At 7 p.m., Lin Qing returned home, turned on the lights, and called out twice,
“Mom?”
But no one answered.
She walked into the kitchen and found that her mother had made her some porridge and chicken soup. There was a note left on the dining table.
She picked it up and read:
“Mom went with Uncle Ding to Huai City for an award ceremony. We’ll be gone for five days.
Remember to eat on time and take good care of yourself.”
Lin Qing muttered,
“She just got back and now she’s off again after only two days.”
She put the note away, went into the kitchen, and served herself a bowl of porridge and chicken soup.
After eating quickly, she opened her laptop and started drafting a prenuptial agreement.
Half an hour later, she closed her laptop, walked to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water, took out some medication the doctor had prescribed recently, and swallowed a few tablets.
Just then—“Ding-dong ding-dong”—the doorbell rang.
Lin Qing opened the door.
Standing there was Fu Sinian, dressed in athletic wear, looking fresh and clean. His hair was still damp from a recent wash, and he was holding a bunch of groceries in his hands.
Lin Qing frowned,
“Didn’t I say I’d come see you tomorrow? What are you doing here now?”
Even though she had already agreed to marry him, her opinion of this man hadn’t changed much.
Fu Sinian replied,
“I’m already here. You’re not really going to kick me out, are you?”
He stepped inside with the bags and changed his shoes as he asked,
“Are you hungry? Have you eaten yet?”
Lin Qing closed the door.
“I’ve eaten.”
She looked at the groceries he brought—eggs, vegetables, and meat—and said with a smirk,
“I don’t cook. All that food will just rot in the fridge.”
Fu Sinian replied,
“You don’t cook, I’ll cook. I won’t let you go hungry.”
He carried the groceries into the kitchen, but Lin Qing quickly pulled him out.
“I’ve already eaten. I’m not hungry.”
Then she added,
“Come over here. Take a look at the agreement I drafted.”
The moment Fu Sinian heard the word ‘agreement’, his brows furrowed into a tight line.
He looked at the coffee table where Lin Qing’s laptop was still open with the draft on display.
“Wait a second, I’ll print it out.”
She carried the laptop into the study.
Fu Sinian followed silently.
Inside the study, it was quiet—neither of them said a word.
The printer started humming—ka-ka-ka.
Lin Qing waited in front of it.
A moment later, she handed the printed prenuptial agreement to Fu Sinian.
He took it and read carefully.
Lin Qing asked,
“Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee,” he answered,
then glanced up from the document and said in a low voice,
“Pregnant women shouldn’t drink coffee.”
Lin Qing rolled her eyes,
“I know!”
______________
Two minutes later, Lin Qing poured herself a cup of hot milk and made a cup of Blue Mountain coffee for Fu Sinian.
Fu Sinian took out his phone and said to her,
“Add me on WeChat. It’ll make things easier if we need to talk.”
Two people who were about to get married… didn’t even have each other on WeChat.
It was absurd, no matter how you looked at it.
Lin Qing opened her phone and added him.
They sat across from each other at the wooden desk in the study,
each holding a copy of the agreement.
Fu Sinian stared at the densely packed clauses in the contract, feeling a headache coming on.
He had wanted to marry her and build a real relationship—
not some kind of contractual marriage.
“Lin Qing, after all that fuss, this is what you came up with?” he asked.
Lin Qing responded calmly,
“A prenuptial agreement is a form of protection for both parties.
I agree to marry you, and in return, you help my dad’s company through this crisis.
It’s a fair exchange. The terms are all laid out clearly.
If a year from now we realize we can’t get along, we can split up peacefully—
no messy financial disputes. Isn’t that ideal?”
She approached their marriage like a lawyer evaluating a case.
Fu Sinian rubbed his forehead and sighed.
With the Fu family’s wealth and influence, there were countless women who would do anything to marry him just to get a slice of his fortune.
But Lin Qing? She seemed to be wishing for nothing more than a purely transactional relationship.
“Any objections? If you have any, I’ll revise it,” she said.
“Of course I have objections,” he replied.
“Add a few clauses. For example: I don’t agree to the part about living separately after marriage.
You’re pregnant—it’s not safe for you to live alone.
You’ll move in and live with me.”
“But—”
“No buts!” Fu Sinian cut her off firmly.
Lin Qing pouted,
“Fine.”
