An Ning snapped back to reality, realizing she had gotten a bit carried away.
Meeting Lu Qingze’s smiling gaze.
And recalling her own “darling.”
An Ning blinked, “I… got a little too happy and silly, sorr…”
“Not silly at all!”
Lu Qingze said with a smile, “I liked it very much.”
An Ning’s cheeks gradually warmed.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but ever since yesterday morning when he mentioned marriage instead of a fake marriage and asked if she wanted to give it a serious try, he seemed to enjoy teasing her.
Yet, his deep-set eyes and smiling gaze left her utterly powerless to resist.
Remembering his mention of setting three rules, An Ning changed the subject, “What’s the last one?”
“The last one…”
The three rules were just something he said offhandedly. Meeting An Ning’s bright, expectant gaze, Lu Qingze said solemnly, “What should you call me?”
“Lu…”
The words caught in her throat, and An Ning paused.
Lu Qingze?
Mr. Lu?
Neither seemed appropriate.
Looking up again, she met the man’s enticing, encouraging gaze and whispered, “Husband.”
Lu Qingze wanted to tease An Ning, to say, “What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly.”
But seeing the woman blush, the delicate pink spreading from her ears downward, clearly overwhelmed with shyness.
Lu Qingze suddenly thought that such a beautiful sight would be even more captivating in the evening.
A ringing phone interrupted the intimate atmosphere in the car. An Ning took out her phone, glanced at the number, and answered the call.
“An Ning…”
An Mother’s signature loud voice came through the receiver, “You and Xiao Lu have already registered your marriage, right?”
“Yes, we have.”
An Ning nodded.
“Since you’ve already registered, hurry up and bring the household register back to me.”
An Mother raised her voice, “If you don’t have time, I can pick it up from your company.”
Once the marriage was registered, as long as An Ning’s household registration remained in the An family’s register, it didn’t matter whether she married or whom she married.
For the rest of her life, she would always be the An family’s ATM.
Without even guessing, An Ning knew what her adoptive mother was thinking. She instinctively looked toward Lu Qingze.
The plea in her eyes was unmistakable.
Before meeting An Ning, Lu Qingze had a physiological aversion to women.
Those who were bold and presumptuous enough to approach him were intercepted by his bodyguards before he even had to speak.
As for those who pretended to be delicate flowers, hoping to win his sympathy, Lu Qingze couldn’t be bothered to spare them a glance.
But with An Ning, Lu Qingze found he couldn’t bear to see her looking at him with such longing eyes.
Lu Qingze took the phone, “Auntie, here’s the thing… Since An Ning has married me, her household registration will definitely need to be transferred to be on the same register as mine. After we finish our business this afternoon, I’ll bring the household register to you. Goodbye, Auntie.”
He hung up the phone directly. Looking at the old white phone in his hand and its cracked screen, he held onto it without returning it to her, “If we’re not buying wedding rings, is it too much to get matching phones instead?”
Before An Ning could voice her refusal.
Lu Qingze looked up, “Uncle Ji, that phone from the year-end bonus last time, have you used it?”
“No. The box hasn’t even been opened yet.”
Ji Cheng smiled at An Ning, “An’an, I’ll get it for you in a bit.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he met Lu Qingze’s cool gaze.
After a brief moment of confusion, Ji Cheng understood.
So, only Boss can call her An’an, is that what you mean?
“An Ning…”
Ji Cheng spoke again, “Second Uncle still has a shopping card for the World Trade Mall. I’ll give it to you later. You can invite friends to go shopping over the weekend.”
Sure enough, An’an became An Ning, and the boss’s expression looked much better.
Once again experiencing his own boss’s pettiness, Ji Cheng mentally gave himself a thumbs-up for his quick-witted and excellent response.
“Thank you, Second Uncle!”
An Ning smiled, turning her head to wink at Lu Qingze, her eyes clearly conveying: Darling, your second uncle is so nice!
…
In the living room of the An family, An Mother stared blankly at the disconnected phone, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
An Ning’s household registration was going to be transferred out?
But doesn’t that Lu guy not have a house?
Also, they’ve already registered their marriage, and he still calls her, his mother-in-law, “Auntie”?
Questions kept popping up in her mind, but none were as urgent as the fact that An Ning was transferring her household registration out.
An Mother hurriedly dialed her husband’s number.
An Ning’s phone rang again with a jingling sound.
The number was different from the previous one, but judging by An Ning’s expression, Lu Qingze knew it must be someone from the An family.
“Don’t want to answer?”
Lu Qingze asked, and seeing An Ning nod, he simply took the phone from her hand and turned it off.
An Ning paused, sighing softly, “It’s useless. They’ll come to the company to find me.”
Lu Qingze’s gaze faltered slightly, “Have they gone to the company to find you before?”
An Ning nodded, “So I can’t turn off my phone or lose contact. Otherwise, they’ll immediately rush to the company and cause a scene, making me lose face in front of my colleagues and superiors.”
They say if you can’t fight, you can always hide.
But where could she hide?
Change her phone, change her job, change her address.
But as long as her adoptive parents took the household register to the police station to report her missing, they could immediately get her new phone number and address.
There’s no hiding!
Just moments ago, An Ning had been as happy as a child because they could save 30,000 yuan a month. But in just a few minutes, because of two phone calls, her mood had plummeted to rock bottom.
And such lows were probably commonplace in her past life.
Feelings of heartache and pity churned within him. Lu Qingze reached out and pulled An Ning into his embrace.
“Angry?”
The man’s voice was close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her earlobe as he spoke.
A tingling, numbing sensation, as if an electric current passed through her ear and spread throughout.
An Ning shivered slightly, shaking her head, “I’m used to it. I’m just a bit annoyed that I’ll have to trouble my colleagues again.”
Her situation had already become known to her colleagues the last time her adoptive mother went to the company to demand that month’s living expenses.
Some colleagues stood by her side, feeling sorry for her.
Others, more assertive, thought she was too soft.
In any case, everyone knew, so An Ning didn’t care how others saw her anymore.
But if her adoptive parents caused another scene, it would inevitably waste their time, especially since it was Friday and everyone was eager to leave work.
“Silly…”
Seeing An Ning silently depressed, Lu Qingze smiled and ruffled her hair, “With your husband here, don’t be afraid!”
She wanted to say that you’re just a programmer at Dijing.
You can’t stand at the entrance of Yuanjing’s company and stop them from entering?
Before she could ask, she saw Lu Qingze take out his phone and send a text message.
The message was sent, and the other party replied instantly.
Lu Qingze held up his phone in front of An Ning.