Chapter 12#
Contract Marriage (12)#
Confronted by her ex-boyfriend and his mother, Yu Ke quickly leaned over and gave Lu Yi a loud, smacking kiss on the mouth.
Qin Lan’s delicate features twisted even more. She had originally wanted to demand whether Lu Yi had done this on purpose, but Yu Ke’s move completely threw her off track, making her forget her original purpose. All she could do was glare viciously at Yu Ke and curse, “Shameless!”
After scolding Yu Ke, that unscrupulous fox, she dragged her son over, pointed at Fang Chuan, and said, “Lu Yi, just now at your wedding, I showed face and didn’t cause a scene. I’ve watched you grow up, after all. You and Fang Chuan—ten years of feelings—are they really worth less than this little fox who popped up just a few days ago?”
Yu Ke had originally intended to maintain his persona of an obedient, good little immortal man, but at these words, he couldn’t help stabbing back: “Auntie, it’s been ten years, and your lines haven’t changed at all. At least back then, the little fox should have grown into a big fox by now, right?”
Yu Ke had always been sharp-tongued. Back then, his words had stung her enough to make her heart ache; it was only her money that had shut him up.
Qin Lan snorted coldly. She had magnanimity—she wouldn’t bother with Yu Ke for now. In matters like this, the real power lay with Lu Yi. If Lu Yi changed his mind, what was Yu Ke? Then, alone and helpless, he’d be at her mercy.
She continued to stare at Lu Yi: “Lu Yi, I’m not just saying this—I’ve been around the block. Do you even know what kind of person is beside you? Back then, he took one million and abandoned Xiao Chuan without a second thought, said cruel things to him, and left without any hesitation. He’s only with you for your money. Even if you don’t choose Xiao Chuan, you shouldn’t choose him.”
Qin Lan was convinced that Lu Yi must have been deceived by Yu Ke; otherwise, how could he be so blind? To prove she was telling the truth, she even brought out the contract and voice recorder from back then, ready to present the evidence as soon as Lu Yi said he didn’t believe it.
Lu Yi said, “I know.”
Qin Lan froze. What? Lu Yi wasn’t playing by the script.
“What did you just say? Say it again?”
Lu Yi looked at Fang Chuan, whose face was twisted in pain: “I’ve known about this for a long time. As for Yu Ke—back then, when Fang Chuan was pining to death over his first love, I looked into it. I know a fair bit.”
Fang Chuan, who had been silent until now, finally spoke: “Since you know he’s only getting close to you for the money, why do you still choose him?”
Lu Yi looked at him as if he were an idiot: “Fang Chuan, you’re not a kid anymore. For most people, marriage means responsibility to yourself and your family, not love. We’ve known each other for ten years. Since you know me, you should understand that, for me, interests are far more important than love.”
He wrapped his arm around Yu Ke’s waist and kissed him on the lips: “I like this face—young and handsome. And he likes my money. I can accept that. I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
Problems that could be solved with money were never really problems to him. Besides, Yu Ke had married him precisely because of that ten million—of course it was for the money.
He let go of Yu Ke and walked over to Fang Chuan.
The man’s leather shoes tapped against the floor tiles, crisp and rhythmic, just like Lu Yi himself.
The air was thick with pressure. Even Qin Lan fell silent before this younger man.
Lu Yi stopped and spoke in a commanding tone: “Fang Chuan, look up at me.”
The latter instinctively raised his head. His young, handsome face was tinged with confusion; his eyes were reddened, faint tear tracks at the corners, as if he had been crying earlier.
He looked like a helpless stray dog—pitiful, endearing.
The little resentment in Lu Yi’s heart suddenly vanished. He sighed: “We’ve known each other for ten years, Fang Chuan. I’ve never done anything wrong to you. In front of you, I’ve restrained my temper, treated you with the respect and care due a partner as much as I could. But you need to understand—I’m not a saint. Doing all that, I expected something in return.”
Fang Chuan said, “But loving someone means not expecting anything in return, not counting the cost, doesn’t it?”
“That’s some lovesick male lead with water in his head, not me.”
Lu Yi took a deep breath: “I’m very sure I never gave you that illusion, Fang Chuan. You’re twenty-eight this year, not eighteen. Acting on impulse for love regardless of consequences—is that what a man should do?”