“Also,” Fu Sinian continued,
“All of your assets before marriage will remain yours.
As for my personal assets—I’ll transfer three-quarters of them to you after the wedding.
Take it as my promise and guarantee to you.”
Lin Qing froze for a moment and looked up at him.
“Are you serious?”
His net worth had to be in the billions, and he was just giving it to her?
She found it hard to believe.
Fu Sinian looked her straight in the eyes and said seriously,
“I’m serious.”
His tone was firm and unwavering.
Lin Qing’s heart stirred a little.
She looked down at the agreement in her hands and suddenly wondered—
Was she being a bit too cold-blooded?
“That’s it. That’s all I want to add. Put it in,” he said.
She glanced at him, hesitated for a second, then added the clauses.
Once everything was finalized, the two signed the agreement.
Lin Qing archived the document, closed her laptop, and rubbed her sore eyes.
Fu Sinian sat across from her, sipping his coffee.
He glanced around the study—a full wall was covered in wooden bookshelves,
lined neatly with books and folders.
Across the long desk were a pile of half-written drafts.
Even the printer was well-used.
This woman really was as intense as ever.
He took another sip of coffee and said,
“Tomorrow’s the weekend. You don’t have work.
Pack your things—we’re moving in together.”
“You’re really going through with it? That fast?” Lin Qing instantly perked up at the word move.
“If not now, when? We need to get married quickly.
You might be able to wait—
but the baby in your belly can’t.”
Fu Sinian looked meaningfully at her stomach.
Lin Qing instinctively touched her abdomen—it was still flat, her figure unchanged.
If he hadn’t reminded her, she might’ve forgotten she was even pregnant.
And just like that, the mood soured again.
She felt a bit… annoyed.
____________
For someone like her—a staunch non-believer in marriage—getting married was an entirely new and foreign experience.
Thinking about how her body would change during pregnancy, and the pain of childbirth that lay ahead, Lin Qing couldn’t help but feel both panicked and annoyed.
She picked up the pen in her hand and stabbed at the desk irritably, grumbling,
“This is all your fault. All your fault. If only you’d recognized the right person that night.”
Fu Sinian gave her a sidelong glance and said in a low voice,
“From what I remember, you seemed to be enjoying yourself just fine that night.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Lin Qing’s ears turned bright red.
She looked at his handsome face, and couldn’t stop herself from recalling that night—how they’d been wrapped up in each other, entwined and breathless—and bit down on her lower lip.
Fu Sinian, too, seemed a little uncomfortable at the mention of that night.
The air suddenly went quiet.
The atmosphere turned a bit awkward.
He picked up his glass and downed the coffee in one gulp. Just as he was about to speak, the doorbell rang.
Lin Qing quickly looked away and got up,
“I’ll get the door.”
She hurried out of the room.
Fu Sinian looked at her back, then smiled quietly to himself and followed her out of the study.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong—the doorbell kept ringing.
Lin Qing opened the door.
Standing outside were Su Yi and Tang Yining, both frozen in shock at what they were seeing.
“You two!”
“Are you… are you two…?”
Su Yi glanced at Lin Qing, then looked Fu Sinian up and down. Her eyes narrowed as she let out a drawn-out,
“Ohhhh…”
Tang Yining, eyes darting between the two of them, echoed in the same exaggerated tone,
“Ohhhh…”
Their voices trailed off meaningfully.
Lin Qing gave a stiff, awkward smile.
Fu Sinian cleared his throat twice and broke the tension,
“Lin Qing, everything’s settled. I’ll head out now so I don’t interrupt your girls’ night. Pack your things—tomorrow I’ll come pick you up and take you to Jinmao Residence.”
“Okay.”
He gave Su Yi and Tang Yining a polite smile, then changed his shoes and left.
After he was gone, Su Yi and Tang Yining came inside, immediately teasing Lin Qing.
“Xiao Qing, what’s going on? You two are already moving in together?”
“We haven’t seen you for, what, three days? And your relationship’s taken off like a rocket!”
Su Yi put down the milk and fruit she brought in the storage room, then came back to the living room, still full of curiosity.
“Come on, spill. What stage are you two at now?”
Lin Qing shrugged,
“Packing up. Getting married.”
“Married?!”
Su Yi and Tang Yining looked at each other in disbelief.
