Chapter 12 Contracts (Revised "the most stable and reliable contractual relationship"...)
Against the light of the emergency lights, Qiao Yunzheng couldn't see Wen Hong's expression, but upon hearing the word "marriage," her mind went blank for a moment: "What?"
Wen Hong stared at her face for a moment, then repeated, "I said, you, marry me."
This time, Qiao Yunzheng heard it clearly.
It's like a huge rock suddenly crashing onto a calm, still body of water, instantly creating a raging storm.
Qiao Yunzheng opened her eyes wide and looked at him carefully, realizing that he didn't seem to be joking or teasing her. Of course, she wasn't naive enough to think that Wen Hong was proposing to her sincerely because of his feelings.
So, Qiao Yunzheng shook her head, trying to figure out if this absurd scene was just a hallucination caused by the medication.
"reason."
Wen Hong stood there, watching her calmly look back at him, without surprise or anger, as if such a suggestion could not arouse much of her emotions.
When she was in his presence, her emotions were like a pre-programmed, precise sequence of events.
Wen Hong suddenly remembered what had just happened. He was standing by the window smoking when he unexpectedly saw Qiao Yunzheng downstairs. She was walking next to a strange man, her coat draped over his arm.
They walked side by side, like a perfect couple.
She smiled at that person, her eyes crinkling with genuine joy.
Since their reunion, Wen Hong had rarely seen such a relaxed expression on her face. Most of the time, she was good-tempered in front of him, but in that state, she seemed to be separated from him by a layer of fog, keeping him at a distance.
She didn't care about him, so she disdained to show her true feelings in front of him, even anger or disgust.
She approached him for the sake of the Qiao family and the power behind him, but not for him as a person.
This thorn pierced Wen Hong's heart, growing deeper and deeper with each passing moment.
Ironically, he planted this thorn himself.
Because that's the only reason he can keep her.
Wen Hong didn't know what reason to give for a moment, and didn't answer immediately.
His lips tightened, and he took two steps to her side, opened the passenger door, and took her hand with his other hand, gesturing for her to sit in the front.
Qiao Yunzheng hesitated for only a moment, then said nothing and sat down inside.
See, this is how she is when she's with him.
Wen Hong became increasingly agitated.
After closing the passenger door, Wen Hong turned back to the driver's seat, got in, closed the door, and locked it.
Yu Guangli was looking at him with her head turned to the side.
He knew she was waiting for his explanation.
Wen Hong lowered his eyes, took out a cigarette case from the storage compartment, tapped one lightly on the center console, lowered his head slightly, put it in his mouth, and when he reached for the lighter in his pocket, he glanced at Qiao Yunzheng and withdrew his hand.
He casually tossed the cigarette back into the storage compartment.
"Because I don't want you to have any dealings with anyone else during the three months you're with me."
Although he said these words, his tone was indifferent, and no one could hear any sign of his displeasure.
Qiao Yunzheng was not surprised by his assertiveness. She knew he was referring to Su Chen's matter earlier, so she explained, "Su Chen is my best friend's brother. We grew up together."
Wen Hong said "Oh," lowered her eyes, and added meaningfully, "Childhood sweethearts."
That seems to make sense.
Qiao Yunzheng didn't know how to bring his distorted train of thought back, so she could only say, "Anyway, it's not what you think. If that's why you..."
“It doesn’t matter what,” Wen Hong interrupted her, resting his hands on the steering wheel listlessly, reverting to his usual nonchalant demeanor. “I’ve said it before, as a lawyer, I never do business that loses money.”
He glanced at Qiao Yunzheng and continued, "I promised to help you protect the Qiao family business, it's all in writing, and as for the results... he tapped his phone, the data is all there. So, shouldn't you give me some kind of guarantee in return?"
Qiao Yunzheng lowered her eyes, still feeling that it was absurd for him to suggest marriage over such a trivial matter.
She understood that his almost obsessive desire to keep her by his side for three months stemmed largely from his resentment at being dumped five years ago. Someone as proud and meticulous as him would likely not tolerate his self-esteem being eroded like this, so his obsessive desire to take revenge on her was understandable.
