Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“In that case, will you agree to marry me if I’m gentler?” Although Yan Wangchuan’s voice was cold, he was very serious. This feeling was like negotiating a contract in the business world. He was decisive and domineering.

Qiao Aiyun didn’t know how to answer him. She reached out her hand to tug at her collar. “I suddenly remember that I still have something to do…”

She felt that the two of them were not talking about getting married at all, but rather a deal.

Just as she got up, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her back onto the sofa.

“I’ll change on whatever you say.” He held her hand tightly, which was hot and sweaty.

“Okay.” Seeing him nervous and helpless, Qiao Aiyun couldn’t bear to let him down and nodded silently.

“Aiyun…

“I’m being very serious. Think about it carefully.” His voice was low and hoarse.

“If you’re dissatisfied with anything…

“I’ll change, okay?” He clearly didn’t know what being gentle was, so he could only lower his voice and speak tentatively.

He was stuttering slightly, but his words were surprisingly moving.

“Thank you.” Qiao Aiyun nodded.

“Then, you should consider getting our marriage license, okay?”

He’s already in his forties. Why is he suddenly acting cute?

I just meant speaking gently, not being coquettish.

“I think it’s too soon.” Not only did Qiao Aiyun feel that it was too fast, but she was also a little afraid. After a failed marriage, she was always worried that she would entrust herself to the wrong person again.

“How much longer do you need to consider this?”

“… It’s not a matter of time. I still think that it’s better if things happen naturally when the conditions are right.”

Yan Wangchuan was too domineering. She was worried that some feelings would come and go quickly.

Wanting something he doesn’t have… If we really get together, I’m afraid…

Qiao Aiyun wasn’t alone now either, and she still had Wanwan to worry about, so she was inevitably a little cautious.

Yan Wangchuan’s eyes were extremely serious. “I just thought that…

“The next time someone bullies you two, I’ll be able to protect you openly.

“Can’t I just stand by your side legitimately?”

“I… I’ll consider it.” His words are indeed tempting.

“Give me an answer by two.”

Qiao Aiyun was stunned. Why is he being domineering again?

He was gentle for only three seconds.

“By two?”

“The Civil Affairs Bureau opens at two, so we can go get our marriage certificate straight away then.”

Qiao Aiyun was dumbfounded. Is this a proposal?

Isn’t this literally forcing marriage?

Actually, Yan Wangchuan couldn’t be blamed for this. He was dense and clumsy to begin with, and even him staying here was Fu Chen’s idea.

The two of them would call and send messages occasionally, and Yan Wangchuan mostly asked about Song Fengwan’s recent situation. After all, he wasn’t Song Fengwan’s biological father and didn’t have children himself, so he wasn’t sure how to get along with her. She was also a girl, so he was embarrassed to call her often and could only understand her situation through Fu Chen.

Last night, Fu Chen had suddenly asked about his recent situation with Qiao Aiyun and when he would be able to settle his status.

Yan Wangchuan naturally replied, “You don’t have to worry.”

Fu Chen said, “After living together for so long, you still don’t have any status. People who don’t know might think that you’re…”

He wasn’t even done speaking…

But Yan Wangchuan knew that he wanted to say ‘a wild man’.

What he said wasn’t false. Not only were they not making any progress while living under the same roof, but it would also be unreasonable if he didn’t even get a status.

This led to the ‘force marriage incident’.

But since Qiao Aiyun agreed to consider it, Yan Wangchuan naturally wouldn’t give her a chance to hide from him.

He had to succeed in one go and not let her get the chance to escape.

He had always been quick, ruthless, and on point.

Not to mention, he would definitely not lose the woman he loved a second time.

***

Yunjin Prime Manor…

After Fu Chen brought Huai Sheng back, Shen Jinye sent him to the tutoring center this afternoon. Many elementary schools were already on winter break, and all kinds of tutoring centers and interest centers were extremely popular and full.

Huai Sheng didn’t have preschool education, so he only attended classes for the three main subjects in school—Chinese, Math, and English—during winter break.

After Shen Jinye sent him to the tutoring center, he gave Fu Chen a call. “Little Uncle, isn’t Huai Sheng’s foundation too poor?” He had taken a few glances at Huai Sheng’s exercise book just now, and there were more questions done wrongly than correctly.

“Yes, he just started studying, so his foundation is weak.” Fu Chen lowered his head and looked at the stack of photos on the table.

“With his foundation being like this, I don’t think he will be able to keep up in school when school starts in spring.

“When he comes back from the tutoring center, go tutor him some more. You don’t have anything important to do during winter break anyway.”

Shen Jinye was dumbfounded. What do you mean by ‘don’t have anything important to do’?

I’m here to have a vacation, not to tutor an elementary school student.

“Little Uncle…” Shen Jinye was already speaking in a slightly sobbing tone.

“It’s settled then. I still have something to do.” Fu Chen didn’t give Shen Jinye a chance to refuse and directly hung up

Shi Fang, standing in front of Fu Chen, lowered his head and held back his laughter. Young Master Shen is probably going to be tricked miserably by Third Master.

“Third Master, all the information we could find is here.” Shi Fang coughed twice. “Are you sure you want to make a move against Miss Sun? If Second Madam finds out about this, it’ll probably be difficult to give her an explanation.”

“So what? I already gave her a lot of face for what happened before. But she insisted on not wanting it and provoked me time and time again. I can’t let the matter go on like this. Otherwise, the Sun family will really think that they can do whatever they want in the capital.”

If she provoked him, he could still tolerate it for a while. Yet she went to look for trouble with Song Fengwan, so he couldn’t tolerate it anymore.

“The Sun family has indeed been going downhill for the past two years. They were actually alright before, but it’s just that almost all the juniors are useless.” Shi Fang was speechless. The Sun family spoiled their children too much.

