6. Contract

◎Since I married you, I've never thought about divorce.◎

Lancheng is a seaside tourist city with a large flow of people. It's 7 PM now, a perfect time for people to come out and stroll after dinner. There were no empty seats on the subway, so Song Qinggui and Xue Lu had to stand. The handrails were piled high with hands, and after looking around, Song Qinggui couldn't find a place to grab them.

Xue Lu was tall and strong. He raised his hand and grasped the horizontal bar high up. With his other hand, he pulled Song Qinggui's wrist and placed her hand on his waist.

The series of movements were fluid and natural, and the slight shyness that had arisen in Song Qinggui's heart quickly subsided.

The subway was noisy with people and the wind was howling, but silence was the Cambridge of their moment.

After nine subway stops, we arrived at the university town of Lancheng.

"We've arrived." Song Qinggui decisively released his hand from Xue Lu's waist.

Xue Lu felt a moment of loss when her hand left his body. He could feel the lingering warmth of her waist, and the damp heat it brought gradually dissipated. His heart also turned cold again.

He didn't say anything, he just followed her.

Lancheng has many universities, but only Lancheng University, the alma mater of Song Qinggui and Xue Lü, is located in the suburbs, while most other schools are clustered in the university town area.

The prosperity of the university town is somewhat different. Compared with the glitz and glamour of other places, the liveliness here is simple, honest, and full of vitality.

Song Qinggui led Xue Lu across two roads and into an alley that retained the characteristics of the old town.

The two walked through a small, unassuming wooden door, past a screen wall, and suddenly the space opened up. The two-courtyard house was filled with bamboo tables, packed with college students who had come to drink. A record player in the corner slowly played jazz music... Chinese architecture and furniture, Western music and drinks, and college students of the new era coexisted harmoniously in this crowded courtyard.

Xue Lu's gaze fell on the plaque above the main building, where a strong, vigorous hand in regular script wrote the shop's name—"Blow Some Beer."

This was a place Xue Lu would never have visited just by looking at the name—vulgar, commonplace, and something he disliked. But because Song Qinggui had brought him here, he now smiled knowingly and found it amusing.

The voluptuous and sexy proprietress was serving drinks to customers when she saw Song Qinggui from afar and came up to him: "Oh, what brings you here to see me today?"

After speaking, she looked at Xue Lu, then winked at Song Qinggui: "And this is..."

“I…husband.” Song Qinggui carefully considered his words. The term “husband” was too intimate, so he changed it to the more formal “husband”.

"Wow!" the proprietress exclaimed. "Then I must treat him well. This is the first man our beautiful lady has brought."

Song Qinggui gave an awkward laugh, while Xue Lu lowered his head and curled his lips.

When he looked up again, he found the proprietress looking at him and raising an eyebrow at him.

Xue Lu knew what the raised eyebrow meant; the landlady was teasing him. Men are naturally powerless against words like "first" or "first time," and the landlady had seen through his primal and despicable mentality. He felt somewhat embarrassed and looked away.

The two followed the proprietress to the bar, where her husband was in charge.

Xue Lu learned the couple's names from Song Qinggui's brief conversation with them.

The sexy woman is named Xia Zhileng, and she is the owner of this small bar. Her husband is named Han Feng, who started a beer business with his wife after his business failed.

"What brings you here today?" Xia Zhileng took a drink menu from the bar and handed it to Song Qinggui. "You never come here without a reason. You're not here to introduce your man to us, are you?"

Before Song Qinggui could speak, Xue Lu preemptively extended his hand to Han Feng behind the bar: "Nice to meet you, Xue Lu."

Upon hearing this name, Han Feng, who had been smiling and welcoming the guest, was visibly taken aback. He then put on an even more solemn smile and shook Xue Lu's hand: "I never expected such a great person to come to our little temple. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Han Feng, and I am the son-in-law of this little tavern."

Upon hearing Han Feng's self-introduction, Song Qinggui couldn't help but laugh: "Sister Xia is quite adept at managing her husband."

Xia Zhileng retorted, "You're the one who's really something, each boyfriend you've had has been better than the last."

The joy that Xue Lu felt because of "the first man brought by Song Qinggui" completely crumbled after the sentence "each boyfriend is better than the last".

He suddenly became competitive: "Have you met her ex-boyfriend?"

The couple glanced at Song Qinggui, as if considering the appropriateness of their next words. Song Qinggui shrugged, looking completely indifferent, so Xia Zhileng stopped worrying about it.

