Half an hour later.
A dazzling diamond wedding ring was slipped onto Chi Yang’s left ring finger.
Her eyes sparkled as she blinked, playfully waving her hand to admire the ring. “This doesn’t count toward the five billion, right?”
“No,” Xie Youci replied, tilting his head to glance at her. “This ring is just a temporary prop for today’s performance as a loving couple.”
Chi Yang: “…”
Truly worthy of Xie Youci—a young financial prodigy who independently founded Huayou Capital outside the family business. A diamond ring worth nearly ten million was just a temporary prop to him.
“Are you really that generous?” Chi Yang asked, half-believing, half-doubting.
Xie Youci raised an eyebrow calmly. “After all, we’re going home for dinner tonight. In this world, no loving newlyweds would be without wedding rings.”
As he spoke, he leisurely slipped his own wedding ring onto his finger, lifting his hand to give Chi Yang a slight wave.
The simple, elegant, and subtly designed silver band looked quite striking on his well-defined fingers.
“You’re not bad at sweet-talking.”
Chi Yang lifted her chin with a hint of pride, extending her ring-adorned hand forward. She pretended to reluctantly agree while admiring the diamond’s sparkling brilliance:
“Well, if that’s the case, I’ll reluctantly play the part of a loving couple with you when we go home tonight~”
Xie Youci raised an eyebrow.
He followed her lead, saying, “Alright, then I’ll have to trouble Mrs. Xie to hold your husband’s arm tightly once we get home. Don’t let your fox tail show.”
“I won’t,” Chi Yang replied, her eyes gleaming with mischief.
When it came to putting on a show, she was an expert. Without hesitation, she affectionately linked arms with Xie Youci.
Xie Youci’s casually raised lips stiffened.
He slowly lowered his gaze to look at Chi Yang, not expecting her to start acting so soon.
Chi Yang’s beautiful eyes seemed to be filled with stars as she blinked her long lashes. “Husband~”
Xie Youci felt a shiver run down his spine.
She smiled sweetly and gazed at him with affection. “Do you think my acting skills are up to par?”
Xie Youci: “…”
He truly hadn’t expected Chi Yang to have her own way of playing the coquettish sweetheart. Her soft, delicate voice alone made his Adam’s apple twitch involuntarily.
Xie Youci looked at her with a complicated expression.
His gaze lingered on her alluring, slightly parted red lips before drifting downward. It was only then that he noticed Chi Yang was wearing a white, full-length qipao today.
Her dark hair was elegantly pinned up, and her brows were delicately arched like a painting.
The high slit of the qipao faintly revealed her fair, slender legs.
Her eyes, shimmering like autumn ripples, seemed to hold a watery glow, silently captivating his soul.
Xie Youci: “…”
He slowly averted his gaze, a feeling of overwhelming intensity consuming all his rationality.
Damn.
She must be fishing for me again!
Even Chi Yang didn’t notice his ears turning red.
…
Evening, the setting sun bled like crimson.
A Bugatti La Voiture Noire glided through the white-walled, black-tiled scenery, entering Mingyue Bay, nestled in the western suburbs of the capital.
This was the Xie family estate.
Su Jinyue, the matriarch of the Xie family, hailed from a prestigious family in Jiangnan. To honor her, Xie Xiangming had built this garden-style villa for her.
On the main path paved with blue bricks and tiles.
The Bugatti La Voiture Noire, starkly out of place in the elegant and serene garden, came to a slow stop.
Xie Youci walked around to the passenger side and opened the car door.The first thing that caught the eye was a slender, fair, and luminous long leg. Chi Yang used her fingertips to gather the high-slit hem of her cheongsam, her beautiful stiletto heels landing on the cobblestone path.
She was just about to find a flat spot to steady herself and get out of the car when a hand with distinct knuckles was extended before her.
Chi Yang looked up.
There, leaning lazily against the car door, was Xie Youci, offering his hand like a gentleman.
