"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"
When Da Huang saw a stranger enter, his guard dog instincts kicked in.
"Mutt, get outta here."
Ren Jun feigned a kick, which only made Da Huang bark more furiously.
"He's not a mutt. His name is Da Huang, and his bloodline is far nobler than some curly-haired Tibetan Mastiff. Even Emperor Qin Shi Huang had one like him."
Xue Rui bent down and ruffled the fur on Da Huang's head.
Da Huang didn't seem to like it, but he didn't resist. It was as if he knew Xue Rui was a guest approved by his owner.
This guy in the black suit, however, was not. That's why he kept barking his head off at Ren Jun.
"Da Huang, be quiet!"
Lin Ruoxi peeked her head out of the kitchen and gently scolded him.
Then she turned and saw another guest in the house, and she was suddenly at a loss for what to do.
Ren Jun's eyes met Lin Ruoxi's, and he was completely floored. For a moment, his gaze went blank with astonishment.
"She certainly has an impact," Xue Rui muttered, shaking his head.
Anyone seeing Lin Ruoxi for the first time would be taken aback by her graceful and delicate features.
The impact of seeing a beauty of her caliber in such a humble cottage—a stark contrast—was indescribable.
"Stop staring. Your eyes are about to pop out of your head." Xue Rui waved a hand in front of Ren Jun's face.
"Xiaorui, is this your idea of 'poverty relief'? I'm almost too embarrassed to call you out. Are you really here to 'relieve poverty'?"
Ren Jun let out an exasperated laugh. 'He's just after her body, isn't he?'
Lin Ruoxi felt awkward being stared at. She kept her head down, stealing glances at Xue Rui from time to time.
'The newcomer was dressed so formally, in a crisp black suit with his hair perfectly styled, just like the emcees hired for weddings in the village.'
"Lin Ruoxi, let me introduce you. This is my uncle. Say hello," Xue Rui said in a firm voice.
"Hello, Uncle. I'm Lin Ruoxi."
Lin Ruoxi was a little nervous. She bowed slightly to greet Ren Jun, completely unaware that he wasn't her uncle in the slightest. She had been misled by Xue Rui's phrasing.
"Hello, hello."
Ren Jun forced a smile as his right hand snaked around to the back of Xue Rui's neck and gave it a sharp, discreet pinch.
"How could you have the heart to go after a girl like this?"
Ren Jun whispered, his voice laced with threat. He thought Xue Rui was the real bastard for having the heart to toy with a girl like her.
"You can't judge me without knowing my struggles. She and I... we have a complicated history."
Xue Rui paid Ren Jun's attitude no mind.
"Uncle, have you eaten yet? I... I just finished cooking," Lin Ruoxi asked timidly.
"Heh, you gained a beautiful niece. Aren't you happy about that?" Xue Rui teased.
Facing Lin Ruoxi, Ren Jun found it hard to be angry. "Have you eaten yet?" was a standard pleasantry.
But coming from her, it sounded like the words of a pitiful girl, her reservedness tinged with a hint of pleading...
Never mind that he hadn't eaten; even if he'd just had a meal, he would never be able to refuse such a request.
"I haven't. I've been starving this whole trip. Time to eat." Ren Jun said, heading inside.
"Just eat and don't ask questions. This girl has had a tragic life, so don't poke at old wounds."
Xue Rui pulled Ren Jun aside and warned him sternly.
The villagers ate breakfast late, and it was already past nine.
Breakfast was simple. Lin Ruoxi stir-fried a couple of dishes; the only one with any protein was scrambled eggs with green peppers.
However, the large, freshly steamed buns were fragrant, and since Ren Jun was famished, he wolfed down two of them.
The old woman didn't join them at the table. Instead, she took her bowl and ate out in the courtyard.
It was as if eating a meal with Xue Rui was a fate worse than death.
"You're an excellent cook. The man who marries you will be one lucky guy," Ren Jun praised.
Lin Ruoxi, who had been eating with her head down, blushed instantly.
'She didn't know how to respond to a comment like that; usually, she just wouldn't.'
