18: Fiancée showing up at your door? The "annulment" tactic is overused.

Noon, twelve o'clock.

The Gu Family Manor had just undergone a rather 'aromatic' baptism. Fortunately, the manor's ventilation System was powerful enough, and the servants used a full ten crates of air freshener to barely suppress that foul stench.

Gu Yu had already been rushed to the hospital.

It was said to be due to ingesting an excessive amount of an unknown liquid, causing a severe stomach infection, compounded by severe mental trauma. The doctors recommended sending him directly to the psychiatric ward for observation for a few days.

Meanwhile, Gu Fan, the mastermind behind it all, was currently sitting on the leather sofa in the main hall, leisurely flipping through a magazine titled 'How to Master the Art of Lying Flat'.

Right at that moment.

A low engine rumble came from outside the manor.

A pink, extended-length Rolls-Royce Phantom, escorted by four black security vehicles, arrogantly parked right at the main gate of the Gu Family Manor.

The car door opened.

A foot wearing a diamond-studded crystal high-heeled shoe emerged first.

Immediately after, a young woman stepped down. She was wearing the latest Chanel haute couture white gown of the season, a wide-brimmed sun hat, and sunglasses.

She was very beautiful.

A beauty that was strikingly aggressive.

Her chin was sharp, her expression haughty.

Lin Mengyao.

The eldest daughter of the Lin Family, one of the Four Great Families of Tianqiong City, and also Gu Fan's fiancée in name only.

"This is the Gu Family?"

Lin Mengyao frowned, covering her nose and mouth with her hand. "What's that strange smell? Did the sewer explode?"

The butler following her quickly handed over a silk handkerchief sprayed with perfume. "Young Miss, please bear with it. We'll leave once we finish our business. This kind of rundown place really isn't suitable for a long stay."

Lin Mengyao snorted coldly and, stepping in her high heels, walked haughtily and directly into the main hall.

In the main hall, Gu Zhan (in a wheelchair) and Madam Li (bandaged) were already waiting, fully prepared.

Seeing Lin Mengyao enter, the old couple exchanged a glance, their expressions complex.

On one hand, they wanted to cling to the Lin Family, this towering tree.

On the other hand, they also knew exactly why Lin Mengyao had come today.

"Miss Lin, your esteemed presence graces us. We apologize for not welcoming you properly," Gu Zhan forced a smile.

Lin Mengyao didn't even glance at the two of them.

Her gaze directly fell upon Gu Fan, who was still on the sofa reading the magazine and hadn't even shifted his position.

"You are Gu Fan?"

Lin Mengyao took off her sunglasses, her eyes full of scrutiny and contempt.

"I heard you're not dead yet? Not only are you not dead, but you crawled out of the Forbidden Zone?"

"Your life is quite tenacious."

"However, that doesn't change the fact that you're trash at your core."

Gu Fan finally closed the magazine.

He looked up, giving this legendary fiancée of his a once-over from head to toe.

"Hmm... face has had work done, nose has an implant, chest is filled with silicone too."

Gu Fan silently made his evaluation in his heart, then revealed a polite smile.

"Miss, do we know each other? If you're selling insurance, go out and turn left. If you're selling cemetery plots, go out and turn right. There's someone over there who just broke his leg and probably needs one."

"Who are you calling 'miss'!"

Lin Mengyao was instantly enraged, her cold expression vanishing in a flash. "Open your dog eyes and look clearly! I am Lin Mengyao! The fiancée you shamelessly insisted on trying to marry above your station!"

"Oh—"

Gu Fan nodded as if suddenly understanding. "So it's Miss Lin. My apologies. From that angle just now, your foundation looked a bit cakey. I didn't recognize you."

"You!"

Lin Mengyao was so angry she couldn't speak.

But she quickly took a deep breath, suppressing her rage.

Getting angry with this kind of low-life trash was beneath her dignity.

She was here today on serious business.

"Gu Fan, I won't waste words with you."

Lin Mengyao took out a pre-written check from her limited-edition Hermès bag and slapped it onto the coffee table with a flourish.

"This is five million."

"Take the money, sign the Annulment Agreement, and from now on, our Lin Family has nothing to do with you."

"You know perfectly well that the current you is just a cripple with no cultivation whatsoever. As for me, I've already been specially recruited by the 'Tianqiong War God Academy'. I am destined to become a woman who will reach the Martial King, even Martial God, Rank."

"We are not from the same world."

"If you know what's good for you, take the money and get lost. Don't force me to resort to extreme measures."

Lin Mengyao delivered this speech with remarkable fluency, clearly having rehearsed it in front of a mirror countless times at home.

That posture of bestowing alms upon a beggar was performed to perfection.

The Gu Family members all watched from the sidelines, enjoying the spectacle.

Especially Madam Li. Although her face hurt, her eyes were full of schadenfreude.

Being publicly rejected by his fiancée—this kind of humiliation was enough to make that little beast Gu Fan never be able to hold his head up again!

Gu Fan glanced at the check.

Then he extended two fingers and lightly picked it up.

"Five million?"

He looked at the number on it and laughed.

"Miss Lin, do you have some misunderstanding about inflation?"

"Nowadays, buying a pound of pork ribs at the supermarket costs over a hundred. This five million... are you trying to fob off a beggar, or do you think your own worth is only this much?"

"You think it's too little?"

Lin Mengyao's face turned cold. "Gu Fan, one shouldn't be too greedy. Five million is enough for trash like you to live in the slums for a lifetime. If you dare to pester me any further..."

She thought viciously in her heart: [This ungrateful garbage! Giving him face! If he dares not agree, I'll have someone break his other leg! Make him crawl out like a dog!]

This malice.

