Chapter 4 Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, Civil Affairs...
The day after meeting Chu Song, Qin Ruhai transferred ten million to Xie Tang's card.
What happened next was so fast that Xie Tang couldn't keep up.
Qin Ruhai went to see Xie Shuang. Upon meeting her, he saw that Xie Shuang was so thin that she was almost unrecognizable, just skin and bones.
He was seething with anger but didn't know where to vent it, so he asked irritably, "Didn't my dad leave you some money?"
Xie Shuang calmly replied, "That's reserved for Xie Tang; she can only use it when she turns thirty."
"Oh, right," Qin Ruhai realized.
Guilt flashed through his mind, but in this world, guilt is the most useless emotion.
He quickly regained his composure.
He felt that everyone has their own destiny, and Xie Shuang's life was destined to suffer this calamity, which no one could change.
He handed the villa key to Xie Shuang and told her that they no longer lived there, that the villa had good feng shui and was suitable for recuperation, and that she should move back there.
In addition, they gave her a card, "to pay off the money in the bank."
Xie Shuang felt sorry for Xie Tang's hard life and finally put aside her pride and accepted Qin Ruhai's help.
Seeing that she had accepted the keys and card, Xie Tang finally felt relieved.
But she secretly prayed that Xie Shuang would never know where the key and money came from, because she was afraid that Xie Shuang would not be able to bear the truth.
My phone suddenly vibrated—Chu Song sent me a message: [Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, Civil Affairs Bureau].
The next day, the air conditioning in the lobby of the Civil Affairs Bureau was turned up very high.
After washing up, before she could even carefully do her makeup in front of the mirror, Chu Song's car was already parked downstairs.
At this moment, Xie Tang sat on the bench with a bare face and noticed that Chu Song's expression was solemn.
Also present were administrative assistant Tong Lan and another special assistant Yan Ge.
Today is not a special day, and the Civil Affairs Bureau is deserted, with very few people coming to register for marriage.
Xie Tang noticed that Chu Song seemed quite impatient with the tedious process.
He would occasionally glance at his watch, his brows furrowed slightly, as if some extremely urgent matter awaited his attention.
She thought that if it weren't for the requirement for the person to be present at the wedding, he probably wouldn't have bothered to make the trip and would have just sent someone else to do it for him.
Xie Tang wrote his name stroke by stroke, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chu Song impatiently tugging at his tie, which did nothing to restrain his rapid breathing.
He took the document and signed his name in a flourish.
Just as the revolving door of the Civil Affairs Bureau had turned halfway around, a flash of light suddenly went off from behind the bushes.
Chu Song grabbed Xie Tang's wrist and pulled her into his arms.
Her nose suddenly bumped into his chest, and it hurt a little.
The scent of sandalwood mixed with body heat wafted over me. "Don't move."
He lowered his voice and pressed his palm firmly against her lower back.
Xie Tang could feel the taut muscles beneath his suit, and her own heart pounding faster.
The camera shakes a few meters away.
Chu Song turned to the side, casting her entirely in shadow.
This position forced Xie Tang to stand on tiptoe, her forehead almost touching his lips.
Huasong Group is one of the top companies in Shenzhen, so the marriage of the group's heir naturally attracts a lot of attention.
At their engagement banquet, Qin Wu wore a gorgeous wedding dress and got engaged to him, while she was just a substitute bride.
Chu Song protected her like this because he was worried that the media would expose that he had been cheated on by his fiancée and younger brother.
Tong Lan held up a black umbrella to block the view of those taking photos, while Yan Ke strode towards the bushes.
"Just cooperate." Chu Song felt her body stiffen a little. He lowered his head, put his arm around her shoulder, and led her into the car. His warm lips brushed against her earlobe. "You can't be exposed on camera yet."
Xie Tang staggered half a step, hearing the deafening pounding of her own heart.
The hug was so real that it almost made her forget that it was just a transaction.
After getting into the car, Chu Song didn't stop for a moment. He hurriedly transferred to another car with Yan Ge, leaving only the driver and Tong Lan to accompany Xie Tang.
Xie Tang stared at the little red book in her hand, stunned for a long time.
During the five years she was in debt, she had a very difficult time. Afraid of burdening others, she rejected all those who wanted to pursue her.
She felt that someone like her was not suited for marriage, and she had never thought about marrying anyone.
But Chu Song changed all of that.
Just like five years ago, when he suddenly appeared and helped her when she was helpless.
To her, this person was a ray of light piercing through the gloom, a brightness and warmth that her soul finally saw when it was struggling in the dark abyss.
Xie Tang looked at the two people in the photo; neither of them smiled, one was reserved, and the other was impatient.
If it weren't for the bright red background and the fact that it was pasted on a bright red marriage certificate, no one would believe that this was actually a wedding photo.
"Thank you... no, Mrs. Chu..."
Tong Lan's voice made Xie Tang pause in her thoughts. Before she could recover from the new form of address, she heard Tong Lan say, "Please don't think that President Chu doesn't care about you. He's in a hurry to get to the airport right now."
Xie Tang looked surprised: "Are you explaining this to me?"
"Yes, Mr. Chu has a very important matter to attend to. The reason we set today for the marriage registration is because he will be abroad for the next month."
As Tong Lan spoke, she stretched out her hand to Xie Tang.
Xie Tang was stunned. "What?"
Tong Lan took the marriage certificate from her hand and put it into her briefcase: "I will give these documents to President Chu. We will now take you to President Chu's residence."
"Now?" Xie Tang glanced at his phone. "No, I have a court hearing to mediate later, I have to go to the court."
"I see." Tong Lan smiled slightly and said considerately, "It's alright, we'll take you there. After you finish your lawsuit, I'll take you to President Chu's place."