"Uncle, are you full? Why don't you go chat with the old woman for a while? Lin Ruoxi and I have something to discuss," Xue Rui said, trying to get rid of him.
Ren Jun didn't think much of it and left the two of them alone.
'After all, it was broad daylight. Xue Rui wouldn't dare try anything, not even if he had ten times the nerve.'
"Lin Ruoxi."
Xue Rui called her name as he pulled the cash out of the paper bag—ten thick stacks of red bills.
"Classmate Xue... you..." Lin Ruoxi's mind went completely blank.
Part of it was the shock of seeing so much cash. The other part was that it reminded her of what happened last night.
'How could this be? Is he going to make me sign an indenture contract?'
'Did he really settle on a price with Grandma last night? Is he going to buy me?'
'If it was just a joke, how could he have brought the money this morning?'
"I... I'm not for sale," Lin Ruoxi said, her voice trembling.
Xue Rui tilted his head. 'Where is her mind wandering? I haven't even said what I'm buying yet.'
He had an inkling, though. His conversation with the old woman last night must have given Lin Ruoxi the wrong idea, making her think the money was to buy her.
Xue Rui grinned and pulled out a piece of paper. "Just sign here, and write down your ID number. Your grandma has already agreed, I'm sure of it. Go ask her if you don't believe me."
Lin Ruoxi's heart sank. Just as she'd feared, Xue Rui had pulled out the paper.
"Grandma... she wouldn't."
Lin Ruoxi was certain her grandmother would never sell her.
But she didn't dare to actually go and ask, afraid that Xue Rui would agitate her grandmother and cause her health to worsen.
'How can I refuse him? His attitude has always been one that allows no refusal.'
After a long moment of deliberation, her vision blurred with tears and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Oh, by the way," Xue Rui said, as if the thought had just occurred to him, "my other uncle is the director of internal medicine at the city hospital. I'll take your grandmother for a full check-up tomorrow."
Lin Ruoxi's face went pale. Thinking of her grandmother's health, she thought that maybe... maybe selling herself to Xue Rui wasn't such a terrible thing after all.
'Even if I have to suffer a little, it'll be worth it as long as Grandma can live out her remaining years in peace.'
'Besides, everyone in school knew that Xue Rui never went back on a promise.'
'Anyway, the villagers always said that a girl has to marry someone eventually. And her own mother had been bought by her father...'
'Her price now was countless times higher than her mother's had been.'
"I'll sign..." Lin Ruoxi choked out, her voice thick with tears.
Xue Rui handed Lin Ruoxi a pen. She signed her name wherever he pointed, moving like a puppet on a string.
Her tears fell continuously onto the paper, threatening to soak through the thin sheet.
Tears blurred her vision. She couldn't see what was written on the paper, and she didn't want to.
Xue Rui wanted her to add a thumbprint, but he didn't have an ink pad.
He had swiped a lipstick from his mom's things in the car. He smeared some on Lin Ruoxi's thumb and pressed it onto the paper.
It wasn't that the thumbprint was essential, but he felt the sense of ceremony was important.
"A gift for you."
Xue Rui said, stuffing the Yves Saint Laurent lipstick into Lin Ruoxi's hand.
"There, the contract is signed."
Xue Rui waved the paper in his hand. "Your family's land is mine now."
Lin Ruoxi slowly opened her red, swollen eyes and stared at the title at the top of the page.
Land Lease Agreement.
"You're not... buying me?" Lin Ruoxi's eyes were vacant. She couldn't put a name to what she was feeling.
'Surprise? The relief of a narrow escape? Or maybe... a little bit of disappointment?'
'If he isn't buying me, will he still get treatment for Grandma?'
Lin Ruoxi's emotions were a complicated mess.
"We signed it for the maximum term—twenty years. The one hundred thousand yuan is yours."
Xue Rui stuffed the contract into his pocket and pinched Lin Ruoxi's cheek. "You silly girl. Human trafficking is illegal, you know that?"
"I... I know now," Lin Ruoxi said meekly.