Chapter 11: I Agree to the Marriage Alliance

**Chapter 11: I Agree to the Marriage Alliance**

"Grandpa, don't be angry. It was my fault from the start. I'll go personally and apologize to Cousin Jian Song and Cousin later." Jian Ye gently patted Old Mr. Jian's back, soothing him while timidly backing down.

"No damn apologies! As long as I'm here today, I'm calling the shots!" Old Mr. Jian slammed the table hard. "We're family! Since when do older siblings force their younger brother to apologize?"

Damn, Grandpa! You rock!

Keep spitting fire, Grandpa! Go wild!

Jian Ye could tell that the old man must have been a sharp-tongued rebel in his youth—otherwise, how could those savage comebacks hit so perfectly?

Come to think of it, the original owner wasn’t completely unloved—he just pissed all that love away himself.

Seizing the moment while Old Mr. Jian stood up for him, Jian Ye let out a well-timed moan, clutching his chest and coughing twice, his face turning pale.

"What's wrong, Ye'er? Are you okay?" Old Mr. Jian noticed Jian Ye’s discomfort first and asked immediately.

Tears still clung to the corners of Jian Ye’s eyes, and now the pain in his chest made new tears well up.

Half of that pain was fake, half real.

When he fell earlier, the shards of porcelain tucked into his clothes had jabbed him good.

That’s right—shards, not a whole celadon cup.

Yesterday, Jian Ye had already told Butler Zhang to buy the gift according to his exact specs, bleeding Yu Wei’s card dry. He’d added to that the money he made selling the original owner’s loud-ass clothes online—just enough to get something the old man would like.

This morning, he wrapped the celadon cup in a towel and smashed it, then tucked the pieces into his clothes before rolling up to the Jian compound.

Jian Ye couldn’t guarantee the cup would break when he fell, so he had to set this trap in advance for the den of snakes in the Jian family.

By pulling out the shards at that exact moment, no matter how suspicious people were, they had to buy that the gift broke after he fell.

Jian Song was dumb as a brick—screwing someone like him was easier than taking candy from a baby.

"Grandpa, I’m fine. It’s just that when I fell earlier, the celadon cup in my clothes hit my chest." After speaking, Jian Ye shot a pointed look at Jian Song.

The moment Jian Song met Jian Ye’s eyes, his asshole clenched.

Sure enough, the next second, Jian Ye said sweetly, “It’s my own poor balance. Not your fault, Cousin. I must’ve been walking too slow, so you just… helped me stumble…”

System 748: *Why do I hear some fake-nice act between your lines?*

Jian Ye: *After making me eat concrete with an Oscar-worthy faceplant, I can’t even talk some shit?*

Jian Ye dragged out the word “helped,” making sure everyone heard clearly.

The servants who had seen Jian Song kick Jian Ye schooled their faces fast.

Their young master got it so rough—bullied and forced to eat shit with a smile, even covering for his cousin.

Jian Song: “Jian Ye, you lying piece of—”

“Did you push him?” Old Mr. Jian cut him a death glare.

Jian Song shit himself on the spot. He wanted to deny pushing Jian Ye, but he knew he couldn’t—everyone saw it except Grandpa.

If he lied, one twitch of anyone’s face would give him away.

Besides, Old Mr. Jian was no fool. He could easily find out what had just happened by questioning any eyewitness.

After hesitating for a moment, Jian Song quickly took the opportunity to go along with Jian Ye's words: "I... really just gave him a little push. Who knew my cousin had such bad balance... *cough*..."

Jian Song himself even felt a little guilty as he spoke.

But what did it matter? Jian Ye was still too cowardly to tell the truth, wasn't he?

He'd thought Jian Ye had changed, but apparently it was just his imagination—the kid was still the same spineless coward he remembered.

Jian Song had assumed that after his explanation, the matter would be swept under the rug, especially since Jian Ye wasn’t actually hurt.

Who would’ve thought Old Mr. Jian would dig his heels in and keep pushing on this topic?

He knew all too well how his eldest grandson looked when lying. The moment Jian Song opened his mouth, Old Mr. Jian could tell he wasn’t being truthful.

Realizing he wouldn’t get anywhere this way, Old Mr. Jian turned to a male servant nearby instead.

"You—tell me, what exactly happened when you entered?"

The servant had been holding back for a long time, not daring to speak. But once Old Mr. Jian granted him the authority to "tell the truth," he spilled everything like a sack of beans.

Even Jian Ye was stunned.

Damn! This guy should’ve been a storyteller—what a waste of talent!

The servant’s account was packed with dramatic flair, making the scene of Jian Song raising his leg to attack downright cinematic.

It sounded like, with just a little more force, Jian Ye could’ve been killed right then and there.

Jian Ye had only intended to give Jian Song a little trouble, playing up his own pitiful act to highlight the other’s arrogance.

But the situation escalated far beyond his expectations.

Upon hearing this, Old Mr. Jian went ballistic, snatching a teacup off the table and hurling it at Jian Song’s head.

Jian Song was terrified and reflexively dodged. Seeing things go south, Jian Zhengqing and Zhu Yan quickly stood up to shield their son.

"Dad, it’s just roughhousing between brothers! Don’t make a big deal out of it!" Zhu Yan forced a smile as she tried to mediate.

Jian Zhengqing jumped in, "Dad, I’ll whip this brat into shape when we get home. The doctor said you should avoid anger—don’t let this little shit work you up!"

"You think I’m angry about their roughhousing? I’m furious that he bullied his younger cousin and then strong-armed him into lying to his own grandfather!"

