Marrying the Male Lead’s Disabled Uncle – Chapter 42

In Pei Lang’s eyes, Yan Han was dazzling. That alone made Yan Xiuyuan feel deeply uncomfortable.

The uncle he had always hated—crippled, unworthy, barely even human in his eyes.

Yes, he had to admit, Yan Han was better than him at work. But not to the degree Pei Lang made it seem. How could he not be angry?

His rage surged. He wanted to lash out, but didn’t dare touch Pei Lang. Instead, he snarled at him, his voice full of venom. Then suddenly, something occurred to him, and he sneered. “Heh~ He’ll never be able to stand up again. The doctor said his legs are permanently damaged. The fact that his muscles haven’t atrophied and his meridians aren’t ruined is already a miracle. If he wants to walk again, he can do it in his next life. You like that useless cripple? Fine. I’ll make you regret it.”

“How can you be so sure he won’t stand up again? There are plenty of cases of people who’ve been paralyzed for years and still managed to walk again,” Pei Lang replied calmly.

Seeing how unbothered Pei Lang was only enraged Yan Xiuyuan more. He barked, “I said he can’t stand up, so he can’t stand up!”

Pei Lang shot him a cold look. “Then just wait and see. Oh, and I almost forgot—don’t you hate children born from a mistress? Maybe you should ask Pei Ziqing about his background.”

He couldn’t be bothered arguing anymore. Yan Xiuyuan was stuck in his own delusions. There was no reasoning with someone like that.

Pei Lang didn’t like dealing with people who lost their temper so easily. He glanced at the time—it was nearly dinner. Time to go.

But the moment Pei Ziqing was mentioned, Yan Xiuyuan’s voice jumped like he’d been stabbed. “What are you implying about Ziqing? What’s that got to do with any mistress?!”

“Go ask him yourself…”

“Xiuyuan,” a voice suddenly called out—Pei Ziqing, who had appeared at some point, sounding unusually flustered as he cut off Pei Lang.

Pei Lang stood there calmly, watching with a smirk as Pei Ziqing rushed over, clung to Yan Xiuyuan’s arm, and nuzzled into his perfectly tailored, expensive suit. “Xiuyuan, why are you here? The dinner’s about to start.”

Yan Xiuyuan didn’t even glance at him. His eyes were locked on Pei Lang, whose expression in the pale moonlight was nothing but cold amusement and disdain.

Unable to stand that calm, composed look, Yan Xiuyuan scoffed and stormed off with Pei Ziqing in tow. As they rounded a corner, Pei Ziqing turned and shot Pei Lang a vicious glare—as if issuing a silent warning.

Pei Lang blinked innocently, pretending not to understand a thing.

Finally, they were gone… It really was more peaceful on set, where all he had to worry about was eating, drinking, and acting.

Tonight had been exhausting. First he bumped into the original host’s father, then clashed with Yan Xiuyuan, and now he’d have to face off against Yan Han at the banquet. Socializing really was tiring. As the banquet was about to begin, Pei Lang started heading back. But just as he turned, he spotted someone in the shadows of the building.

It was Yan Han.

He sat there silently in his wheelchair, unmoving, his eyes fixed on Pei Lang.

Pei Lang was stunned. He walked over. “Mr. Yan, when did you get here?”

“A while ago,” Yan Han replied flatly.

Which meant—he’d heard everything.

Yan Han lowered his eyes and slowly turned the wheelchair halfway around. “Let’s go. Let’s head back.”

He didn’t need help moving, but Pei Lang still placed his hands on the wheelchair handles.

Yan Han was completely silent. The little figure on Pei Lang’s shoulder also sat quietly, expression blank as water, impossible to read.

“Don’t take what Yan Xiuyuan said to heart,” Pei Lang said softly. “In my eyes—or no, in the eyes of many—you’re outstanding. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“I only care what you think of me.” Yan Han’s voice was calm, but beneath that calmness, there were old wounds that had never fully healed.

Yan Han was powerful. Within the Yan family, the only one who truly acknowledged him was his father. When he was born, his elder brother was already an adult. By the time he grew up, the Yan Corporation was completely under his brother’s control. All Yan Han received was 5% of the family fortune.

He grew up under his brother’s shadow, constantly suppressed. Even his nephew, Yan Xiuyuan, looked down on and bullied him. Though well-dressed and well-mannered, his life had never been happy.

His daily motivation was one thing: become stronger. Become better. And he did.

That 5% of the Yan family fortune was enough to give him a starting point. With that seed capital, he built his own empire. In a few short years, he reached a level most people couldn’t dream of achieving in a lifetime. His power stood nearly on par with his elder brother’s.

And because his business was entirely independent, the Yan family couldn’t touch him.

His fame spread—until the car accident.

That crash nearly killed him. After months in the hospital, he survived… but lost the use of his legs.

That incident hit him hard.

Already cold and guarded from childhood, the injury pushed him even further into isolation. His personality darkened—moody, erratic, ruthless. But even so, his company flourished. It reached its peak after the accident, becoming a powerhouse no one could shake.

People were jealous. They mocked him behind his back, insulted his legs—but had no choice but to acknowledge his talent. As if he was born to sit on a throne and be admired.

But that kind of success was lonely.

Yan Han didn’t want admiration—he wanted strength. He wanted the power to prove himself to those in the Yan family who scorned and suppressed him. And yet… he was never truly happy. Even his father’s love felt like a stone pressing on his chest.

No matter how powerful he became, he couldn’t heal his legs.

He couldn’t stand and walk like a normal person.

Maybe it was because he had spent his childhood buried in books, robbed of joy, that his inner world grew especially vivid. Of course, that was just the world inside his heart. On the outside, he had to watch every word and every move.

The dinner banquet was lavish. Everyone was dressed to the nines.

