Unfazed, Professor Ji spun a yarn with a completely straight face: “I’ve turned down all the blind dates my family arranged over the past few days. I told the old man I’d only ever marry someone I actually love, so if I didn’t put on a bit of a show, he’d just keep making a fuss.”
Yun Qingwu raised a brow. So it was just a show for the family’s benefit.
Tch.
So much needless drama.
Having managed against all odds to marry the young woman he had held a torch for over so many years, Ji Siming was overjoyed, yet he didn’t dare show it on his face for fear of frightening her away.
On the drive back, he forced himself to dredge up every deeply miserable memory from his entire life just to keep himself from bursting out laughing.
“We’re here.”
Yun Qingwu stepped out of the car, but Ji Siming called out to her again: “Feel free to call or text me whenever you need anything.”
“Got it.”
Watching him drive away, Yun Qingwu felt a wave of relief wash over her.
Given how fiercely he had rushed to draft that agreement earlier, he clearly had zero romantic interest in her and was simply terrified she’d take advantage of him.
Besides, she had peeked at him numerous times along the way, and he hadn’t seemed remotely excited about getting hitched—if anything, he had looked a little disgruntled.
It seemed he wasn’t particularly thrilled with this match either.
That suited her just fine; it meant there wouldn’t be any messy complications when the time came to get a divorce.
With a major crisis resolved, Yun Qingwu’s mood was through the roof.
Humming a tune, she stepped into the house, only to discover that Gu Yi was still around.
“Big Brother.”
Gu Yi dragged his gaze away from his phone. “Chen Ma said you’re heading to Lincheng tomorrow?”
“Yeah, work-related. I told you about it previously. I’ll be taking a leave of absence for now and coming back just in time for finals.”
Familiar with her webcomic adaptation projects, Gu Yi gave a nod. “I’ll arrange a personal assistant for you.”
“No need, I’m just a screenwriter, not some celebrity. What on earth would I want with an assistant?” With that, Yun Qingwu plucked a tangerine from the fruit bowl and rolled it between her palms. “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of myself.”
Ever since Yun Qingwu walked out the door that morning, a profound sense of unease had been gnawing at Gu Yi.
He couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something completely outside his control had just transpired.
Yet looking at Yun Qingwu now, everything seemed entirely normal.
“Qingwu, you never used to turn down my arrangements.”
Yun Qingwu paused mid-peel. “The past is the past, the present is the present. Things are different now.”
“What’s different? I’m still your older brother—taking care of you is only natural.”
“Forget it, I’m already twenty-two years old, I need to learn to be independent. You should just focus on taking care of your fiancée instead, Big Brother! I can manage just fine on my own!” Tossing off those words, she peeled off a segment of tangerine to snack on as she headed up the stairs.
Before she had taken more than a few steps, Gu Yi’s breezy, unperturbed voice drifted up from behind: “What did you go do today?”
Halting in her tracks, Yun Qingwu spun around and flashed him a cheeky grin. “Got married.”
“?”
Assuming she was just talking nonsense, Gu Yi didn’t take her seriously. Just then, his phone rang; after tossing a few brief remarks to the caller, he grabbed his coat and headed out the door.
Back in her room, Yun Qingwu took a closer look at the paperwork. It was quite lengthy—over twenty pages—and she had no clue what most of it entailed. She had primarily checked the clauses concerning the wife to ensure there were no unfavorable terms, noticing that Ji Siming had even voluntarily added a stipulation requiring absolute mutual fidelity in both body and mind throughout the duration of the marriage.
She heartily approved of that addition; she certainly had no desire to catch the scent of another woman’s perfume on him whenever her illness flared up and she needed a comforting hug—that would genuinely repulse her.
Just as she finished reviewing the documents and prepared to pack them away, she realized she had accidentally brought home his copy of the marriage agreement as well. She promptly fired off a text: “Professor Ji, I accidentally ended up with your copy of the marriage agreement too. Should I have someone drop it off for you?”
J: “Just hand it to me next time we meet.”
Yun Qingwu: “Got it. (￣^￣)ゞ”
Staring at the strange little symbol on his screen for a few moments, Ji Siming wondered what on earth it was supposed to be.
Failing to decipher it, he did a quick search: Military salute.
A salute?
His mind instantly conjured an image of her striking that exact pose, the corners of his lips curving upward in silence.
She was just entirely too adorable.
News of Ji Siming’s sudden marriage announcement naturally didn’t slip past his circle of childhood friends.
Mo Yan organized a gathering and summoned him over.
A group of them craned their necks in eager anticipation inside the private booth, but it wasn’t until nearly eight o’clock that Ji Siming finally made a tardy entrance.
