Chapter 1 You can hide in there
In early March, Yao'an Town finally shed its winter snow-covered landscape and welcomed a touch of new green, with the air filled with the scent of spring.
In the dim light of dawn, a thin mist shrouded the sky above Yao'an Town.
Unlike the hustle and bustle of the city, the entire town of Yao'an exudes a rustic tranquility, with low-rise bungalows with gray tiles everywhere.
Around six o'clock in the morning, wisps of white smoke were already rising from the chimneys of many households.
In one of the courtyards on Xiaxin Street, a ray of morning light peeked through the loosely drawn curtains and fell on the floral quilt on the bed.
Chen Yao'an was woken up by the alarm clock. She struggled to open her sleepy eyes, then reached out to turn off the alarm clock and glanced at the time.
It's later than usual.
Despite still feeling exhausted, she didn't linger and got out of bed quickly; there were still many things waiting for her to do.
The first thing Chen Yaoan did after getting up and washing up was to go to the east bedroom to check on Zhou Yao.
Zhou Yao's mental state has been poor, and she is rarely sober. Chen Yao'an is afraid that she will sneak out at night while they are asleep, so the door to the east bedroom is always locked at night.
She unlocked the door with her key and saw Zhou Yao sleeping soundly in bed, which put her at ease. Then she turned and went to the kitchen in the yard.
Chen Yao'an lives with her mother and grandmother. Zhou Yao is not in a good mental state, and her grandmother has difficulty walking and moves very slowly, so Chen Yao'an does most of the housework, including preparing three meals a day.
After making breakfast, Chen Yao'an went to the west room first, where her grandmother lived alone.
She raised her hand and knocked on the door. "Is Grandma awake?"
An aged yet powerful voice came from inside the house: "Get up."
"Breakfast is ready."
There was no more sound from inside the house. Chen Yao'an knew she had heard it, so she turned around and went back to the main room.
In the east bedroom, Chen Yao'an pushed open the door and entered. Zhou Yao was still asleep. She walked to the bedside and woke her up, "Mom, get up and have breakfast."
Zhou Yao slowly opened his eyes, looking at her with a blank, sleepy gaze mixed with fear and wariness. "Who are you?"
Chen Yao'an's throat felt a little dry, and after a pause, she said, "Mom, I'm Yaoyao, your daughter."
She had experienced this situation many times before, and had even become accustomed to it, but it still stirred up ripples in her heart.
After experiencing the unexpected deaths of her younger brother and father, Zhou Yao was deeply affected and her consciousness gradually became unclear. Sometimes she could remember her, and sometimes she could not remember her at all.
Zhou Yao thought for a while before acknowledging her as her daughter. Only then did Chen Yaoan coax her out of bed and help her get dressed and wash up.
The only saving grace is that Zhou Yao still retains the most basic self-care ability, but her mind is confused, she forgets many things, can't remember people, and sometimes can't even recognize the road.
By the time Chen Yaoan brought Zhou Yao to the dining table, it was already quite late, so she had to entrust her to her grandmother, Yan Shumei.
"Grandma, please take care of my mom for me."
Yan Shumei was slowly making her way into the main room, leaning on her cane.
Hearing Chen Yao'an's words, her face darkened. She glanced at Zhou Yao and said irritably, "Always looking for trouble!"
Yan Shumei was a thin old woman who usually didn't give people a friendly look and was somewhat sarcastic.
"Thank you for your help, Grandma. I'm running out of time, I have to go now."
As she said this, she grabbed her bag and quickly walked out.
Yan Shumei didn't say anything more.
With her bag on her back, Chen Yao'an pushed the electric scooter out of the gate and then turned around to lock the front door of her house.
She wasn't home during the day, afraid that Zhou Yao would run away and Yan Shumei wouldn't be able to handle it, so the front door was always locked, and Yan Shumei also had a key.
After locking the gate, Chen Yaoan rode his bicycle to the county town.
Chen Yao'an opened a clothing studio on the county's commercial street to support his family's daily life.
Before heading to the shop, Chen Yaoan turned a corner and stopped in front of a steamed bun shop.
