As a sharp and sarcastic voice sounded.
A plump middle-aged woman came in grandiosely with a little girl.
"Auntie!" Xia Youwei quickly stood up.
The woman referred to as Auntie just waved her hand dismissively.
"Shut up! Oh, Xia Youwei, you ungrateful wretch, eating at our house every day, but as soon as you had some success, you sneak off to eat better things behind our backs?"
"No, I..."
"What do you mean, 'I'? Let me tell you, Xia Youwei, your cheap parents died early, and we kindly took you in. If it weren't for us, you'd have starved to death long ago!"
"What are you standing around for, hurry and make room for us! Can't you see your sister is waiting to eat hot pot?"
Her words came out in a rapid-fire stream like popping sesame seeds.
Even the heads of all the various districts present hadn't reacted yet.
The scene was silent.
"What are you looking at? You all must be the groom's relatives, right? What, one meal and you think you can steal our Youwei away? I'm telling you, no way!"
"You're Han Zhan, right? You're popular now, but you should know that your success today is all because our Youwei awakened her Contracted Spirit, and you..."
"Enough!"
Usually soft and gentle, Xia Youwei suddenly interrupted angrily.
You can talk about her, but not about Han Zhan, no way!
Xia Youwei clenched her fists, glaring fiercely at her aunt Xia Yan, like an angry doe.
"You dare yell at me? Xia Youwei, you've really grown wings, huh? Just because you've passed that damn assessment, you think you can do whatever you want now?"
"Let me tell you, Niu Niu's uncle is the head of the Fourth District. You dare yell at me, believe it or not, I'll make sure you can't stay in the Spirit Contract Masters community!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the gaze of everyone present fell simultaneously on Shen Zheqi.
"No, I didn't..."
Before Shen Zheqi could finish his sentence, Xia Yan interrupted.
"What does this have to do with you? Who do you think you are?"
Xia Yan said, pausing briefly. She then turned her gaze to Li Shutong, who hadn't spoken and was seated at the head.
She laughed coldly with pride.
"You're Han Zhan's grandfather, right, old coot."
Upon hearing that title, the mouths of all the district leaders couldn't help but twitch, swallowing hard.
She's really something.
Not even the Three Great Insect Emperors would dare to call him that, but she did—what courage!
"I'm laying it out today. Xia Youwei has awakened her Contracted Spirit, and though she's signed a contract with your Han Zhan, it hasn't gotten our agreement yet."
"The three golden items, betrothal gifts, house, car, none of these can be missing!"
"And all these years, for everything Xia Youwei has eaten and lived at our house, it's roughly, roughly three million, you have to reimburse us for that too!"
Xia Yan said this while her eyes grew large, looking as if she was going to devour someone.
"I'm telling you."
"My family has connections!"
"Niu Niu's uncle is in the Fourth War Zone, her uncle is in the Third War Zone, and she has a cousin in the Fifth War Zone!"
"If you dare provoke me, weigh it for yourself!"
Xia Yan's words were loud and clear.
In order to intimidate this large family, she tried her best to lay out all the connections she could think of with her limited brain capacity.
After speaking, she sat down boldly.
Today was her lucky day to cash in.
Normally, she wouldn't care about that orphaned girl, giving her a meal each day simply because her parents had entrusted all their assets to her before dying.
But today, Niu Niu kept pestering to watch TV, so she had no choice but to turn it on, just in time to catch the live broadcast of the Spirit Contract Masters assessment.
Xia Yan's mind immediately started scheming.
This was money—a wild orphan girl suddenly transformed into a cash cow.
"If you can't pay up, I'll make her and Han Zhan terminate the contract immediately!"
"Finding another rich husband, wouldn't that be perfect?"
She finally fell silent.
But what she should and shouldn't have said was already more or less out in the open.
Li Shutong set down his chopsticks, pursing his lips slightly.
"What are you standing around for? Everyone's calling me 'old coot,' so why not hurry up and make the calls?"
As soon as he spoke, Ye Qiu of the Third War Zone, Shen Zheqi of the Fourth War Zone, and Liu Jingchun of the Fifth War Zone hurriedly pulled out their phones, their faces turning pale.
Damn, why did this drama have to happen in their zone? This thought ran through all their minds at once.
Li Shutong now turned his gaze to Xia Yan, who sat across from him with her legs crossed.
"You say you have connections."
"But I have none above me anymore."
Xia Yan hadn't yet understood the meaning of Li Shutong's words when her phone suddenly rang.
She instantly changed her demeanor, answering the call with a cheerful smile.
"Hello? Oh, Niu Niu's uncle, how come you're free to call today..."
"Damn you! You dead woman, are you trying to get our whole family killed? I'm telling you, from today on, our families are cutting off all ties!"
The smile froze on Xia Yan's face.
Soon, a second call came in.
"Uncle Niu Niu, you..."
"Xia Yan, you're digging your own grave, don't drag us down with you. I've blocked your number, and we'll no longer have contact. One last piece of advice: don't mess with Han Zhan and Xia Youwei!"
Following closely was a third call.
"Little Jiang..."
"Xia Yan, you old witch, don't let me see you again. If I do, I'll beat you up every time. Get lost!"
"Beep, beep, beep."
These consecutive calls left the sure-to-win Xia Yan completely dumbfounded.
"You, you all!"
Xia Yan's face suddenly turned pale as she dropped to the ground and began to wail:
"Everyone, come and see! This Spirit Contract Master, Han Zhan, is colluding with his family to bully ordinary people like us!"
"Their family is so well-connected, we ordinary folks can't possibly stand up to them—they're trying to drive me to my death!"
She threw a fit, crying and rolling around, pulling out all the stops of a shrew.
But after a long while, not a single bystander came over to watch.
"Alright, let's end this farce quickly."
"The food in the hot pot is cooked; we can start eating now."
Li Shutong waved his hand.
Lin Jingxuan nodded, and in the next moment, Xia Yan and her niece were teleported thousands of meters away.
"Teacher, I'm sorry..."
Xia Youwei stood there with her head hung low in guilt, as the origin of this farce was her aunt.
Li Shutong picked up a slice of beef with his chopsticks and placed it into her bowl, comforting her:
"Youwei, this isn't your fault."
"You may have lost your parents, but now you have Han Zhan, all these senior brothers, and me."
"From now on, we will all be your family."
"Besides, you'll be learning from me for some time, so there's no need to live with your aunt's family anymore."
"Come on, eat up!"