Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Cutting Ties

Only after the person outside had shouted themselves hoarse did she slowly open the door and lay out her terms: "If you want me to marry him, I want half of everything the Lu family gave—whether it's betrothal gifts or dowry. I won’t let the Lins benefit."

"You’ve got some nerve, daring to make demands! I’ll beat you to death!" Old Mrs. Lin snarled, her face contorted with rage.

"Then go ahead and beat me to death. Either way, Lin Qingqing will end up tending to a disabled man—her fate won’t be any better than mine," she retorted stubbornly.

Channeling the original host’s personality, she defiantly stood up to the Lins, giving them a headache.

With others, threats might work, but not with Lin Nannan. If she changed her mind now, the Lins would be the ones to regret it.

"Half is impossible!" Lin Donglai, unable to withstand his daughter’s weeping, sighed heavily. "Nan Nan, we don’t want you to marry a cripple either, but you know the family’s situation. Almost nothing’s left of what the Lu family gave us back then. If we could gather it all, we would’ve canceled the engagement long ago—things wouldn’t have come to this."

Lin Nannan remained unmoved. From the original host’s memories, she knew Lin Donglai was no good either—all smiles on the surface but cutthroat when plotting.

The Lu family had given plenty back then—two hundred yuan in cash, for starters, not to mention food and other necessities.

The Lins had assumed the marriage was set in stone and squandered it all, never imagining Lu Hang would end up disabled.

"One hundred yuan!" Knowing the Lin family’s financial state, Lin Nannan compromised bluntly.

"But the family—" Lin Donglai tried to weasel out of it, still looking down on her.

This time, however, he met his match. Lin Nannan shut the door without another word.

"Lin Nannan!" the Lins roared through gritted teeth.

"One hundred yuan—not a cent less. If you agree, I’ll marry him. If not, no sum will make me budge later." Playing up the original host’s stubborn streak, she threatened outright.

The Lins had learned long ago that someone not right in the head couldn’t be reasoned with. They knew she meant what she said—even if they beat her to death later, she’d never marry. For Lin Qingqing, that would be a death sentence.

"Dad, I’d rather die than marry Lu Hang!" Lin Qingqing declared fiercely.

Knowing his daughter’s temperament, Lin Donglai put it to a family vote. For the sake of their reputation and to secure better marriage prospects for Lin Qingqing, they reluctantly agreed to Lin Nannan’s demand.

Still, a hundred yuan was a painful loss. Old Mrs. Lin couldn’t help cursing, "You ungrateful little snake!"

Lin Nannan wasn’t surprised they agreed. The Lins cared about face—if Lin Qingqing married a cripple, they’d never hear the end of it in the village.

"I have one more condition," she pressed her advantage. "By taking Lin Qingqing’s place, all accounts between me and the Lins are settled. Whatever becomes of me afterward, it’s none of your concern."

Lin Donglai’s face clouded over. "Lin Nannan—"

He had agreed partly because the Lu family still had connections through Lu Hang, hoping to cash in on the deal. Her demand instantly displeased him.

But before he could protest, Old Mrs. Lin silenced him with a look.

Lin Nannan knew exactly what the old lady was scheming—she assumed Lu Hang’s paralysis would make life miserable for her, dragging the Lins down, hence the hasty agreement.

That might’ve been the original host’s fate. But she wasn’t her.