Jian Song: ???

"Threaten him? No, no! Grandpa, don’t pin this on me! I never threatened my cousin!"

"If you didn’t threaten him, why wouldn’t he speak up about being wronged? He even said you just gave him a little push, when in fact you kicked him hard! There’s a world of difference—don’t you feel even a shred of guilt?"

Old Mr. Jian’s logic was airtight, and Jian Ye silently agreed in his heart.

Exactly. There was no way Jian Song hadn’t threatened the original host before—not just him, but other Jian family members who disliked the original host as well.

Nobody’s born a pushover. It’s only after being shaped by their environment that they grow increasingly timid, too afraid to fight back.

This had everything to do with the Jian family’s years of ganging up on one kid.

Jian Ye suspected that this kind of mistreatment had existed even before his parents passed away.

Adults have no shortage of ways to intimidate kids—holding what the kid cares about most over their head can make them fear bringing trouble onto their family.

Over time, such a child either becomes extremely fragile or develops an extreme temperament.

The original Jian Ye seemed to have both traits—otherwise, he wouldn’t have bawled his eyes out after getting dumped by that jerk Yu Wei or slit his wrists after being forced into an arranged marriage.

In an avalanche, no single snowflake is innocent. His personality and emotions had been gradually destroyed under this kind of pressure.

Now, Old Mr. Jian seemed to finally understand this and started looking beyond Jian Ye himself for reasons behind what happened.

*Beep—Green Tea alert! Green Tea Points +50.*

This wave of Green Tea points was racked up so effortlessly that Jian Ye was practically giddy with satisfaction, even humming a tune in his mind.

When the Jian patriarch blew his top, nobody dared mouth off.

Since it was a family gathering today, Jian Ye didn’t want to let the awkwardness linger. He patted Old Mr. Jian’s back a few times, said some soothing words, and let everyone off the hook.

The farce was temporarily over.

During the meal, polite small talk filled the air while tension simmered beneath.

Except for Jian Ye, who dug in like a starving man, the others were clearly seething.

The first and second uncles’ families noticed that today’s Jian Ye had his act together—nothing like his usual hot mess self.

But they knew his weakness all too well.

When dessert plates were cleared, someone finally brought up the inevitable topic of the arranged marriage.

It was Uncle Jian Zhengqing who spoke: “Dad, the Yi family set the marriage date for next month, right?”

Though he seemed to be asking Old Mr. Jian, his gaze flickered toward Jian Ye.

Seeing that Jian Ye just kept eating without even glancing up, he inwardly cursed—*little shit.*

Old Mr. Jian sipped his tea and hesitated before nodding. “Yes, the 16th of next month.”

Aunt Zhu Yan immediately jumped in. “Oh, that’s only a month and a half away! Xiao Ye should start preparing—we can’t have a repeat of last time. Though I wonder if this child will agree…”

Jian Ye understood their digs all too well. They wanted to provoke him again, hoping the old, foolish version of him would pull another meltdown at the dinner table—dramatic, life-threatening, and utterly humiliating.

Since he’d just showed them up by having Old Mr. Jian take his side, they weren’t about to take it lying down.

But would the new Jian Ye—the one with a different soul—play along?

“I agree.” Jian Ye’s clear voice rang out across the table.

Zhu Yan’s words died in her throat—she thought she must’ve misheard.

Not just her—everyone wore expressions of shock and disbelief, including Old Mr. Jian.

“Ye’er, you… you agree?” The old man stroked his beard, excitement creeping into his tone.

Jian Ye elegantly picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.

Burp. That hit the spot.

“Yes, I agree to marry Third Young Master Yi.”

Isn't it all just for show? A business marriage—he gets it completely.

Everything is done solely for the sake of family interests!

Initially, Jian Ye had some reservations about this arranged marriage due to the harsh reviews he had read about the novel before he transmigrated into it. However, he eventually figured things out.

After all, his future spouse was the male lead in the novel, and according to the plot, they weren’t meant to stay together anyway.

When the time came for their divorce, he might not even need to handle any formalities—the male lead would likely have everything already prepared for him.

As long as he played his part well during this period, maintained his innocent act, avoided triggering the original owner’s self-destructive tendencies, and didn’t interfere with the romantic storyline between the male lead and the main character, surviving wouldn’t be too difficult.

In the world of fictional characters, marriage wasn’t that big of a deal.

It's a novel, after all—without a few weddings and breakups, where would the twists come from?

Jian Ye wasn’t narrow-minded. If there was something to gain, he wouldn’t hesitate to marry.

"Xiao Ye, if you feel wronged..." Second Uncle Jian Zhenghua still tried to stir things up, assuming Jian Ye was just pretending to be strong.

But Jian Ye gave him no chance. "Not even slightly wronged!"

He cleared his throat. "I’ve already said—I was foolish before and did things that upset everyone. From now on, I will follow the Jian family's arrangements. I've thought it through. Whoever Grandpa chooses for me to marry must be a good match, so I am willing to accept this marriage."

Old Mr. Jian was delighted. "My dear grandson, hearing you say this makes me truly happy. The Yi family is the best family to marry into in all of Yunjing. I wouldn’t lie to you—this marriage is absolutely worthwhile. I’ve met that Yi child before—he's truly excellent, and very suitable for you."

Everyone: …Pfft.

"Author's Note:"

Third Young Master Yi: Exactly. (smug) ^_^

Jian Xiaogou: Sigh. (╬⊙皿⊙)