This steamed bun shop has been open for over ten years and has a great reputation, so there are always long queues in the morning. Usually, when she doesn't have time to eat breakfast, she buys a few steamed buns here to eat at the shop.
She parked her electric scooter in a secluded alley, locked it, and then went to queue in front of the steamed bun shop.
The steamed bun shop owner and his wife worked very efficiently, and it was Chen Yao'an's turn a few minutes later.
After buying the steamed buns, Chen Yaoan turned around to get her electric scooter.
The alley where electric bikes are parked is a dead end, so nobody ever comes here.
Today seemed a little different; a noisy commotion was coming from the alley.
Chen Yaoan glanced into the depths of the alley and saw five or six thugs dressed in a shady manner surrounding a man and blocking him.
The man showed no sign of panic, casually glancing around with a weary expression on his face.
His demeanor was completely different from the other thugs around him, and he even seemed out of place in his surroundings. He looked more like a rich young master who stood there incongruous with his surroundings.
When Chen Yaoan looked over, the man surrounded in the middle seemed to notice her gaze and looked back at her. Their eyes met for a moment in the air.
She quickly and coldly withdrew her gaze; she was too busy taking care of her own life to care about anything else.
She lowered her head, continued what she was doing, and soon rode away on her electric scooter without looking back.
Watching the woman ride her electric bike straight out of the alley, Xu Jialan casually withdrew her gaze and looked at the person in front of her.
Under the watchful eyes of so many people, he leisurely took out a cigarette from his pocket, tilted his head, lit it, and started smoking.
After exhaling a puff of smoke, he asked, "What do you want from me?"
His tone carried a hint of indifference, and also a touch of drowsiness.
Xu Jialan had spent the night at a nearby bar with some new friends she had met since arriving here. She had just come out this morning, intending to go back and catch up on some sleep, but she was stopped by this group of thugs before she had gone very far.
These thugs were originally just doing their job for money, only responsible for teaching Xu Jialan a lesson, but seeing how he didn't take them seriously, they were somewhat angered.
The leader was named Huang Yuan.
He sneered, "Why are you asking us what we want? You stole Young Master Yan's girlfriend, you deserve to be taught a lesson!"
"Young Master Yan? Who?" Xu Jialan asked casually, his brows furrowing slightly. He even considered carefully who this person was, as he genuinely didn't recognize him.
As for girlfriends...
He hasn't been here long, and he's only been in contact with one woman.
"Oh, you mean Chu Yu? She didn't mention she had a boyfriend when she contacted me."
I never expected that he would cause me such trouble.
"Stop talking nonsense!" They couldn't be bothered to listen to Xu Jialan's explanations; their only task was to teach him a lesson.
Huang Yuan waved his hand, "All of you, get out there!"
Xu Jialan had gotten into many fights when he was in school, but there were too many of them, and he didn't want to get beaten up for nothing.
As soon as Huang Yuan finished speaking, before anyone else could make a move, Xu Jialan was the first to fix her gaze on him.
He took a deep drag on the cigarette between his fingers, and the crimson glow of the cigarette butt instantly intensified. When the embers were at their brightest, Xu Jialan suddenly threw the cigarette butt straight at Huang Yuan's face.
Huang Yuan looked at the crimson cigarette butt heading straight for him and instinctively dodged to the side.
Taking advantage of this opening, Ye Jialan suddenly kicked him in the stomach.
In an instant, Huang Yuan felt as if his internal organs were about to burst open, and he fell backward due to inertia.
As a result, the others didn't bother to reprimand Xu Jialan at all and rushed to help Huang Yuan.
This unexpected turn of events gave Xu Jialan the opportunity to escape, and he quickly broke through their encirclement.
They initially thought Ye Jialan was just a spoiled rich kid and didn't take him seriously, but they didn't expect him to pull such a stunt.
Huang Yuan scrambled to his feet and angrily shouted to his men, "Hurry up and chase after them!"
Then, a group of people chased after them in a flash.
*
Wild Clothing Design Studio.
At this time, the shop sign was already up and open for business.
It was still early, and there were usually no customers at this time, so Chen Yaoan sat at the front desk eating breakfast and drawing.
Several customers placed orders for clothes at her shop a few days ago, so she needs to catch up on orders in the next few days.
