Chapter 195: Snatching the Bride
The middle-aged woman screamed while signaling the three short men behind her to push two boxes of milk and two large bags of snacks into Xu Youyou’s hands.
“Xu Youyou, our family owns a factory. Once you marry into our family, you’ll enjoy a good life as a young mistress! Don’t be ungrateful!” the middle-aged woman said proudly.
She truly seemed to believe that her family’s conditions were exceptional.
Seeing that the two bodyguards were hesitant to approach the middle-aged woman, Xu Youyou sighed helplessly. “Why are you so rigid? If you can’t touch an older woman, then just throw the others out first.”
The two bodyguards immediately took action. However, the three short men were unexpectedly agile, and with the Wang family bringing a bunch of relatives to cause trouble, the bodyguards could only manage to toss out a few of them.
The middle-aged woman shrieked in frustration, “With a temper like yours, no one will want to marry you! You’ll end up an old maid! If you weren’t an orphan and didn’t require a dowry, I wouldn’t even have considered you! And after you marry in, no more bodyguards—you’ll stay at home and give birth to sons for our Wang family!”
Xu Youyou couldn’t be bothered to argue and simply waited for the bodyguards to clear them out. However, she didn’t expect the middle-aged woman to suddenly charge at her, reaching out to grab her. If it weren’t for Lu Jingyao and Xu Fang stepping in quickly, she might have really been scratched.
At that moment, someone suddenly stormed out from inside the house.
“Your son is the one no one wants! Our Youyou is amazing—everyone is fighting to have her as a daughter-in-law! If you won’t offer a dowry, I will! Billions, tens of billions, even hundreds or thousands of billions—if she chooses my son, I’d be more than happy to give it!” Lu’s mother declared in a thunderous voice.
The middle-aged woman sneered, “Talking about hundreds of billions—do you think you’re the mother of the richest man in the world? What a joke!”
Hearing this, Xu Youyou’s expression became rather peculiar.
Standing beside her, Lu Jingyao suddenly spoke up. “Madam, please stop this unreasonable behavior. I have already called the police.”
The middle-aged woman widened her eyes. “So what if you called the police? They’re both single—if my son likes her, it’s her blessing! When the officers arrive, they’ll probably help match them up!”
She was so confident because she hadn’t seen Lu Jingyao actually make a phone call. She assumed he was bluffing. Following the old traditions of her hometown, she thought that as long as they forcibly took the girl home and locked the young couple in a room together, everything would naturally fall into place.
She continued, “I heard that you send money to the orphanage every month. Let me tell you, once you marry into our Wang family, you can’t be giving money away anymore! I won’t allow it!”
Xu Youyou knew it was pointless to argue with someone like this, so she simply stayed quiet and waited to see what other nonsense she would spew.
Unexpectedly, Lu’s mother, finally given a stage to shine, dramatically rolled up her sleeves and boasted, “A good daughter-in-law should support her family! Not only should she do it herself, but her in-laws should help too! Director He, from now on, if the orphanage needs anything, don’t ask Youyou—ask me! I’ll handle it! Whether it’s money or labor, I’ll provide! I want to show a certain stingy person what a real good mother-in-law looks like!”
Xu Youyou couldn’t help but laugh and turned to Lu Jingyao, whispering, “Your mom is really bold, going all out to back me up!”
Lu Jingyao didn’t know how to respond. Should he tell her that his mother was being completely serious and not just putting on a show?
At that moment, Wang Xiaohu, the so-called childhood classmate, finally got a good look at Lu Jingyao’s face and was utterly shocked. He suddenly tugged at his mother’s sleeve.
“Mom, I think… I think he really is the richest man in the country…” Wang Xiaohu stammered.
It was only when he spoke that Xu Youyou finally remembered who he was.
Back in elementary school, there was indeed a classmate who spoke normally but stuttered terribly whenever he got nervous. However, more than a decade had passed, and she barely recognized him.
Hearing her son’s words, Wang’s mother was momentarily stunned. Earlier, she had only noticed that Lu Jingyao was good-looking but hadn’t expected to walk straight into the future in-laws of the richest man in the country.
But she was used to being shameless, so after a brief hesitation, she arrogantly said, “Orphanage kids all have no parents—if I didn’t pity you, I wouldn’t have even considered this marriage. Forget it! You’re too hot-tempered—our Wang family doesn’t want you anymore!”
She turned to leave with her husband and son, but before going, she even tried to take back the so-called “generous gifts” she had brought.
This time, Lu’s mother was the one who got angry. “Hold on! How dare you talk about my future daughter-in-law like that? Apologize right now, or this won’t end here!”
Wang’s mother ignored her and hurried toward the door, only to be blocked by a police car pulling up.
“Hello, who called the police?” an officer asked politely.
Lu Jingyao raised his hand slightly.
The officer gave him a casual glance before freezing in shock. Then, after taking another closer look, his expression turned into one of disbelief—like seeing a celebrity in real life.
Then, looking at Xu Youyou, the officer also found her somewhat familiar but couldn’t quite place her.
Lu Jingyao calmly stated, “Officer, someone is attempting a forced marriage.”
The officer was momentarily stunned—it had been so long since he had heard such an accusation that the term itself felt outdated.
Wang’s mother quickly spoke up, “It’s just a misunderstanding! I was only here to propose a marriage, not to force one!”
Lu Jingyao countered, “She just told Xu Youyou to come home with her immediately to get married before the new year.”
Wang’s mother took two steps back in fright. “I—I was just saying that casually…”
The officer glanced at Wang’s mother and her large group of relatives, then sternly said, “Words have consequences. This is a society governed by law—marriages must be consensual. You cannot engage in outdated, forceful practices.”
Wang’s mother nodded sheepishly.
Seeing that the situation wasn’t serious, the officers issued a warning, registered the incident, and ensured the Wang family wouldn’t cause more trouble before leaving.
Finally, peace returned to the orphanage.
Xu Youyou turned to the Lu family and said, “Thank you, Auntie Lu. And thank you, Mr. Lu.”
“Why call him Mr. Lu? That’s too formal! Just call him Jingyao, or like me, call him Xiaojing,” Lu’s mother casually suggested.
This time, Lu Jingyao coughed in embarrassment.
Xu Youyou then asked, “When did you call the police? I didn’t see you make a call.”
Lu Jingyao answered casually, “I just glanced at Assistant Liu, and he personally went to the police station.”
Assistant Liu, who had also arrived, remained silent.
Xu Youyou hadn’t realized that Lu Jingyao and his assistant were so in sync that a single glance was all it took for them to understand each other.
Meanwhile, Xu Fang, who had been quietly observing, took mental notes—realizing that she still had a long way to go to become a top-tier assistant.
Director He, who had watched everything unfold, smiled at Xu Youyou with pure satisfaction.
At that moment, Lu Jingyao suddenly turned to Xu Youyou and said, “Youyou, I have something I want to ask you privately.”
