Chapter 19: I do not recommend that you live together when you meet your relatives.

"I know."

Yin Xiao's expression was indifferent as she carefully put the perfume bottles back into the box. "I guessed that this was the reason you wanted to marry me."

"Hmm?" Yi Zhiyan frowned slightly.

Yin Xiao turned her head and pointed to the building outside the window.

“You didn’t want to have anything to do with Yizhi, so you refused to agree to the marriage arrangement chosen by them. It just so happened that your aunt saw my profile picture and misunderstood that we were in contact. You took advantage of the situation and completely cut off any possibility of Yizhi controlling your freedom.”

"Is that what you think?" Yi Zhiyan paused, his Adam's apple bobbing, and pushed his glasses up.

"But the engagement didn't actually exist. It was just a casual remark from the two companies to add weight to their cooperation. There were no actual documents binding me, and both Ruan Zheng and I chose to avoid it immediately."

Yin Xiao blinked, but the doubt in her eyes did not disappear.

"Then...why do so many people assume you had a marriage agreement that you almost fulfilled?"

"Because I married you as soon as I sensed something was wrong, the Hu family felt I was no longer so easy to control, so they deliberately spread more false information, trying to express their displeasure through other people's eyes and force me to turn back."

Yin Xiao silently lowered her head, her fingers hooking the reddish-gold knot on the gift box, absentmindedly untying it, then rolling it up and wrapping it around her fingers again.

So, will you turn back?

"Won't."

Yin Xiao's heart skipped a beat, a surge of heat rushed to her throat, and she almost spoke.

But Yi Zhiyan added, "At least not for this year. I won't break the contract, so don't worry."

Yin Xiao sighed slowly, like a deflated balloon, feeling a sudden emptiness in her body, her tone inevitably tinged with melancholy.

"Okay, then keep acting well, my best partner."

“Continue…” Yi Zhiyan seemed to have thought of something, “Are you avoiding me because you’re worried that I’ll be forced into this marriage and ruin our cooperation?”

Yin Xiao said weakly, "Um, what did you think?"

"I thought you were avoiding me because we kissed." He looked at her, cleared his throat, and said, "You regret it."

Yin Xiao leaned back in her chair, raised her chin, pursed her lips, and paused for a second, as if recalling something.

"What's there to regret? You're quite good at kissing."

As soon as he said that, the carriage fell silent. A Land Rover drove by outside the window, and the screeching sound of its tires became sharp, penetrating the glass and jolting him awake from his daze.

Yin Xiao gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, not expecting that she would say such things so easily without thinking. She stiffly looked out the window, her hands tightly gripping the knot, pretending to be calm.

"Still want more?" Yi Zhiyan suddenly leaned closer, his right hand resting on the back of her chair, the fresh citrus scent he had just sprayed on his wrist spreading out and wafting into her nose.

"Huh?" She turned to look at him, her reaction a beat slow, and saw a glimmer of light emanating from his deep pupils.

Yi Zhiyan raised his hand to take off his glasses, tossed them onto his lap, gently wrapped his arms around her neck, and leaned down to kiss her.

Her lips were moist; the kiss was urgent and deep. She was engulfed by the burning breath, and with difficulty, she tilted her head back to respond, her breath and heartbeat rising and falling in unison.

Her reason pulled her violently; she raised her hand and pushed him on the shoulder, but he wouldn't budge. Instead, her shoulder was pulled even tighter.

This time, they've completely stepped onto the blurred line.

She didn't want to be confused; the word "like" had to be uttered first.

But... let's kiss first.

Anyway, there's a year to go.

—

After finishing his meal at a private restaurant behind the Jinyan Building, Yi Zhiyan drove back to Qiyuan. Just as he arrived at the elevator, he received a call from the school.

The elevator doors opened just then. Yin Xiao pointed to the empty car, and seeing Yi Zhiyan nod, she took the long-handled umbrella that He Sen had given her and went upstairs alone.

As I stepped out of the elevator, the faint, childlike laughter of children echoed through the empty corridor, clear yet strangely unsettling.

Yin Xiao instinctively gripped the umbrella handle and approached, holding her breath.

As she turned the corner, she saw two people, one tall and one short, standing at her door. The man standing by the window was wearing a black turtleneck sweater, with strong features. He had his coat draped over his arm and stood ramrod straight. He held his phone to his ear, paused, and then quickly put it down.

He looked at the little girl squatting beside him, his tone helpless, "Your uncle isn't answering, he's on another call, what should we do?"

The little girl, carrying her schoolbag, suddenly looked up, her two little tufts of hair bobbing slightly. "I don't care, I want Uncle! Seventh Brother, hit me again!"

The man smiled helplessly, gripping his phone in one hand and her small blue backpack in the other, probably to prevent her from falling.

Yin Xiao overheard a few words and, though she didn't quite understand, roughly guessed that they were looking for Yi Zhiyan. She breathed a sigh of relief, her grip on the umbrella handle loosening considerably. She hesitated for a few seconds, unsure whether she should go over and greet them, then simply turned around and prepared to go back to the elevator to wait for Yi Zhiyan.

Before she could take a step, she suddenly heard a series of loud, hurried footsteps behind her, approaching her quickly until a small hand grabbed her backpack.

Yin Xiao turned slightly to the side and saw the little girl clutching the rocking horse charm on her backpack tightly, her eyebrows furrowed into a V-shape.

Seeing her reaction, Yin Xiao also started to get nervous. This pendant was a gift from Yi Zhiyan last semester; could it be that he'd figured something out?

