Chapter 118: He Is My Husband

At that moment, a young man of about twenty-three or twenty-four standing by Zhang Yang’s side, noticing Zhang Yang’s angry expression, allowed a faint smile to play at the corner of his lips.

“So, want me to teach that guy a lesson for you later? Help him remember his manners?” the young man said with an easygoing grin, his voice calm and unhurried, as if it made no difference to him who the other party was—if he wanted to put someone in their place, it would be a simple matter.

“No need, Jun, I can handle it myself,” Zhang Yang replied hastily.

The young man was Ding Jun, Zhang Yang’s cousin, who had just returned from the army two days ago. Rumor had it he’d done exceptionally well in the military, already promoted to the rank of captain at a young age, and was highly regarded by his superiors. Coupled with his family’s considerable wealth, his future seemed limitless, provided he navigated the right connections.

Before joining the army, Ding Jun would often lead Zhang Yang through various escapades. Now, with Ding Jun’s achievements, Zhang Yang revered him even more, almost to the point of hero worship.

“All right, but if you need help, just say the word. I’ll take care of it whenever you want,” Ding Jun replied with the quiet confidence of someone used to being in charge.

Just then, someone called out, “Look, Xiao Rui’s car is here!”

All eyes turned to the approaching Rolls Royce, everyone eager to catch a glimpse of the boy Ji Xiaorui had brought along and see what kind of person he was.

The car came to a stop, and Ji Xiaorui and Lin Le stepped out.

A ripple of disappointment passed through the crowd when they set eyes on Lin Le. Although the young man was not unattractive, his outfit was far too plain, almost rustic.

Most of these people, like Ni Fang and Zhang Yang, came from wealthy families, with assets of at least ten million as a baseline. That’s the minimum it took to be part of this circle. Any one of them, from head to toe, was wearing at least several thousand, if not tens of thousands, worth of designer goods. Even a casual bag of Ni Fang’s, a slightly more mature girl, would run into the tens of thousands.

But the boy Ji Xiaorui brought with her wasn’t wearing a single recognizable brand. The sum total of everything he wore probably didn’t even reach five hundred yuan.

Their first impression: poor and provincial.

“Well, he’s clearly from some backwater place—just doesn’t have what it takes to be in this crowd.” Most of these people were natives of the capital, raised with the unshakeable sense of superiority that came from living in the heart of the nation. Even a relatively prosperous city like Haizhou seemed insignificant to them.

“No way, is this really Xiao Rui’s boyfriend? How could he possibly be a match for her?” To them, this impoverished, unsophisticated boy was a world apart, let alone being worthy of someone like Ji Xiaorui, who came from privilege.

Ni Fang, the undisputed queen of their circle, could only smile wryly to herself. Clearly, Xiao Rui was playing another prank—this boy was probably just an ordinary friend who admired her and had been brought along for fun. The idea of him being a boyfriend was laughable. Boys like this, ordinary as passersby on any street, were a dime a dozen. With Xiao Rui’s standards—she hadn’t even given Zhang Yang a second glance—how could she possibly fall for someone so obviously penniless?

Zhang Yang, too, was inwardly smirking with satisfaction.

“Damn, I almost believed it for a second, but this kid is way too far out of his league. Forget stealing Ji Xiaorui from me, he’s not even qualified to be my rival. What the hell is this? Ridiculous!” Zhang Yang thought his earlier worries had been entirely unnecessary.

Only Ding Jun, standing nearby, felt a peculiar sensation upon seeing the young man for the first time.

As a soldier from an elite unit, Ding Jun had cultivated a certain martial sensitivity, able to detect subtle auras that ordinary people missed—traces of killing intent, the smell of blood, the presence of a practitioner.

He’d sensed these auras before, among the grizzled veterans in his unit who’d crawled out of mountains of corpses.

When the youth appeared, Ding Jun caught a fleeting trace of a similar aura from him. It was faint, gone in an instant before he could fully discern it.

Was he a martial artist? The thought flashed through Ding Jun’s mind, only to be dismissed a moment later. His own sensitivity was limited—if the boy really was a practitioner, he’d have to be as seasoned as those battle-hardened veterans. But this was just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old kid, likely never even seen a corpse, let alone compared to those old soldiers.

Ding Jun told himself he’d just spent too long in the army, seeing danger everywhere. Otherwise, how could he possibly mistake an ordinary boy for something more? Laughable.

“Fang, it’s been so long! I’ve missed you all so much!” Ji Xiaorui called out excitedly, bounding over to hug Ni Fang.

“Haha, we’ve missed you too! It’s your own fault, hiding out in Haizhou all this time and not visiting,” Ni Fang scolded her with a laugh.

“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” Ji Xiaorui beamed.

“Come on, let’s head inside. The private room is already booked,” Ni Fang said.

Throughout, Ni Fang never spared a glance for Lin Le, nor invited an introduction. In her eyes, he wasn’t even worth acknowledging—not someone who belonged in their circle.

The rest felt the same, all pulling Ji Xiaorui along.

“Wait!” Ji Xiaorui suddenly called out.

“I still need to introduce someone.”

She turned to Lin Le, about to speak, when Zhang Yang let out a mocking snort. “Oh, Xiao Rui, I almost didn’t notice—you actually brought a ‘person’ along!”

He put heavy emphasis on the word “person,” making it plain he was implying Lin Le wasn’t even worthy of being called human.

Everyone caught the sarcasm, stifling laughter.

Zhang Yang felt even more smug. Even if this kid wasn’t fit to be his opponent, the fact that he’d dared get close to Xiao Rui meant Zhang Yang had no intention of letting him off easy.

Lin Le shot Zhang Yang a cold look. He understood perfectly—Zhang Yang saw him as a rival and was deliberately trying to embarrass him in front of everyone.

Before Lin Le could respond, Ji Xiaorui snapped, “Zhang Yang, what’s with your attitude? If you keep talking like that, I’m leaving!”

She was as fiery as ever, taking no nonsense.

“Come on, I was just joking—don’t take it so seriously,” Zhang Yang quickly replied with a forced smile.

“Zhang Yang, Xiao Hai said you have a girlfriend. Why didn’t you bring her along today so I could meet her?” Ji Xiaorui asked, suddenly remembering.

“What girlfriend? Don’t listen to Xiao Hai’s nonsense—just a regular friend, not even a close one. And besides, Xiao Rui, you know how I feel…” Zhang Yang was about to confess.

“I’m not a mind reader—how am I supposed to know what you’re thinking?” Ji Xiaorui cut him off deftly, sensing where he was headed.

“Xiao Rui, I—” Zhang Yang started, but before he could finish, Ji Xiaorui grabbed Lin Le’s arm and declared, “Let me introduce everyone—this is Lin Le. He’s my… husband!”

Lin Le was so shocked he nearly choked.

“Hey, you—” Lin Le almost wanted to call the police.

Before he could protest, Ji Xiaorui gave him a quick, discreet pinch, making it clear she wanted him to play along.

Lin Le was at a complete loss for words. If he’d known, he never would have come to dinner with them—in fact, he never should have brought this trouble magnet to the capital in the first place!

And now, barely arrived in the capital, he’d already managed to offend people.

Before anyone else could react, Ji Xiaohai, ever the quick-witted one, rushed over to Lin Le and greeted him with delight, “Hello, brother-in-law!”