Chapter 8

It was late at night and while everyone else was resting, Yin Xiaoxiao was extremely anxious in her quiet room. Her phone, which she had tossed on her bed, beeped with a message which she wasn't in the mood to read.

She knew that Li Meng and Yin Ruoyun didn't like her and also knew that they wanted to use the fact that her elder brother wasn't home to kick her out of the family. It would be too late even if her elder brother were to rush home in an attempt to save her!

Marriage?

Why would she be willing to wed Uncle Zhang when her stomach turned at the thought of him? She felt like she was on the verge of losing her mind when she thought of his chubby body, his bald spot, and his perverse behavior.

Her phone beeped once more, so she forced herself to calm down and picked up her phone.

She tapped on her WeChat app and saw that it was a message from her elder brother.

"Xiaoxiao, what are you doing? Did Mom make things difficult for you?"

Tears immediately sprang to her eyes when she read his message. This was her elder brother who had doted on her since she was a child. She treated him as her only family even though they were half-siblings. The rest of her family members had extinguished her hopes for any form of kinship many years ago.

"Save me. Mom wants to marry me off to Uncle Zhang. Come back soon!"

Yin Xiaoxiao instinctively tried to reach out to her brother for help. She finished typing the message but ultimately decided against sending it. She deleted the words one at a time before writing an innocuous response and told him that she was doing well.

She wanted her elder brother to come home to be her ally because she was all alone in this family and now they were trying to force her into an unwanted marriage. She knew it wasn't wise to call him back because he was overseas attending to more important issues. She would feel terrible if his plans were disrupted because of her.

A boyfriend? Where was she going to find one?

And to make things worse, this man had to be someone her parents would deem a suitable match!?

Barefoot, she was about to head downstairs to get a glass of water when she overheard Li Meng and Yin Ruoyun in the kitchen.

"Mom, are we going to drop this matter if Yin Xiaoxiao actually brings a man home?" Yin Ruoyun asked. She was wearing a pink night robe that complemented her fair skin. "This is such a good opportunity to get her out of the house. I can't wait to get rid of that eyesore."

"Don't be silly. Do you think I'm a fool? Did you not listen to what I said today?" Li Meng asked. It was clear that she doted on her daughter even though it sounded like she was admonishing her. "I didn't just tell her to bring a boyfriend home. I will do my best to marry her off to Uncle Zhang as long as she's unwed!"

Yin Xiaoxiao felt cold all over when she heard Li Meng's words at the corner of the stairs.

Li Meng continued smugly, "Now that Uncle Zhang has fallen for Yin Xiaoxiao, it is only natural that I want to take advantage and put him in my debt. I must say that my precious daughter is really smart to have managed to land the young master of the Xiang family. They are the kind of family that anyone would want to ally themselves with."

Yin Ruoyun smiled sweetly and she felt lucky at the mere thought of Xiang Chen's gorgeous face.

Yin Xiaoxiao didn't continue listening in to their conversation and silently padded out of the kitchen. This time, she resolutely made up her mind and in the middle of the night, she snuck into the room where all the Yin family's documents were kept in order to steal the household registration booklet. The next morning, she left with her identification documents and the household registration booklet.

Spring could be felt all over T City, but in contrast to the leisurely or hurried footsteps around her, Yin Xiaoxiao stood quietly at the corner of the street and counted the number of passersby in her head.

One, two, three, four...

11, 12, 13...

Yin Xiaoxiao decided that since she was 23 this year, she would pick the 23rd person. If this man was younger than 30, single, and healthy, then she would propose to him! This was her last hope of escaping the Yin family's clutches!

20. The 20th man was a foreigner with a messy goatee.

21. The 21st man was someone who was clearly over 30 and was accompanied by his wife and children.

22. The 22nd man was a man with a scholarly air and she thought that he looked like he studied science from the glasses he wore.

She held her breath and stared at the turning point, waiting for the next man to turn the corner...

She suddenly saw a pair of shoes that looked shabby and immediately turned to see who it could be...