Chapter 2 The Five-Year Agreement
Mr. Huo sighed, his voice low but clear enough for Huo Yanli to hear: "I know you're unwilling. Your mother and I... actually feel that the Song family girl is not a good match. But you know the old man's temper. Once he's made up his mind, nothing can change it."
He paused, glanced at his father who was being resuscitated on the hospital bed, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "Let's agree for now. Just consider it... just consider it letting the old man focus on recovering. We'll talk about the future later."
The medical staff had reconnected the old man to oxygen, and the numbers on the monitor were slowly rising. The old man's eyes were closed, his chest heaving violently, and cloudy tears slid into the white hair at his temples.
Standing by the bed, Mrs. Huo gently wiped the old man's forehead with a handkerchief. She glanced back at Huo Yanli, hesitant to speak. In the end, she only sighed, a sigh that clearly expressed her pessimism about the marriage, yet also her helplessness in the face of being powerless to change it.
Butler Chen pulled Huo Yanli outside the ward, the corridor lights casting a cold, white glow. His eyes were red, and his voice was hoarse: "Young Master, the Master's health... really can't take any more strain. As for the Song family, the young lady has agreed, saying it's to fulfill her grandfather's last wish. The old man... sigh."
He glanced at the closed ward door and lowered his voice: "Madam told me privately that the Song family girl comes from a respectable family, but she is just an ordinary intellectual family, far inferior to our Huo family. But the old man insists, and no one dares to really upset him. You should... agree for now."
"So, you compromised?" Ji Yun's voice pulled Huo Yanli back from his memories.
The private room was quiet, with deep jazz piano music playing in the background, which sounded somewhat empty at the moment.
Huo Yanli swirled the wine glass in his hand; the ice ball had almost melted, and a fine layer of mist had formed on the glass.
"Compromise?" He repeated the word, his voice rising slightly at the end, carrying Huo Yanli's usual arrogance and aloofness. "It's not a compromising situation. The old man is threatening me with his life, what can I do?"
He paused, raised his eyes, and glanced at his three friends. His gaze was indifferent, like a thin layer of ice on a lake on a winter night; the emotions beneath were unclear.
“It’s just a marriage of convenience,” he said, his tone shifting from nonchalant to slightly sarcastic. “Getting a marriage certificate is just to appease the old man and fulfill the wishes of the older generation. Five years.”
"Five years?" Zhou Mubai keenly caught the key word.
“Yes, I spoke with Grandpa.” Huo Yanli leaned back on the sofa, crossed his long legs, and relaxed, as if discussing the term of a business contract. “Five years. When the term is up, we’ll part ways amicably. Whatever compensation she wants, as long as it’s not excessive, she can ask for it.”
Ji Yun whistled: "Young Master Huo is generous. So, how do you plan to spend these five years? Are you really going to live with her?"
“We’ll each go our own way,” Huo Yanli replied decisively. “She’ll do her translation work, and I’ll focus on my company. We won’t bother each other except for necessary occasions.”
Shen Yu finally spoke, his voice calm but carrying the calculation of a businessman: "Are you really that at ease? She can't be unaware of what the title of Mrs. Huo means in Beijing. Five years is enough time for her to use this identity to acquire a lot of resources."
Upon hearing this, Huo Yanli chuckled softly. The laugh was brief and devoid of warmth.
"All she can get is the title of Mrs. Huo," he said slowly, each word clear. "The Huo family's resources, the company's shares, the assets under my name... she can forget about them. I will transfer a living allowance to her account every month, as a way of fulfilling my duties as a husband. Apart from that, my life will not change in any way because of this marriage certificate."
He paused, then added, "Of course, if she's sensible and leaves quietly with some money in five years, I won't mistreat her. But if she has any ulterior motives..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone in the private room understood. The fleeting coldness in his deep eyes was enough to convey his attitude.
Ji Yun clicked his tongue twice: "Alright, as long as you know what you're doing. But speaking of which, I'm really curious, what kind of girl is she? How could she have Grandpa Huo so infatuated that he's forcing you to marry her?"
"We'll find out tomorrow." Zhou Mubai glanced at his watch. "Nine o'clock tomorrow morning, Civil Affairs Bureau. Yanli, do you need us to go with you to 'boost your reputation'? We can also help you make a judgment."
Huo Yanli initially intended to refuse, but changed his mind before the words were even out of his mouth. He forced a smile that wasn't really a smile.
“Alright, everyone.” He picked up the wine bottle and refilled everyone’s glasses. “Let me show you just how capable this Miss Song, who is about to have the title of ‘Mrs. Huo,’ really is.”
The glasses collided again, making a crisp sound.
Huo Yanli put down his wine glass, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across the window. The bustling night view of Beijing unfolded beneath his feet, neon lights glittering, cars flowing like a river. This vast city was forever vibrant, yet forever indifferent and aloof.
After tomorrow, his legal spouse section will no longer be blank.
An unfamiliar name, an unfamiliar woman.
Song Zhiyi.
He silently repeated the name in his mind, without any reaction.
It was just an agreement that had to be fulfilled, a five-year-long drama.
He was still Huo Yanli, the "Crown Prince" revered by everyone in Beijing's social circles, and the helmsman of the Huo Group. His world would not be any different because he had a wife in the legal sense.
As for love? Trust?
A faint hint of mockery flashed across Huo Yanli's eyes.
Those things were completely shattered at the airport many years ago, along with that flight that soared into the sky.
He looked away and rejoined his friends' conversation, his face regaining that confident, indifferent smile.
It was as if that conversation about marriage and compromise had never happened.
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