Chapter 3 The Luxurious Proposal Procession

Jennifer returned home, only to find that her stepmother, Stephanie Gabel, had thrown all her belongings into the stairway, including the rag doll her late mother had sewn for her by hand. Meanwhile, Christopher was sitting at the doorway, smoking. His hair was disheveled, and he looked defeated as a small mountain of cigarette butts accumulated at his feet. The stairway was filled with swirling smoke, making it somewhat suffocating. Through the hazy smoke, Jennifer could vaguely see her father's graying sideburns. It seemed as if he had aged nearly a decade overnight. Stephanie threw Jennifer's belongings out of the house while cursing, "If you ask me, your daughter is none other than a curse sent by the heavens to torment you. Had it not been for her, you wouldn't have lost your job four years ago, and our family of three wouldn't be crammed into this tiny, rundown house. Just when we thought someone gullible enough was going to take her in, she goes and messes it up again. The betrothal money was taken back the next day before we could even enjoy it. We still haven't paid our electricity bill yet! And don't get me started on her maternal grandmother, that old hag. She's spending money like water as she lies in the hospital every day. Why doesn't she just die already?" "Exactly!" A voice of agreement echoed from inside the house. Yolanda Gabel was Jennifer's half-sister from a different mother. She was two years younger than Jennifer and just turned twenty this year. Her face was almost angelic, yet her words were incredibly harsh. "Jennifer, that slut, is such a jinx. Whoever gets involved with her will be doomed for life. Dad, you'd better stay away from her from now onward! Dignity is one thing, but life is more important. Be careful, or she might bring danger to your life too. Just look at her mom and Mr. Griffin; didn't they both suffer because of her? None of them had a good ending." Christopher frowned and scolded, "No one will think you two are mute if you don't speak!" After lecturing them, he turned around and spotted Jennifer in the stairway. "Jennie." The man slowly straightened up from his chair. Looking into her father's sorrowful eyes, Jennifer felt a sting in her nose and nearly burst into tears. "Dad." "Oh wow! The jinx is back." Yolanda, at some point, had also made her way to the doorway. She leaned against the door frame, casting a sidelong glance at Jennifer in the stairway while munching on a handful of sunflower seeds. "Mom, Jennifer's back. Have you finished throwing away her stuff?" Stephanie heard the noise from the inside and rushed out the door, throwing the last few items of Jennifer's into the stairway angrily. Her eyes were like sharp blades as she glowered at Jennifer. "You wretched woman! Scram and never come back! Our family can't afford to be embarrassed by you anymore." Jennifer wasn't surprised that she was being thrown out of the house by her stepmother. Not a wave of emotion could be seen on her face as she simply picked up the rag doll that her mother had sewn for her from the pile of belongings, dusted it off, and held it tightly in her arms. "Has the Landon family taken back all the betrothal money?" she asked Christopher. "Yes." Looking worried, he let out a long sigh. "We haven't even paid for your grandmother's surgery yet!" Stephanie snapped, "Why even pay for her? It'd be better if she simply died!" "Can you just be quiet for once?" Christopher glared at his wife. Jennifer held back her tears and stated, "Don't worry, Dad. I'll find a way to raise money for Grandma's medical expenses. Also, about today's incident... I'm sorry." She never once felt that she was at fault in this matter. But she thought she should be blamed for causing her father to be worried and sad for her. "The surgery costs 75,000 dollars. Where are you going to get that kind of money?" the man asked, his face full of worry. Yolanda snickered while cracking open a sunflower seed. "What else can she do to raise funds other than sell herself?" Jennifer gave Yolanda a cold, piercing glance. The latter immediately shrank her neck in fright but muttered under her breath, "What are you staring at? Are you so great just because you have big eyes?" Amidst the quarrel, the ostentatious sound of car engines suddenly rang out from downstairs. Subsequently, a commotion erupted all around. "Chris! Chris!" "Yoyo, come down quickly!" Downstairs, the neighbors were raising their voices, shouting loudly at the Gabel family on the second floor. "Hmm? What happened?" Yolanda stopped cracking sunflower seeds and walked over to the balcony. Christopher followed closely behind. Equally puzzled, Jennifer looked down as well. Their eyes practically bulged out of their sockets at the scene. Somehow, a row of luxurious black Bentleys had neatly and orderly parked in the open space downstairs without anyone noticing. The excessive extravagance seriously didn't fit in with this old and dilapidated residential area. Upon their appearance, there was no doubt that they had become the most stunning sight in the entire neighborhood. At the front of the first car, a gentleman in his 50s, dressed in a black suit, stood there with elegant manners and a spirited demeanor. As soon as he noticed Jennifer and Yolanda on the second floor, he placed his right hand on his chest like a refined gentleman and greeted deferentially, "Hello, Ms. Gabel!" Jennifer was taken aback. Who is this person? Why is he so deferential toward us? It's evident from his show of extravagance and attire that his status is undoubtedly extraordinary. Yolanda blinked in surprise, pointing to her own nose. "Are you here for me?" "Yoyo, they're looking for you!" Downstairs, the enthusiastic neighbors eagerly responded, their faces filled with envy as they said to Christopher, "Chris, you are truly blessed! Your eldest daughter just got married yesterday, and today, another high-ranking official has come to your house to propose marriage. Your family is truly going to soar to great heights now!" "Propose marriage?" Christopher looked at Yolanda in bewilderment. The latter was also wholly baffled. Meanwhile, as an outsider, Jennifer simply observed with a detached expression. "Yes, Mr. Gabel. I'm here on behalf of our employer to sincerely propose marriage to Ms. Gabel. We hope that you will grant us your approval, Mr. Gabel." As the gentleman downstairs spoke, he lifted his hand and instructed the subordinates waiting by the convoy. "Bring the betrothal gifts to Ms. Gabel. Be careful not to bump or scratch them. Each of these presents represents our boss' heartfelt intentions." "Yes, sir!" The subordinates acknowledged their orders and, carrying a variety of gift boxes, proceeded upstairs in an orderly manner. The older gentleman walked at the end of the line, directing the overall situation. "Holy moly!" The moment Stephanie stepped out, she happened to bump into the procession carrying gifts into the house. She had never seen such a grand spectacle before; thus, her eyes nearly popped out in amazement. "W-What's going on?" Christopher was also a little baffled. "They said they were here to propose marriage to Yoyo. Looks like they're from a certain wealthy family." "Propose marriage?" Stephanie's face lit up with astonishment and delight as she exclaimed incredulously, "Yoyo, when did you meet such a wealthy young man, and why have you never mentioned it? Oh my goodness, had he not come to propose, I, as your mother, would have had no idea!" Right then, the enthusiastic neighbors from downstairs also followed the grand marriage proposal procession up the stairs. "That's right, Yoyo! You're dating such a wealthy guy! How come you're still so low-key about it!" "I heard that the cars below are worth a few million dollars each! And there must be at least ten of them down there! Oh my! This is truly spectacular! It's virtually billionaire-level!" "At first, I thought your sister's wedding was already quite marvelous, but who would have thought you'd outdone her! Ah, no, that's not right. No one can even compare to the scale of your proposal!" "I know, right? There's just no comparison. No comparison at all." ... Stephanie was over the moon as she listened to her neighbors' praises. She initially believed that Jennifer marrying Charles was already an impossible achievement, and this matter had made her and her daughter jealous for a long time. Never in a million years had they imagined that in just one day, fate would take a sharp turn for them. Not only did Jennifer fail to climb the social ladder, but she even managed to get Yolanda associated with an even wealthier family. Although it was unclear which prestigious family had come yet, the luxury cars parked downstairs were enough indication of their extraordinary status.