Amidst her confused thoughts, the little girl suddenly looked up at her, her eyes lit up, and she hugged her leg, laughing.

"Auntie! You look so beautiful!"

Yin Xiao froze, unsure whether to refute the previous form of address, or...

"Don't yell." The man by the window took three steps to her, shook his head apologetically, and bent down to gently pull the little girl down.

Yin Xiao stood there awkwardly, completely unsure of the situation, so she simply brushed it off, saying, "It's nothing."

The little girl pouted unhappily, clenched her little fists, and pushed the man away. "I didn't call you that, I am your aunt!"

The man knelt down, somewhat at a loss, to comfort the little girl, explaining in a gentle voice that she shouldn't make random noises.

Yin Xiao turned to look at the elevator, wondering why Yi Zhiyan hadn't arrived yet. Turning around, the little girl rushed up to her again, grabbing her hand and struggling to walk towards the door, pointing to the sensor lock as if trying to get her to open it.

The little girl's eyes were eager and fixed on her face. She nervously bent her fingers, not daring to open them.

Judging from the man's reaction, he obviously didn't know about the marriage. If Yi Zhiyan was intentionally keeping it from him, she would need to cooperate and couldn't reveal herself on the door lock first.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she withdrew her hand and decisively walked towards the elevator, secretly taking out her phone to send a message to Yi Zhiyan.

Before the message was sent, the elevator doors opened with a "ding" sound, without any warning.

She looked up in confusion, meeting Yi Zhiyan's equally stunned gaze.

He stepped out of the elevator, glancing silently at her right hand. He lingered on the umbrella handle for a few seconds, then abruptly put away the newly opened mints, stuffed the box into his pocket, and slowly walked up to her.

Yin Xiao regained her focus, quickly grabbed his arm and pushed him back, whispering, "There are people at the door, should we..."

Before she could finish speaking, her shoulder slumped. He inexplicably stretched out his arm, lazily draped it over her shoulder, took the long-handled umbrella from her right hand, and interrupted with a lowered head.

The tone was deliberate, revealing an ambiguous quality that was difficult to discern.

"Honey, shall I return this umbrella for you?"

Yin Xiao didn't understand what he was acting out again, and for the time being, she was too lazy to argue with him about returning the umbrella. She held his shoulder to keep him from getting close, her mind preoccupied with not wanting anyone to see them.

The next second, an excited shout shot straight to her eardrums, elongating near her ear.

"Uncle!"

We're doomed.

Yin Xiao was completely stunned. She let her arms hang limply, forced a smile, and looked at the little girl rushing towards her from the end of the corridor.

The little girl rushed up to him, then suddenly stopped, blinked her eyes, and turned her head triumphantly to shout.

"You idiot, seventh brother! I knew it was your little aunt!"

—

The warmth of the radiator squeezed into the flowing air, pressing play on the stalemate.

Yin Xiao sat on the sofa, constantly glancing up at the man in the armchair. She didn't recognize his face, but the black sweater looked increasingly familiar.

The man suddenly looked up and met her gaze, then introduced himself: "Hello Yin Xiao, I am Qi Xu, brand director of Yizhi."

Upon hearing the keyword "Yizhi," Yin Xiao suddenly realized that she had seen him that morning; he was Yin Yi's boss with a bad temper.

"Hello, Director Qi... Director Qi."

Qi Xu kept a straight face, forcing a somewhat friendly smile, "No need to call me that, just call me Lao Qi with Xiao Yi."

"Huh?" Yin Xiao couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Call me Seventh Brother." He must have noticed her unease, because he quickly changed his address.

"Okay, Seventh Brother."

Yi Zhiyan sat next to her, elbows propped on his knees, idly helping the little girl sitting on the ground pick up building blocks.

"Alright, Seventh Brother, don't bring your work-related ways to me."

Qi Xu turned to the side, stared intently at Yi Zhiyan for a while, and suddenly blurted out a sentence.

"You used to be like this too."

Yi Zhiyan looked up, holding a wine-red building block in his hand, his eyes slightly blank.

Qi Xu didn't bother to explain. He stood up, grabbed his coat, and turned around. "I'm leaving. The company just had a project fall through this morning. I have to go back for a meeting to see if we can salvage it. Otherwise, my employees might face more than just financial losses."

Yin Xiao rubbed her wrist secretly, guessing that it was probably the work Yin Yi had mentioned that morning, and her heart tightened unconsciously.

"What about Xiao Jiu? Aren't you going to take care of her?" Yi Zhiyan reached out and covered the little girl's ears, asking in a low voice.

"Lu Wen told me to coax her, but I tried for ages and she still wouldn't say anything. She just kept saying she wanted to find you. I couldn't do anything about it." Qi Xu helplessly spread his hands.

Yi Zhiyan glanced at the time, then looked at her little niece who was happily building with blocks, and compromised, "Okay, you can go now. I'll have Lu Wen come over later to coax her himself."

Qi Xu walked to the door, placed his hand on the door frame, and suddenly turned around.

"Yi Zhiyan, are you living together?"

Yin Xiao frowned, keenly sensing something hidden in his serious tone, as if the two of them were exchanging secret signals.

"Can't you tell?" Yi Zhiyan straightened up and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"You'd better not let anyone see through you." Qi Xu paused, then added meaningfully, "Within the year of your agreement."

Yi Zhiyan choked up and didn't reply.

Qi Xu glanced at her sideways, his tone indifferent, and said directly.

"Actually, I don't recommend that you live together."