Chapter 206 - Calling Off the Marriage
Chapter 206: Calling Off the Marriage
Outside of the hospital room, Tang Hao could hear the voice of a woman speaking within.
“Mrs. Li, this marriage… I think it’s a little hard to proceed. I’m sure you’ll also understand. Now that you’re sick, it’s not an appropriate time to hold the wedding.”
The voice was from a middle-aged woman, but she was not Auntie Zhang.
“Bin is an outstanding young man and I like him a lot, but I don’t think they’re a good match for each other.”
In the hospital room, a middle-aged woman was talking to Auntie Zhang on the bed and Uncle Li sitting by her side.
Behind him was a young woman in her mid-twenties.
Standing next to Uncle Li was a thin young man. Like Uncle Li, he wore glasses and looked rather bookish.
Uncle Li and his family were shocked, then became angry.
They knew what the woman was trying to imply.
She was going to call off the marriage!
‘Not a good match’ was only a lame excuse.
The development of their relationship had been smooth-sailing, from the point they met up until the marriage proposal. It was impossible that they were not a good match all of a sudden.
She implied that she was afraid that Auntie Zhang’s illness might drain the Li family of their finances.
It all boiled down to money!
Before Auntie Zhang’s illness, Uncle Li had savings of several hundred thousand yuan, and his family was considered middle-upper class. Treating Auntie Zhang’s disease cost them about a hundred thousand yuan every month. A potential kidney transplant would cost them even more money.
The ordeal would have emptied the family’s savings.
Next to the bed, Uncle Li’s face was ashen and his fists were clenched.
Anger filled his heart. Calling off the marriage was utter humiliation!
However, he was helpless. As an adult, he understood the reasons behind it.
That was the cold, harsh reality of the world he lived in!
Behind him, his son Li Bin’s face was also ashen out of anger. He glared angrily at the young woman across the bed and asked her, “Is this what you want, Xiaoyan?”
Zhang Xiaoyan lowered her head and avoided his gaze.
“Of course, this is what she wants! She’s too embarrassed to tell you, so I’m speaking on her behalf. Don’t be angry, Bin, it’s very normal to find that your significant other is not a good match. It’s better to break off a relationship at this point, rather than to force the marriage and lead to future unhappiness.
“I only have one daughter, and I hope to see her happy!”
“Happy?” Li Bin laughed coldly. “You’re just afraid that my family doesn’t have money. We’re already engaged, and we’re about to get married. Now that you’re calling off the marriage, what would other people think of my parents?”
Mrs. Zhang’s expression stiffened and became rather unpleasant.
“How dare you speak like that to me, you insolent child? I’ve already said what she wants to tell you. What else should I do?” Mrs. Zhang’s expression became cold and her tone of voice became harsh.
“I don’t wish for the situation to turn out this way either! Treating the illness will cost your family all your money. Will you be suitable for marriage by then? Can you still afford to buy a house?
“If you can’t afford a house or a car, do you deserve my daughter’s love? I don’t want my daughter to suffer.”
On the hospital bed, Auntie Zhang closed her eyes in emotional agony.
“That’s enough! Shut up! Couldn’t you have found a better time and place to break the news?” Uncle Li stood from his seat and roared.
Mrs. Zhang also became angry. “I need to settle this matter today! At least our families are now free from this obligation.”
“Hmph! Free from this obligation? Are we that pathetic in your eyes?” Li Bin said angrily.
“That’s all I want to say. We’ll be calling off the wedding, regardless of whether you agree to it. I’ll return all the betrothal gifts another day.”
“You…” Li Bin was livid. He looked at Zhang Xiaoyan and said, “How can you be so cruel, Xiaoyan?”
“What do you mean by cruel? You ought to give up, Li Bin! I won’t allow my daughter to marry you!” Mrs. Zhang shrieked.
Li Bin’s face was ashen and his entire body trembled.
“Just let them be, my son. If they want to call off the wedding, then they can have it their way. You can always find another significant other. We’re lucky that they showed their true colors here. I wouldn’t want to be related to such a materialistic family,” Uncle Li said.
“Isn’t that so!”
Suddenly, the door to the hospital room opened and a boy walked in.
He turned around and glanced at Zhang Xiaoyan. ” Big Bro Bin, what’s so good about this selfish and materialistic woman? Marrying her would be your misfortune!”
The people in the room were shocked.
“You are…?” Li Bin regarded the boy with confusion.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Zhang’s face dropped completely. She shrieked angrily, “Who the hell are you? You’re just a filthy kid. It’s not your turn to speak!”
Uncle Li glanced at the boy and was shocked. “Lil Tang? Why are you here?” He exclaimed.
Li Bin remembered who the boy was after his father called the boy “Lil Tang”. He regarded Tang Hao curiously.
“Uncle Li!’ Tang Hao said, “I went to the delivery center but I heard that you were at the hospital. So I came to look for you.”
Uncle Li smiled and said rather ashamedly, “I’m sorry that you see us in such a dishonorable state!
“Right! How have you been lately?” Uncle Li asked.
“Not bad!” Tang Hao said. Then, he greeted Auntie Zhang on the bed.
“Just forget about her, Big Bro Bin. I can introduce you to another girl who’s definitely better than her,” Tang Hao told Chen Bin.
Mrs. Zhang smirked when she heard that. “Hah, you talk big for a young kid! Better than my daughter? She’s kind, conscientious, and diligent. I wonder how many girls out there are better than her!
“Furthermore, even if you introduce another woman to her, would she want to stoop so low to marry into a broke family?
“Let me tell you. Marriages are all about money now. You can dream of marrying a wife if you don’t have money.”
“Who says that they don’t have money?” Tang Hao said coldly.
“They might have some money now, but do you have any idea how much would it cost to treat uremia? They’ll spend more than a hundred thousand yuan a year. That’ll be a few hundred thousand for the next few years. Would they still have any money after that?” Mrs. Zhang mocked.
Uncle Li and his family displayed expressions of agony when they heard that.
Tang Hao chuckled. “Who says that it’ll cost a lot of money to treat uremia? I say, this disease is incredibly easy to treat. She’ll be walking again in a few days!”
Mrs. Zhang was stunned. She was wondering if she had misheard.
‘This kid must be insane!’
It was uremia they were talking about! The only cure for it was a kidney transplant. The patient would still need to take medicine worth about a hundred thousand yuan every year after treatment.
She was not the only one who was surprised. Even Uncle Li was surprised too.
“Lil Tang, this disease is incredibly difficult to treat,” Uncle Li said.
“It’s just uremia, right? I’ve heard of it, and I know how to treat it,” Tang Hao said calmly.
Everyone was shocked when they heard that.
Even Uncle Li thought that Lil Tang was lying.
He knew that Tang Hao was expelled from high school, and he had never heard Tang Hao mention that he studied medicine. How could he possibly make such a claim?