When Jiang Chiyu walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, she held a small red book in her hand—the marriage certificate featuring her and the Pei family’s notorious “wife-curser” eldest son.
In the photo against the red background, her smile was incredibly stiff. In contrast, Pei Jinnian, who sat beside her, appeared composed and gentle, showing no signs of nervousness at all. It was as if this sort of thing was a common occurrence for him. She wondered if any of his previous ill-fated fiancées had actually reached the stage of registering their marriage with him.
After leaving the bureau, Jiang Chiyu kept her head slightly lowered, looking as though she were deep in thought over something monumental.
After observing her for a moment, Pei Jinnian suddenly spoke her name. “Xiao Yu, is it alright if we set our wedding date for next week?”
His tone was just as gentle as before.
Startled by the sudden address, Jiang Chiyu froze for a moment. Once she processed what he had said, her eyes suddenly erupted with an unprecedented light. She stared at Pei Jinnian with eyes as bright as stars, her excitement impossible to hide.
“Really? We’re getting married next week?”
To any normal person, it would look as though Jiang Chiyu was head-over-heels in love with the man before her. But only Jiang Chiyu knew the true source of her excitement. Her ten-billion-dollar inheritance was waving at her—how could she not be excited? What reason did she have to stay calm?
However, she didn’t let this state last too long, fearing Pei Jinnian might think she had fallen in love at first sight and couldn’t wait to marry him.
“Next week… which day next week?”
She held the small red book casually between her fingers. Her slender, pale fingertips against the bright red cover made her skin look even fairer. Pei Jinnian glanced at her hand before shifting his gaze away. “Next Thursday. My mother had a master calculate the date; it’s an auspicious day.”
“Alright, then I’ll head back first. See you next Thursday.”
With that, Jiang Chiyu turned and left without the slightest hesitation, carrying her marriage certificate with her.
But when she arrived home, she found that Jiang Zhongyi and Meng Meiyun had already packed her things. All that was left was for her to grab her suitcase and leave. They were incredibly fast. The packed suitcase was already sitting right at the front door.
Looking at the suitcase, Jiang Chiyu realized they couldn’t wait for her to get out.
But she wasn’t going to make it that easy for them.
Jiang Chiyu picked up the suitcase and entered the house, only to run into Meng Meiyun, who was coming out clutching a large handful of green onions, looking for something. Meng Meiyun froze when she saw her, then spotted the suitcase in Jiang Chiyu’s hand. Realizing what was happening, she looked away with a hypocritical smile. “Xiao Yu, you didn’t need to come back. The Pei family will be here soon to pick you up. Even though the wedding is next week, there’s no problem with you moving into the Pei house early.”
Meng Meiyun spoke so naturally, as if this were the most normal thing in the world. But those few simple sentences left Jiang Chiyu speechless.
What did she say? Move into the Pei house now? Where would she stay? With Pei Jinnian? Just chatting under the covers? That… wasn’t very realistic.
“I don’t think there’s a need to rush. I can stay at home first and move into the Pei house after the wedding,” Jiang Chiyu said as she began walking toward her small storage room.
Before she could take more than a few steps, Meng Meiyun spoke up again. “This is what the Pei family wants. Xiao Yu, don’t make things difficult for your parents, okay?”
Are you kidding? If I don’t make things difficult for you, I’ll be the one in a difficult position. Besides, they had already taken millions; what exactly was so “difficult” about this?
Though her inner monologue was sharp, Jiang Chiyu put on a look of grievance. “I can’t bear to leave you… Don’t you feel any sadness about me leaving?”
She looked at Meng Meiyun with watery, pitiful eyes. Meng Meiyun’s grip on the green onions tightened. Fearing that a wrong answer might hurt Jiang Chiyu’s feelings and cause her to back out of the marriage, she quickly relented.
“How could that be? Stay right here, Xiao Yu. I’ll have your father call the Pei family and tell them we can’t bear to let our daughter go so soon. We’ll ask for you to stay home for a few more days. How does that sound?”
How does it sound? Perfect.
Jiang Chiyu lowered her head to prevent Meng Meiyun from seeing the corners of her mouth curling upward. “Thank you, Mom.” Then, she dragged her twenty-inch suitcase back into her cramped little room.
On the other side, Pei Jinnian didn’t react much when he received Jiang Zhongyi’s call and easily agreed to the request.
After the call ended, Chen Mo began to observe his young master’s expression… It was calm, devoid of any visible emotion.
Seeing this, Chen Mo gathered his courage and spoke. “Sir, it seems this marriage partner is quite different from the previous ones… She actually looks like she’s looking forward to marrying you. Has she not heard the rumors?”
The “rumors” he referred to were, of course, the ones about Pei Jinnian being a wife-curser. Any normal person would be at least a little afraid after hearing such things, right? Yet today, he saw that the young master’s new bride had no fear at all; instead, she seemed… happy?
Was it just his imagination?
Pei Jinnian was sitting on a lounge chair in the courtyard, holding a thick file. He didn’t look up from the document as he replied tonelessly, “It’s possible my uncle found someone more ‘normal’ this time.”
His voice was flat. Even when mentioning the man who had repeatedly sent people to kill him, there wasn’t a ripple of emotion in his tone.
Initially, the people his uncle sent were relatively normal—approaching his assistants or secretaries and bribing them to make a move. Without exception, they all failed. When that didn’t work, his uncle became obsessed with introducing him to “partners.” These women were all his uncle’s people. His uncle simply wanted him to fall in love with them so they could use his feelings to kill him.
To be honest, that was completely impossible.
If those people had stayed by his side quietly, he would have turned a blind eye. But since none of them could stay in their place, they couldn’t blame him for being ruthless.
As for this time…
“You haven’t found any evidence of Pei Su contacting her, have you?” Pei Jinnian closed the file and stood up from the lounge chair.
Chen Mo immediately replied, “Correct. None.”
“Then this time,” Pei Jinnian said, “it’s my turn to die.”