Divorce Only Makes a Son-in-Law Stronger-Chapter 44. Start settling accounts!

「In the dining room.」

A heaping spread of steaming, delicious delicacies was served in succession by the manor’s servants, filling the table to the brim. Yet, no one dared to be the first to pick up their chopsticks. Every person wore a complex expression, their eyes fixed on Lin Fan, who was seated at the head of the table. The atmosphere grew incredibly tense, and a heavy silence fell over the room.

One second, two seconds, three seconds passed. Finally, Lin Fan glanced around and casually reached for a plate of braised abalone.

SMACK!

Yuan Ruohai’s face contorted with fury as he thrust his own chopsticks forward, intending to knock Lin Fan’s out of his hand. To his shock, Lin Fan’s wrist was as steady as a mountain. Instead, the force of the impact snapped his own chopsticks in two!

"Audacious! Mr. Yuan Sr. hasn’t arrived yet. Who dares to eat first?"

"Lin Fan, can’t you show some basic manners? Do you think this is a place where you can act so wantonly?"

"And you dare to break my Second Uncle’s chopsticks? You mongrel, are you trying to turn everything upside down?"

Seeing this, the members of the Yuan family, who had been bottling up their frustration, finally couldn’t hold back any longer. With Yuan Youwei and Mr. Yuan Sr. absent, they seized the opportunity, slamming their chopsticks down and rising to their feet to berate Lin Fan.

"Lin Fan, I advise you not to push your luck. You’d better scram from the Yuan family while you still can," Yuan Ruohai seethed, staring blankly at the broken chopsticks in his hand. His face was as grim as if he’d just swallowed a dead fly. This is an extremely ominous sign. A broken bowl or snapped chopsticks is said to signify losing one’s livelihood!

"What’s the matter? Mr. Yuan Sr. himself said it was time to eat. Are you all going to disobey his orders?" Lin Fan asked nonchalantly, not even bothering to lift his head. Amidst the pairs of eyes blazing with fury, he leisurely picked up a piece of abalone, placed it in his mouth, and began to chew slowly.

"Heh, who do you think you are? Are you worthy of using Mr. Yuan Sr.’s words as a command?" the other family members exchanged glances, stunned into silence by the retort. Yuan Ruohai retorted with a scornful laugh, then stood up, pointed a finger at Lin Fan’s nose, and sneered, "A good-for-nothing who sponged off the Su Family for four years has the gall to put on airs in front of me?"

"Second Uncle, Mr. Lin is no freeloader. If you don’t know the truth, you shouldn’t spout such nonsense."

Just then, a clear voice of rebuttal sounded from the dining room entrance. Yuan Youwei appeared, a smile playing on her lips, and walked gracefully to stand in attendance before Lin Fan.

"Mr. Lin, my grandfather asked me to come and serve you first."

What? What did she say? Mr. Yuan Sr. actually asked the esteemed young miss of the Yuan family to serve a mere outsider? The old fool! He’s a complete and utter old fool! If word of this gets out, won’t the Yuan family lose all face?

The room fell silent for a beat, then instantly erupted into an uproar. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Yuan Youwei, did Mr. Yuan Sr. really say that?"

"Impossible! Forcing the future heir of the Yuan family to serve Lin Fan... How... how is this proper in any way!"

The faces of the Yuan family members were flushed with rage; they were practically bursting with anger.

"Miss, with your status, how can you serve Lin Fan?" Mrs. Xue couldn’t bear to watch any longer and hurried to Yuan Youwei’s side, whispering her reminder.

"Yuan Youwei, you’re getting more audacious by the day! Do you still have any respect for me, your Second Uncle?" Yuan Ruohai’s face was as dark as a thundercloud as he glared at the smiling Yuan Youwei. This girl is getting more and more out of line, daring to openly defy me? And for an outsider like Lin Fan, of all people!

"I’m happy to serve Mr. Lin. Is that any of your business?" Yuan Youwei simply smiled, calmly meeting their hostile stares. Not only was she unterrified, but her eyes even held a faint glimmer of joy.

"Mr. Lin, what would you like to eat? I’ll get it for you." Ignoring everyone’s utterly shocked expressions, Yuan Youwei extended her delicate wrist and began to carefully serve Lin Fan some food.

"...I’m not comfortable with this." Lin Fan put down his chopsticks. The fragrant scent floating from the beautiful woman smiling sweetly beside him was a bit much. He shook his head at her.

