Staring at the outrageously handsome man, Song Ranran was screaming internally. She grabbed Gu Qingyue’s arm and whispered excitedly,
“Yueyue, who is this? He’s so handsome!”
Gu Qingyue took the laptop bag from her hand. After a quick turn of thought, she said, “My boyfriend.”
Shang Yuze’s hand paused briefly as he closed the trunk. Then he shut it as if nothing had happened, his expression remaining calm and indifferent.
Song Ranran and Xu Youning both widened their eyes at Gu Qingyue.
They had agreed to stay single together, yet this girl had secretly gotten herself a boyfriend behind their backs.
“You’re really something. You got such a handsome boyfriend and didn’t even tell us,” Xu Youning said, glancing in Shang Yuze’s direction.
She felt that the man looked a little familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before, but she could not recall where.
Gu Qingyue said, “This morning.”
Which was the truth. They really had only met that morning.
“You really don’t make a sound until you shock everyone. Another day you have to tell us the story of you and your boyfriend,” Song Ranran said, wiggling her eyebrows. She loved listening to romance stories the most.
After saying goodbye to Xu Youning and Song Ranran, Gu Qingyue got into the car.
Once she was seated properly, Shang Yuze started the engine. His well-defined fingers held the steering wheel as he asked casually, “I’m your boyfriend?”
Gu Qingyue touched the tip of her nose in embarrassment. “We haven’t registered yet. What’s wrong with calling you my boyfriend?”
She needed some time to prepare herself mentally.
Shang Yuze’s dark eyes were deep as he spoke in an offhand tone. “Nothing. In a little while, this boyfriend of yours will be promoted to husband.”
His voice was pleasant, though his tone was lazy. The word husband, coming from his mouth, inexplicably carried a hint of intimacy and lingering tenderness.
Gu Qingyue’s porcelain-white face flushed red at once.
From the corner of his eye, Shang Yuze caught sight of the girl’s crimson cheeks. The corner of his lips lifted slightly.
Teasing her was quite fun.
With that bit of banter, the atmosphere between them finally eased, no longer as stiff as before.
The car soon arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Both of them were dressed casually. Shang Yuze wore a black casual shirt with suit trousers, while Gu Qingyue wore a white sweater with casual pants. They looked relaxed and unceremonious.
There was no excitement or joy on their faces about registering their marriage, nor were they intimate like other couples. They did not even look much like a couple at all. Instead, they seemed almost unfamiliar with each other.
It was as if they had randomly grabbed someone off the street and come straight to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
The staff member asked uncertainly, “You two are here to register your marriage?”
Seeing that the other couples were all inseparable, Gu Qingyue followed suit and looped her arm through Shang Yuze’s, smiling sweetly. “Don’t we look like a couple?”
Shang Yuze’s body stiffened for a split second. When he saw the hand hooked around his arm, the coldness in his brows and eyes softened. His lips relaxed into a faint smile.
The woman was bewitchingly charming, the man handsome and immortal-like.
Standing together, they were pleasing to the eye and perfectly matched.
“You do,” the staff member said.
The processing was very quick. Before long, two bright red marriage certificates were placed into their hands.
Shang Yuze handed over the wedding candies he had already prepared to the staff.
Back in the car, Gu Qingyue kept staring at the red booklet in her hands, her expression dazed.
She had married him just like that?
They had known each other for less than a day.
It felt like a dream.
The entire drive passed in silence until the car finally came to a stop.
Shang Yuze took the marriage certificates from her hands, the ones she had nearly stared holes into, and put them away himself. “Get out of the car.”
Gu Qingyue looked out the window. What came into view was the largest mobile phone specialty store in Beijing, selling only high-end models.
She turned her head, her eyes landing on the man’s face, and asked in confusion, “Why are we here?”
Shang Yuze answered succinctly, “To buy you a phone.”
Gu Qingyue’s eyes widened in shock.
From childhood to adulthood, although the Gu family had not abused her, they only provided her with the bare minimum. After learning she was not their biological daughter, Gu’s father and Gu’s mother said they would still treat her as their child forever.
It was precisely that tiny bit of warmth that made her, starved for affection, reluctant to let go.
After all, for the first eighteen years of her life, it really had been the Gu family who raised her.
Even when she did not know she was not their biological child, she had never dared to ask them for anything, let alone after finding out.
Shang Yuze bringing her to buy a phone was something she had never expected. After all, even her first phone had been bought with her own scholarship money.
The sales assistant greeted them enthusiastically. “Sir, miss, who’s buying the phone? What model are you looking for?”
Shang Yuze spoke coolly. “She is. Bring out all the latest models in the store.”
He had originally planned to have someone deliver a phone directly to Yujing Manor, but on second thought, Gu Qingyue would also need to replace her SIM card.
So he simply brought her to the store to buy a phone and handle the SIM card replacement at the same time.
“Alright. Please have a seat. I’ll go get them right away.” A big client had arrived. The sales assistant’s smile bloomed as if she could already see her commission waving at her.
The two of them sat on the sofa while a server attentively poured them tea.
Two sales assistants brought over five demo phones and placed them neatly in front of Gu Qingyue, introducing them one by one.
“These five are all the latest models and are very popular with female customers. They’re lightweight, have large battery capacity, and use the newest chips developed…”
Gu Qingyue’s gaze swept over the phones. She understood chips well and knew that these phones would definitely be priced in the five-figure range.
Her back stiffened as she grew increasingly uneasy. Swallowing against her dry throat, she forced herself to ask, “What price range are these?”
Before the sales assistant could answer, Shang Yuze’s calm voice cut in.
“Don’t worry about the price. Pick the one you like.”the sales assistants standing nearby exchanged glances in secret, all wearing indulgent smiles.
The domineering CEO trope from novels had stepped straight into reality.
That sentence gave Gu Qingyue immense reassurance. Warmth surged through her heart. She extended her slender finger and pointed at a white gradient phone. “Then I’ll take this one.”
The sales assistant swiftly took out a brand-new phone, packed it up, and handed it to Gu Qingyue with both hands.
Holding the phone worth thirty thousand yuan, Gu Qingyue was careful the entire time, afraid of bumping or scratching it.
This one phone could buy more than ten of her previous phones.
Shang Yuze then took her to replace her phone number. After leaving the service hall, he asked, “Do you need me to have someone help you recover the data from your phone?”
Gu Qingyue shook her head. “No need. I have backups of the important content on my computer. I can retrieve it myself.”
Shang Yuze did not say anything more. “If there’s anything you can’t handle, remember to tell me.”
Gu Qingyue lifted her face. Her delicate features appeared even more vivid and striking, carrying a faint mixed-heritage look. She gave him a sincere smile. “Thank you.”
The girl’s fox-like eyes were long and narrow. When she smiled, the corners of her eyes curved upward like crescent moons. Her gaze rippled softly, exuding a natural allure from deep within her bones. Even without makeup, she was still breathtakingly beautiful.