But she couldn't understand why he wanted to retaliate against her by binding the two of them in this way. It was a classic case of "hurting the enemy a thousand, but also losing eight hundred of your own."
Qiao Yunzheng tried to pull his crazy idea back and proposed a compromise: "If this is what you mind, I can guarantee that for the next three months, I will not have any contact with any men other than you, except for work-related matters."
Anyway, she has always had a narrow social circle, so it doesn't mean much to her.
Seeing her serious expression, as calm and composed as if she were discussing contract terms with a client, Wen Hong clicked her tongue lightly and said, "What guarantee do you have? Don't tell me you're going to write me a guarantee?"
When her thoughts were exposed, Qiao Yunzheng frankly admitted, "It's not impossible."
“Qiao Yunzheng, how old are you? You’re still trying to fool me with these childish nonsense,” Wen Hong said, looking aggrieved. “Besides, how do you define what you mean by ‘contact’? For example, the coffee shop waiter, the taxi driver…”
He dragged out the last syllable, then shrugged helplessly: "In the end, I'm the one who suffers."
Qiao Yunzheng was impressed by his thick skin and didn't reply.
"Therefore, we should sign a contract. There is no more legal, valid, and reliable contractual relationship than marriage."
A moment of silence.
Qiao Yunzheng lowered her eyes, seemingly lost in thought.
The silence made Wen Hong feel suffocated. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, then added casually, "Of course, after the agreed time, we'll each be well and not bother each other." He leaned closer to her, glancing at her, "Or are you worried that you'll fall hopelessly in love with me again?"
Qiao Yunzheng was just about to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing the first half of his sentence, but her heart clenched again when she heard the second half.
She instinctively turned her face away: "You're overthinking it."
Upon hearing this, Wen Hong sat back down, started the car, and said calmly, "Then what are you worried about?"
It was late at night, and the whole city was asleep.
Wen Hong remained silent the entire way, his gaze fixed intently ahead. This eased Qiao Yunzheng's tension slightly, and she turned her head slightly to examine him.
To be fair, aside from being a bit arrogant and having a bad temper, this person isn't entirely without merit.
For example, he was exactly her type; and he was very capable, as Qiao Yunzheng witnessed his immense power at just one shareholders' meeting.
Along the way, Qiao Yunzheng found countless reasons to convince herself.
After all, she had received a lot of help from him after meeting him, so from the perspective of exchanging benefits, the proposal of marriage was not so difficult to accept.
Anyway, she had promised Wen Hong to stay by his side for three months. Whether they got married or not was just a matter of a piece of paper. If that made him feel it was fair, it didn't seem to matter much.
As the car pulled into the underground parking garage, Qiao Yunzheng took the opportunity of unbuckling her seatbelt to whisper, "Okay, I'll marry you."
Qiao Yunzheng thought that her so-called "marriage" with Wen Hong, which lacked any real feelings, was probably just a formality, a matter of getting a marriage certificate and calling it a day. However, she did not expect that Wen Hong did not think so.
After finishing all the matters in Kuncheng, the two flew back to Shencheng together.
As soon as the plane landed, Wen Hong began to make arrangements for the engagement in a flurry of activity, selecting a hotel, notifying relatives and friends, ordering wedding attire and wedding planning, leaving no detail unattended.
When Qiao Yunzheng heard the news, she could hardly believe her ears: "What? An engagement?"
Wen Hong looked up from a pile of bright red wedding invitations: "What? Shouldn't it be like this?"
"Isn't it unnecessary to go through all this trouble?" Qiao Yunzheng couldn't understand. In his words, all he wanted was a legal guarantee. In her opinion, they could just pick a nice day, go to the Civil Affairs Bureau together to take a photo and get a certificate, and that would be it. Why make it so complicated?
Wen Hong glanced at her unhappily: "What others have, I, Wen Hong, cannot lack. Even if we get married tomorrow, we still have to hold this engagement banquet tonight."
