"It's pathetic that he can't even take care of himself, let alone buy you a sapphire," Wang Ming snarled, his face turning cold.
"Then I'll work hard to get it myself!" Tang Xuewu's eyes were firm as she clenched her fists.
I'll accept anything A-Long gives me without a second thought. If he can't afford it, I'll earn it myself. With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?
"Young Master Wang, I am already Qin Long's fiancée," she stated clearly. "So please, give up on any ideas you have about me. I don't want my reputation tarnished. I appreciate your feelings, but you should leave now." After speaking, Tang Xuewu turned to go.
"Xuewu! Stop right there!" Wang Ming lunged forward, wrapping his arms around her slender waist.
Qin Long's eyes went ice-cold, an invisible killing intent instantly flaring out from him.
"Let go of me!" Tang Xuewu's eyebrows shot up as she swiftly dodged and broke free from his grasp.
"Xuewu, I'm completely devoted to you. Please, just think it over," Wang Ming pleaded, stepping closer with a piteous expression.
"Young Master Wang, I don't like you." Tang Xuewu's face darkened with impatience. "And please don't disturb my work. When I'm finished, I have to go home and cook for A-Long." Still, she knew she couldn't afford to completely alienate him; after all, the Wang Family was one of Jiangzhong City's most powerful clans.
If only Qin Long were fully recovered... he would surely beat this guy until he was searching for his lost teeth, wouldn't he? But that's an impossible dream.
"Xuewu! Forget the sapphire ring, but you have to accept this Porsche!" Wang Ming blocked her path again, gesturing at the fiery red sports car behind him. "Otherwise, how could I, Wang Ming, ever show my face again?"
"What face does a lapdog have to lose?"
An incredibly cold voice cut through the air, instantly drawing the attention of the entire crowd. In the next moment, they saw Qin Long slowly approaching, leaning on a cane.
"Qin Long?" A flicker of surprise crossed Tang Xuewu's beautiful eyes. What was he doing here?
Wang Ming's expression turned hideous. Why was this good-for-nothing here?
The onlookers were a mixture of confused and intrigued. Qin Long's name was infamous throughout the city—the Tang Family's notorious crippled simpleton.
"Qin Long, you'd better not be looking to die," Wang Ming spat, his tone glacial.
However, Qin Long completely ignored him. He walked slowly toward Tang Xuewu and casually stood in front of her, shielding her. An inexplicable sense of security washed over her.
"Xuewu, we don't have a marriage certificate yet," Qin Long said, his gaze serious as he looked at her. "You have the right to be with whomever you love. If you like Wang Ming, I will leave the Tang Family immediately. But if you don't want to be with him, then not even the King of Heaven can force you."
His words left Tang Xuewu in shock. Even Wang Ming was startled. The entire crowd fell silent. So this man with a cane was the infamous good-for-nothing from the Tang Family, Tang Xuewu's fiancé!
Tears welled up in Tang Xuewu's beautiful eyes as she felt the sincerity in his words.
"Qin Long, still trying to act tough?" Wang Ming sneered, provoking a wave of ridicule from the crowd. "How exactly do you plan on giving Xuewu a happy life? With your cane? With your crippled leg?"
"A man's got to know his place," he continued. "Compared to me, what are you? You're nothing but a worthless bug. What can you possibly give her?"
His words found a chorus of agreement among the onlookers. Wang Ming was the scion of a powerful family, young and wealthy. In contrast, Qin Long, aside from his handsome face, was a disabled man dressed in cheap clothes. Any sensible woman would know who to choose. After all, Wang Ming and Tang Xuewu were a perfect couple—a talented man and a beautiful woman. They were a true match made in heaven!
"How can you even compare yourself to me?" Wang Ming taunted again when Qin Long remained silent.
"Compared to you, he is nothing." Tang Xuewu could no longer bear it. She walked to Qin Long's side, gently taking his arm to support him. "But he has me, his fiancée!" Her tone was resolute and unyielding.
A gasp went through the crowd. She was rejecting a sapphire for a disabled man? Had Tang Xuewu gone insane?
A ripple of emotion stirred in Qin Long's heart.
"Xuewu!" Wang Ming roared, his anger boiling over. "Look at him! He's a cripple, a good-for-nothing! He has nothing and expects you to support him! You'll spend your days in misery, squeezing onto a crowded bus. I picked out this Porsche especially for you!"
He pressed a button on his key fob. The red Porsche behind him roared to life, its engine thundering. A hidden mechanism activated, covering the supercar with a blanket of roses that formed a large heart in the center.
"Look, a red Porsche! That thing costs over 1.8 million!"
"He's so rich! I'm so jealous!"
"Is there something wrong with Tang Xuewu? Rejecting a luxury car for a cane?"
Exclamations erupted from the crowd.
"Xuewu, he could never afford a car like this in his entire lifetime!" Wang Ming shouted, his words a calm, cutting analysis. "He can't give you a life of comfort and security, only one of endless hard work. Is that the kind of love you want?"
Tang Xuewu stood silently, unable to refute his words. It was all true. These were things Qin Long simply couldn't give her.
"Qin Long, can you even afford a sapphire?" Wang Ming glared at him with biting sarcasm.
"I would never buy such street-vendor trash," Qin Long replied coolly. "It would be an embarrassment to see it on Xuewu's hand."
The entire crowd was dumbfounded. He was looking down on a sapphire worth over two million? Was his cane more valuable?
Wang Ming burst out laughing. Had Qin Long lost his mind? "Street-vendor trash? Ha! A useless mutt like you couldn't afford it anyway!" he sneered, then turned back to Tang Xuewu with a pleading look. "Xuewu, I'm serious about you. Just agree to marry me, and I'll make you the general manager of this company right now."
"I refuse," Tang Xuewu said with unwavering conviction, completely ignoring the sapphire and the Porsche.
WHOMP! WHOMP! WHOMP!
Before she had even finished speaking, the thumping sound of a helicopter descended from above. Dangling beneath it was a gleaming white supercar.
"Holy crap, is that an Aston Martin One-77? That's a 47-million-dollar supercar! There are only seventy-seven in the entire world!"
"I saw that car at an exhibition in Yanjing a few days ago!"
"It was only on display for a few hours! It's the king of supercars!"
As the crowd chattered excitedly, the white Aston Martin, glowing like a streak of ethereal light, was gently set down on the pavement. It stopped right in front of Qin Long.
"Young Master Qin, it's a pleasure to finally meet you." A woman with a stunning figure gracefully rappelled down from the helicopter and walked toward Qin Long with the utmost respect.
"Young Master Qin?"
Everyone stared blankly, wondering who she was talking about. The woman, dressed in purple with an air of nobility, was clearly no ordinary person; the large sapphire on her chest glittered brilliantly. But why would such a wealthy young lady be so respectful toward this "Young Master Qin"? He must be someone extraordinary.
Instinctively, all eyes shifted to Wang Ming. He was, after all, the person with the most esteemed status present.
But she had clearly said "Young Master Qin." Just who on earth could he be?