“Yes,” Lu Yi looked down at the brush placed down by Lu Sr. The thick ink spread in a dark blot like the darkness in his eyes.
“And if I insist?” asked Lu Sr., pressing his hand on the table. The offer had never been a request—it was an order.
The marriage will happen if Lu Sr. willed it, whether Lu Yi liked it or not.
Lu Yi had seen this coming. Why, he had foreseen every possible outcome. He tried to laugh but failed. Just what was he to the Lu Family? A reproduction tool? A breeding horse? Must he mount every woman the Lu Family commanded him to? They may have overestimated his fertility.
Lu Sr. took his silence as consent.
“Enough of this,” he waved Lu Yi out of the room. “It’s settled. You two will get engaged first. I have already spoken to Xiao Miao, and she had no objections. Such decisiveness from a girl like her, and here you are whining and bargaining.”
Lu Yi remained still.
Lu Sr. narrowed his eyes. “What, you got something else to say?”
“Yes,” Lu Yi looked up with a determined face that resembled Lu Sr.’s fiercely.
“Grandpa, I cannot be engaged to anyone, nor can I marry them.”
Lu Sr. stood up and walked before him.
“I want the reason.”
He knew that there was a meaning behind Lu Yi’s words. Could it be that he was still hiding something from me?
Lu Yi pursed his lips.
“Grandpa, I’m already married,” he said, word by word. His voice was soft but clear.
Pa! Lu Sr. took a cup from the table and flung it at Lu Yi. The cup landed in his head before falling into the ground and shattering into pieces.
“Say that again, Lu Yi!”
“I’m married, Grandpa,” repeated Lu Yi.
Yes, he was married, and therefore couldn’t be engaged to anyone else. Miao Xinyuan can become anyone’s wife but his.
Lu Sr. walked up and backhanded him across the face. “How dare you, Lu Yi! Who permitted this marriage of yours? Do you even see me as your grandpa?”
Lu Yi did not budge an inch.
“I am married, Grandpa, and I cannot take anyone else as my wife.”
He will protect Yan Huan from any threats, including his grandpa. He was well-aware of Lu Sr.’s temperament. Everything he had done before was preparations for this day.
He had grasped his fate in his own hands. No one could change that, not his parents, nor his grandpa.
“How dare you, Lu Yi!” yelled Lu Sr. His anger had given him chest pain. He turned and took down a whip from the wall, a whip which he had hung there years ago and not used once.
His fist tightened around the hilt of the whip. He could flog him to death right now. Hiding your marriage from me? What do you take this old man as?
All of his stored rage erupted at once.
Pa! The whip bit into Lu Yi’s flesh. Lu Yi’s muscles quivered from the blow, but he remained still.
Then came the next whip. Lu Yi didn’t so much as let out a groan. He tightened his fingers around the ring on the other hand.
He lashed him repeatedly, but Lu Yi kept his silence.
Every whip left a bloody mark on his shirt, one after the other. Consumed by rage, Lu Sr. had forgotten that the person he was whipping was his grandson whom he had high hopes for.
Lu Yi’s dark pupils were placid at first, but the focus went out of them towards the end. His vision was blurring.
The pain will pass. He wasn’t afraid of it. What he was afraid of was losing Yan Huan. He loved her, and now he realized how much he loved her; he could not even bear the thought of losing her.
Bam! The door flung open.
“What are you doing, Dad?” shrieked Ye Shuyun. The strength went out of her feet and she nearly fell as she staggered to her son and took him in her arms. That did not stop Lu Sr. from sending another whip down. Lu Yi turned over and shielded Ye Shuyun. The whip landed on his face, leaving a deep gash.
“Are you trying to kill him, Dad?” asked Ye Shuyun, hugging her son tightly. Lu Sr. raised the whip once more.
Ye Shuyun wailed with her son in her arms, refusing to let go. “Dad, if you are going to kill my son, then kill me first.”
Lu Sr’s chest still hurt. Even his hand that held the whip quivered.
“Move away,” he warned, narrowing his eyes. “Move away, Ye Shuyun. I’m going to kill him.”
“Kill who?” boomed a stentorian voice. A white-haired man walked in, his eyes widening at the sight of his bloody grandson.
“Are you out of your mind, Old Lu? Do you not remember what blood type Lu Yi has? Are you seriously trying to kill him?”
Lu Sr. went still at the words, the whip sliding out of his hand. Lu Yi was covered in blood by now, his white shirt reddened by his wounds.
Lu Yi’s blood type was extremely rare, and he would die from excessive blood loss if there wasn’t any suitable blood.
“What are you standing there for?” Ye Jianguo was furious. “Send my grandson to the hospital!” Ye Chuji, who had come along with him, quickly called for help.
He freaked out when he had seen Lu Yi’s clothes. What was the old man thinking? How could he flog his own grandson this badly? If he was this merciless to his own grandson, god knows what he will do to his enemies.
Ye Shuyun wiped her tears. She didn’t blame Lu Sr. since she had seen this day coming. Lu Yi had acted out of line by deciding his marriage by himself. He had almost been asking for it. She knew that it hadn’t been easy for Lu Yi to find someone he truly liked, and she would accept anyone he chose, but it was different for Lu Sr. Lu Sr. had taken the time and effort to pick a suitable match for Lu Yi, only to hear from him that he had already married someone else. It was no different from a slap on the face.
