Chapter 52
Tian’s mother had the same traits as Li Lihua, and these traits made Xu Ke deeply repulsive. Because of Lin Mengyao, Xu Ke could tolerate Li Lihua a little, but he had zero tolerance for Tian’s mother. His words pierced like icicles, making the unprepared Tian’s mother shiver, and the head she had held so high suddenly lowered.
“You want us to cut ties with my sister?” Tian Lijun’s voice rose with shock and disbelief.
“That’s right, I want you to legally cut ties and ensure that you never seek out Tian Xiajuan again,” Xu Ke nodded and said.
The Yang family was honest and sincere, no match for this pair of shameless mother and son. They could suppress Yang Hui by flaunting their status as the bride’s relatives, but in that case, instead of future entanglements, it would be better to cut ties now and never associate again. If they didn’t keep their promises, the Yang family would have less to worry about because of this severance letter. Then, they could just harshly deal with this mother and son duo twice, forcing them to retreat and not bother them again.
Yang Hui and the others were not fools; they were only clouded by anger earlier and couldn’t maintain their rationality. Upon hearing Xu Ke’s words, they quickly realized Xu Ke’s intentions and understood that Xu Ke sincerely wanted to help Yang Hui. But they worried that this might not work out, considering they had witnessed the shamelessness of the other side. If they demanded an exorbitant price, it would be a disaster.
People say, what you fear will come true. The groomsmen and the groom all hoped the other party would ask for a lower amount, at least an amount that they might be able to scrape together. But things didn’t go as they wished.
After Xu Ke nodded, Tian Lijun murmured a few words to Tian’s mother and then turned around, eyes filled with greed. “It’s not impossible for us to cut ties with Xiajuan, but after all, Xiajuan grew up in our old Tian family, eating our food, drinking our water, and being cared for by us for so many years. The daughter our Tian family raised painstakingly cannot be given away to your Yang family for nothing, right? So, besides that house, give our family two million more, and we’ll grant your wish. How’s that for a deal?” Tian Lijun said with a smug smile.
Upon hearing Tian Lijun’s exorbitant demand, Yang Hui’s slightly improved expression turned ugly again. “Two million and a house? You’re deliberately making things difficult for me. How can our family come up with that much money?” Yang Hui said with a grim face.
“If you don’t want to sign the severance letter, just say it. What’s the point of playing games?” One of the groomsmen spoke up in indignation.
“You’re not quite right. You were the ones to bring this matter up first. Now that I’ve laid out my terms to cooperate with you, you think my asking price is too high, and you can’t afford it. If that’s the case, you might as well let me give my sister to you for free. What’s the point of putting on airs when you don’t have the money?” Tian Lijun said disdainfully while cleaning his ears.
“You…” Yang Hui wanted to say more but was stopped by Xu Ke. Xu Ke’s shocked expression made Tian Lijun take another look, but considering Yang Hui’s family background, he didn’t take Xu Ke seriously. The condition he set was indeed a deliberate high demand. A few days ago, someone with a better family background than the Yang family expressed interest in marrying Tian Xiajuan and was willing to offer more gifts than what Yang was offering. As long as they ensured Xiajuan couldn’t leave today to marry Yang Hui, turning around to marry her off to that person would bring them another bride price. This way, he’d have money for his own wedding.
Tian Lijun calculated his plans with a smug smile, thinking of the incoming bride price.
“If we meet your demands and give you all these things, will you sever ties with Tian Xiajuan?” Xu Ke asked calmly.
“Yes.” Tian Lijun nodded without hesitation, not believing that Yang Hui’s group of penniless friends could scrape together two million.
“Brother Xu, we can’t come up with that kind of money.” One of the groomsmen quietly tugged Xu Ke’s sleeve and whispered.
“It’s okay, leave it to me.”
“Brother Xu, can you really handle it? If it’s difficult for you, don’t force it on my behalf.” Yang Hui, the only one present who knew of Xu Ke’s circumstances, stopped Xu Ke from taking out his phone, saying, “Brother Xu, no matter what, I appreciate your willingness to help your brother, but I can’t put you in a difficult position. Put your phone away.” Yang Hui said as he pressed Xu Ke’s hand to stop him from taking out his phone.
Yang Hui knew that Xu Ke had married into a wealthy Lin family, but how does that relate to Xu Ke himself? He was just an in-law. Yang Hui believed that if Xu Ke really got two million from the Lin family to help him out of this bind today, Xu Ke wouldn’t have a good time when returning home. Yang Hui couldn’t possibly put his true brother through such a thing.
Yang Hui was determined, and so was Xu Ke. “I won’t do anything I’m not confident about, don’t worry.” Xu Ke pried Yang Hui’s hand off his, called Xu Jie, and informed her of his whereabouts, “Have the lawyer bring the severance letter and come over as fast as possible, I need it urgently.”
“What’s your account number? Tell me.” Xu Ke’s commanding tone on the phone, coupled with his TV drama-like domineering aura, left Tian Lijun momentarily stunned. He glanced at Xu Ke’s unimpressive attire and burst into laughter, “If you want to show off, at least have some decent attire. You make a call no one might even answer, acting as if you’re about to transfer money to me, and expect me to believe you really have money?”
“I’m telling you, I don’t have time for your games. It’s almost noon. If you agree to the conditions our family proposed earlier, get it done now, and you can marry my sister away. If you can’t, don’t waste our time for lunch. The door’s behind you, turn around and leave,” Tian Lijun impatiently waved Yang Hui and the others off.