The moment Liu Yifei noticed the man on the bed slowly opening his eyes, she instinctively turned her gaze away, as if afraid of being caught staring.
Until now, no one in the room had paid any attention to Zhang Xiao.
His eyes were open.
And for the first time, he took in the three unfamiliar faces standing before him.
He had never seen them before,, but he had heard enough.
Every word exchanged between them and his family since their arrival had reached his ears clearly.
From their tone alone, Zhang Xiao had already figured it out.
These two were the girl's parents.
The ones his grandmother had mentioned.
Greedy.
That was the first word that came to his mind.
Then his gaze shifted, finally landing on the third person.
The girl.
One look was enough.
She stood stiffly, her posture awkward, clearly uncomfortable in her own skin. Too thin. Too pale? No" her complexion was dull, almost sallow.
Lifeless.
And the dress.
Absurdly short.
Cheaply chosen, and worse—it didn't suit her at all.
In Zhang Xiao's eyes, she looked utterly unpleasant.
Not delicate.
Not graceful.
Not even presentable.
He couldn't understand how anyone could send a girl like this into a room like this.
For a brief moment, he wondered if she was even the one. His grandmother would never choose someone like her.
Never.
So this must be someone else.
Perhaps the real bride-to-be hadn't come at all. His eyes moved away from her without interest and turned toward his parents.
One glance at their expressions was enough.
Discomfort. Disapproval. Barely concealed irritation.
Zhang Xiao understood immediately.
Just by looking at their expressions, he understood everything without a single word being spoken. His grandparents might have approved of this match" but his parents clearly did not like the girl's family at all.
And judging by the tension in the room, it was obvious that no matter how this situation unfolded in the future, his parents and these people would never truly get along.
On the other side, Xiao Hua stood beside her husband, her sharp gaze fixed on the dark-skinned girl across the room.
She didn't bother to hide it.
From head to toe, she scrutinized Liu Yifei" coldly, critically—judging every inch of her without mercy.
The thin frame.
The dull complexion.
The ill-fitting, embarrassingly short dress. Xiao Hua was absolutely certain. This girl could not be the one. There was no way her mother-in-law and father-in-law would ever choose this kind of girl for her son.
Just one glance was enough for her to decide— Liu Yifei was nowhere near worthy of Zhang Xiao.
Not in looks.
Not in background.
Not in status.
She didn't match him in any possible way.
But before Xiao Hua could sink deeper into her disdain, her thoughts were abruptly interrupted.
Xiao Lajiao reached out, firmly grasped Liu Yifei's hand, and gently pulled her forward.
A warm smile appeared on the old woman's face as she announced calmly, yet decisively—
"Yifei, dear, come. Let me introduce you."
Then, turning toward the couple, she said lovingly, "These are your future parents-in-law."
Her gaze shifted to her son and daughter-in-law. "Hua, Ming," Xiao Lajiao continued, her tone firm but affectionate,
"Meet this lovely girl.
She is the one I mentioned to you a few days ago. I have chosen her as my grandson's life partner." She smiled, clearly pleased with her own decision.
"She is a good child. And I am certain that the two of you will grow to like her. She will be perfect for our Zhang Zhang."
With that, the old woman gestured for Liu Yifei to step forward.
Caught completely off guard, Liu Yifei felt as though she had been dragged into the spotlight without warning. Her mind struggled to catch up with what was happening.
But she didn't hesitate.
Stepping forward, she bowed deeply—ninety degrees—toward the two people standing before her, the very figures she had only ever seen on television screens and in newspapers.
Raising her head, she spoke in a soft, gentle voice.
"Hello, Uncle. Hello, Aunty. My name is Liu Yifei. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She smiled.
The smile was innocent.
Gentle. Almost painfully sincere.
But it was easily overshadowed by what stood in front of her. Because the two people facing her' no, including Zhang Xiao, three people" were staring back with widened eyes. Shock written clearly across their faces.
Their gazes flickered repeatedly—
from the old woman…
to Liu Yifei…
and back again.
From their expressions alone, it was obvious—
Either they weren't taking this seriously at all,
Or they simply couldn't believe what they had just heard.