Fu Chen lowered his head and flipped through the photos. He hadn’t cared much about it before, so he really didn’t know that Sun Rui’s private life was so exciting…

***

On the other side…

Shen Jinye was dumbfounded. I can’t stay at Little Uncle’s house anymore. He hurriedly called Fu Sinian.

At this moment, it was one in the afternoon, and Fu Sinian had only fallen asleep at around seven in the morning. Being suddenly woken up, he furrowed his brows, and his face was extremely dark. He picked up the phone. “Hello—”

“Big Bro, I’ve thought about it…”

“Huh?” Fu Sinian shifted his body and leaned against the head of the bed.

“I want to move in with you.”

“If you stay with me, I’ll make you die though.” Fu Sinian snorted lightly.

“Big Bro, I was just spouting nonsense.”

“I always trick you, and I invited you for no reason, so you were scared.” Fu Sinian had quite a temper after being woken up. You’re disturbing me at this hour, yet you still want to move in?

Dream on.

“When are you free to pick me up? You can talk to Little Uncle about it too.” Shen Jinye smiled.

“Me? Tell him? What’s the reason?” Fu Sinian sneered. “I won’t do anything to offend him. If you have the ability, tell him yourself and then come over with your luggage. I’m very busy and don’t have time to pick you up.”

Then he hung up.

Shen Xiye was on the brink of tears. Had I known earlier, I would have listened to him that day. I really have no reason to move out now.

Fu Sinian pinched the space between his eyebrows. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard the ear-piercing sound of something being moved. He thought it was just going to be for a moment. But after a few minutes, the sound became increasingly louder.

He thought that there was a commotion upstairs.

He put on his pajamas and went to take a look. When he opened the door, he saw two men carrying a cardboard box out of the elevator. The door opposite his was wide open, and there were cardboard boxes piled up at the door.

Fu Sinian’s condo was in the suburbs, close to the Beijing Software Garden. He had lived here for around six years, and the condo opposite his had always been empty.

Although this district wasn’t in the bustling city center, it was well-furnished and had a quiet environment. There was also a hospital and schools nearby, so many working-class people who worked in the Software Garden came here to purchase houses, and the housing prices were very high for a period of time.

Even so, the residential area didn’t have many residents. Many real estate speculators bought properties and kept them in their hands to wait for them to appreciate. This was most likely the situation with the owner of the condo opposite him.

He lived on the 16th floor, and there were only two condos with their doors facing each other. The condos were on the top floor and even had a small loft as a bonus. Naturally, the price of these two condos was higher than those on the other floors.

Fu Sinian thought that since someone was moving in, it was reasonable for such noise, as there would always be a commotion when moving after all, so he didn’t make any complaints.

“… Move these things slowly. Don’t bump or knock them, especially this dressing table…” A man in his late twenties walked out and instructed the movers.

He inadvertently saw Fu Sinian standing at the opposite door and was slightly stunned.

Fu Sinian also didn’t expect to see someone he knew. This man was the son of a high-ranking official, and his father had worked under Fu Sinian’s grandfather before. Their family also lived in the compound, and they would visit the Fu family during festive occasions, so the two of them had met a few times.

The man didn’t expect to see Fu Sinian here as well, and he nodded at him slightly in a greeting.

Fu Sinian nodded and closed the door.

They live in the same compound, but I’ve never heard Grandma mention that he’s in a relationship.

A dressing table? He’s obviously helping a woman move. It’s either he’s secretly dating someone and living with them, or he’s wooing someone, so he’s being very diligent in helping her.

Fu Sinian smiled. His vision is too narrow to only think about falling in love at such a young age when he should be striving in his career.

Little did he know that his face would be slapped hard in the future.

Fu Sinian couldn’t fall asleep, so he brewed a cup of strong coffee and got someone to send him work documents.

About half an hour later, someone knocked on the door and entered.

“… I was just wondering why you’re still able to wake up and work at this hour after staying up late last night. So it’s because someone’s moving in next door.” The man carried a stack of documents and placed them on his table.

Fu Sinian didn’t say anything.

“I was at the door just now and saw that it’s a woman moving in.”

Fu Sinian picked up the documents and walked to his study.

“She’s wearing a red down jacket on such a cold day, and her hair is long and bright. When she smiles, it’s so seductive.”

Fu Sinian seemed to think of something. His fingers trembled, and the topmost folder slipped off and fell to the floor.

“Boss, what’s wrong?” The man bent down and picked up the documents.

“You can get lost now.” Fu Sinian was a little annoyed.

The man raised his eyebrows.

What did I say? Didn’t I just mention a woman? Does he have to have such a big reaction?

F*ck. Boss must have been thinking about women just now.

He’s only awakened at the age of thirty. Isn’t he becoming mature really late?

***

Yuncheng, Qiao residence…

Qiao Aiyun and Yan Wangchuan had lunch and went back to their rooms to take an afternoon nap. Not long after Qiao Aiyun woke up, she received a message from Yan Wangchuan.

It’s already 1:50.

Qiao Aiyun was dumbfounded.

At first, there was a message from him every few minutes. Later on, there was a countdown message every half a minute. When it was almost two o’clock, there was a knock on her door.

Qiao Aiyun braced herself and opened the door.

Yan Wangchuan was standing at the door, and an indescribable sense of awkwardness spread between them.

“What are you holding?” Qiao Aiyun saw that he was holding a bag.

“My residence booklet.”

Qiao Aiyun was speechless.

Yan Wangchuan lowered his head and looked at his watch. “The Civil Affairs Bureau will open in ten seconds.”

Is he a bandit? Isn’t this forcing a marriage?