In the Civil Affairs Bureau Hall, people registering marriages and divorces came and went. Like a motion blur shot of a street, circular light spots flew past quickly, carrying either joy or sorrow, love or hate.
However, no one would ever be like the woman in the wheelchair, proposing marriage right in the Civil Affairs Bureau Hall, right in front of the service window.
“Will you marry me?”
The immensely romantic line from TV dramas sounded like “Hand over this week’s work report to me” coming from Huo Yan’s mouth.
Lan Su stood straight, looking at the diamond ring, and then at Huo Yan, who, though looking up at her from the wheelchair, was clearly in control of everything.
The people around them slowed their steps, casting strange looks their way. Her back felt like it had a thousand needles suspended just above her pores; a slight movement would prick her, causing a sharp, stinging pain.
Having been a “blade” for over ten years, Lan Su was used to lurking in the shadows. Suddenly being the focus of a crowd made her completely uncomfortable. So, she hastily raised her hand, and her ring finger actively slipped into the diamond ring:
“I do.”
Her agitation caused her eyelashes to tremble uneasily, and her body subtly curled up, like a squirrel emerging from the bushes, quickly darting back into its hole after finding a pine cone on the ground.
Huo Yan sat calmly in her wheelchair, her eyes behind the lenses shifting slightly:
“Take it off.”
Lan Su thought she misheard. She looked up, met her gaze, and repeated emphatically:
“I do.”
She had already said yes, so why was she taking it back?
Huo Yan looked at her, seeing the astonishment and unease in her eyes. She felt that this person was not on the same wavelength as her. But it wasn’t the kind of slowness that came with stupidity; rather, it was simply that something was beyond her comprehension.
Uncharacteristically, she patiently explained:
“Take off this one, wear this one.”
Take off the engagement ring, wear the wedding ring.
Lan Su froze for a moment, then finally understood what she meant. Reviewing everything that had just happened, she realized she was indeed a bit slow. But she couldn’t be blamed for it. After all, she had no dating experience and was used to living dangerously; this was the first time she learned that the engagement ring was different from the wedding ring.
“Oh, okay.”
She took off the engagement diamond ring and slipped the other ring of the same size onto her ring finger.
The main stone of that ring was a deep blue gemstone, the radiant-cut setting was full and multi-faceted, with the four corners set with fine crystals. When she moved her hand, it reflected light from different angles, making it noble and dazzling.
“It’s very beautiful.”
Lan Su raised her hand, examining it closely in front of her eyes. Following this, the occupational hazard from her many years of working on antique projects kicked in, and she asked:
“Must be expensive?”
Huo Yan’s tone was flat: “Three million.”
This was the company’s S-class wedding ring, first-rate in both gemstone quality and design.
Upon hearing the figure, Lan Su felt a twitch in the base of her ring finger. The blue gemstone on the ring became a thousand-pound weight, crushing her bones.
“It’s too expensive.”
If she lost it or damaged it, she wouldn’t be able to afford to replace it.
Huo Yan stared at her hand, her gaze very level, like the side of a knife blade, capable of reflecting a face.
Lan Su understood that look—it was a warning before a storm.
If she dared to take the ring off, her newly married status of “spouse” could immediately be changed to “widowed.”
“Doing business requires capital.”
Huo Yan explained.
The assistant nearby was puzzled—how many times had her CEO Huo explained herself? Could it be that the Jade Yama, who was terrifying in the business world, actually had this much patience?
“What business?”
Even more frustratingly, Lan Su didn’t understand the meaning of that sentence and pressed for an answer.
The assistant silently took a step back, showing a clear intent to escape before any blood was spilled.
But for some reason that day, Huo Yan was in a good mood and patiently explained to her, although her explanation consisted of only two words:
“Marriage.”
Lan Su was startled. Connecting the dots, she finally understood what Huo Yan meant.
Indeed, commercial marriages lacked affection; the only motivation was profit. Marriage was a business, and both Huo Yan and the Lan family needed the returns brought by this piece of paper.
After registering the marriage, according to the Lan family’s rules, the newly married daughter was supposed to return home for a visit. Huo Yan’s schedule was quite full, so the visit was arranged for that same evening.
At the same time, Lan Su’s luggage would be packed and moved to Huo Yan’s residence.
In other words, they would be living together starting today.
“Second Miss.”
Upon arriving at the old house, while Huo Yan was exchanging pleasantries with Lan Haotian at the dining table, Lan Su went with the maid to pack her luggage. However, Aunt Zhang secretly slipped a palm-sized cloth bag to Lan Su when they were alone.
“Aunt Zhang?”
Lan Su was surprised, gripping the palm-sized cloth bag in her hand, which seemed to contain a bracelet or something similar.
Aunt Zhang held her hand, her voice extremely low, afraid of being discovered.
“It’s a gold bangle.”
Lan Su subconsciously refused, “No, this is too valuable.”