"Then, how about I just keep you company while you eat? Is that okay?" Yuan Youwei’s lovely face grew slightly flushed. She pulled a chair to sit right next to him and deliberately adopted a cutesy, gentle tone. Cradling her alabaster cheeks in her hands, her beautiful eyes gazed at him with affection, completely oblivious to everyone else in the room.

"You doing this is affecting my appetite," Lin Fan said after a moment of silence, once again pausing his meal. He reminded her seriously, "I’m not used to being stared at while I eat."

"..."

Yuan Youwei froze for a second. Her ears turned crimson, and she bit her lip in frustration. I’ve pulled out all the stops, throwing a girl’s modesty to the wind, and you... you actually dare to shoo away an enticing beauty like me?! Damn it, what a clueless, insensitive block of steel!

"Lin Fan, can’t you be less unreasonable? To have our Miss accompany you for a meal is an honor few in Haicheng could ever claim!" Mrs. Xue, now quite incensed, rolled her eyes at Lin Fan.

The other Yuan family members’ faces were twisted with indignation. Yuan Youwei was, after all, the renowned Flower of Haicheng and the pride of the family’s younger generation. Her suitors were countless; if they held hands, they could form a line from Haicheng all the way to Maris. Among them were top-tier young masters from the elite circles of Beijing and Shanghai. Yet here was Lin Fan, not only failing to appreciate such a beauty but actively finding fault with her? Where does he get the audacity? His skin is as thick as a city wall!

"You see that, Yuan Youwei? He doesn’t appreciate your kindness at all. You’re just fawning over him while he’s giving you the cold shoul—" Yuan Ruohai mocked her mercilessly, a gloating smirk on his face.

"Whether he appreciates it or not is his business. Our Yuan family, however, must not lose our sense of decorum."

A moment later, an aged voice cut Yuan Ruohai off. Mr. Yuan Sr., now in a fresh set of clothes, strode into the dining room with his hands clasped behind his back. Before anyone else could speak, he clasped his fist in his palm in a salute to Lin Fan and laughed heartily, his eyes filled with gratitude.

"I hope Mr. Lin can forgive us. That earlier display was merely a joke. If Mr. Lin hadn’t stepped in to save me, Yuan Tianguang, and annihilated the Black Tiger Hall’s stronghold, our Yuan family would undoubtedly be facing a great disaster today!"

As soon as he said this, everyone’s expression changed dramatically, their hearts lurching in their chests. It’s here. The old man is finally bringing up the afternoon’s attempt to usurp power!

THUMP!

"Dad! I truly had no ill intentions!" Yuan Ruohai’s brow twitched, his eyes darting about frantically. He dropped straight to his knees on the floor and began explaining desperately to Mr. Yuan Sr. "At the time, I just felt that Yuan Youwei was going too far, and with you having passed on... the Yuan family couldn’t be left without a leader for a single day!"

"Tianguang, when we old folks stood up to support Ruohai, it was all for the good of the Yuan family!" Seventh Uncle and the others chimed in, their smiles looking more painful than if they were crying. "Yes, yes! If we had known you were all right, Tianguang, we would have unconditionally supported your decision!"

"Then what about the Black Tiger Hall? The Divine Blade Sect? And those underground forces from Bright Moon Villa? Why did they all support Second Uncle?" Yuan Youwei could no longer contain herself, her beautiful eyes filled with grief and indignation. She glared at the trembling Yuan Ruohai and said coldly, "I would have nothing to say if you wanted the position of heir, Second Uncle. But you shouldn’t have colluded with outsiders and nearly gotten Grandpa killed!"

"You wretched girl, shut your mouth!" Yuan Ruohai’s eye twitched as he snapped at her. "My contributions to the Yuan family are witnessed by heaven and earth! How dare you slander me here!"

"Dad, it couldn’t be true... Did you really try to have Grandpa killed?" Just then, Yuan Tao, who had been silent all this time, could no longer hold back and questioned his father loudly. "You were the one who found Doctor Jiang. But he previously attended the birthday party for Chen Biao’s dog. It’s obvious he’s extremely close to the Black Tiger Hall!"

A collective gasp echoed through the room, which then fell deathly silent, only to be followed by a massive uproar.

Colluding with the Black Tiger Hall was one thing. But to also secretly bribe Doctor Jiang and intentionally delay the old man’s treatment? If this is true, Yuan Ruohai, you’re worse than a beast!