Xiao Ming was the first to come back to his senses. A polite, practiced smile slowly appeared on his face as he addressed Liu Yifei,
"Miss Liu, there's really no need to be so formal."
While speaking, his eyes briefly flicked toward his parents. Then, in a measured tone, he continued, "My parents did mention you to us earlier. I simply didn't expect our meeting to take place so soon."
He paused—just long enough for the weight of his words to settle.
"Still," he added calmly, "if my parents chose you for my son, they must have had their reasons." With that, he stopped.
The silence that followed felt heavier than before, pressing down on everyone in the room.
This time, it was Xiao Hua who broke it.
A smile curved her lips, but it was cold and hollow—anyone with eyes could see it was nothing more than an act.
"So, you're Liu Yifei," she said slowly.
"As my husband mentioned, we truly didn't expect to meet you under such circumstances." Her gaze lingered on Liu Yifei for a moment longer than necessary before she continued, "Since my mother-in-law speaks so highly of you," she said lightly,
"I sincerely hope you live up to her expectations."
Her tone carried a hint of light humor.
Yet everyone present could clearly understand the attitude behind her words—
a thinly veiled, pointed taunt, directed straight at Liu Yifei.
Seeing Xiao Hua's manner of speaking—and clearly understanding the hidden meanings behind her words—Liu Yifei felt a sharp ache rise in her chest.
She felt uncomfortable.
Uneasy.
Out of place.
Yet she still forced a smile and nodded along with the couple's words, agreeing politely.
How could she not understand such a tone?
She had grown up hearing the same kind of voice from her stepmother since a very young age. After her stepmother entered her life, even her father's way of speaking had slowly turned just as cold and cutting. Her step-siblings followed the same pattern, and her grandmother—who had never liked her to begin with—used words far harsher and more selfish than these.
So understanding such words was nothing new to her.
To Liu Yifei, this was almost familiar.
She thought bitterly about her life—
The place where she had grown up had been nothing less than hell.
Her education had been cut short at a young age.
She had been stopped from going to school.
Forced to do all the household work, living like a servant in her own home.
Was all of that not enough?
And now, she was being forced to marry a man who was disabled.
After meeting his family today, she couldn't help but feel that even this new family—the so-called in-laws she would soon belong to, didn't seem to like her very much either.
She hadn't exchanged a single word with the man lying on the bed.
She didn't even know what he thought of her.
All she could do was hope" that her tomorrow would be better than her yesterday.
Liu Yifei struggled to hold back her tears.
She forced her trembling body to stay still.
She didn't know why she was feeling so emotional in this moment, why she suddenly felt so fragile.
Perhaps it was because she knew this very well,, In this room, aside from the elderly woman and man, everyone else was looking down on her.
———
Time passed, and the scene cut—shifting to a later moment.
Inside the Xiao family's grand mansion, Zhang Xiao's condition had improved significantly. Two days had passed since the accident, and he had already been discharged from the hospital and brought back home. He was resting in his room, with a male nurse by his side—the same nurse who had been caring for him ever since his body had been paralyzed.
But suddenly, Zhang Xiao heard his mother's voice echoing from the first floor of the mansion—the living room.
She was shouting.
It wasn't the cry of pain or grief.
It was rage.
For the first time, she was openly unleashing her anger at her mother-in-law.
"Mother, how could you do this to my son?" Xiao Hua's voice trembled with fury.
"Did you even look at that girl properly?"
"She is not worthy of my son in any way!"
Her words came out sharp and relentless.
"Her appearance is ordinary.
Her family background is nothing. She isn't rich, she isn't beautiful, and she doesn't match my son at all!"
"Tell me—how could you decide my son's marriage with that girl?"
Her anger only grew as she continued.
"At the very least, you should have asked me once! If not me, then you should have asked your own son or grandson!"
"You know this better than anyone—there are thousands of girls lining up for Zhang Zhang! Girls who are rich, beautiful, and come from powerful families.
They are all desperate to marry him!" Her voice cracked with disbelief and resentment.
"And yet, you chose that girl for my son and ruined everything!"
The living room rang with her furious words, heavy with anger and bitterness, as the storm she had been holding back finally broke loose.