Carrying extreme arrogance, humiliation, and intent for physical harm.

[Ding!]

The System, though often late, never fails to show up.

[Arrogance-type marriage annulment malice detected from 'Lin Mengyao'.]

[Nature of malice: Monetary insult, character denigration, violent threat.]

[Malice Level: A+.]

[Backlash triggered! Multiplier: Seventy times.]

[Random effect generating... Detected target is extremely concerned with personal image and attire.]

[Congratulations on selecting: Cinderella's Midnight Magic (Timed Wardrobe Malfunction Edition) + Dogskin Plaster (Physical Edition).]

[Effect description: Since you like throwing money at people so much, let the money have an eternal 'stick' with you. Since you like showing off your noble gown so much, then show it off more thoroughly.]

Gu Fan did not throw the check back.

He just gently blew on it.

"Hoo."

That thin piece of paper suddenly seemed caught by a freak gust of wind, flying out of his hand.

It spun twice in the air, defying aerodynamics, then swiftly flew directly towards Lin Mengyao's face.

"Smack!"

A crisp sound.

The check, like a powerful Talismanic Incantation, accurately plastered itself onto Lin Mengyao's forehead.

And it stuck fast, perfectly sealed.

"What is this! Get it off me!"

Lin Mengyao's vision went dark, and she panicked, reaching to tear it off.

But she discovered to her horror that this piece of paper seemed to have grown into her flesh; she couldn't tear it off at all!

No matter how hard she scratched, apart from leaving bloody marks on her forehead, that check inscribed with 'five million' didn't budge an inch.

Just like a ridiculous price tag, directly stuck onto the merchandise.

"This... what kind of sorcery is this!"

Lin Mengyao screamed.

But it wasn't over yet.

Just as she was frantically trying to tear off the check.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

A series of fine, crisp snapping sounds came from her body.

That haute couture gown, touted as entirely hand-stitched and worth three hundred thousand, suddenly seemed to have been hit by a Disintegrating Palm.

All the seam threads, at this very moment, snapped completely.

Not in one place, but all of them.

From the back zipper, to the waist cinching, to the shoulder straps... the entire dress instantly disintegrated.

"Whoosh—"

At that moment, Lin Mengyao felt a chill on her body.

The originally dignified and noble white gown slid down her smooth figure.

Revealing the extremely visually impactful set underneath... a bright red, embroidered with a mandarin duck playing in water pattern, full of retro charm, bellyband and underpants.

That's right. This seemingly modern Young Miss was, on the inside, a fervent enthusiast of traditional culture.

Gu Zhan stared, dumbfounded.

The bodyguards nearby gulped one after another.

Even Gu Fan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and let out a whistle.

"Well, well."

"Miss Lin is certainly bold and unrestrained."

"Just coming to annul an engagement, and you even throw in this kind of talent performance?"

"It's not a bikini, but this bellyband... tsk tsk, this embroidery work, you can tell it's craftsmanship from an old, established brand. Quite the taste."

At this moment, Lin Mengyao, with a 'five million' label stuck to her forehead and wearing a bright red bellyband, stood amidst a pile of fabric scraps.

That stark contrast, that extreme sense of shame, made her instantly break down.

She looked down at her chilly body.

Then looked at the surrounding gazes that seemed capable of piercing through clothes (even though there were no clothes left).

Her face instantly flushed red, even brighter than the bellyband on her body.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

She let out a scream.

"Perverts! You're all perverts!"

"Don't look! Close your eyes! All of you, close your eyes!"

Lin Mengyao crouched down frantically, trying to use her hands to cover the key areas.

But her hands were too small; covering the top meant exposing the bottom.

That check stuck to her forehead even swayed with her movements, as if mocking her.

"Butler! Butler! Get me clothes! Kill them! Gouge out all their eyes!"

Lin Mengyao roared.

The old butler finally snapped back to reality and hurriedly took off his own tailcoat, rushing forward to wrap up his Young Miss.

"Young Miss! Let's go quickly! It's not wise to stay here!"

The old butler was also shrewd. Seeing this situation, he knew they had encountered a tough opponent.

This Gu Family was seriously weird!

How could a dress suddenly fall apart by itself? How could a check stick to a face?

This was definitely a curse!

"Go! Hurry, go!"

Escorted by the butler, Lin Mengyao, wrapped in that tailcoat smelling of old man, rushed out in disgrace.

As she ran, she kept stumbling, hindered by the ill-fitting clothes.

Just as she was about to rush out the door.

Gu Fan's voice drifted over once again.

"Miss Lin, you haven't torn off the check yet. Are you taking this five million with you?"

"Next time if you want to come perform a striptease, remember to make an appointment in advance so I can prepare a stage for you."

"Also, that bellyband is really nice. Could you send me the link?"

"Pfft—"

Hearing this, Lin Mengyao, who had just reached the doorway, was so enraged that she stumbled, falling face-first into a mouthful of mud.

Of course, thanks to that check cushioning her face, it wasn't injured.

She scrambled up and, without looking back, dove into the car.

"Drive! Drive now!"

The pink Rolls-Royce, as if its rear end was on fire, spun its tires a few times and fled in panic, trailing black smoke.

In the main hall.

Gu Fan picked up the magazine again, as if everything that had just happened was merely a farce.

He glanced at the stunned Gu Zhan and Madam Li.

"See that?"

"This is the daughter-in-law you had your eyes on."

"This figure, this psychological resilience... she certainly has something."

"But then again..."

Gu Fan sneered.

"This kind of woman who likes running around naked is truly more than I, Gu Fan, can handle."

"Annul the engagement? Perfect."

"Saves me the trouble of having to sew her clothes back together when she inevitably cheats on me in the future."