Chapter 112: Let Us Marry

"A pretty face isn't enough; it has to be someone I actually like." Ye Zifei was not falling for that trick at all. He had already presented the betrothal gifts; he wasn't about to settle for just any stray animal they pushed his way. He wasn't a salvage yard. There were countless women who would jump at the chance to marry him, but there was only one he truly wanted.

Upon hearing Ye Zifei's response, Ou Xinlai felt like crying right in front of him. Those water-elemental fruits in the pool were not even consumed by her—well, she had been forced to, tricked by the Great White Snake into swallowing five of them.

However, the Great White Snake should bear the brunt of the responsibility, as it had devoured the vast majority of the fruits. "If you want a wife, go find it! It’s the one that ate your pool of fruits; I only swallowed five!"

Ou Xinlai passed the blame onto the Great White Snake with great resentment.

The Great White Snake didn't panic at all. Having consumed the five elemental fruits, it had recovered most of its power, and as a result, it was in an exceptionally good mood. It hadn't expected to finish consuming all five types of elemental fruits just like that. It was now only two steps away from leaping over the dragon gate and restoring its true form.

"Just give yourself to him as compensation, that should do it," the Great White Snake rolled its eyes. This man's gaze had been fixed on Ou Xinlai the entire time. Handing Ou Xinlai over to Ye Zifei was definitely a win-win situation.

Hearing this, Ou Xinlai narrowed her eyes. "You were the one who ate them. Judging by your performance just now, I get the feeling you’re quite interested in Ye Zifei yourself. Why don't you marry him? After all, you’re the one who accepted the betrothal gifts—you deal with it!"

Was this a real-life tale of love between human and snake? A BL scenario, perhaps?

The Great White Snake shivered. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting!"

"Who’s talking nonsense? You’re just a snake. How long have you been around to think you can make decisions for me?" Ou Xinlai stomped hard on the Great White Snake’s tail to keep it from getting cocky. She absolutely refused to let this beast dictate her life.

The Great White Snake finally realized: indeed, it had no real connection to Ou Xinlai. It was neither her father nor her mother; it had no right to decide this for her.

However, Ye Zifei had clearly intended to use that pool of water-elemental fruits to lure Ou Xinlai away. Now that the fruits were in its stomach and it couldn't spit them back out, wasn't this a death sentence?

"Then what do you suggest?" The Great White Snake looked at Ou Xinlai ingratiatingly. Although it wasn't mortal, it wasn't the type to be a deadbeat. Since it had devoured Ye Zifei's property, it naturally felt obliged to help him achieve his goal—couldn't it see Ye Zifei glaring at it?

"It's simple. Aren't you a dragon? I assume your entire body is a treasure. If I just slaughter you and return the dragon meat to him, along with your dragon skin, I believe that would be more than enough to cover the cost of that pool of water-elemental fruits!" Faced with the snake that was trying to sell her out, Ou Xinlai showed no mercy, loudly demanding the Great White Snake's life.

The Great White Snake looked at her with eyes as large as bronze bells, filled with pitiful misery. They had known each other for so long; how could Ou Xinlai be so cruel? There was clearly a perfect solution available.

Seeing the two of them bickering, Ye Zifei didn't intervene or try to mediate, leaving them to hash out a result. However, he had no intention of accepting anything other than the answer he already had in mind.

After the girl and the snake made a scene for ages without getting even a flicker of expression from Ye Zifei, they both wanted to cry. This Ye Zifei was too wicked; why wouldn't he fall for any of their tricks? If he would just step in to mediate or say something soft to smooth things over, wouldn't that be better?

If Ye Zifei had just made a move, Ou Xinlai could have seized the handle on his words and fled. But since he wasn't cooperating, no matter how well she planned, it was all in vain.

The Great White Snake looked at Ou Xinlai with an apologetic gaze. It wasn't that it didn't want to help, but this human, Ye Zifei, was simply too cunning; he hadn't taken the bait once!

Originally, it had sought out Ou Xinlai for the sake of the five elemental fruits. Once it found the water-elemental ones, it had no reason not to eat them. It was just that the consequences of doing so were something it couldn't pay for, unlike Ou Xinlai.

"Well? Have you two finished discussing?" Only when the act between Ou Xinlai and the snake could no longer continue did Ye Zifei speak. He raised his eyebrows at Ou Xinlai, as if to say, "Do you really think I can't see through your little schemes?"

"If you really want to renege, I can't force you. But this was the betrothal gift from my family to my future wife. We won't be settled until you help me retrieve those items. Of course, until then, I will simply follow you." Ye Zifei smiled. Even though he let her try to dodge, his own words were even more inescapable.