“I’ve never seen her before,” Xia Zhileng said. “But she doesn’t come here easily. She’s only come twice since we started dating, and this is the third time.”

Xue Lu frowned slightly and looked at Song Qinggui with some doubt, as if hoping to hear her answer his questions personally.

Song Qinggui didn't hide anything: "The first time was when I broke up with Cheng Wuliang, and the second time was... when I first discovered that Yan Fengqian was cheating on me."

“Heh…” Xia Zhileng recalled the scene with Song Qinggui in the tavern and couldn’t help but laugh: “Who would have thought that such a cool and aloof beauty could go crazy like that after drinking?”

"How crazy?" Han Feng asked. He was starting his own business at the time and hadn't yet come to the tavern to help out, so he hadn't witnessed this grand occasion.

Xia Zhileng couldn't stop laughing: "She strolled around the yard, saw a cute female guest, and suddenly hugged her, crying her eyes out. Between sobs, she said, 'Little sister, you're so kind, you must never end up dating a jerk like I did! How could they be so disgusting to me?' Then she wiped her nose with the girl's clothes. After she finished, she said, 'You smell so good, what laundry detergent did you use?' The girl was terrified..."

Song Qinggui was taken aback when Xia Zhileng revealed her dark past so easily. She panicked and couldn't help but defend herself: "I was young then, and my emotions weren't as stable as they are now."

The three of them reminisced and laughed, while a sour feeling slowly rose in Xue Lu's chest.

It turns out that Song Qinggui truly loved Cheng Guowuliang and Yan Fengqian... He thought she was only after their money.

Xue Lu was conflicted. He didn't know what emotions he should feel about this. Should he feel guilty for wrongly accusing her, or should he be relieved that she still had a conscience...?

To be precise, Xue Lu's feelings for Song Qinggui had always been conflicted, a conflict that began when they first met in their student days. She was either a genius goddess in medical school or a venomous beauty who specialized in targeting wealthy men; both of these qualities made him hate her, and also...curious.

So he really hates her; he's hated her for many years.

Song Qinggui was unaware of Xue Lu's inner thoughts. She ordered a fruit-flavored IPA and, without consulting Xue Lu, ordered him a Pilsner. She then led Xue Lu to sit in a corner.

"How did you meet them?" Xue Lu asked first.

“I worked here for two years during college,” Song Qinggui explained. “Sister Xia was a very kind person; she protected me a lot back then.”

Xue Lu certainly understood what Song Qinggui meant.

Beautiful girls don't have it as easy as people imagine; they often suffer a lot of harassment in their lives.

Song Qinggui was relatively lucky during her student days. Medical school, with its heavy workload and many academic geniuses, was like an ivory tower where classmates didn't have many ulterior motives. But after leaving school and coming to the bar, she encountered all sorts of people, and with her looks, she was bound to meet frivolous men.

Xue Lu felt somewhat irritated, and also had a sense of powerlessness, wanting to slap someone but not knowing who to slap.

But his expression remained calm and composed. He took a sip of beer and said, "Song Qinggui, are you short of money? Back in school."

"Yes." Song Qinggui nodded: "They're in dire need of it."

"Why?" Xue Lu asked, puzzled. "Medical school tuition isn't expensive, and the school cafeteria is cheap. Why are you so short of money? Do you want to buy pretty clothes? Cosmetics? Jewelry?"

Song Qinggui looked at Xue Lu's face. He was asking the question very seriously and did not mean to accuse her of being materialistic or money-worshipping.

He's absolutely right. The medical school at Lanzhou University really treats its students well. When they were in school, their tuition was only 5,500 yuan a year. A meal in the cafeteria, consisting of one meat dish, one vegetable dish, two ounces of rice, and a bowl of soup, only cost seven or eight yuan.

Even so, some people simply cannot afford it, such as Song Qinggui. And people like Xue Lu, who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, often lack imagination about poverty.

Song Qinggui sighed: "Lawyer Xue, do you know what poverty is like?"

Xue Lu frowned slightly, looking like he was thinking seriously.

Song Qinggui laughed: "Is the poverty you can imagine just living in cheap public housing or a basement, taking the bus or subway to get around, and eating Shaxian snacks or jianbing guozi on the street when you're hungry? But real poverty is not like that. Real poverty is when you don't work hard today, you won't have anything to eat tomorrow, you worry about survival every day, and you're willing to sell everything you can to stay alive."

