Chapter One

“Last month, I still had over two hundred thousand in my account. How is it that now I don’t even have enough to order takeout? Chen Xingxin, have you seen my bank card?” Luo Fancheng frowned as he looked at his wife.

Chen Xingxin had a slender figure, graceful curves, and the innocent face of a first love. Yet because of a car accident in high school that injured her right leg, she now lived her life confined to a wheelchair.

At this moment, Chen Xingxin kept her head down, not daring to meet Luo Fancheng’s gaze. On the sofa beside her sat her father-in-law and mother-in-law as well.

Three years ago, Luo Fancheng had been tricked off the mountain by the old man who’d raised him for eighteen years, under the pretense of “tempering his character.” He’d said that if Luo completed this trial, he would inherit the title of Immortal Healer. That name carried weight; in this world, all who studied medicine aspired to become the Immortal Healer, so much so that there was a saying: “If the Immortal Healer wants you to live, it’s impossible to die.”

After marrying into the Chen family, Luo Fancheng had by chance discovered in the family genealogy that the old man was actually the Chen family’s forebear. He too had selfish motives, so the first task he gave Luo Fancheng was to marry into the Chen family, conceal his origins, and hide his medical skills.

Even after discovering the old man’s hidden agenda, Luo Fancheng didn’t mind. Compared to the old man’s decades of raising him, being a son-in-law was hardly a hardship.

But being a son-in-law was one thing—what happened to the over two hundred thousand yuan he’d gotten from his senior sister three years ago, when he’d just left the mountain? It had vanished without a trace.

To Luo Fancheng, that sum wasn’t much, but he had long planned to donate it to the Jianglan Orphanage.

Luo Fancheng was an orphan himself. Director Liu of Jianglan City’s orphanage had taken him in until, at age five, he was chosen by the old man to go up Kunlun Mountain and study medicine for twenty years. He owed Director Liu a debt he could not ignore.

“Where’s the card?” Luo Fancheng stared straight into Chen Xingxin’s eyes.

Chen Xingxin kept her gaze lowered, unable to look at Luo Fancheng. “Xingfan got a girlfriend. Her family said they wouldn’t accept him without a car, so… I lent him the money.”

Before Luo Fancheng could speak, his mother-in-law, Wu Mei, cut in, “Lent? What’s there to lend? As his sister and brother-in-law, isn’t it natural to buy him a car?”

Father-in-law Chen Kangjian knocked the table in agreement, “Exactly. Xingxin only has one younger brother. Buying him a car is only right.”

“The car hasn’t even been bought yet. I already promised Director Liu I’d donate some money to the orphanage for sports equipment. Must I go back on my word?” Luo Fancheng could no longer suppress his anger.

His mother-in-law spoke up, “How can you do that? Xiaowei’s car is already reserved; all that’s left is to pay. If you take the money now, how will he buy it?”

“And besides, an orphanage is just a place full of unwanted children. No one else cares; why should we?”

Luo Fancheng’s face darkened. He too had come from an orphanage. After three years here, this family still didn’t care at all about his feelings.

“What’s wrong with orphans? They’re people too!”

“That was my money—my own earnings before marriage. How I use it is my decision. What right do you have to take it?”

“What do you mean, your money? You’re married to Xingxin now. We’re family. Why divide things so clearly?” Wu Mei’s face was full of displeasure.

She was in her forties, about one and a half meters tall, and nearly two hundred pounds—a living mound of flesh. She didn’t seem easy to deal with, though it was hard to imagine she’d given birth to someone as lovely as Chen Xingxin.

Wu Mei put on an air of shamelessness. “It’s too late now. The money’s already been transferred to Xingfan, and he’s used it to buy the car. Getting it back is out of the question.”

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation—soon, this family would finally have a car. She could already imagine boasting to her friends in the neighborhood.

“Chen Xingxin, every month I give you my salary, but that two hundred thousand was my premarital savings. How could you take that too? That was meant for the orphanage children!” Luo Fancheng looked at Chen Xingxin in despair.

Chen Xingxin looked troubled, then spoke hesitantly, “Luo Fancheng, he’s my only brother. I hope you can understand.”

A wave of coldness swept through Luo Fancheng’s heart. “But have you thought about how I feel?”

Chen Xingxin opened her mouth, but no words came. Chen Kangjian slammed the table. “You, Luo, what right does a useless good-for-nothing like you have to talk about feelings?”

“Everything you own comes from the Chen family—your food, your clothes, everything. By rights, that two hundred thousand should belong to us.”

Since marrying into the Chen family, his brother-in-law Chen Xingfan had never worked a day in his life, living off Chen Xingxin’s income as a livestreamer.

Chen Xingxin was conservative, and with her injured leg, she was a wheelchair-bound streamer relying solely on her looks to draw viewers. She never revealed any personal information to her top donors, so her popularity and income were limited.

Even so, most of her monthly earnings were coaxed away by her brother, Chen Xingfan.

“The Chen family. What a fine Chen family,” Luo Fancheng could restrain himself no longer, clenching his fists tightly.

Bang!

The glass coffee table in the center of the living room shattered.

Chen Xingxin gazed at Luo Fancheng in silence. Tears welled up and slid down her cheeks.

Chen Kangjian scolded, “Luo Fancheng, what do you think you’re doing? Are you rebelling?”

Wu Mei shouted, “What a sin! We must have been blind to let such a villain marry in. We’d be better off divorcing you!”

Without another word, Luo Fancheng took out his phone and dialed Chen Xingfan. The call connected quickly.

He got straight to the point, “Where’s my money? Give it back.”

The reply was just as direct, “Heh. My sister gave me that money—what does it have to do with you? Luo Fancheng, are you dreaming?”

“I’ll tell you what, the car’s already bought. There’s no money left. My life, though, I still have—do you want that?”

With that, the call ended.

“Fine, what a Chen family. What a Chen family.”

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Luo Fancheng opened the door to see a man standing outside, dressed in a black suit that spoke of wealth, a Rolex on his wrist, and holding a bouquet of roses.

“Who are you looking for?” Luo Fancheng asked with a frown.

The man acted as if he hadn’t heard, brushing past Luo Fancheng and heading straight for Chen Xingxin.

His eyes locked on her. “Xingxin, I’m back.”

In her wheelchair, Chen Xingxin trembled, disbelief on her face. “Ouyang Feng, it’s you…”

Ouyang Feng ignored everyone else, kneeling to take Chen Xingxin’s hand.

“The reason I left without saying goodbye was to study in America. Now I’ve returned. I heard you were in a car accident, so I brought with me one of the best American doctors to treat you.”