Chapter 4#
Contract Marriage (4)#
Since both parties had reached a consensus, Lu Yi said, “Where do you live?”
Yu Ke stared at him with wide eyes, adding a touch of innocence to his somewhat alluring phoenix eyes: “Huh? Why ask that all of a sudden?”
“If you brought your household registration booklet when you came out.”
Oh right, marriage seemed to require a household registration booklet: “But for prenuptial property notarization, would my assets also need notarization? Then I’d have to go get proof documents?”
If they divorced after a year and he ended up only getting ten million from start to finish, he’d still be at a disadvantage.
Lu Yi stopped walking: “What assets do you have?” Based on his understanding, the other party had pursued further studies after college, earning a combined master’s and doctorate. Although he was also twenty-eight, he hadn’t been in the workforce for very long.
Yu Ke replied modestly, “Not many assets, just a house in B City, a car worth about five hundred thousand, paid in full. I just finished paying off the house loan, and my liquid assets are roughly around two million.”
Actually, his personal conditions were quite decent among his peers. His current monthly after-tax income was 40K. Although there wasn’t much room for promotion, once he got familiar with the domestic environment, he could change jobs or start his own studio.
He had bought the house early, so its current value was around ten million. These conditions weren’t bad, but they weren’t excellent either. Despite his modest words, his tone carried a subtle hint of pride.
Lu Yi asked his newly appointed wife, “That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
The corner of his lips lifted slightly: “That is indeed quite poor.”
This one sentence choked Yu Ke half to death. He followed behind the man, staring at his broad shoulders and narrow waist—a perfect clotheshorse figure—while unashamedly swallowing saliva and grumbling under his breath: “I just meant that ten million isn’t really that important to me.”
He did love money, no mistake, but he couldn’t let his future husband think he was money-grubbing and only cared about cash.
Lu Yi stopped, and Yu Ke collided straight into his chest. He looked down at the handsome young man, meeting those beautiful eyes: “These things don’t matter to me. From today until tomorrow, just do as I say. We’ll talk about everything else after the wedding. Understand?”
The other party’s presence was too strong. Yu Ke was stunned for a moment, then stammered, “Got it.”
No sooner had he spoken than the other man walked away, leaving only a receding, dashing silhouette.
Everything that followed was directed by Lu Yi, with Yu Ke cooperating. Within an hour, they quickly completed two major tasks: property notarization and getting their marriage certificate.
Although Lu Yi had a lot of wealth in his name, the law protected each spouse’s premarital assets. Things like real estate didn’t need notarization; it was mainly some movable assets like stock equity that were hard to quantify and required notarization.
Moreover, Yu Ke’s own resources were limited. Even if he wanted to play any tricks, he couldn’t possibly take over the other’s entire business. After a year, if the other party behaved well, he wouldn’t mind giving a bit more monetary compensation. But if the other party tried any funny business, Yu Ke would end up with debts he couldn’t repay in this lifetime.
Staring at the two red booklets in his hand, Yu Ke still felt a bit dazed.
He was married just like that? To a man he had never met, never even heard of? And there was a wedding tomorrow? Was this a dream?
He looked at their ID photos in the red booklets. His face wore his usual smile, a reflex for the camera, but the man beside him had a completely expressionless face, showing no hint of newlywed joy.
Although he prayed every day for a sudden fortune, if this were a dream, he wouldn’t have chosen such a fierce-looking, obviously controlling man.
It still felt light and dizzy. Looking at the absurdly handsome young man in the rearview mirror, Yu Ke moved his hand from the marriage certificate and pinched his thigh. Of course, he was afraid of pain, so he didn’t dare pinch too hard.
Fortunately, his skin was delicate, so even with little force, he felt the pain.
Lu Yi stopped the car, turned his face slightly toward the man beside him, and said, “We’re here. Get out.”
The car door was opened from the outside. A young, pretty receptionist bent down and stood before him: “Please, this way.”
Although he hadn’t reached this level, he wasn’t a stranger to such scenes. Yu Ke got out of the car calmly. When Lu Yi also exited, he skillfully hooked his arm through the other’s.