After she sat down, she had only made a few strokes on the design drawing on the paper when the bell hanging above the shop entrance suddenly rang urgently.
Chen Yao'an subconsciously looked up.
The shop door was pushed open forcefully, and a large ray of sunlight rushed in through the open door, illuminating the shop even more, and some even fell on her face.
A man stood in the sunlight.
Before Chen Yaoan could react, Xu Jialan had already rushed in front of her.
He spoke rather quickly, "Excuse me, could you spare a place to hide for a moment?"
Xu Jialan has a striking face with deep-set eyes, a straight nose, and well-defined facial features that are even somewhat sharp, making her stunning at first glance.
Therefore, Chen Yaoan was also taken aback.
It's that man from the alley earlier, "You..."
Before Chen Yaoan could speak, Xu Jialan had already turned around and walked quickly towards her studio.
Remembering how he had been surrounded in the alley earlier, she didn't want to cause any trouble.
Chen Yao'an wanted to stop him, so she hurriedly followed him inside.
Xu Jialan had already entered her studio and was looking around, probably trying to find a place to hide.
Chen Yao'an called out to him, her tone less than friendly, "Wait a minute."
Xu Jialan looked at her.
He had barged in recklessly just now, barging in without a word, but now he suddenly became polite and courteous.
Before she could respond, he apologized, "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
His eyes were full of apology.
The words Chen Yaoan wanted to say were stuck in her throat, and seeing his exhausted face...
After hesitating for a few seconds, she pointed to a hidden door in the fitting room, "You can hide in there."
Behind the door is a small storage room. The door to the storage room is integrated with the wall, so it is not easy to notice that there is a hidden door at first glance.
Xu Jialan glanced in the direction she pointed and said with a smile, "Thanks."
A note from the author:
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Marriage of convenience to love
Freedom and independence × Group tycoon
Qiu Yan was suffocating from the pressure from her family to get married, and Di Zheng was her fifth blind date.
She took a sip of coffee with an impatient look and said, "I have marriage syndrome."
Di Zheng: ?
What is marriage syndrome?
"Marriage syndrome is anxiety and irritability after marriage, and in severe cases, it may lead to violent tendencies towards one's partner."
Di Zheng pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "One million."
Qiu Yan: "Hmm?"
Di Zheng: "Add a house worth one million."
Qiu Yan: "Huh?"
Di Zheng: "Add another million."
Qiu Yan: "I think my marriage syndrome is cured."
-
The contractual marriage with Di Zheng was entirely a monetary transaction.
In public, the two are a loving couple; in private, they do not interfere with each other.
Di Zheng remained indifferent, and she remained perfunctory.
Until the day the contract expired, she couldn't find Qiu Yan anywhere, only to turn around and find her in Di Zheng's hands.
"What are you doing with my contract?" she reached out to grab it.
Di Zheng dodged away abruptly, locking her hands behind her back and saying, "I'll give them to you, but the marriage will continue."
Didn't we agree on a six-month period?
Continue what?!
Note: Marriage syndrome is not a formal medical or psychological diagnostic term.
Synopsis for "Li Li":
Zhou Luqi and Li Li are completely different kinds of people.
Zhou Luqi was cold and ruthless, and the women around him were like passersby, coming and going.
As an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, Li Li is gentle, quiet, and conscientious.
No one would associate the two of them together.
Until one day, Li Li stood in front of Zhou Luqi and asked him, "Can I be your girlfriend?"
Looking at the unremarkable Li Li in front of him, Zhou Luqi sneered, "What makes you think you're worthy of being my girlfriend?"
Later, on the day they broke up, Zhou Luqi grabbed Li Li by the back of the neck with one hand, forcing her to look up at him, and asked her with the last bit of self-respect, "Do you love me or him?"
Li Li's voice choked with emotion, yet remained calm: "I'm sorry, I lost my mind."
Later, he saw a man standing next to her who looked somewhat like him.
He caught up with her, grabbed her arm, and whispered, "If you want to find a substitute, you can come to me. I look more like him than he did."
In the end, he lost in this relationship.
Warning: The male lead has a long romantic history, but both are virgins.
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