Aunt Zhang was just a maid; her monthly salary was limited, and she still had to support her daughter through university. How could she give her such an expensive gift?
Aunt Zhang, however, held her hand firmly, not letting her move: “Take it! In our hometown, daughters are supposed to wear gold jewelry when they get married. Aunt Zhang didn’t have the money to buy you the full set of gold jewelry, so I only bought one bangle, but consider it a keepsake.”
Tearing up, she clutched Lan Su’s hand, which began to tremble:
“Every time you go on a business trip, no matter how dangerous or tiring, you still bring me a gift. In my eyes, you are half my daughter… Now that you are going to the Huo family, I heard that Huo Yan is not an easy person. If anything happens, don’t confront her. Endure what you can, and living well is the most important thing!”
Lan Su pursed her lips, a pang of sadness welling up inside her. She had been in the Lan family for so many years, and upon leaving to get married, the one who was most reluctant to see her go was not the Lan family head, nor her own younger sister, Lan Xiaoyu, but the elderly maid in front of her.
“Aunt Zhang, thank you…”
Although there were a thousand words, they ultimately condensed into these two.
When she returned to the restaurant, the dishes had already been served.
Everyone in the Lan family was present, except for Lan Xiaoyu. Apparently, Lan Haotian wanted to marry her off to the eldest son of the Lin family, and she refused, locking herself in her room to sulk.
Actually, Lan Xiaoyu didn’t need to do this, because her tears and grievances were worthless in Lan Haotian’s eyes. In the eyes of the Lan family, both Lan Su and Lan Xiaoyu were tools, blades.
People do not sympathize with a tool.
They only think about how to use this tool to gain the greatest benefit.
“CEO Huo, that’s roughly the idea. What do you think?”
Before the dishes were served, Lan Haotian had clearly talked to Huo Yan effusively. Lan Haotian’s flattery, Chu Meilian’s calculations, and Lan Shan’s gloating were all written across their faces.
Lan Su had been in the Lan family for over ten years and could clearly read these expressions.
Huo Yan, having navigated the business world since childhood, naturally saw it clearly too.
However, neither of them was easy targets.
Lan Su slowly took her seat next to Huo Yan.
Given Lan Haotian’s exploitative nature, he would definitely try to negotiate an extra price with Huo Yan beyond the superficial benefits brought by the marriage.
She was just curious about what this price was, and even more curious about how Huo Yan would handle it.
Huo Yan sat in her wheelchair, her spine straight, radiating a sense of nonchalant control. Her elbow rested on the edge of the table, her wristwatch peeked out from her suit sleeve, reflecting a dark, cold sheen. She looked up, her eyes behind the lenses meeting Lan Haotian’s gaze with three parts of mockery:
“To marry off one daughter, you want a 5% share of the company. CEO Lan, aren’t you being a bit greedy?”
The company Huo Yan managed was the Huo family’s brand—Mei Ai Li Ya Jewelry, with a market value of tens of billions.
5% was an enormous fortune, fit for royalty.
Lan Haotian smiled obsequiously, yet maintained the airs of an elder, his carefully styled, graying hair reflecting the shine of hair gel:
“CEO Huo, you exaggerate. This daughter of mine had an accident when she was very young and has been lying in the hospital. For so many years, our entire family has treated her like a precious pearl in the palm of our hands. Now that she’s finally woken up, you want to marry her into your family. What’s the difference between that and digging out the heart of us, her parents?”
Huo Yan smiled faintly, her expression unreadable, “CEO Lan, forgive me. The shares of Mei Ai Li Ya have always been managed by someone, but that person is not me.”
Indeed, Huo Yan was the general manager, but above the general manager was the chairman, the Huo family patriarch, who held the final say.
Huo Yan continued, “If the patriarch were to find out that the Lan family dug up shares from my hands, what do you think he would do?”
A true threat is not tearing your tendons and stripping your skin, but saying nothing and only lightly asking, “What do you think he would do?”
Lan Haotian got scared. Huo Yan alone was intimidating enough, let alone the patriarch behind her, so he changed his approach:
“You’re right, you’re right… How about this instead? Other things would work too. I heard that CEO Huo bought a commercial building in the city center. Using that as a betrothal gift would be quite nice!”
Chu Meilian chimed in on the side: “Exactly, CEO Huo. Look, when ordinary people get married, they also need a betrothal gift. You are taking a daughter from our family; it’s only reasonable for us to ask for a betrothal gift.”
At this, Huo Yan relented, nodding readily:
“True. It is right for the Lan family to ask for a betrothal gift when marrying off a daughter.”
Her eyelids slowly lifted behind her lenses, focusing on the faces of Lan Haotian and his wife, and she said flatly:
“Then how about transferring this commercial building to Lan Su?”
Lan Su paused, subconsciously looking towards Huo Yan, but only saw the light reflecting off the gold-rimmed glasses, not her eyes.
Since she stepped into the Lan family, she had never even been to the playground, and now, with one blink, she owned a commercial building?