“But…”
As Lin Jiujiu sent him the files, she said in a small voice, “The kidnapper is Shen Huan.”
There was a long silence on the other end.
She didn’t know whether he was silent because of the files she had sent him or because of the kidnapper’s identity.
He remained silent for so long that Lin Jiujiu began to worry about her own life. She called out softly, “President Lin? Boss Lin? Dad?”
Only then did Lin He come back to himself. He said coolly, “I understand. I’ll give him the money, but I need him to destroy these files completely.”
Lin Jiujiu listened for a moment and felt that something was wrong. She hurriedly reminded him, “And me.”
“You?”
Lin He paused. “You’re up to you. Just don’t throw away the face of the Lin family and the Gu family.”
Lin Jiujiu: “…”
No.
She was clearly the hostage.
How had these files become more important than she was?
She finally understood the situation.
The recording = commercial secrets > Lin Jiujiu.
Waaah.
What a pathetic way to transmigrate.
The money arrived soon after.
Lin Jiujiu climbed down from the electric therapy chair and cautiously asked Shen Huan, “Can I leave now?”
No matter what her status was, staying alive was still the most important thing.
Shen Huan narrowed his eyes at her. Leaning back against the medical cabinet, he let a faint smile curl across his lips. “Of course you can. But there’s one condition.”
There was always an indistinct, unfathomable cruelty hidden deep in his eyes.
Lin Jiujiu trembled timidly from head to toe. “What condition?”
Shen Huan said nothing. His narrow, foxlike eyes revealed a hint of ill intent.
The next second, Lin Jiujiu was bundled up and tossed back into the car.
She looked pitiful, with a delicate, woebegone face. Her almond-shaped eyes were round and bright, making her look from a distance like a beautiful woman from a painting who inspired nothing but sympathy.
And yet, her figure was unexpectedly alluring, with a full, well-developed body and a slender, supple waist.
She was the type no one could easily resist.
Unfortunately, Shen Huan was a heartless man.
With his broad shoulders and long limbs, he sat beside the car window. His expression was aloof and refined, and when he wasn’t smiling, he seemed even more distant.
That actually made him seem less frightening.
Lin Jiujiu didn’t dare speak to him, so she poked the arm of the bodyguard in the front seat. “Where are we going?”
The bodyguard gave a foolish grin. “Seventh Master said not to tell you. He wants to give Miss Lin a surprise.”
His smile was genuinely rather idiotic.
Lin Jiujiu glanced back at Shen Huan. Still afraid to speak, she obediently curled up in the corner.
But clearly, this wasn’t a surprise at all. “Shock” would have been a more accurate description.
The car stopped in front of the civil affairs bureau.
The place had probably already been cleared out, as there was hardly anyone around.
Lin Jiujiu was dazedly hauled out of the car by Shen Huan, then dazedly forced to sit on a bench. In front of her lay two marriage registration forms.
No.
Something here seemed very wrong.
Hadn’t Shen Huan just been trying to kill her? How had they suddenly ended up getting married?
She frowned hard, then turned to glance at Shen Huan, who was sitting beside her.
The man’s profile had sharply defined features, and his nose rose in a perfectly handsome arc.
He was gorgeous.
But that wasn’t the point.
She cleared her throat. “President Shen, Brother Shen, Master Shen, Boss Shen…”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “Speak like a normal person.”
She said with difficulty, “Did you come to the wrong place? Or bring the wrong person?”
It would have been more likely for him to marry A-Zuo or A-You than her.
After all, she was his mortal enemy’s fiancée, the daughter of his rival, and she had just held a knife to his throat.
Wouldn’t marrying her be the same as marrying a disaster?
She didn’t believe that someone as astute as Shen Huan would do something so self-defeating.
Besides, this scene hadn’t appeared in the novel.
Shen Huan tilted his head slightly and looked her up and down. His tone was teasing. “But you clearly just said that you admired me and that we were mutually in love. Shouldn’t we get married?”
After saying that, he paused. Then, his smile faded as he asked, “Or was Jiujiu lying to me?”
The air around him turned cold in an instant.
Everyone in the room shuddered.
An overwhelming pressure bore down on Lin Jiujiu, making it difficult for her to breathe.
“I wasn’t. I didn’t…”
Waaah.
Words once spoken could not be taken back.
She swiftly turned around and scrawled her name across the marriage registration form. Her eyes were sincere and filled with the will to survive.
“Let’s get married. We absolutely have to.”
A person couldn’t possibly value their dignity more than their life, could they?
Only then was Shen Huan satisfied. Holding the fountain pen, he signed his name unhurriedly.
There was a relaxed nonchalance about him that others could never imitate, as though nothing in the world could obstruct his path—or perhaps make him care too much.
Half an hour later, Lin Jiujiu stood outside the civil affairs bureau holding her marriage certificate, utterly dejected.
Great.
We got marriaged, folks.
The groom was a lunatic.
Waaah.
It wasn’t that she was a coward. She simply had never experienced any great turmoil.
Even back in college, her roommates had seen how cute and soft-natured she was and treated her like their daughter.
If a dog barked at her on the roadside, she would run half a mile away. And now she had suddenly transmigrated into this unfamiliar world and encountered the great villain from the novel.
“The wedding date is tentatively set.”
Shen Huan looked at her with half a smile.
She was probably extremely unwilling, because her eyes were red-rimmed and she looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
She was more adorable than before.
A pampered little girl like her would be much more interesting to keep by his side and slowly torment until she was ruined.
Lin Jiujiu awkwardly murmured, “Oh,” then muttered, “We don’t have to hold one.”
Shen Huan’s tone was mild. “Hmm?”
Lin Jiujiu said, “We will! We absolutely have to!”
He couldn’t help letting the corners of his lips lift slightly. Then he took out a key and handed it to Lin Jiujiu. “This is a villa I own in the city center. You can move in if you need somewhere to stay.”
Lin Jiujiu turned her head away with great dignity. “No, thank you.”
She absolutely did not want to live with Shen Huan.
Shen Huan’s tone turned cold again. “You don’t want it?”
Lin Jiujiu said, “I do…”
What was wrong with this man?
He had her fear button completely figured out.
“I won’t be living there.”
Perhaps he could see her concerns. His gaze remained indifferent. “If you need anything, you can contact A-Zuo or A-You. Try not to disturb me.”
Lin Jiujiu couldn’t hold back her excitement and nodded enthusiastically. “Yay.”
Shen Huan swept her a glance and sneered. “You’re very happy?”
Lin Jiujiu wilted. “I’m terribly sad…”
Shen Huan scoffed and stopped paying attention to her. He strode toward the car on his long legs and slammed the door shut.
That left Lin Jiujiu standing by the roadside, somewhat baffled.
Strange.
He clearly didn’t like her.
He was bristling with hostility, as if he might kill her the next second, yet he had married her.
Never try to guess what goes on in a great villain’s mind.
But she soon learned what Shen Huan’s purpose was.
Lin Jiujiu was lowering her eyes and wondering whether she should run away or find somewhere to hide when she received a call from Gu Wenhe’s mother, He Hui.
In the original story, Gu Wenhe’s mother, He Hui, was the main force behind the office romance drama.
She looked down on the female lead, Chen Ran, who came from an ordinary background and had no particularly outstanding abilities. All she wanted was for Gu Wenhe to fulfill her engagement and marry Lin Jiujiu, the wealthy young lady she had watched grow up.
Unfortunately, the more forceful she became, the more rebellious Gu Wenhe grew. In the end, she even wanted to sever her relationship with her mother for Chen Ran.