Heart under Siege

After putting on her clothes, she took a peek to the left as she walked out of her fitting room. However, the door was now closed.

"It fits you perfectly."

The shop assistant had good fashion sense and could dress someone up with almost no effort. Lin Xinyan was wearing a long light blue dress which made her skin looked even fairer. The ribbon by her waist insinuated her figure. Although she looked a little skinny, her delicate facial features made up for it.

Lin Guoan looked at her for another time and went to the cashier when he was satisfied. It was only then did he realize that the dress was 30,000! However, seeing that this was the dress she would be wearing to meet the Zongs, he paid somehow. "Let's go." He said coldly.

Lin Xinyan was used to this attitude of indifference but the coldness in his tone still gave her a wave of sorrow.

She followed him into the car with her head lowered.

In a blink of an eye, the car stopped in front of the Lin's villa.

The driver opened the door for Lin Guoan and Lin Xinyan walked after him.

For a few second, she stood still in front of the villa. Her father and his mistress had been enjoying the time of their life here while she and her mother were living a miserable life taking care of her ill younger brother.

She clenched her fists unconsciously.

"What are you doing there?" Lin Guoan looked back when he realized that there were no signs of her. He took a quick glance and saw that she was still standing by the entrance.

Lin Xinyan came out from her thought and caught up with him. When they arrived, the maids told them that the Zongs had yet to arrive so Lin Guoan told her to wait in the living room.

Near the French windows was a Seidl & Sohn piano made in Germany. It was an expensive gift from her mother when she was five.

She loved it since young. She had started learning to play the piano since she was four-and-a-half-year-old but stopped when she was sent away. She had not touched the piano since then.

Without realizing it, she reached for the piano. It was a familiar presence that excited her.

Her thumb gently pressed onto the keyboard. Plink. A clean sound rang in the room. Her fingers were stiff from the lack of practice.

"That's mine! Who gave you the permission to touch it?" A clear voice came from behind her and it sounded angry.

Her piano?

Lin Xinyan turned around and saw Lin Yuhan standing behind her. Lin Xinyan could almost see the steam coming out from the other girl's ears. Lin Yuhan was now seventeen; she was younger than Lin Xinyan by a year. Lin Xinyan could see that Lin Yuhan took after Shen Xiuqing's genes as she was beautiful.

She felt angry that she was gritted her teeth and stared at her.

"Yours?"

They destroyed her mother's marriage and took the money. And now even her mother's gift to her belonged to Lin Xinyan?

She clenched her fists and told herself to calm down. She did not have the power to claim the things that belonged to her yet.

She could not afford to be act recklessly now!

She was no longer the little crybaby who was sent away from her father eight years ago. She had grown up.

"You're Lin Xinyan!" It was now that Lin Yuhan realized that today was the day the Zongs were coming and her father had brought the mother and the daughter back from overseas.

Lin Yuhan could still remember the pitiful look on Lin Xinyan's face on the day when Lin Guoan sent Lin Xinyan and her mother out of the country. Lin Xinyan knelt down and begged her father not to send her away.

"Weren't you happy that dad went to pick you up?" Lin Yuhan crossed her arms and looked at her in disdain. She said, "Don't be so happy. You're back just to marry into the Zongs. I heard that man—"

Halfway through her sentence, Lin Yuhan started sneering.

She couldn't help but felt gleeful when she thought about Lin Xinyan marrying an infertile, handicapped man.

Marriage was one of the major events in life. It would ruin Lin Xinyan's life if she were to marry a man like that.

Lin Xinyan frowned.

And at this moment, the maid came over and told them, "The Zongs are here."

Lin Guoan went to the door and invited them into the house.

The instant that Lin Xinyan turned around, she could see the man being wheeled in. He had strong facial features and looked dignified. Despite being in a wheelchair, she doubted that anyone would ever look down on him.

His face... wasn't this the man she saw in the fitting room?

He is Young Master Zong?

Yet back at the fitting room, she saw clearly that he could stand and hug the woman! She saw nothing wrong with his legs then.

What was going on?

Before she could find out why the man was pretending to be handicapped, Lin Guoan called her over. "Xinyan, come here quickly. This is Young Master Zong."

Lin Guoan had a look of reverence on his face then he bowed and smile. "Young Master Zong, this is Yan."

A wave of sympathy rose in Lin Guoan's heart. He was the young master of the Zongs but he was now nothing but a handicapped.

Zong Jinghao's gaze fell onto Lin Xinyan. She looked quite young and skinny. He frowned as she was so skinny as if she was malnourished.

This was the marriage his mother had arranged for him. As her surviving son, he could not break the promise. That was why when he was bitten by a snake, he made sure the news about him never recovering from the poison spread like wildfire. Now everyone believed that he was handicapped and impotent. That was his plan to make the Lins back out of the engagement instead.

However, he had miscalculated. The Lins never did back out of it.

Zong Jinghao remained silent with a gloomy face and Lin Guoan thought he was not happy with his daughter. He explained quickly, "She's only eighteen and still young. She'll be a beauty when she grows older."

Zong Jinghao sneered in his heart. He could not see any beauty. Instead, he saw the abnormality for a father to eagerly marry off his daughter to him, a “handicapped”.

He had sharp features but it looked more like a smirk when he smiled. "I had a serious injury when I was abroad so I won't be able to walk nor fulfil the duties of a husband-"

"I don't mind." Lin Xinyan responded instantly.

Lin Guoan had promised her that as long as she married into the Zongs, he would return her mother's dowry to her. Even if she were to marry into the family for only one day and was divorced the next day, she would still agree to the marriage.

After taking a moment to digest the information, Lin Xinyan had finally realized what was going on. He could stand but came here to the Lins in a wheelchair instead. That meant that he was not keen on keeping this engagement because of that woman but he was hoping for the Lins to break the engagement.

What he had not considered was that Lin Guoan was willing to sacrifice unworthy daughter to fulfil the promise.

Zong Jinghao watched her with his eyes half-closed.

Lin Xinyan felt a shiver running down her spine when she noticed he was watching her. She too was reluctant and did not want to marry into the Zongs.

Yet if she did not, she would not be able to come back here and claim what was rightfully hers?

She lifted the corner of her lips and gave a bitter smile, "We were engaged since young. I should still marry you regardless of what you are now.”

The look on Zong Jinghao's face became even gloomier. This woman was good with her words.

On the other hand, Lin Guoan was aloof and didn't pay much attention. He asked, "The wedding date..."

There was an expression of mixed emotions on Zong Jinghao's face before he settled into a calm look. "Of course we'll stick to the promise. This is an oath and I wouldn't back out on it."

Lin Xinyan looked down and put her emotions aside. She dared not looked at him as he was clearly unhappy about the arrangement.

She was merely fulfilling the promise.

"That'll be good." Lin Guoan was joyous. To be able to marry a plain daughter into the Zongs was something to jump at.

Although the Lins were also rich, they were nowhere compared to the Zongs. If the Zongs were a shark, the Lins were only shrimps.

There was no comparison.

Lin Guoan said as he bowed, "I have told the maids to prepare dinner. Please stay and have dinner with us."

Zong Jinghao frowned as he was disgusted by Lin Guoan's two-faced attitude.

"I don't think so. I still have some matters to settle." Zong Jinghao rejected. On the way out, he went past Lin Xinyan. Zong Jinghao raised his hands to signal to Guan Jing for a pause. He raised his head and asked, "Would Miss Lin be free?"