Chapter 74 Forced Marriage

Chapter 74: Forced Marriage

As for whether Zhuo Nan should be in the bathroom while she was bathing, there would be plenty of time to study that in the future. At this moment, Zhang Keting had already driven the car into the gardens of the Dongfang family estate.

Zhuo Nan's first impression was that it was huge, his second impression was that it was luxurious, and his third impression was that it was both huge and luxurious. The moment the car came to a complete halt, a servant immediately stepped forward to open the door for them.

Standing right behind the servant was the wet-nurse and maid, Dongfang Yuyan. Upon seeing Zhuo Nan step out of the car, the expression on her face changed noticeably. Zhuo Nan caught this subtle detail and thought to himself, "You've got to be kidding me. It's not like I just took advantage of you—is it really necessary to wear it all over your face?"

Upon seeing Zhang Keting, Dongfang Yuyan felt an inexplicable flutter in her heart. The old master had already notified her, saying that Zhuo Nan would be coming to live at the estate and that the person accompanying him would be a Ministry of State Security agent specifically assigned to protect him.

In Dongfang Yuyan's mind, a bodyguard should be the burly, rough-around-the-edges type of man. Who would have expected an attractive young woman to step out instead? In terms of looks alone, this young woman was a match for the young miss.

Frowning, Dongfang Yuyan walked up to Zhuo Nan and said in a tone that was neither servile nor overbearing, "Young Master Zhuo, the Master is waiting for you in the living room."

Zhuo Nan thought his ears were blocked with earwax and that he hadn't heard clearly, so he quickly poked his finger into his ear twice in a rather unrefined manner. "What did you call me?" Dongfang Yuyan watched this with a frown, wondering how the young miss could possibly have fallen for such a boorish man.

Dongfang Yuyan spoke again, "I called you Young Master Zhuo. Next Sunday is the engagement day between you and the young miss. Afterward, you will be marrying into the Dongfang family as a matrilocal husband."

"What the..." "Are you kidding me? Marrying into your Dongfang family as a matrilocal husband? Who said that?" Zhuo Nan's head was covered in black lines. Having just escaped from the underground base, he was now hit with this issue—how could he not be depressed?

"I said it..." A majestic voice came from the main entrance. Zhuo Nan looked over and saw Dongfang Shiguo appearing, so he quickly hurried over.

He respectfully called out, "Hello, Elder. I think there must be some mistake."

Dongfang Shiguo raised an eyebrow and said in an unkind tone, "What? Is our Zhiyi not good enough for you?"

The old man's tone was clearly that of a forced marriage. Zhuo Nan thought to himself that there was no dog shit to be found in the underground base, so where on earth was he supposed to find such blind luck? He quickly forced a smile and said, "Elder, it's me who isn't worthy of Miss Zhiyi. You also know that I'm just a rough person."

"Zhuo Nan, spare me that routine. Let me tell you, what do you think I saved you for? If it weren't for Zhiyi making such a huge fuss and threatening her life before me on your account, I wouldn't even bother with you." Dongfang Shiguo let out a cold snort and said angrily, "Before I saved you, Zhiyi had already made it clear that she wanted to marry you. For my granddaughter of the Dongfang family to marry you is your blessing. If you don't agree, I'll send you right back this instant." The moment his voice fell, the surrounding bodyguards simultaneously drew handguns from their holsters and aimed them at Zhuo Nan and Zhang Keting.

Zhang Keting had only received orders that she and Zhuo Nan would be living at the Dongfang estate from then on; she had no idea about this underlying reason. The moment they arrived, people were forcing a marriage on them. She couldn't help but give Zhuo Nan a few extra glances. Just what kind of charm did this punk have that Miss Dongfang was determined to marry him, even to the point of having people point guns at them now?

Zhuo Nan swept his gaze across the bodyguards, a trace of disdain flashing across his face. You bunch of useless clowns—if I wanted to make a move against you, it would take no more than the blink of an eye to knock you all down. However, this was the Dongfang estate. If a fight broke out, Dongfang Shiguo would probably cough up blood from pure rage.

With a fake smile plastered on his face and an expression of terror, he said to the surrounding bodyguards, "Everyone, put your guns away first. Be careful of accidental discharges, be careful."

The bodyguards glanced at Dongfang Shiguo, and seeing him nod slightly, they tucked their guns back into their holsters. Dongfang Shiguo glared at Zhuo Nan and demanded, "Zhuo Nan, do you agree or not?"

Zhuo Nan knew very well that Dongfang Zhiyi had shown him kindness in one way or another. Logically speaking, marrying her wasn't entirely out of the question. But if he married her, what about Lan Qian? What about Xinxin? Furthermore, they even wanted him to marry into the family—that was simply out of the question.

After pondering for a moment, he raised his head and said, "Elder, can I talk to Zhiyi?"

Dongfang Shiguo glared at him with a cold face and said furiously, "What is there to talk about? If you agree right now, you will be my granddaughter's husband and the future helmsman of the Dongfang family. If you don't agree, I'll kill you right now and put an end to it once and for all."

Becoming the grandson-in-law of Dongfang Shiguo was something countless people could only dream of, yet here Dongfang Shiguo's bodyguards were, holding guns to Zhuo Nan's head and forcing him to agree. Many things in this world were truly just that ridiculous.