Before Lu Yi could shake him off, he tiptoed slightly, leaned close to the other’s ear, and murmured, “Since we’ve decided to put on an act, we might as well go all the way. If only I’m the one fawning, it would embarrass you too, wouldn’t it, Chairman Lu?”
After saying this, he put on a somewhat bashful expression. To outsiders, it looked like Yu Ke was acting coy with Lu Yi.
Being clung to by a strange man like this made Lu Yi extremely uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and adjusted his mindset as quickly as possible.
After that, he didn’t shake off Yu Ke’s hand but instead walked into the entrance still linked with him.
Since it had been agreed that the wedding styling would be arranged by Lu Yi, the design and stylists were also provided by the Lu family.
As soon as the stylist saw Lu Yi walk in with someone, he greeted them enthusiastically, speaking fluent but slightly accented Country C language: “Hello, Mr. Lu. This must be your wife, Mr. Fang, right? You’re so lucky to have married such a beautiful person.”
This stylist, specially invited from abroad by Lu Yi’s cousin, was working for the Lu family for the first time. He only knew the day’s schedule and the client’s name, not their actual appearance.
Yu Ke’s expression instantly turned subtle. He glanced at Lu Yi and said boldly, “My surname is Yu.”
This reply left the stylist a bit confused: “But Miss An told me the other gentleman’s name was Fang Chuan.” Had he gotten the client wrong? But the assistant had personally led these people in, and this Mr. Lu matched Miss An’s description exactly.
Lu Yi withdrew the hand holding Yu Ke’s arm and placed it around the other’s waist, answering again: “He is my legal wife, named Yu Ke. The previous mention of Fang Chuan was just a small misunderstanding.”
Of course, it wasn’t a misunderstanding. But since Fang Chuan had run away, he should accept the consequences of running.
If the client said it was a misunderstanding, then it was. The stylist didn’t ask further. Yu Ke was quickly seated in a chair, and the designer began working on his new hairstyle and look.
Lu Yi waited for a while, then stood up to leave.
Yu Ke caught sight of him in the mirror and quickly called out, “Lu… darling, where are you going?”
He was a very competent actor, always adhering to professional standards even in front of strangers.
“I have a different stylist.” Originally, one stylist would have been enough—it would have been more harmonious—but because finding Yu Ke had wasted a lot of time, he had to squeeze time elsewhere.
He glanced at his watch. There were less than twenty hours left, and excluding six hours of sleep, his schedule was very tight.
After explaining this, he stepped out of the room.
It took about four hours before Yu Ke was finally done. Afterward, he looked at himself in the mirror, his face expressionless, but inwardly he marveled. Look at this face, so tender you could pinch water out of it. And his new clothes—money everywhere, head to toe.
He had heard of this high-end club in B City before, but he had only passed by it. He never imagined he would one day sit here and “enjoy” himself.
Truly, a poor man like him couldn’t even imagine the pleasures of the rich.
After all that, he went to find Lu Yi, but the other was busy and needed half an hour alone. As a considerate wife, he had to wait outside, taking the opportunity to look around and see what this rich-people’s club was really like.
When he spotted a very beautiful orchid, his eyes lit up. He stepped over to the flowerpot in his shiny leather shoes and crouched down.
As a “flower” fanatic, he wanted to see if this was one of those legendary varieties worth a million per pot. Then a voice, both familiar and unfamiliar, sounded behind him.
“Yu Ke?!”
Yu Ke straightened up and turned around. His usual spring-breeze smile instantly froze on his face.
The speaker’s expression was full of surprise: “I was wondering who was sticking their butt out like a country bumpkin who’d never seen anything. It looked familiar, and after a closer thought, it seemed like Yu Ke. Turns out it really was you. Long time no see, and you’re still the same old you.”
Back in school, everyone was more innocent and didn’t care much about family background—they mainly looked at grades. Yu Ke was good-looking, knew how to handle things, had excellent grades, and had a sweet tongue that teachers loved.
But people, unlike money, can’t be liked by everyone. While attracting admiration from many of the same and opposite sex, Yu Ke also racked up a lot of enmity.
And the man speaking with such a sarcastic tone now was one of those old enemies, because back then, he had been an admirer of Fang Chuan.