Yu Ke also dropped his earlier playful attitude. He stood beside Lu Yi and looked at Fang Chuan: “Lu Yi is right. Ten years have passed, Fang Chuan, and your brain hasn’t grown at all. In this world, no one except your parents owes you unconditional good treatment for a lifetime.”
Ten years ago, one could call it naive innocence and love-driven impulsiveness. Ten years later, this was just a brain full of water.
He glanced at Qin Lan, then at Fang Chuan, a look of pity in his eyes: “When you came in, you even let Auntie stand in front of you. Not a shred of manly responsibility. Honestly, I look down on you.”
Finally, he turned to Lu Yi and added, “Lu Yi—he’s so good. He deserves better.”
“Enough.” Fang Chuan crouched down and buried his head in his arms.
Qin Lan looked worriedly at her son: “Xiao Chuan.”
Fang Chuan shouted, “I said shut up!”
After yelling, he ran out without looking back.
“Xiao Chuan!” Qin Lan followed, her high heels clicking loudly down the hallway.
Once both were out of sight, Lu Yi turned around and sat back down on the sofa in the room. He’d had a bit too much alcohol, plus the emotional upheaval—he needed to rest.
Of course, this time he didn’t forget to remind: “Remember to lock the door.”
Yu Ke obediently locked the door and plopped down beside Lu Yi.
He asked, “That’s it? Over just like that?”
Lu Yi countered, “What more do you want?”
Yu Ke muttered, “I just feel like the enemy’s fighting power was too weak. Didn’t get to tear into them enough.” He was mindful of his image, thinking about his new husband being present; otherwise, he would have cursed Fang Chuan down to a zygote.
Lu Yi shook his head: “This is already a big enough blow for him. He hasn’t done anything heinous—just irresponsible.”
There were plenty of people who pulled stunts before marriage. The other party had done something against him; he retaliated, and that was enough.
Yu Ke pressed: “But if you were so confident, why did you look for me? Clearly, this problem was easy to solve.”
He felt Lu Yi had it all under control. Besides, he’d sensed something odd earlier—like how security was so tight, yet Fang Chuan, who had no invitation and wasn’t dressed formally at all, managed to barge in.
And that earlier security trick—why didn’t Lu Yi pull it out earlier? Why wait until after Fang Chuan had been humiliated by him?
Also, there was the reporter who had been secretly livestreaming. Right after the confrontation ended, Lu Yi immediately had it cut off and made them pay a huge compensation.
This suggests that Lu Yi had noticed it from the start—so all of this was deliberate on his part.
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it was. What a frightening man.
“Lu Yi, Lu Yi…”
Lu Yi’s voice was low: “What?”
“Could it be that you still have feelings for him?”
Lu Yi looked up at the man disturbing his rest: “Would you like to taste what it feels like to have lingering feelings?”
Yu Ke quickly shook his head, his head wobbling like a rattle-drum.
Fang Chuan was one thing—he was the pampered young master of the Fang family, who didn’t need to do anything to be rich for life. Yu Ke still wanted to work hard and struggle for success.
But then, with curved brows and a smile, he asked, “I just want to know—since you planned everything, why did you choose me? Why did you even have to get the marriage certificate?”
Lu Yi’s secretary seemed to be single too, and Secretary understood everything. He didn’t look bad either. Lu Yi could have picked the secretary and not needed to get a certificate.
Looking for Yu Ke was, of course, to provoke Fang Chuan into coming out. No one else would have had such an impact on Fang Chuan.
Since he was going to scheme, he naturally considered every worst-case scenario. As for the marriage certificate—he liked to do things properly when he acted.
If it were a fake marriage, the Fang family would inevitably think there was still a chance. Then those “well-meaning elders” would offer advice left and right, endlessly annoying.
Having a legally married partner also helped deal with relatives nagging about marriage. Since he was going to pay ten million anyway, he might as well get the most value out of it.
But there was no need to explain all this clearly to Yu Ke.
Perhaps his silence gave the other man a strange idea. That beautiful, showy young man, as flamboyant as a peacock, leaned close and looked up at him, asking, “Lu Yi, Lu Yi—do you kind of like me?”