Just as Zhuo Nan was about to speak, the iceberg beauty Zhang Keting suddenly stepped forward, drew two handguns from inside her jacket, aimed them directly at Dongfang Shiguo, and said in an icy tone, "Elder Dongfang, if you kill Zhuo Nan, I will shoot too."

The bodyguards, who had just put away their guns, immediately drew them again upon seeing this development, training their muzzles on Zhang Keting. Meanwhile, the two bodyguards standing closest to the old master swiftly moved to shield him with their bodies.

Seeing this scene, Zhuo Nan was utterly shocked and hastily scolded Zhang Keting, "Zhang Keting, put your gun down! I order you to put your gun down!"

Seeing Zhuo Nan glaring at her with eyes wide open as if he wanted to devour her alive, Zhang Keting let out a cold huff and holstered her guns.

Ever since Zhang Keting had locked onto him, Dongfang Shiguo had been wondering if this young girl was the person sent by the Ministry of State Security to protect Zhuo Nan. He had no idea where Zhuo Nan had been these past few days either; when he called to ask the Third Chief, the man had been evasive, only saying that he would give him an explanation in due time. At this moment, he asked, "Young lady, just who are you?"

Although Zhang Keting had never met Dongfang Shiguo, she was thoroughly familiar with his reputation as well as the background of the Dongfang family. She took out her identification credentials and said politely, "These are my credentials. Please take a look first." With that, she handed the credentials to Dongfang Yuyan, who took them and presented them to Dongfang Shiguo.

Dongfang Shiguo only needed to glance at the small blue booklet to understand the situation. When he opened it to take a closer look, he nodded slightly and then said to everyone present, "Put your weapons away. Let's go inside first and talk."

Zhuo Nan glared at Zhang Keting and cursed inwardly, "You idiot girl, why didn't you take out your credentials earlier?"

Once inside the living room, Dongfang Yuyan served tea before stepping behind Dongfang Shiguo, while the rest of the bodyguards and servants all withdrew.

Zhang Keting cast a skeptical look at Dongfang Yuyan. Sensing her thoughts, the old master said, "No need to look. She's not an outsider."

Zhang Keting nodded slightly and then stated, "I have been assigned by General Chang to provide twenty-four-hour close protection for Zhuo Nan. No one is permitted to harm him, including Elder Dongfang."

Dongfang Yuyan had already been greatly displeased by Zhang Keting's suspicious look earlier, and now hearing her speak so discourteously—completely disregarding the Dongfang family—she said angrily, "What do you mean by that? Who in our house would ever harm Zhuo Nan?"

After sitting down, Zhuo Nan kept his eyes wandering all over her. Seeing her looking so puffed up with anger, Zhuo Nan couldn't help but chuckle. His laugh naturally drew the gaze of everyone else toward him.

Seeing the three pairs of eyes fixed on him, Zhuo Nan gave an awkward smile and said, "Nothing, nothing. Please, continue."

Dongfang Shiguo's blood boiled the moment he laid eyes on Zhuo Nan. Seeing his current cavalier and flippant attitude only added fuel to the fire. Ignoring Zhang Keting entirely, he leaped up from the sofa and shouted, "Zhuo Nan, just give me your answer: do you agree to marry Zhiyi or not?"

Dongfang Yuyan hurriedly stepped forward to steady him from behind, softly urging him not to get angry.

Watching Dongfang Shiguo's explosive state, Zhuo Nan thought to himself, "If your high blood pressure acts up, we're going to have a massive problem."

He leaned back into the sofa and pulled a cigarette from his pocket—one he had bummed from Chang Xiong right before leaving. He flicked it out, lit it, and took a drag. The entire sequence of movements was smooth and casual. If an ordinary young girl were to see this, she would definitely say, "Wow, the way he smokes is so cool!"

However, at this moment, Zhang Keting and Dongfang Yuyan both frowned simultaneously. The same thought crossed the minds of both women: "A boor..."

Zhuo Nan took a sip of tea and cursed internally, *Damn it, this special-supply tobacco really tastes different. I'll have to make Zhang Keting ask Chang Xiong for ten or eight boxes later.*

He then said to Dongfang Shiguo, "Elder Dongfang, let me put it this way: I already have two girlfriends back in Deqing. It is impossible for me to agree to marry Zhiyi right now. At most, we can date each other. If we get along, we stay together; if we don't get along, forcing it is useless."

"Zhuo Nan, what did you just say?" Dongfang Shiguo looked ready to blow his top again, but this time Zhuo Nan didn't give him the chance. He lunged forward and pressed him back down onto the sofa.

With a smiling expression, he said, "Elder, don't get angry yet. I really can't agree to you right now. Even if you killed me right now, it wouldn't do any good."

Dongfang Shiguo glared at him. "Do you think I wouldn't dare kill you?"

Zhuo Nan withdrew his hand from Dongfang Shiguo's shoulder, sat back down, and said lazily, "I believe you dare, but you can't kill me right now." With that, he pulled a small red booklet from his pocket and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of Dongfang Shiguo.

Zhang Keting recognized the small red booklet. However, seeing that Zhuo Nan actually possessed such a booklet, a look of shock appeared on her face as well. Dongfang Shiguo didn't know what the small red booklet signified, but judging by the horrified expression on Zhang Keting's face, he guessed it must be something extremely special.

He picked it up, opened it, and his jaw dropped in astonishment. If the thing in his hands was real, it meant that Zhuo Nan's identity had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation—shifting instantly from an ordinary commoner into a special talent who had made monumental contributions to the country. A person like this could not be killed...