Xue Lu felt a sudden pain in her chest. Was Song Qinggui talking about herself? Had her poverty really reached this level?

“So I am very grateful to Cheng Wuliang and Yan Fengqian.” Song Qinggui’s eyes became distant: “Being with them, no matter what the outcome, they did give me a lot materially and helped me get out of my predicament.”

Hearing those two names, Xue Lu felt a surge of resentment. He couldn't imagine what husband would want to hear his wife say she was grateful to her ex-boyfriend.

"Are you still short of money?" Lawyer Xue asked.

"Of course I need it," Song Qinggui laughed cheerfully. "Why would I marry you if I didn't need it?"

Xue Lu tightened his jaw muscles. "Good, good, good. You're only grateful to your ex-boyfriend, and you're only marrying me because you're forced by circumstances, right? Very good! Song Qinggui, you're excellent!"

Completely oblivious to the anger flaring up behind Xue Lu, Song Qinggui suppressed his smile and became serious: "Didn't you say you wanted to talk to me? Talk about what?"

After this question, Xue Lu's emotions gradually calmed down. Today, he really wanted to have an open and honest talk with Song Qinggui.

“Two things,” Lawyer Xue said. “First, you don’t need to sign a prenuptial agreement. Since I married you, I’ve never thought about divorce. Aren’t you short of money? What’s mine is yours.”

Xue Lu didn't originally intend to say the phrase "What's mine is yours," as it was too humble and the boundaries of their relationship were too ambiguous.

But he was struck by Song Qinggui's gratitude towards Cheng Wuliang and Yan Fengqian. In terms of education and ability, Xue Lu far surpassed them; in terms of looks and physique, he didn't think he was inferior to them; and in terms of his attitude towards relationships, he was far more innocent than them...

Why did Song Qinggui look down on him? What gave her the right?

What Cheng Wuliang and Yan Fengqian could do for Song Qinggui, Xue Lu could do the same! Even ten or a hundred times more!

Song Qinggui was quite surprised to hear this, not because of "what's mine is yours", but because of the sentence "Since we're married, I've never thought about divorce".

"Lawyer Xue, I don't care about the agreement or not, but are you serious about not divorcing me?" Song Qinggui's expression was still one of surprise: "With your qualities, even if you don't believe in love, you can easily find an obedient, virtuous, and beautiful wife to have children with and spend your life with. Why would you choose a troublemaker like me?"

Xue Lu thought to himself, "So you know you're a troublemaker, huh?" But he said stubbornly, "Because it saves trouble if I ask you."

Song Qinggui touched the wine glass, tilted his head, and looked somewhat puzzled.

Xue Lu lowered his eyes: "You want money, I want marriage and family. Our goals are both very clear. As long as I satisfy you financially, you won't cause me any trouble. No one else will be as good as you."

Song Qinggui understood and nodded: "Then this contract is for life, and the terms are very generous, with an annual salary of 520,000 yuan and various subsidies. So... what's the price?"

Xue Lu looked up at her.

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Song Qinggui smiled, then her almond-shaped eyes darted around as she feigned surprise. “You don’t want me to carry on the Xue family line, do you? If so, you’d better find someone else. I have absolutely no interest in sentient ice blocks.”

Xue Lu nearly ground his teeth to powder at those words: "Heh... Don't worry, I'm not that desperate. The Xue family may not have much else, but we have a lot of children."

"Oh. That's good." Song Qinggui pouted. "What if I want a divorce? Maybe one day I'll meet my true love, and then what if I want a divorce?"

"You dare!" Xue Lu shouted in his heart, but on the surface he remained indifferent and composed.

"I will investigate, and if he does indeed exist..."

Seeing the expectation in Song Qinggui's eyes, Xue Lu was so angry he laughed: "Then I'll just shower you with money. Don't you like money? I have plenty of money."

Upon hearing this, Song Qinggui softened his tone and nodded in agreement, acknowledging that money was indeed useful.

"And the second thing?" Song Qinggui asked. "Aren't there two things?"

The turbid air in Xue Lu's chest dissipated, and his expression softened and became serious. He looked at Song Qinggui and said, "Go back to clinical practice, cardiothoracic surgery."

Song Qinggui had been in a relaxed state all evening, but upon hearing this, she couldn't help but look back at Lawyer Xue.

Back to the clinical department… But wasn’t it him who ruined her clinical career and relegated her to an administrative department? Now he’s sending her back? What kind of nonsense is this…?