Stepping out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Qin Nuan stared blankly at the freshly minted little red booklet in her hand.
Had she really just married Shen Shiyan like this? Why did it feel like a dream?
Just a week ago, she and he had lived in completely different worlds. Yet starting today, she was Shen Shiyan’s wife.
Come to think of it, from knowing each other to getting their marriage license, it had taken a total of just one week.
Yesterday morning, she had gone to his office to sign an agreement.
Given their situation, to put it bluntly, it was a contract marriage. Setting many terms in advance actually made things much simpler.
She wasn’t surprised by this, especially since the terms of that agreement were overly lenient toward her.
There was basically only one primary requirement: to cooperate with him on necessary occasions, such as maintaining the facade of a loving couple in front of the Shen family, attending banquets, and so on.
Meanwhile, the right to initiate a divorce after one year remained in her hands. Following the divorce, Shen Shiyan would also pay her a hefty compensation of 10 million.
When Qin Nuan first saw the string of zeros behind that compensation sum, she had been completely dumbfounded, counting them several times just to be sure, her hands trembling uncontrollably.
As she drifted off in her thoughts, Shen Shiyan suddenly spoke up: “Go home tonight and pack your things first, get ready to move. Tomorrow night at 8:00, I’ll come pick you up.”
Qin Nuan started, looking up just in time to meet his dark, fathomless eyes. A blush instantly crept across her cheeks.
She bit her lip, recalling the fourth clause in yesterday’s agreement—the one Shen Shiyan had specifically reminded her to pay attention to:
During the duration of the marriage, both parties shall normally fulfill their marital obligations.
When she first saw this clause, she had frozen for a moment, then flushed with embarrassment, stammering, “President Shen, this… why…”
Didn’t this mean she would have to sleep with Shen Shiyan…?
Weren’t they only getting married to put on a show for the Shen family? How could this…
“Miss Qin, there is one thing I hope you understand.”
Looking at her, Shen Shiyan’s attitude and tone were exceptionally earnest: “Although our marriage resembles a contract more, no matter how it started, I take my attitude toward marriage very seriously. During the marriage, I will respect my wife and will never commit any act of infidelity or impurity.”
“I assume you wouldn’t want your husband running off with other women during the marriage either.”
Gazing into those dark eyes of his, Qin Nuan’s heart skipped a beat.
She opened her mouth, staring blankly at him as her heart rate inexplicably sped up.
It took her a good moment to snap out of it and look away, though her heartbeat remained unsettled for a long time.
She hadn’t expected him to take marriage so seriously; it was completely different from what she had previously imagined.
Not to mention someone of Shen Shiyan’s status, even ordinary men frequently messed around outside after getting married.
Yet Shen Shiyan…
Even if it was just a contract marriage, he was willing to take responsibility for it.
This touched her deeply and greatly elevated her favorable impression of him.
With things put this way, she didn’t seem to have any room left for pretense.
With burning cheeks, Qin Nuan bit her lip.
Weren’t they just marital relations? Though she couldn’t clearly remember what happened that night, Shen Shiyan’s stamina and skills should be top-tier, and she would be the one benefiting in the future anyway.
Besides, forcing him into a year of celibacy post-marriage didn’t seem quite right either…
And so, she nodded gently, agreeing to the matter.
Now that Shen Shiyan was asking her to move in, it was entirely reasonable and served as a reminder of this agreement.
Since the agreement was already signed, Qin Nuan naturally wouldn’t go back on her word, so she nodded and softly replied, “Okay.”
In a spot she couldn’t see, Shen Shiyan curved his lips into a faint smile.
That afternoon, the two of them returned to the company to work as usual.
Registering their marriage had gone at lightning speed. Because of his special status, they had someone dedicated to handling it, and in a mere ten minutes, she had officially become a married woman.
After getting off work and returning home, the first thing Qin Nuan did wasn’t pack.
She flung herself into the soft sofa, lying limp for a while, before digging the marriage certificate out of her bag.
Her mind had been wandering all afternoon, and even typing at her computer had caused her to drift off repeatedly.
The little red booklet felt warm in her hands. She stroked it a few times, opened the cover, and revealed their photo inside.
Whether it was just her imagination or not, she felt like the Shen Shiyan in the picture carried a faint hint of a smile.
Qin Nuan’s heart skipped a beat again, and she couldn’t help tapping her fingertip against his image.
This face was simply too handsome—even a straight-faced, standard marriage ID photo looked this dazzling and aristocratic.
Such a handsome man was actually her husband!
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help giggling to herself.
If Ningning ever found out about this, she would definitely be scared to death.