Qiao Yunzheng was so surprised that she couldn't speak, so she simply shut up. Anyway, Wen Hong was handling everything by herself, so she was happy to have some free time and didn't care whether it was troublesome or not.
However, she overlooked one thing that she absolutely had to do.
The next day, Wen Hong finally couldn't withstand the barrage of calls from the law firm and had to return to handle some work. Before leaving, he specifically told her to go to a bridal shop to try on wedding dresses and evening gowns, and also to pick out some jewelry she wanted.
He placed a card on the table and said, "I have an appointment at a dress shop at 10 a.m. to choose an outfit. I'll have the driver take you there."
Qiao Yunzheng paused, her hand holding the spoon still, until she heard Wen Hong close the door, and then she snapped back to reality.
She stared at the black card on the corner of the table, and for a moment, she had a strange feeling. Just now, they seemed like an ordinary young couple, planning every step they would take towards the future.
Only at this moment did the idea of getting married begin to feel a little real.
At 10 a.m., Qiao Yunzheng arrived at the agreed location as scheduled, looked around, but did not see Wen Hong.
Only a pretty girl stood there, seemingly waiting for someone.
The girl's gaze met hers for a few seconds before she walked towards her: "You must be Miss Qiao?"
Qiao Yunzheng nodded in confusion.
"My name is Shen Qingli, and I'm your guide for today!"
The girl's eyes were bright and sparkling, and her smile was especially beautiful, making people feel good at first sight.
Qiao Yunzheng couldn't fathom the relationship between the girl in front of her and Wen Hong. After thinking for a moment, she asked tactfully, "He...didn't he come?"
"He's a bit busy today... but it's okay, I'm a local, I'm reliable!" The girl named Shen Qingli patted her chest and assured him.
As she said, she took Qiao Yunzheng on a tour of the entire neighborhood.
Qiao Yunzheng always felt a sense of familiarity with her.
Qiao Yunzheng was preoccupied with her own thoughts, but she couldn't resist the girl's enthusiasm. Half a day passed before she finally went to the wedding dress shop she had booked.
It took her a while to remember that it was Wen Hong from five years ago. Back then, he gave her the same feeling—passionate and vibrant.
They are the kind of people.
The two didn't arrive at the wedding dress shop until after lunch.
Despite it being a marriage of convenience, Qiao Yunzheng still felt a strange sense of loss when the woman came to try on wedding dresses alone.
Unexpectedly, Shen Qingli reacted even more strongly than her. She hesitated for a long time before finally asking, "Are you getting married?"
Qiao Yunzheng stared at herself in the mirror: "Yes!" She smiled bitterly, "I never thought I'd be getting married so soon..."
"With him?"
Qiao Yunzheng nodded, readily admitting it.
The girl's face quickly turned ashen, and a strong intuition rose within her.
A guess formed in my mind.
For the rest of the time, the two spoke much less, and a subtle atmosphere hung in the air.
Until evening, a minivan stopped in front of Qiao Yunzheng and Shen Qingli.
The first person to emerge from the car was someone Qiao Yunzheng recognized—a lawyer named Song Nanchen. Behind him, Wen Hong's arrogant face came into view.
Upon seeing the two of them, Shen Qingli finally disregarded everything else and ran away without a care in the world.
Song Nanchen glanced at it, greeted Wen Hong, nodded to Qiao Yunzheng, and left.
After Wen Hong impatiently waved him away, she leisurely got out of the car, put her hands in her pockets, and stood in front of Qiao Yunzheng: "How was your shopping?"
Qiao Yunzheng's gaze was still fixed on the direction Shen Qingli had left in. After hesitating for a moment, she finally asked, "Aren't you going to go after her and see?"
Wen Hong raised an eyebrow, seemingly doubting that he had misheard: "What...what the hell?"
A note from the author:
This chapter has been revised, but the overall plot remains largely unchanged. Some unnecessary parts have been removed, and some logical inconsistencies and character psychology have been corrected.
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