Chapter 7 He's My Husband!

Xiao Churan, seeing her parents constantly targeting Ye Chen, sighed and said, “Dad, Mom, this has nothing to do with Ye Chen. I simply don't want to be looked down upon anymore. Haven't we endured enough humiliation over the years?” Xiao Churan’s mother immediately retorted, “But you still shouldn't have agreed to take on this impossible task! Even if your grandmother went herself, they wouldn't pay her any attention!” Ye Chen looked at the scene before him and smiled bitterly to himself. His status-conscious in-laws would never believe, even if beaten to death, that he was actually the owner of the Emgrand Group. Just then, there was a knock at the door. “Coming, coming…” Xiao Churan’s mother, Ma Lan, sighed heavily as she went to open it. Ye Chen looked over casually and saw a young man standing at the door, dressed impeccably in an Armani suit. He looked stylish and handsome, with a Patek Philippe watch on his wrist that was easily worth over a million. Ma Lan immediately lit up and said excitedly, “Oh my, it's Wenhao! What brings you here?” The visitor was Zhang Wenhao, the young master of the Zhang family, who had been pursuing Xiao Churan for years. Zhang Wenhao smiled and said, “Auntie, I heard that Churan has taken on the Emgrand Group collaboration, so I came by to offer some advice.” “Oh, you’re truly a lifesaver for our family!” Ma Lan was overjoyed, looking at Zhang Wenhao as if he were her own son-in-law. She quickly ushered him inside, chattering eagerly, “Wenhao, do you have a way to help Churan secure the contract with the Emgrand Group?” Zhang Wenhao nodded with a confident smile, completely ignoring Ye Chen, treating him like some insignificant pest. He approached Xiao Churan and said gently, “Churan, such a big matter and you didn’t even tell me. But don’t worry. My family’s company has a strong partnership with Emgrand. I’ll ask my father to put in a good word. We’ll do everything we can to help you.” In truth, Zhang Wenhao’s father had no such influence. He was simply trying to impress Xiao Churan. Knowing well that Zhang Wenhao had feelings for her, Xiao Churan said coldly, “Thank you for your kindness, Zhang Wenhao, but I’ll find my own way.” Ma Lan gasped in disbelief, “Churan, are you crazy? Young Master Zhang came here out of the kindness of his heart, and this is how you speak to him?” Xiao Churan remained silent. Instead, Ye Chen smiled with interest and asked, “Young Master Zhang, I’m curious. How exactly do you plan to help? The Emgrand Group is enormous—surely they wouldn’t be swayed so easily. Are you really capable of getting them to sign with Churan?” Zhang Wenhao sneered and said, “What do you know? Our Zhang family has a deep partnership with the Emgrand Group. For their latest twenty-billion project, our family will take at least a third! When the time comes, I’ll have my father allocate a few million from our share and subcontract it to Churan. That will settle the matter.” Ye Chen exclaimed with feigned admiration, “Wow! I didn’t know the Zhang family had such strong ties with the Emgrand Group!” Zhang Wenhao snorted proudly, “Of course! In Jinling, who doesn't know about the close relationship between our Zhang family and Emgrand?” Then, glaring at Ye Chen with disdain, he said, “Ye Chen, you pathetic loser, you should leave Churan on your own. A man like you can’t give her happiness—you’ll only drag her down.” At that moment, Xiao Churan spoke coldly, “I'm sorry, Young Master Zhang, but I don’t need your help. And please, don't insult my husband.” Zhang Wenhao gaped at her, “Churan, after everything I’m doing for you, you still side with this good-for-nothing? What does he have that's worth defending?” Xiao Churan answered seriously, “He’s not a good-for-nothing. He’s my husband.” Zhang Wenhao's face darkened with rage. “Fine! Since you insist on rejecting my goodwill, don’t come crying when things fall apart! I want to see how you plan to handle this mess without my help!” With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Ma Lan tried to chase after him to explain, but Zhang Wenhao was already gone. Furious, she slapped her thigh and pointed at Ye Chen, yelling, “You’re going to be the death of me! Useless piece of trash! You do nothing but drag Churan down! Young Master Zhang came with such good intentions, and you still managed to drive him away!” Ye Chen said calmly, “Mom, he was only making empty promises. He couldn’t even secure the Emgrand contract himself, let alone help Churan.” “Nonsense!” Ma Lan fumed. “The Zhang family is getting a third of Emgrand’s twenty-billion project. What do you know?” Ye Chen smiled coldly to himself. I don't know what capabilities the Zhang family has, but I do know one thing: my Emgrand Group will never work with them. Even if there were past partnerships, from now on, all collaborations will be terminated. Xiao Churan had no idea what Ye Chen was thinking. She said to her mother, “Mom, don’t blame Ye Chen. Let’s talk about it after I come back from Emgrand.” Ma Lan sighed heavily, feeling as if the heavens had cursed her with misfortune: first marrying a useless husband herself, and now seeing her daughter marry an even more useless man. What terrible karma!