Yan Xiuyuan’s father was middle-aged but still lean and imposing. He didn’t soften his aura even in front of his own children. It was the kind of commanding presence that came from years of being in power.

His beautiful wife was now by his side—she hadn’t been present earlier.

Yan Xiuyuan and Pei Ziqing sat together, their closeness hard to ignore. But it was always Pei Ziqing reaching out, taking the initiative. Yan Xiuyuan maintained a façade of dignified detachment.

Old Master Yan sat at the head of the table. On his right were Yan Han and Pei Lang. Opposite them were Pei Lang’s parents. The whole table was full of people who disliked each other.

“We’re all gathered here today to witness Xiuyuan and Ziqing’s engagement,” Old Master Yan began. “You two”—he looked at Yan Tong and his wife—“make sure the betrothal gifts are properly arranged. I won’t get involved.”

After all, they were the ones marrying off their son’s fiancée.

“I know everyone’s busy, so I won’t say too much. You probably wouldn’t want to hear it anyway. But today isn’t just about Xiuyuan and Ziqing’s engagement—I also have something important to announce.”

“What is it that Father wants to say?” Yan Tong sensed that something was off.

Old Master Yan turned to Pei Lang with a kind, doting gaze—but Pei Lang, starving by this point, was just focused on the delicious food in front of him. He was silently waiting for the old man to stop rambling so they could finally eat.

Everyone at the table followed Old Master Yan’s gaze and turned to look at Pei Lang.

Pei Ziqing scoffed quietly, mocking Pei Lang for looking like he’d never seen good food in his life. His parents looked embarrassed, thinking to themselves that they were right—he really shouldn’t have come. It was just too humiliating.

“Hmm?” Pei Lang suddenly realized that all eyes were on him. He looked up, a little confused.

Old Master Yan’s smile deepened. Before Pei Lang could react, he made a grand announcement:

“Xiao Lang is married to my Han’er. I arranged the marriage myself. From now on, we are family.”

Originally, the marriage was just meant to bring Yan Han good luck, but unexpectedly, Yan Han seemed to have genuinely taken a liking to Pei Lang.

Yan Han was already in his thirties. Old Master Yan, already old and in poor health, had been hanging on just to see his son get married. He felt he owed too much to this child in this lifetime—and now, at last, his son had found someone he liked. His wish had come true.

But knowing Yan Han’s personality, he worried that if they kept things quiet, his son might lose this person one day. So he decided to fan the flames and publicly announce the marriage to solidify their relationship within the family. This had been the topic of the father-son discussion they’d had earlier.

The decision had been made on the spot. Yan Han hadn’t objected.

You have to understand—this was someone who had always refused to get married. Even if he did, he would never agree to make it public. So the fact that he gave the green light tonight… if that’s not love, then what is?

Yan Han had even gone out of his way to reassure his father. Afraid that the old man might be influenced by the rumors, he had praised Pei Lang in rare form, saying he was truly exceptional—the most special person he had ever met.

As those words echoed through the room, the entire table fell silent.

Pei Lang turned to look at Yan Han. The man had already turned his head to the side, offering no explanation—but the corners of his lips were clearly curved into a smile.

Yan Han… was smiling.

So beautiful…

Wait, no—that wasn’t the point. The point was, their marriage had just been announced in front of everyone on such an important occasion. Shouldn’t Yan Han be angry? Why was he smiling?

Everyone at the table had a different reaction.

Pei Ziqing was stunned at first, then let out a sneer. In his eyes, Yan Han was nowhere near as good as Yan Xiuyuan. And since they were married, Pei Lang wouldn’t be pestering Xiuyuan anymore—this was a win.

Pei Lang’s so-called father, meanwhile, turned pale. To think that something this major had happened, and he hadn’t even known. Pei Lang clearly didn’t take him seriously at all.

He still hadn’t realized just how much Pei Lang resented him. Neither the original Pei Lang nor the current one had ever acknowledged him as their father.

Yan Xiuyuan’s reaction was different.

When he first heard the news, he froze.

Then he slammed the table and shot to his feet. “When did this happen?! Why didn’t I know about it? Didn’t you two just start messing around?!”

His voice was loud and furious, like someone catching a cheating spouse red-handed.

The irony was, he had no right to question anything—especially not while his own lover, Pei Ziqing, was sitting right next to him. The outburst made Pei Ziqing’s expression twist with awkwardness.

Losing his temper like that in front of the elders was incredibly inappropriate.

“We got married six months ago,” Yan Han said coldly. “We already have the marriage certificate. Do I need to show it to you?”

His tone was icy, and the air at the table dropped several degrees.

Six months ago?

That meant Pei Lang had already been married when he told him he’d never liked him. That time he said he only pursued Yan Xiuyuan to disgust Pei Ziqing… he hadn’t been lashing out. He was telling the truth.

Otherwise, why would he still be involved with his uncle after they were legally married?

They’d been registered even before Pei Lang was sent to the detention center.

The more Yan Xiuyuan thought about it, the worse he felt. A deep discomfort welled up inside him. His emotions were spiraling. It was like… he’d lost something. Lost a lover. He felt hollow, trembling uncontrollably.

“Xiuyuan…” Pei Ziqing couldn’t keep smiling anymore. He looked at Yan Xiuyuan with concern in his eyes. There was a hint of fear—was Xiuyuan… in love with Pei Lang? His behavior was too strange.

Pei Lang stared at Yan Xiuyuan with a baffled expression, unable to make sense of it all. He was still reeling from Old Master Yan’s sudden announcement but hadn’t thought too much about it. In his eyes, this was all just part of the act.

Throughout the entire dinner, only Pei Lang was truly focused on eating.

He calmly ignored all the glances and judgment around him.