As he walked through the door, everyone stretched their necks to look behind him. That was it—just him?
“Come on, bro, you came alone?”
Taking a seat, Ji Siming replied, “And who else were you expecting?”
Feng Che collapsed back into his seat with a booming laugh. “See? I told you that photo was photoshopped! The guy lives like a celibate monk day in and day out. Aside from being drop-dead gorgeous, built like a god, and ridiculously wealthy, what other redeeming qualities does he even have? He’s boring, he’s intimidating—how on earth could a guy like that ever snag a wife?”
The rest of the group chuckled and settled in.
Unbothered, Ji Siming sat down, leisurely unbuttoned his suit jacket, and set it aside. As he did, two crimson booklets slipped right out of his pocket and landed with a soft thud on the sofa!
The entire room: “!!!”
Staring at his stunned, open-mouthed friends, Ji Siming leisurely rolled up his cuffs, picked up the marriage certificates, and gave them an idle glance. “Whose marriage certificates are these lying around? Oh, right—they’re mine.”
Mo Yan was the first to snap out of his stupor, shaking his head with a chuckle.
Talk about an outrageously casual flex.
If the angle of those marriage certificates had been even a fraction less deliberate, they never would have tumbled out of that pocket.
You sly dog. Absolute peak slyness.
“Holy shit, bro, you actually got married?!”
Chomping down on a cigarette, Ji Siming offered a nonchalant “Mhm.” “Jealous?”
“Damn it, then why didn’t you bring our sister-in-law along so we could all hang out?”
Since he had literally brought the marriage certificates along, it had to be the real deal.
Ji Siming wasn’t petty or bored enough to forge a fake set of papers just to fool them.
Surveying the bunch of them, whose faces were practically dripping with juicy curiosity, he delivered a deadpan riposte: “You guys are all too hideous—I was afraid she’d get scared.”
Feng Che: “?”
Mo Yan: “??”
Are you even remotely polite?
Though they were taking flak, they had been subjected to his snark since childhood and were long since immune.
Seeing how genuinely content Ji Siming looked at having secured the woman of his dreams, they were naturally thrilled for him.
Ji Siming rarely drank on ordinary days, but tonight, feeling exceptionally lighthearted, he indulged in a few extra glasses.
Noticing him staring down at his phone, Mo Yan strolled over with his glass and tapped it gently against Ji Siming’s. “Is it her?”
He didn’t drop any names, but Ji Siming caught his drift instantly. “Yeah, it’s her.”
“Congrats. After guarding the fort for all these years, you finally got your wish.”
Ji Siming offered a faint smile. Yeah, finally got my wish.
By the time the drinking session wrapped up, heavy snow was blanketing the outdoors.
Standing by the entrance, Ji Siming snapped a photo.
Yun Qingwu was in the middle of packing her suitcase when her phone chimed. Getting up, she grabbed the device and flopped onto the bed, tapping open the notification to find a picture sent by Ji Siming.
What on earth was he sending her this for?
Chen Ma emerged from the walk-in closet carrying a stack of folded garments and sat down nearby to pack them. “Miss, we’ve been so busy packing up everything that I didn’t even notice how thick the snow pile outside has gotten!”
Jumping to her feet, Yun Qingwu hurried over to the window and pulled back the curtains. Heavens, it was really snowing hard!
She had loved snow ever since she was a little girl.
Years ago, when Yun Ying had briefly returned to check on her, a family of three in the neighboring villa was building a snowman, and she had begged Yun Ying to build one with her.
Yun Ying had agreed, but the moment they stepped outside to start, a phone call dragged her away.
The next time she saw her, it was already the middle of summer.
During the decade she lived in that house, Yun Ying never once built a snowman with her, nor had she ever spent a single New Year’s Eve by her side.
Later on, after moving into the Gu household, knowing how much she adored snow, Lin Lan made it a point to rally the entire family to build snowmen together whenever a heavy blizzard hit.
Yet this year, Lin Lan had flown overseas before they ever got the chance to build a snowman.
Gazing at the swirling snow, her eyes drifted back to the photo he had sent.
Was this guy actually sharing a slice of his daily life with her?
He usually came across as aloof and detached from everything, practically giving off the vibe of someone ready to renounce the mortal world and become a monk.
Who would’ve thought he actually had a streak of sharing things?
She happened to possess a very strong desire to share her life as well. In the past, whenever she shared moments with people who left her on read, a wave of disappointment would wash over her—that feeling of being completely ignored was thoroughly miserable.
After pondering for a moment, she dug a small duck-shaped snow mold out from her cabinet, pushed open the window, pressed out a couple of little snow ducks right on the windowsill, snapped a photo, and sent it back to Ji Siming.