Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Getting a Certificate
Ruan Xiangyi stayed at Ruan's house for dinner and did not leave until the evening. Zhao Qingshi probably guessed that she would not go back, so he called Ruan Fu.
After renewing the marriage certificate between the two families and setting the wedding date, the parents of the two families met and had a meal together. Ruan Xiangyi and Zhao Qingshi sat together. They were a talented man and a beautiful woman. Lin Manshu told Zhou Xunyin that the two children looked really well-matched.
Xun Yinmin took a sip of the water on the table, smiled and said nothing.
The meal was unusually silent.
On the day of getting the marriage certificate, Zhao Qingshi came to pick her up early in the morning, and Lin Manshu happily saw her out.
Zhao Qingshi nodded and greeted Ruan Fu, then walked up to Ruan Xiangyi and extended his hand. In front of everyone's gaze, she placed her hand in his palm. Looking at the two well-matched figures, Lin Manshu shed tears of relief. Ruan Fu thought she was just reluctant to let go, so he hugged her to comfort her.
Zhao Qingshi was dressed formally today, a white shirt and bow tie, his hair swept back, revealing his forehead, adding depth to his features. His eyes were deep, and with both money and good looks, it was hard not to be attracted to a man like him. They sat in the back, Ruan Xiangyi's hand still held by his, her palms slightly sweaty, and she wanted to pull away.
Zhao Qingshi held her hand tighter and chatted with her.
"What kind of wedding do you want?" Zhao Qingshi looked at her profile. "I'll have a designer come over someday to take your measurements. You can pick out the wedding dress you like then."
Seeing that she didn't respond, Zhao Qingshi patiently asked, "Do you have any favorite residential complexes? Or do you prefer living in a large flat or a villa?"
She remained silent. Zhao Qingshi waited patiently for her.
After a while, she said, "I'll listen to you."
"How about moving to a villa? A villa has a small yard and a garden. Your cat can roll around on the grass and chase butterflies. You'll probably be happy watching it."
Ruan Xiangyi was somewhat moved: "You even considered it?"
Zhao Qingshi raised his eyebrows.
After getting the marriage certificate, Ruan Xiangyi looked at the photos in the red book. The man was handsome and the woman was pretty. Touching the texture of the book, she finally had the real feeling of being married.
But my heart feels empty.
That day, Ruan Xiangyi packed a suitcase and a cat bag and officially moved into Zhao Qingshi's home. Xiangshan No. 1 is a well-known wealthy area in Yitong. Located in the city center, you can see Yitong's iconic buildings from the second floor.
Zhao Qingshi led her to the master bedroom. It was huge, the closet alone as big as her room at Ruan's house. The closets were filled with clothes. Lin Manshu loved buying her all kinds of designer clothes. She recognized some of the styles, but the clothes inside were brands she couldn't identify, likely from some designer's exclusive collection. There were bags, jewelry, shoes, everything. These were things Ruan Lingyu had previously enjoyed.
He prepared all this considering that she wouldn't bring much luggage.
"Xiangyi, why don't you let your cat out to get familiar with the environment?" Sensing her restraint, he fixed his eyes on the cat bag in her hand, "This will be its home from now on."
Ruan Xiangyi squatted down and let the cat out. Cake had just adapted to one environment and came to a new one. It sniffed around with its tail between its legs. Zhao Qingshi just lifted his leg and it was so scared that it ran away with its ears erect.
"Is it usually so afraid of people?" I asked the cat hiding in the corner.
"It's a new environment, it needs time to adapt, it will be fine after a while." She put it back.
"What about you?" he turned around and asked.
"What?" She played dumb.
"As for you, how long will it take you to get used to being with me and adapting to the new life here?" His voice was very soft.
Their eyes met, and Zhao Qingshi eagerly wanted to see if there was any determination in her eyes. She looked away in defeat and replied ambiguously: "It will be fine after a while."
Zhao Qingshi's throat rolled, and he didn't continue to ask her how long it was: "I need to go out for a while."
Ruan Xiangyi nodded: "Okay."
She looked up at him and opened her mouth, wanting to ask, "Will you come back tonight?", but ultimately gave up.
Zhao Qingshi could probably guess that she wouldn't react, so he just said, "If you're sleepy, go to sleep. I might be back very late."
Knowing that Zhao Qingshi was getting his marriage certificate today, Gu Suyan and Qiu Boyu unceremoniously asked him out, saying it was a night out for him to finally get married. They really wanted to see what the bride looked like. Who wouldn't be curious about the person Zhao Qingshi paid such a huge price to marry?
Seeing him coming alone, both of them were disappointed.
"I said he wouldn't bring anyone out. How could he care about anyone?" They had just made a bet to see if Zhao Qingshi would take the initiative to bring someone out to introduce him to them. Gu Suyan bet 20,000 yuan and lost.
"Where is my sister-in-law?" Gu Suyan tried, not giving up and still holding on to his fantasy.
"at home."
"Why don't you bring him here for us to meet him?" Gu Suyan said dissatisfiedly.
"What's there to know about you, a grown man?" Zhao Qingshi lit a cigarette and put it to his lips, blowing out a smoke ring with a sad face.
Qiu Boyu shook his head.
"Why are you shaking your head?" Zhao Qingshi asked, cigarette between his legs, "Are you curious too?"
Qiu Boyu surrendered with both hands: "I didn't say anything."
It's like eating gunpowder.
"When will the wedding be held?" Qiu Boyu asked. This was the right question, right?
