Chapter 8: Let’s Get Married

“Did I ever say I was married?”

Xia An realized that President Ye had a talent for being plain-spoken yet shocking.

Xia An mulled this sentence over twice in her heart, and only after confirming the other woman’s meaning did she ask weakly, “Are you divorced?”

Ye Jin: “…”

Her daughter was already that big; it was the only possibility Xia An could think of.

Ye Jin glanced at Xia An and replied, “No.”

“Then your daughter…”

Xia An’s voice trailed off as she spoke, because seeing the other’s reaction, she seemed reluctant to mention it further; it was normal, everyone had their privacy.

Xia An finally understood why President Ye gave off such a sense of distance; her being solemn was one thing, but on the other hand, she seemed like herself—unwilling to say much about her own affairs to others.

The quiet bar’s environment was very suitable for chatting and conversation.

“Miss Xia.”

“Hm?”

After quietly finishing half a glass of wine, Ye Jin finally got straight to the point.

“There is something I want to discuss with you.”

“With me?”

Xia An grew increasingly confused by Ye Jin’s words and actions tonight; however, as expected, she did have something to discuss rather than just drink.

But what could President Ye possibly want with her?

Ye Jin stared into Xia An’s eyes and continued, “Are you currently single?”

Yet another unexpected question, and one that easily led to flights of fancy.

“I’m single…”

Xia An’s heart skipped a beat, because in her experience, in ninety-nine percent of cases like this, the second half of the sentence would be “Would you be my girlfriend?”

Coincidentally, the lyrical music in the bar turned flirtatious, an ambiguity extremely suited for a confession.

Xia An looked at Ye Jin’s face; it was beautiful, the kind that was detached from the mortal world.

How could she possibly…

Xia An unconsciously gripped her wine glass tighter, feeling that her imagination was too vivid and she dared to think of anything.

“You’re twenty-three?”

Ye Jin confirmed her age again.

This conversational trend made Xia An more and more puzzled. “Yes…”

“You’ve reached the legal marriage age.”

“President Ye, you…”

At this point, Xia An seemed to realize something; could it be that President Ye had a hobby of playing matchmaker?

Truly, appearances were deceiving.

Xia An asked with an incredulous smile, “You aren’t… planning to introduce me to someone, are you?”

“No.” Ye Jin denied it calmly.

“Oh…” Xia An picked up her glass and took another sip.

“Let’s get married.”

“Pfft…”

Miss Xia had originally planned to take a sip of wine to calm down, but hearing those words from Ye Jin, she nearly choked to death on that mouthful of alcohol.

It caught her off guard even more than “be my girlfriend.”

Xia An coughed for a while; she looked up to find President Ye considerately handing her a tissue, her face devoid of any emotional ripples, speaking of “getting married” as if it were even more ordinary than “having a drink together.”

“We… get married?”

Xia An calmed down slightly; she first let out a smile, then propped up her head and asked, “You’re joking with me, right?”

Even though Xia An said that, Ye Jin didn’t look like someone who would joke at all, and when she proposed marriage, she looked serious.

“I mean a marriage of convenience.”

“A contract marriage?”

“You should have some understanding of my grandmother’s situation…” Ye Jin slowly explained to Xia An.

Old Lady Liang’s physical condition only had about a year or two left; although she didn’t pressure her verbally, she was eagerly hoping in her heart for her to marry, always fearing she wouldn’t live to see that day.

Ye Jin knew this very well, and a marriage in name only was a measure of expediency; she didn’t want the old lady to leave with regrets.

Xia An listened, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say; it could only be said that the entire thing came too suddenly.

From the moment Ye Jin proposed marriage until now, her heart was still in a mess.

Getting married… to a woman she had only met three times?

“How much is left for your father’s surgery fees?”

Ye Jin changed the subject, jumping to a sensitive topic.

For Xia An, this was very sensitive.

Xia An looked at the person before her and fell silent; she really had heard everything.

Seeing Xia An remain silent, Ye Jin added, “After we marry, I can cover your father’s surgery fees, including subsequent treatment costs…”

“President Ye,”

Xia An lowered her head and bit her lip, interrupting Ye Jin, then looked up stubbornly and smiled.

“You should find someone else; I’m not suitable for this.”

Ye Jin thought she had concerns. “Rest assured, it’s just a marriage in name only; I won’t ask you to do anything.”

Xia An still stubbornly shook her head in refusal.

Regarding her own affairs, Miss Xia felt that most of the time she could grit her teeth and persevere; she didn’t need to rely on anyone.

Although a contract marriage sounded mutually beneficial, Xia An would rather work a bit harder than have someone else intervene.

Ye Jin realized she had miscalculated; she thought Xia An would agree, after all, Miss Xia was in urgent need of money, and this was an excellent opportunity.

“Why?”

“Do I have to give a reason?”

“I know it’s sudden, you can go back and think it over carefully; there’s no need to give me a definitive answer tonight.”

Ye Jin asked the waiter for paper and a pen, then lowered her head to write a string of numbers on the white paper.

“If you’re willing, call me.”

Xia An didn’t answer and continued drinking her wine.

It turned out this girl’s nature was so stubborn; Ye Jin changed her impression of Miss Xia once again.

She originally intended to just leave, but before departing, she still couldn’t help but say to Xia An, “Drink less.”

When Xia An looked up again, the person beside her was gone, leaving only a piece of white paper with a phone number.

She stared at it for quite a while…

After sitting alone in the bar for not much longer, Xia An walked out and looked at the night sky; the moon was blocked by thick cumulus clouds, as if it was about to rain.

It wasn’t even eleven yet; there were several unread text messages on her phone.