"Assistant Tong..." Xie Tang called out to her.
Tong Lan smiled and looked at her: "What's wrong?"
"From now on, please call me Attorney Xie or Xie Tang."
Tong Lan tilted her head, looking puzzled, but still smiled and said, "Okay, I'll be more careful next time, Attorney Xie."
As the car drove towards the suburban courthouse, Xie Tang gazed at the fleeting scenery outside the window.
Since you won't see each other for a month, why rush to get a marriage certificate?
The whole process was rushed, like a task being completed, without even a proper smile exchanged.
She glanced down at the loose ring on her ring finger and then tapped on her phone screen.
In the photo album, she secretly took a picture of Chu Song's profile. When he signed his name, his cold profile showed no trace of the joy of a newlywed.
Betrayed by his younger brother and fiancée, and forced to marry him, no one would be happy in that situation.
On the way to the airport, Chu Song stared blankly at the date on the marriage certificate—August 25th.
This date was marked in red on his schedule.
Twenty-two years ago today, under the grape trellis at the Chu family's old house, four-year-old Xie Tang tiptoed and slipped a milk candy into his hand.
"Brother, have some candy!" The little girl's eyes lit up.
The memory of that childish voice overlaps with the hasty signature at the Civil Affairs Bureau this morning.
Chu Song ran her fingertips over Xie Tang's photo on the marriage certificate—she pursed her lips, looking nothing like the child who used to pester him with fairy tales.
This day is worth remembering.
"President Chu, should we change our tickets?" Yan Ke suddenly asked from the front seat. "The typhoon might make landfall earlier than expected."
Chu Song closed the red booklet: "No need."
He was in a bad mood all morning because of his wedding day.
On such an important day, he was unable to be by Xie Tang's side.
I should have been more patient this morning, waited for her to have enough sleep and finish her makeup, and then went with her to have breakfast.
If you don't have any, then you should at least buy her a bouquet of flowers.
——————
After returning from court, Xie Tang stood in front of the villa.
When Aunt Yu took the luggage and led her to the second bedroom, she discovered that the bathtub was already filled with hot water, and the towels, shower gel, and other toiletries were all new.
When she saw Xie Tang, she smiled warmly and said, "Tang girl, it's been a long time."
Xie Tang felt that she looked familiar, but was not sure if she had seen her before.
At dinner time, Aunt Yu came over carrying a bouquet of flowers and a red velvet jewelry box: "These are the flowers that Ah Song ordered."
The rose was glistening with water droplets. She parted the petals, revealing a gold-embossed card lying quietly in the center.
Today is a memorable day.
What are we commemorating?
She stared blankly at the platinum band ring.
She thought for a long time but couldn't remember anything.
She wanted to ask him, but they weren't close enough for her to ask him those questions.
Oh, right, she didn't even add him on WeChat.
Back in her room, she tossed her phone into the comforter, but the ring honestly slipped onto her ring finger—the size was perfect, the wave pattern clinging to her skin as if being ironed by the warmth of his fingertips.
Fake.
Fu Xiu's warning rang in his ears.
Three days later, Xie Tang realized that she had become a trending topic.
"Ah Tang, do you think this dress looks like yours?" Yin Xi shoved her phone in front of her.
The entertainment section's headline featured a blurry photo of a person from behind: "Hua Song Group's heir obtains marriage certificate."
Xie Tang's heart skipped a beat, and she hastily explained, "We're wearing the same clothes, aren't we?"
The beige knit sweater in the photo is being worn by her, and even the folds on the cuffs are exactly the same.
"On such an important day, why is the Qin family's daughter dressed so simply?"
"Simple?" Xie Tang stirred her coffee with her head down, recalling the scene three days ago at the Civil Affairs Bureau—Chu Song's impatient look, probably not even noticing what she was wearing.
She overslept that day and was in such a hurry that she didn't even put on makeup, and just grabbed her clothes from the closet.
Oh, she shouldn't have stayed in bed that day.
Yin Xi scrolled through the comments section, speculating, "If you ask me, it's definitely just the media making things up. Someone said the bride is actually a junior lawyer..."
Xie Tang's heart skipped a beat. He saw that all the comments were neatly arranged with the word "little lawyer" on them, like an organized online army.
Fortunately, their faces weren't captured in the photo.
She touched the plain ring on her ring finger, secretly rejoicing.
Yin Xi suddenly leaned closer: "But your ring..."
"Same style as on Taobao." Xie Tang quickly put his hands in his pockets, and the coffee cup overturned onto the keyboard.
This arranged marriage must be kept secret.
Not only because of the contract terms, but also because she really didn't know how to explain the deal to her friends.
Just as everyone was about to forget about this gossip, Chu Li, the eldest brother of the Chu family, was surrounded by reporters at the summit: "I heard that your younger brother has already registered his marriage with the Qin family's daughter?"
"Of course." Chu Li smiled broadly at the camera. "I wish them a long and happy marriage and many children."
The reporter pressed further, "I heard the Qin family has two daughters, may I ask who the bride is...?"
"Naturally, it's the eldest daughter of the Qin family," Chu Li replied flawlessly.
The topic exploded on social media that day.
Information about Qin Ruhai's two daughters was thoroughly investigated—the eldest daughter Qin Wu and the youngest daughter Qin Qin—but no one mentioned the deliberately forgotten daughter from his first marriage.
Xie Tang stared at her phone screen and sneered, noticing a newly appeared comment: "I heard President Qin has a child from an ex-wife..."
Before she could react, the page refreshed automatically, and the comment disappeared as if it had never existed.
All previous speculations about the "junior lawyer" were wiped out completely.
A note from the author:
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Updated~ Today was another awful day, I felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
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