Hearing this, Zhao Qingshi sneered: "Do you believe it? She might want to have a secret marriage with me."
Gu Suyan almost spit out his wine with a "puff" sound: "Are you so worthless?"
Zhao Qingshi glanced over coldly.
Qiu Boyu's answer was more mature: "Doesn't they like you?"
“…”
The next second, Gu Suyan added: "Forced marriage?"
Zhao Qingshi kicked him and uttered a few words through gritted teeth: "It's consensual, understand?"
It doesn't look like it. Gu Suyan didn't dare to say it. After all, he was his brother, and he felt it was not worth it for Zhao Qingshi: "I gave 2% of the dividend to Li Wenyin. I spent so much money to marry her, but in the end I got nothing."
"It has nothing to do with her. I was the one who regretted the engagement first."
"Didn't you regret the engagement because of her?" Gu Suyan sighed. "I told her no at the time. I contacted the media, dealt with both sides' parents, and even had to deal with the Li family's unreasonable terms. I thought I'd married her to my heart's content, but it turns out they didn't care about you at all. At least Li Wenyin can help your career."
The seemingly sincere persuasion was actually harsh. Zhao Qingshi couldn't understand why, under the circumstances of being attacked from all sides, he had only one thought, which was to marry her home.
Qiu Boyu advised: "Don't say that. They're already married. It's such a bummer."
Zhao Qingshi leaned against the sofa, raised his head and blew out a smoke ring: "We can't let the little girl go to the hospital alone to have an abortion." He would be a terrible person if he did that.
Hearing this, Qiu Boyu spat out his wine. It was truly humiliating. Gu Suyan was equally shocked. Clearly, neither of them knew anything about this. The two of them looked at each other in bewilderment.
"You mean, my sister-in-law is pregnant?!" Gu Suyan asked in disbelief.
"Didn't I tell you?" Zhao Qingshi's face was calm. He had already gotten over the shock. In fact, the day he found out she was pregnant, his reaction was even greater than theirs. He ran three red lights to get to Ruan's house, and his hands were shaking as he carried her out of the house.
Qiu Boyu asked in disbelief, "Did you say that?"
Zhao Qingshi responded carefully, as if it really was true: "Then I'll tell you now."
Qiu Boyu: “…”
"Are you kidding me?" Gu Suyan complained, rubbing his heart, which was almost jumping out of his chest. He hadn't seen him in a relationship for so many years, and he really thought there was something wrong with him. But when he did, it turned out to be a big deal.
Qiu Boyu couldn't help but admire him: "You're really fast. You became a father in just a few months."
…
Zhao Qingshi was careful not to stay long, and before eight o'clock he rushed back to Xiangshan No. 1. Ruan Xiangyi was not downstairs, so Zhao Qingshi asked Aunt Cui, "Where is the wife?"
"Upstairs."
"Have you eaten yet?"
"I ate it, but my wife didn't seem to have a very good appetite. She put it down after just a few bites."
Zhao Qingshi carried a plate of strawberries upstairs, put his hand on the door handle and pushed the door open instinctively. Thinking of her, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. When he heard her say "come in", Zhao Qingshi pushed the door open and went in.
Ruan Xiangyi was teasing a cat. She thought it was her aunt, so she turned around and her hand holding the cat toy froze.
She stood up and became uncomfortable again: "You're back."
"I came back early because I had nothing else to do." Zhao Qingshi put the strawberries on the table. "Auntie said you didn't eat much. You can have some fruit to fill your stomach."
"Thanks."
Zhao Qingshi glanced at the cat toy in her hand and said, "You continue playing. I'm going to take a shower first."
"Okay." Ruan Xiangyi nodded.
Ruan Xiangyi no longer had the heart to tease the cat. She became as listless as the cat, squatting face to face with it, and occasionally pricked up her ears to listen to the movements coming from the bathroom.
"You're not used to it either, are you?" Ruan Xiangyi patted its little head. "Me too. We're both in the same boat. We're both so pitiful."
The cake glanced at her.
Zhao Qingshi changed into pajamas and came out of the bathroom with half-wet hair. He saw a bulge on the bed, was silent for a moment, and went to the study next door.
Zhao Qingshi worked for two hours and returned to the bedroom. The body on the bed remained in the same position. He turned off the light, lifted the quilt on the other side, and lay down in it. There was half an arm's width of space in the middle. Zhao Qingshi lay flat on his back without moving. He turned his head to glance at the person next to him. As soon as he moved, Ruan Xiangyi moved over to that side.
"Are you still asleep?" he asked.
"I fell asleep right away." She replied immediately.
There were loopholes in her words. If she was really sleepy, he gave her two hours so that she wouldn't wake up as soon as she moved. Zhao Qingshi leaned over, feeling cold, and hugged her from behind before she could hide from him.
He felt her body stiffen.
"Xiangyi, we are already married."
The hands under the quilt clenched unconsciously.
Zhao Qingshi turned on the light on her side and faced her. Under the light, the traces of tears on her face were clearly reflected. His heart sank and he held her face.
He slowly leaned over, put his forehead against hers, and said softly, "Don't cry."
Ruan Xiangyi closed her eyes and tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.
Zhao Qingshi opened his eyes and saw her expression clearly. He moved his lips slowly down. When they were less than a centimeter away from her lips, her lips brushed against his and he turned his head away.
His Adam's apple rolled up and down. Zhao Qingshi looked at her for half a minute, then finally held her in his arms and turned off the light on her side. In the darkness, he gently kissed her hair and said, "Go to sleep."
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The author has something to say: No more tomorrow
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