave, and never see these two people again!

Ruan Tang said angrily, "That's malicious extortion. The driver was just kind-hearted. If he had called the police, you two could have been detained for a few days."

"He wouldn't dare!" Zhu Fen declared indignantly. "We'd be in the right even if he took us to court!"

Ruan Tang: "..."

She took a deep breath and said wearily, "Xu Lai, I'm going outside to buy a bottle of water."

Ruan Tang stormed out of the hospital lobby, her high heels clattering on the floor. She needed to stand in the cold air to calm down, otherwise she was afraid she would say something unforgivable.

"Look at her," Zhu Fen complained. "Things are so expensive these days. Why not fleece an easy mark when you get the chance?"

Ruan Yinshan was also a bit unhappy. He had put on an act for an hour; he figured he should have been able to extort at least ten or twenty thousand yuan out of it, but his daughter let the driver go.

Xu Lai was left slightly speechless.

Even though the Ruan Family was in decline, they had once been well-off. How could these two be so shameless?

He said helplessly, "If there's nothing serious, you should head home and get some rest."

Zhu Fen reluctantly helped her husband, Ruan Yinshan, to his feet, saying pointedly, "What kind of son-in-law doesn't help his in-laws? Only you! You were here and didn't say a word to help, not even to scare the driver a little."

Then came a litany of complaints: "The Ruan Family is bankrupt now, and Yinshan and I are unemployed. Do you think it's easy living without money?"

Xu Lai said nothing, silently handing her a bank card.

"What's this?"

Zhu Fen froze for a second before a wide smile spread across her face. "Tomorrow is the Little New Year. Is this an early red envelope? We're all family here, Xu Lai. You're being too formal."

Though she claimed they were family, her hand shot out and snatched the card with terrifying speed.

"It's the betrothal money," Xu Lai said calmly. "The PIN is Ruan Tang's birthday."

Betrothal money???

Ruan Yinshan and Zhu Fen were completely dumbfounded. Five hundred million in betrothal money, all on that tiny bank card?

Ruan Yinshan, whose hair had a fair bit of white, sucked in a sharp breath. "Is this for real?"

"Go and see for yourselves," Xu Lai said.

He had sold five Magic Artifacts to five families, including the East Sea's Wan Family and Hua City's Niu Family. He charged one hundred million for each, which came to exactly five hundred million.

"By the way, when's our daughter's birthday?" Ruan Yinshan was instantly cured, the hand holding the bank card trembling slightly.

It took Zhu Fen a long moment to recall the date. "Old man, you go check at the bank next to the hospital. I'll stay and talk with our son-in-law."

Xu Lai sighed in resignation.

Great. My dear mother-in-law still doesn't trust me.

A few minutes later.

Ruan Yinshan returned, stumbling as if he'd had a stroke. His voice trembled as he announced, "It's real!"

Zhu Fen's face lit up with a brilliant smile. "My dear son-in-law! I entrust my daughter to you. I know she'll be happy."

After a moment's thought, she added, "And even if you don't get married later, we're not returning the betrothal money!"

With that, she dragged Ruan Yinshan out of the hospital, completely ignoring Ruan Tang standing at the entrance.

Zhu Fen hailed a taxi. Once inside, she barked at the driver, "To the airport!"

"Why are we going to the airport?" Ruan Yinshan asked, baffled.

"To buy plane tickets and get out of the city, quickly! Tomorrow, we'll transfer the money to our accounts, then hire someone to get us visas and passports," Zhu Fen whispered urgently. "What if Xu Lai regrets marrying Ruan Tang and wants the money back? We'll emigrate!"

"You're right." Ruan Yinshan grew excited. "We'll retire abroad! Live the good life in a foreign country!"

* * *

At the hospital entrance, Ruan Tang had no idea her parents had just sold her. She stood there holding two bottles of mineral water, a look of bewilderment on her face.

"Xu Lai, are they okay?" Ruan Tang took a breath of cool air.

She'd thought her parents would continue their shameless act in the hospital for a while longer. She never expected them to run off faster than a couple of teenagers.

"You're mine now," Xu Lai said with a smile, taking her hand. "Your mom and dad sold you to me."

Ruan Tang started.

Remembering the five-hundred-million-yuan betrothal money, she frowned slightly. "You should just treat that whole betrothal money thing as a joke."

She then added in a tiny voice, "I'd marry you even if you were penniless."

"Hmm?" Xu Lai raised an eyebrow. "Are you proposing to me?"

"In your dreams," Ruan Tang retorted, her heart pounding as she looked away. "Five hundred million... they've gone mad for money. Even if you sold both of your kidneys, you probably wouldn't get even one percent of that."

The kidneys of a Great Emperor! Xu Lai was certain that those words alone could ignite a terrifying war in the Immortal Domain that would last for tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of years.

After all, a single drop of an Emperor Realm expert's blood or a single strand of hair was an peerless treasure, to say nothing of an organ filled with essence, qi, and spirit.

Sixteen epochs ago, a simple weed seed had happened to grow beside the corpse of an Emperor Realm expert. Through a series of lucky coincidences, it actually gained sentience.

Even though the corpse was merely an arm, it was enough to nurture that weed into a peak Immortal Venerable!

"They might not sell for five hundred million," Xu Lai said earnestly, gently squeezing her palm, "but the value they could generate is worth countless sums of five hundred million. Tonight, I'll show you a miracle."

Ruan Tang blushed and huffed.

This damned man, always finding new ways to take advantage of me. I'm not a three-year-old; I won't fall for it.

Ruan Tang first called Ruan Lan to let her know she was safe, then tossed her phone into Xu Lai's pocket. She then stuffed her own delicate, pale hand right inside Xu Lai's clothes, squinting as she sighed, "Ahh, that's much warmer."

Xu Lai: "..."

If they weren't in such a public place, he would have already started drawing little turtles on her.

Women. You can't spoil them.

So, Xu Lai said, "Tonight, we'll settle our accounts, one by one."

"..."

Ruan Tang suddenly had a bad feeling, but she didn't panic. "I'm not going home tonight. I'll stay at a hotel!"

Her shapely brows quirked up in delight. This way, I won't have to worry about that lecher Xu Lai!

"Did you bring your wallet?" Xu Lai asked with a knowing smile.

"No," Ruan Tang said confidently. "We have mobile payment now. I have my phone—"

Her expression suddenly froze.

Oh no. My phone is in Xu Lai's pocket...

"I'll give the homeless beauty shelter... in exchange for half an hour of drawing little turtles," Xu Lai said, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

"Xu Lai! I'm your girlfriend, your daughter's mother, and the mistress of Haitang Court! You can't treat me like this!"

"Oh? You have an objection?" Xu Lai said seriously. "Now it's forty minutes of drawing."

"You call that drawing little turtles?" Ruan Tang protested indignantly. "You're just being a pervert!"

"Correct," Xu Lai nodded, admitting with a straight face. "I am, in fact, being a pervert."

"..."