Black lines appeared on Ou Xinlai's forehead. Things had gone too far now.

Because of this, Ou Xinlai felt like a wilted eggplant, completely listless. She hadn't expected Ye Zifei to be such a scheming character—one who would even plot against her. He must have guessed long ago that the Great White Snake lacked self-control, which was why he had taken them to see the water-elemental fruits, letting the snake devour the entire pool.

She was doomed. She had guarded against everything, but why hadn't she guarded against Ye Zifei? Hadn't she already sensed from his words earlier that he had feelings for her?

It was just that Ye Zifei had always indulged her and never forced her, which had made her too relaxed and forgetful of his hidden depths. She was truly in deep trouble now.

"Zifei, your parents are back." As Ou Xinlai was being led away from the back mountain in a daze by Ye Zifei, they ran into an older man who approached them with a beaming smile. When he looked at Ou Xinlai, his gaze was incredibly affectionate, as if he were looking at his own kin.

Ou Xinlai shuddered. She had previously thought the people in this house were strange; it turned out she just hadn't understood their looks. She hadn't thought much of it before, but now that she considered it, those gazes were undeniably suggestive!

At this thought, she had the urge to slap herself. *Stop drifting off, focus!*

Led by Ye Zifei, she was taken to meet the heads of the family. Ou Xinlai saw an adult version of Ye Zifei and a very gentle woman. Both of them looked a bit travel-worn, as if they had rushed back specifically from afar.

"Zifei?" Ye's mother looked at her son tenderly. When she saw Ou Xinlai, her eyes welled up with tears. It was truly not easy; her husband had already had Zifei by this age. It was just a pity that her foolish son, while surrounded by many women, had never been moved by any of them.

Zifei was already twenty, and she had started to fear that he would remain a bachelor for life, or perhaps prefer the company of men.

Thankfully, he had finally brought a woman home today.

Ye's mother scrutinized Ou Xinlai carefully. Her beauty was truly average, but she wasn't an eyesore and was pleasant enough to look at. In fact, it was better that she wasn't a great beauty—that way, other men wouldn't be eyeing her, and she wouldn't have to worry about her son's wife being stolen away.

Because Ye Zifei had never been moved by anyone, his mother had always thought her son was perfect and intelligent in every way, except for being completely oblivious to matters of romance.

If the daughter-in-law were too flashy or frivolous, what if she were led astray by someone else?

Ye's father also looked at Ou Xinlai. Having reached the age where he could be a grandfather, he saw things differently and understood that a wife should be virtuous. Beauty was secondary; it was his son who would be living with her, so if his son liked her, he had no objections.

He felt that while she was plain, her eyes were exceptionally clear, which made her very agreeable to look at.

For this reason, Ye's father and mother didn't even ask for her name. They simply felt she was steady and a good match for Ye Zifei, so they nodded, effectively accepting Ou Xinlai as their daughter-in-law.

Ye Zifei gave a sly smile, as if he had known all along that Ou Xinlai would win his parents' approval.

His father glared at him. His mother was overjoyed, but he was not. Ye Zifei's scheming nature was entirely inherited from him!

He could see clearly that his son was genuinely smitten with this girl, though she seemed a bit reluctant. But that didn't matter; he was a romantic himself, and his son certainly wouldn't be any worse. In any case, marrying into their family wouldn't be a bad deal for the girl.

"When are you planning to get married?" Ye's father coughed. It wasn't just his wife who was anxious to hold a grandchild; he, too, missed the sight of soft, fair-skinned infants. This girl clearly had a strong character, so if they waited for her to agree, he would have to wait several years for his grandchild.

"Pfft!" Ou Xinlai spat out her saliva upon hearing this.

Ye Zifei was so outstanding; didn't his parents have any standards for his partner? She only had a little bit of talent and no beauty to speak of. Besides, did they not even know who she was? Weren't they afraid Ye Zifei was bringing a wolf into the house? Weren't they worried she might be a bad person?

Furthermore, they had just met, and they were already talking about when to get married!

Stunned, Ou Xinlai didn't even realize that, in her own way, she had accepted the relationship—otherwise, she wouldn't have considered the fact that Ye Zifei had brought her into the Ye household as his future partner.

"Child, don't be so excited. If you two are willing, three days from now—no, tomorrow—you can be wed." Ye's mother was eager to see the two young people married soon so she could have a fair-skinned little baby!

Ou Xinlai was speechless. Who was the one in a hurry? Who was in a hurry! It seemed they had it backward!

"Very well, tomorrow is a bit rushed. Let's make it three days from now. That will give us enough time to notify your family. Within three days, your parents should be able to arrive." Ye's father nodded, and thus, Ou Xinlai's life was decided.