“What are you doing?” Chi Yang asked, eyeing him with disdain.
Xie Youci glanced over nonchalantly. “What do you mean, what am I doing? As a considerate husband, shouldn’t I be gentlemanly enough to help his beloved wife out of the car at a time like this?”
Chi Yang: “…”
“Hurry up, Mrs. Xie.”
He lazily beckoned her with a finger. “They’ll be rushing out to see the monkey soon. Don’t hesitate—you’ve got to put on a show.”
“What monkey? Who’s the monkey?”
Chi Yang was utterly confused by Xie Youci’s words. She was still wondering if she was being subtly mocked when she suddenly heard a sweet, high-pitched shout from the courtyard—
“Wow! Big news! The most useless brother of the Xie family has finally brought his piupiu sister home!”
Chi Yang: ?
Baffled, she followed the sound and saw a little girl in a pink-and-white dress, her squeaky shoes slapping noisily as she delivered the news to every corner.
A chorus of lively voices soon followed:
“Xie Youci brought his wife home?”
“It’s already shocking enough that he managed to marry Er Er. And now he’s brought her home?”
“If even A Ci has this kind of skill, I’m heading back to my hometown tonight to see if the sows in the pen have learned to climb trees.”
“Is it really Er Er who’s back?”
“Oh, slow down, all of you! I haven’t finished wrapping the red envelopes yet!”
Chi Yang: ???
Hearing the voices of the aunts, uncles, and cousins, Chi Yang’s pupils instantly contracted.
It was like a reflex.
Or perhaps she was jolted into clarity.
She immediately took Xie Youci’s hand, letting him grip it firmly as he helped her out of the car. Then, like a water snake, she affectionately wrapped herself around his arm, her voice sweet and enchanting. “Thank you, hubby~”
Xie Youci’s back stiffened almost imperceptibly.
He slowly turned to look at her, meeting Chi Yang’s charming smile. Her eyes curved with affection as she gazed at him, leaving no room for anyone to suspect a thing.
So deeply in love.
That kind of alluring look was something no man could resist.
Xie Youci raised a hand to press against his forehead.
He withdrew his gaze, his emotions a tangled mess, and before he could even ponder whether Chi Yang was acting or deliberately flirting with him under the guise of the moment, the relatives swarmed forward.
“Oh! It really is Er Er who’s back?”
“It’s not a dream, huh!”
“The Xie and Su family graves are smoking with good fortune!”
Xie Youci snapped back to attention. He reached out and clasped Chi Yang’s hand, which was looped around his arm. “Uncles, Auntie.”
Almost immediately, he felt a soft pressure against his waist.
Chi Yang leaned in closer, her posture relaxed and intimate. “Hello, Uncle, Uncle, Auntie~”
“Ah, hello, hello!” The relatives were delighted, stuffing countless red envelopes into Chi Yang’s hands. “Xie Youci, you lucky brat! Better cherish this!”
Xie Youci: “…” Hah.
As if it were up to him whether he wanted to cherish it or not.
Clearly, there was a female rogue who, every time she reeled him in, would run off without leaving him any room for imagination.
Xie Youci turned his head, his expression filled with quiet resentment.Chi Yang raised her face, her smiling eyes curved like crescents, the light shimmering within them akin to spring water melted with sunlight, making one wish to drown in them forever at a single glance.
Xie Youci: “…”
He pretended to gaze at Chi Yang with deep affection, his smile not reaching his eyes as he said, “Chi Erer, that’s enough.”
The smile in Chi Yang’s eyes deepened even more.
She clung tightly to Xie Youci’s arm, “Honey, shall we go in? Our parents are probably waiting for us.”
Xie Youci: “…”
He looked down at Chi Yang, his soul nearly captivated by her, then slowly and stiffly turned his head away.
He would never fall for it again.
She was definitely—deliberately—trying to reel him in!