The last time they saw her, she’d sworn up and down that she’d never marry, that she’d raise the baby alone and be a single mom.
Now, just a few days later, her stance had completely flipped.
“You’re really getting married? What about your parents? No objections?”
“Your two families have been at odds for years. Are you doing this behind everyone’s backs?”
Lin Qing explained,
“Getting married was really out of necessity. My dad signed a profit-sharing deal before, but the company’s performance has tanked and the finances are in the red.
To keep control of the Lin Group, we had no choice but to ask Fu Sinian for help—through marriage.”
“How much does your dad owe?”
“One hundred million.”
“What?!”
The amount was so outrageous that Su Yi and Tang Yining both jumped in shock.
They couldn’t help but curse:
“Your dad’s seriously the worst. First he had an affair and a secret love child, then he divorced your mom and left her with nothing. Now he’s using you to pay off his debts?”
“He’s garbage. You must’ve had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to end up with a dad like that.”
Lin Qing made tea for the two of them and said calmly,
“Still… it was my grandfather who built the Lin Group from the ground up.
To watch it fall apart in my dad’s hands—it just feels like such a waste.”
Over the past few days, she had been thinking a lot.
If her father lost controlling shares and the family went bankrupt, she’d be the only one left to support the whole extended family.
And with her current salary, she could barely cover her own expenses—how could she possibly afford to take care of everyone else?
All things considered, marrying Fu Sinian still seemed like the most cost-effective option.
The three of them were now curled up on the sofa, chatting and laughing.
In the past, whenever they had get-togethers, they would order fried skewers and pair them with rice wine.
But now that Lin Qing was pregnant and couldn’t have alcohol or greasy food, the three of them had to make do with peanuts and fruit.
Tang Yining asked about Lin Qing’s health.
“I heard from Su Yi that you had some bleeding and had to go to the hospital a few days ago? Are you okay now?”
Lin Qing shook her head,
“I took some medicine—I’m fine now.”
Su Yi asked curiously,
“What’s it feel like to be pregnant? You already seemed worn out when you first found out. Is it that hard?”
“Right now I just keep throwing up. Can’t keep anything down.”
Lin Qing sighed.
“Being a mom is no joke.”
“Hang in there. Just ten more months to go.”
Having never been pregnant, Su Yi and Tang Yining could only offer comforting words.
－－
Two hours later, after sending her friends off, Lin Qing turned off the lights and went to sleep.
The next morning, she slept in until ten.
After waking up, she opened her suitcase and began packing.
She stepped into the walk-in closet and looked at the wardrobe full of clothes with a frown.
Then she opened her phone and saw a few messages from Fu Sinian, sent over an hour ago.
[I’ve already prepared new clothes for you at Jinmao Residence. You don’t need to bring anything unless it’s essential.]
[Linda and Jiang Yuan will come by this afternoon to help you move.]
With Jiang Yuan and Linda helping, she figured moving everything would be manageable.
Lin Qing replied with a simple: “Okay.”
She packed a few of her everyday undergarments into the suitcase, along with all her work files and laptop.
Then she headed into the study.
One entire wall was a bookshelf filled with her treasured books.
Looking around the room—her usual workspace where she often worked overtime—she felt a pang of reluctance to leave.
Yuanbao, her cat, was wagging its tail at her feet.
She picked Yuanbao up and hugged him, rubbing his furry back.
“Yuanbao, we’re moving to a new home. Are you happy?”
“But your dad doesn’t seem to like you very much. What should we do?”
Yuanbao, not understanding human language, let out a few meows.
____________
4 PM.
Fu Sinian appeared punctually at Lin Qing’s doorstep, with Jiang Yuan and Linda following behind him.
“Hello, Lawyer Lin.”
“Hello, Lawyer Lin.”
Lin Qing nodded in greeting.
Fu Sinian gave instructions to the two:
“Jiang Yuan, pack up all the books in Lawyer Lin’s study. Linda, you handle the clothes in her dressing room.”
“Understood, President Fu.”
Fu Sinian turned to Lin Qing. “Are all the basic daily necessities in this box?”
Lin Qing nodded.
Hearing the sound of people, Yuanbao suddenly darted out of the room and rubbed against Fu Sinian’s legs several times.
Fu Sinian took a few steps back, frowned, and pointed at Yuanbao. “Is it coming too?”
Clearly unwilling.