C3 B Hospital

"Are you Lin Zhixi?"

It was Qin Tian who had confronted Yang Sen, not someone else.

He pushed Yang Sen aside and took Lin Zhixi by the hand, asking her directly.

Lin Zhixi didn't recognize the man before her, yet she instinctively nodded in response.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Qin Tian, and I'm your fiancé. I've come to marry you."

Qin Tian's lips curled into a smile as he introduced himself, while Lin Zhixi looked on with a bewildered expression.

However, upon seeing the dragon-shaped jade pendant in Qin Tian's hand, Lin Zhixi's doubts vanished. This man was indeed the husband her father had chosen for her, and they were meeting for the first time.

"You claim to be her fiancé?"

Yang Sen stepped forward just as Qin Tian finished speaking.

Lin Zhixi, renowned as the most beautiful woman in the Cloud Sea, had always been off-limits to Yang Sen. Now, the sudden emergence of a fiancé, coupled with the fact that Qin Tian had just tossed him aside, filled Yang Sen with rage.

As one of the prestigious Four Young Masters of the Cloud Sea, he was not accustomed to such treatment.

"Yes."

Qin Tian gave Yang Sen a steady gaze, uttering just a single word.

"Lin Zhixi, if you're looking for a shield, you could at least pick someone respectable. Look at him—what separates him from a beggar?"

"Kid, I don't care who you are. I'm giving you five seconds to vanish from my sight or kneel and lick my shoes. Otherwise, I'll ensure you spend the rest of your days in a wheelchair."

Yang Sen's expression darkened to the extreme. As he spoke, several men in black shirts converged around him—his personal bodyguards.

"This nobody, a country bumpkin, dares to claim he's Zhixi's fiancé? Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. With your pathetic look, you're not even fit to carry Zhixi's shoes."

"Zhixi, you see how displeased Young Master Yang is. Please, just apologize quickly, or I won't be able to intercede on your behalf any longer."

Fong Wan spoke up once again, her gaze upon Qin Tian filled with contempt.

Qin Tian had descended the mountain dressed in nothing more than a simple set of gray casual wear, starkly out of place among the people here.

It wasn't just Fong Wan; the others looked at him with similar disdain, as if they themselves were of much higher standing.

"Yang Sen, what are you planning to do? Are you intending to resort to violence here?"

Lin Zhixi chose to ignore Fong Wan's remarks and raised her voice in alarm when she noticed Yang Sen's bodyguards closing in.

"Break his legs and hang him from the flagpole below. I want everyone to see what happens to those who cross me, Yang Sen."

Qin Tian's continued aloofness only served to enrage Yang Sen further.

He commanded his bodyguards, and the three men in black shirts lunged at Qin Tian with a menacing glare.

Bystanders wisely stepped aside. Lin Zhixi attempted to intervene, but Fong Wan pulled her away.

The crowd watched in silence, but within moments, the three men attacking Qin Tian were on the ground, and the onlookers hadn't even caught how Qin Tian had made his move.

"Lin Zhixi is my fiancée. If you keep bothering her, I won't be so courteous," Qin Tian warned Yang Sen, then took hold of Lin Zhixi. Fong Wan tried to interfere, but a single glance from Qin Tian sent her retreating in fear, leaving her no choice but to watch helplessly as Qin Tian led Lin Zhixi away.

"Thank you for what you did today."

Inside the elevator, Lin Zhixi expressed her gratitude to Qin Tian, who simply offered a faint smile in response. "There's no need for thanks. It's merely a transaction between us, each pursuing our own interests."

"What do you mean, 'our own interests'? I don't understand," Lin Zhixi said, her eyes clouded with confusion.

"I married you to gain access to your body, and you married me to bolster the Lin family's power, correct?" Qin Tian laid out the transactional nature of their marriage—he needed Lin Zhixi to cure his fire toxin, and in turn, she needed him to elevate the Lin family to the status of a top-tier household.

"I've never heard such brazen words in my life. Who do you think you are to strike a deal with the Lin family?"

"Our Lin family may have fallen on hard times, but we still possess more than you could possibly imagine, Qin Tian. You'd be better off tending to your own affairs."

Qin Tian's words had enraged Lin Zhixi. Right then, she felt an overwhelming urge to eject him from the elevator.

"Say what you will, but the outcome remains unchanged. Let's drop the subject and go see my parents to finalize the wedding arrangements."

Qin Tian's expression was one of utter indifference. Lin Zhixi was about to retort when her phone abruptly rang.

Upon answering, Lin Zhixi's face turned pale. She dashed out of the elevator as soon as the doors slid open, with Qin Tian following at a relaxed pace.

She bolted into the parking lot and jumped into her car. Qin Tian had already taken the passenger seat before she could even start the engine.

"Despicable," she muttered under her breath. Nonetheless, Lin Zhixi didn't ask Qin Tian to leave; instead, she sped off to B Hospital.

Her mother had called to inform her that her father had suddenly collapsed at home and was rushed to the hospital.

"Mom, how's Dad doing?"

Lin Zhixi raced to the entrance of the operating room, where she found a middle-aged woman looking visibly distressed.

"We're still uncertain. Zhixi, try to stay calm. Your dad should be alright. And who is this?"

Zhou Min, seeing her daughter, quickly dabbed at her tear-streaked eyes. She looked puzzled upon noticing Qin Tian.

"Mom, this is Qin Tian, the fiancé Dad chose for me."

Despite her contempt for Qin Tian, Lin Zhixi introduced him to Zhou Min.

Zhou Min's response was a cold snort.

"Fiancé? I don't approve of this engagement. I can't fathom what got into your father's head to make such a foolish decision."

"If he had chosen someone respectable, maybe, but this man? What qualifies him to be your husband?"

Zhou Min, though in her fifties, appeared to be only in her early forties. She carried herself with grace, but her face was etched with scorn.

"Young man, don't delude yourself into thinking that my husband's consent means you can ascend to the Lin family's ranks. You're not worthy. Leave now and spare yourself the embarrassment."

Zhou Min's lips twisted into a cold smirk. As she was about to unleash another biting remark, the operating room door swung open and a masked doctor emerged.

"Mrs. Lin, your husband suffered an acute cerebral hemorrhage. I'm sorry, we've done all we could."

Approaching Zhou Min, the doctor delivered the news with a steady tone. Zhou Min stood there, shell-shocked, as if hit by a bolt of lightning. Lin Zhixi's knees buckled, nearly sending her to the floor, but Qin Tian, shaking his head in resignation, steadied her.

A gurney was then rolled out of the operating room, bearing a man in his early fifties who had drawn his last breath.

"Lin Yu, Dad."

At the sight of the man, Lin Zhixi and Zhou Min rushed to his side, collapsing in tears, their earlier arrogance dissolved.

"He's still alive. What are you crying for?"

In the midst of Lin Zhixi and her mother's despair, Qin Tian's voice cut through.

His words left everyone momentarily taken aback, then all eyes turned to Qin Tian.