Looking at them, they were from Ke Rochu, sent just a few minutes ago.

[ I’m sorry ]

[ I didn’t mean to, I was worried something would happen to you ]

Xia An read them but didn’t reply, continuing to walk aimlessly on the street.

Tang Zhen’s sudden appearance at Night Colors tonight—Xia An didn’t even have to think to know it was Ke Rochu who told him, because besides herself, only Ke Rochu knew about this.

So regarding one’s own affairs, why bother telling others.

Leaning against the lamppost on the side of the street, Xia An stood blankly, suddenly feeling a bit tired.

She didn’t want to return to the dorm, yet found that she had nowhere else to go.

Ke Rochu called; Xia An didn’t pick up out of a momentary fit of pique.

At the same time, Ke Rochu, who had just finished her shift, was anxious; she suddenly couldn’t reach Tang Zhen, Xia An wasn’t replying to messages, and her calls were going unanswered.

Xia An must be angry with her.

Ke Rochu kept sending “I’m sorry” to Xia An, her nose growing more and more sore as she sent them.

What if Xia An started to hate her?

She had finally managed to slowly get closer to Xia An…

Five minutes later, when Ke Rochu called for the third time, Xia An finally picked up; she knew Ke Rochu meant well and was simply simple-minded.

If she didn’t pick up the phone, Ke Rochu wouldn’t be able to sleep all night.

– You finally picked up… Tang Zhen didn’t make things difficult for you, did he? I’m sorry… I…

Hearing the voice on the other end, Xia An was certain Ke Rochu was crying; she sighed helplessly, only reporting her safety.

– I’m not coming back to the dorm tonight.

– Not coming back? Then where are you, at Night Colors? I’ll come stay with you.

– No need, I’m with a friend.

Xia An’s attitude was cold, unwilling to say another word to Ke Rochu.

Ke Rochu telling Tang Zhen about the part-time job really left a bad taste in her mouth; after all, she didn’t have many friends, and the only one she was close to was Ke Rochu.

But…

– Xia An—

The other party hung up the phone just like that; Ke Rochu knew being anxious was useless.

Xia An’s reaction was clearly one of anger, refusing to deal with her.

Ke Rochu rubbed her temples, feeling regretful to death; during this period in the ER, her brain had been busy to the point of becoming stupid.

So why did she call and have Tang Zhen go there?

Now Xia An simply wouldn’t even return to the dorm.

Ye Jin called a designated driver; not far after exiting the underground garage, she saw Xia An leaning against a lamppost.

She was looking down and kicking the ground with the tip of her high heel every now and then.

There was no smile on her face.

“Stop here for a moment.”

Ye Jin remembered that every time she met Xia An, the corners of her mouth were turned up; whether in the nightclub or the hospital, even during the argument with the man earlier, her face bore a cold, disdainful smile.

Looking at the current expressionless Miss Xia, Ye Jin suddenly let out a faint smile, as if seeing her former self; perhaps this Miss Xia was even more stubborn than her past self.

After another rumble of muffled thunder, raindrops began to pelt down, growing larger and larger, leaving no time to take cover.

Xia An tilted her head back and walked toward a nearby 24-hour convenience store, yet she still got half-soaked by the torrential rain.

There was a row of seats outside the convenience store; Xia An sat on the one against the wall, casually wiping the raindrops off her body with a tissue, which was practically useless.

She stared blankly at the splashes of water on the ground; anyway, she didn’t know where to go, so she would sit here tonight as long as she could.

She was truly a bit weary.

Xia An leaned her head against the convenience store window, squinting her eyes, feeling her eyelids grow heavier and heavier.

She admitted she was forcing herself; during this past half-month, her daily sleep time was often less than four hours.

Rushing between the hospital, school, and the nightclub, she relied entirely on her spirit to hold on; sometimes she even admired herself.

As expected, as long as there is pressure, you never know how much potential you have.

A black car stopped outside the convenience store.

The thunderstorm was only a passing one; now it had turned into a pitter-patter of light rain, which was still annoying.

Ye Jin took a spare umbrella and got out of the car.

She saw Xia An sitting on a blue plastic seat, her head tilted against the window, having fallen asleep.

Her hair and dress were somewhat wet from the rain, and her palm-sized face looked exceptionally haggard under the light.

Ye Jin looked down, her gaze falling on her tightly pursed thin lips; even in sleep, she seemed to have her nerves tensed, exuding a streak of stubbornness.

Xia An slept very lightly, or perhaps it shouldn’t be called sleep, just closing her eyes for a bit, so when she heard footsteps beside her, she immediately opened her eyes in alert.

Ye Jin held an umbrella and appeared before Xia An once again.

“Get in the car with me, I’ll take you back.”

After the storm, the sultriness and oppressiveness in the air were washed away, leaving it much more refreshing.

Xia An looked at the rain; she said lazily to Ye Jin, “When the rain stops, I’ll leave by myself.”

It was rare to see her speak without a smile; Ye Jin actually preferred seeing her without one.

Sometimes smiling was far more exhausting than not smiling.

“It won’t stop for a while.”

The two of them looked at each other like this, locked in a stalemate for a moment.

Xia An didn’t speak, thinking Ye Jin would leave, but the other party actually didn’t.

After a long time, Ye Jin looked at Xia An and took the initiative to say, “If you don’t know where to go, you can come to my place first.”

It was as if her inner thoughts had suddenly been seen through.

Xia An didn’t look at the other woman’s eyes; why was she always inexplicably moved by her.

“You don’t need to bother with me.”

Ye Jin gave a faint glance, once again seeing through Miss Xia’s thoughts.

“Stop being so stubborn.”