After rolling around on the sofa for a bit, Qin Nuan cooked herself a simple bowl of noodles. Once she was full, she dug out her suitcase and began packing her belongings.
She had only rented this place after joining the Empire Group, meaning she had lived here for less than three months, and she didn’t own all that much stuff.
Coupled with her simple lifestyle, her clothes and daily necessities were easy to pack.
She spent two hours packing everything into two suitcases, ready to roll them out tomorrow.
After finishing, she called her landlord to discuss terminating the lease.
Since they had agreed on a half-year lease and she had paid the deposit, ending it early made the landlord unhappy, and they refused to return the deposit.
Qin Nuan felt a slight pinch in her heart, wondering if she could get this deposit reimbursed by Shen Shiyan.
Of course, she only dared to think about it. She patted her face and comforted herself: After one year, I’ll get 10 million and become a little wealthy woman!
The next day was a normal workday. Near the end of the shift, Qin Nuan received a text message:
[License plate: Capital A-XXX. Eight o’clock tonight, waiting for you downstairs at your place. —— Shen Shiyan]
Qin Nuan cross-referenced it with the number on his business card; it was different, likely his personal number. She quickly saved it and replied: [Okay.]
Little did she expect that upon heading downstairs, she would run right into Lin Qingyang.
He was holding a bouquet of flowers, clearly waiting for her.
Qin Nuan frowned. Seeing her, Lin Qingyang eagerly approached, “Xiaonuan.”
Qin Nuan felt annoyed the moment she saw him. She took a step back and asked coldly, “What are you doing here?”
“Xiaonuan, I was wrong. I really can’t live without you! I came to wait for you after work, and I even brought flowers. Can you please forgive me?”
“Lin Qingyang, don’t you feel sick saying things like that? The moment you tried to hand me over to someone else, we were completely finished. I made myself very clear last time—don’t ever show up in front of me again.”
“Xiaonuan, don’t be so heartless. You know I love you. If you’re unwilling regarding President Chen, forget it; I’ll figure something else out for the promotion. Forgive me and come with me.”
As he spoke, Lin Qingyang reached out from behind to grab her.
Qin Nuan dodged him in time, feeling even more disgusted by his outstretched hand. She glared at him: “Lin Qingyang, do you not understand human speech? We broke up, and I am not going anywhere with you.”
Unwilling to entangle with him any further, Qin Nuan dropped a blunt warning: “Also, I’m already married and someone else’s wife now. Take your filthy hands off me.”
“Married?” Lin Qingyang froze, his expression instantly darkening into a sinister glare. “You got married just one week after breaking up with me? Who the hell did you marry?”
He had lowered his pride to plead with her purely to string her along so she’d have utility for him later.
Yet after a mountain of nice words from him, her attitude remained cold, and she even lied about being married.
He simply didn’t believe Qin Nuan was married.
Qin Nuan was conservative to a fault. In their four years of dating, they had barely progressed past kissing, and she had never let him stay over. How could she possibly get married out of the blue?
Losing his temper, Lin Qingyang dropped his pretense and grabbed her wrist, grinding his teeth: “Didn’t you already sleep with someone else? Why put on a pure act now? You acted like a chaste maiden for four years with me, only to turn around and marry someone else? Qin Nuan, you really are a bitch.”
“Get over here with me! Since you could sleep with another guy, what’s wrong with sleeping with President Chen? Help me suck up to President Chen, and I won’t break up with you.”
Trembling with rage, Qin Nuan had never seen anyone so shameless. But his grip was too strong, and she couldn’t break free. Seeing that he was about to drag her toward a car, she panicked, bit down hard on the back of his hand, and kicked out wildly.
“Ah!!” Lin Qingyang yelled in pain, letting go abruptly, cursing profanely as he raised a hand to strike her.
Qin Nuan was startled, knowing she couldn’t dodge in time.
Yet right at that moment, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and gently pulled her back.
She fell into a warm embrace.
A cool, woody scent instantly enveloped her.
At the same time, Lin Qingyang let out a miserable shriek.
Startled, Qin Nuan opened her eyes.
She saw Shen Shiyan securely shielding her waist with one hand, while slowly pulling back his other hand.
As she looked up, she bumped right into his bottomless, deep eyes.
“Are you alright?” he asked, looking down at her.
Recovering her wits, Qin Nuan felt as though she had been warmed by the stillness in his eyes, and her panicked heart slowly settled at that moment.
She shook her head and softly said, “I’m fine.”
Confirming she was unhurt, Shen Shiyan turned his gaze downward, looking down condescendingly at Lin Qingyang sprawled on the ground.
His tone carried no discernible joy or anger, yet radiated a bone-chilling coldness:
“Mister, exactly where were you planning to take my wife?”