Volume One, Chapter Nine: Unless She Truly Wishes to Marry You

The next day, Fang Mo woke up with dark circles under his eyes. In the middle of the night, restless Ning Yuelan had come knocking on his door again, startling him so much that he trembled... She had insisted on personally saving his phone number with a note before finally letting him go.

By the time Fang Mo got up, the sun was already high in the sky. Rubbing his eyes as he just woke up, he noticed several new messages on his phone.

“Wife; I’m off to work, I’ll bring you something delicious tonight.”

...

“Li Haowen; What’s going on between you and Lin Xihan? Didn’t I hear you two broke up the day before yesterday? So why did I just receive your wedding invitation?”

...

“Mom; We’re coming back to Jiangcheng the day after tomorrow. If you have time, remember to pick up Dad and me.”

The message from “wife” was obviously from Ning Yuelan. She found it too formal to call Fang Mo “Yuelan sister,” and was also worried that Old Master Ning might see it. Even though they were now legally married, calling each other “brother and sister” would be too suspicious. A clever elder would easily see through it.

Though the logic seemed sound, Fang Mo felt something was off. Was Yuelan sister treating him too specially? They had just gotten their marriage certificate but had no emotional foundation. Yet, she already showed the possessiveness of a girlfriend, acting domineering toward him.

Had she immersed herself too quickly into the role?

Moreover, whenever he was with Yuelan sister, Fang Mo always felt something odd in her gaze, as if she truly liked him.

Was he just imagining things?

Fang Mo rubbed the tip of his nose, then called his good friend Li Haowen.

As soon as the call connected, Li Haowen’s excited voice came through.

“Bro, what’s going on? I woke up this morning to find your wedding invitation. I thought it was a mistake, but there really was your photo on it.”

Yuelan sister had acted fast!

But it made sense—the wedding was scheduled for this week, so they had to inform friends and family quickly.

Fang Mo smiled and replied, “Yeah, I got married.”

“What? Didn’t you break up with Lin Xihan the day before yesterday? I heard that slut got together with Lu Chen, our university student council president. Did you two get back together?”

Fang Mo rolled his eyes. “I saw them kissing outside Starbucks with my own eyes. How could I possibly get back with Lin Xihan?”

Hearing this, Li Haowen finally relaxed. Good brothers might be love-struck fools, but they wouldn’t forgive a woman who cheated on them openly.

“Good riddance. Let those two rotten people deal with each other. A scumbag couple like that won’t be able to harm anyone else.”

Then Li Haowen added with confusion, “I just looked again at the invitation. The bride’s name is Ning Yuelan. Sounds familiar, but who is she? Your ex? You didn’t just randomly marry someone on the street out of heartbreak, did you?”

Fang Mo was puzzled. Was Li Haowen secretly spying on him?

He cleared his throat. “Congrats, you’re right. I really did just drag someone to get the certificate.”

Li Haowen was stunned, his exclamations so loud Fang Mo nearly got a headache.

“Damn! Are you serious? How could you be so casual…?”

“Marriage is no joke, bro. Besides, do you even know your wife well? Flash marriage can be risky. What if something goes wrong later?”

Fang Mo rubbed his temples helplessly. Yuelan sister’s family had known his since childhood. They were well acquainted. There wouldn’t be any father-in-law or mother-in-law bullying the son-in-law scenes—at worst, Uncle Ning might just roll his eyes at him.

“You can rest easy about that. Yuelan sister is very reliable. Our families have long-standing ties. You should have heard of her—she’s also a well-known businesswoman in Jiangcheng, one of the more famous ones.”

One of the more famous ones?

There were only a handful of well-known female CEOs in Jiangcheng.

Li Haowen was instantly stunned.

“I remember now! The princess of Jiangcheng’s top wealthy family, the queen of Jiangcheng’s business circle—her name is Ning Yuelan, right? Is your wife the Ning family’s heiress?”

Li Haowen’s voice rose several decibels from before. Was he really that surprised?

Fang Mo moved the phone slightly away from his ear to avoid going deaf.

“That’s right. It’s her.”

Li Haowen’s family was also in business, and quite a sizable enterprise at that. After his older brother passed away, he took over the family business, so Fang Mo was confident that Li Haowen had definitely heard of Yuelan sister.

Li Haowen began pounding his chest dramatically.

“Goddess! She’s my goddess, the dream of twenty million men in Jiangcheng, and you actually managed to win her over. Tell me, what kind of love potion did you give her?”

“Is this some novel plot? The goddess has some strange illness and needs a live-in son-in-law to bring good luck, so the Ning family reluctantly chose you?”

“Being a son-in-law isn’t easy. As your brother, take my advice—let go of the fairy Ning. Let me bear the scorn and humiliation of being an in-law.”

Damn. His imagination was really something.

Fang Mo wiped the cold sweat from his brow again.

Li Haowen kept babbling on the other end, “Fang Mo, as they say, if I don’t go to hell, who will? I’m your good brother after all. Can we still change the groom on the invitation?”

“Alright, alright, stop the drama,” Fang Mo said wearily.

“Yuelan sister was dragged to the civil affairs bureau after I got drunk. It was my fault, so I have to take responsibility.”

“Are you free this afternoon? If you have questions, let’s meet and talk.”

A few words wouldn’t explain everything. Fang Mo had only Li Haowen as a brother in Jiangcheng, and Li Haowen might even be his best man at the wedding. If he didn’t satisfy his curiosity, Li Haowen might back out at the last minute.

Li Haowen agreed enthusiastically. “Fine, since you married into a wealthy family, you owe me a fancy meal!”

“See you at the Bulgari Hotel…”

You’re really not holding back!

Fang Mo’s eye twitched. He patted his pocket, and the black card Ning Yuelan had given him as a dowry quietly rested inside.

...

“What? You’re serious?”

Around two in the afternoon, Li Haowen met Fang Mo at the Bulgari Hotel entrance. Li Haowen noticed Fang Mo leisurely walking toward the hotel’s dessert area and exclaimed in surprise.

Fang Mo rolled his eyes.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to have afternoon tea at the Bulgari Hotel?”

“Besides, I probably can’t afford to treat you anywhere else. My manuscript payment comes next month. I guess only places like Bulgari Hotel are within the budget for this card.”

He waved the black card in front of Li Haowen.

Inside the dessert area, they casually ordered some coffee and cakes.

Fang Mo wasn’t much of a dessert person, so he nibbled on a bit before leaving the rest for Li Haowen to finish.

But Li Haowen’s attention wasn’t on the sweets; he kept staring at the black card in Fang Mo’s hand.

“What’s up? That’s the dowry from Yuelan sister. You planning to rob me too?”

Li Haowen rolled his eyes. “Rob you my foot.”

“By the way, how much money is on that card? Why don’t you even need a password when you swipe it?”

Fang Mo shook his head, indicating he didn’t know either.

He wasn’t sure how much was on the card, but judging by Yuelan sister’s extravagant style—she bought a whole apartment just to get rid of Lin Xihan—her dowry was surely no less than seven figures.

“I just sent a photo of this card to my dad. He said he’s never seen one like this, probably a custom-made card from the bank for some ultra-VIP clients, likely a limited edition worldwide.”

Li Haowen looked so envious he was almost drooling.

“Ning CEO treats you well—no wonder she’s the famous female CEO of Jiangcheng!”

Fang Mo smirked. Who said marrying in was humiliating?

Besides, when did he become a son-in-law anyway?

“No backbone. Just one card and you’re bought over?”

Li Haowen rubbed his nose. “Nah, I mainly came out with you today to learn from your experience. I want to snag a wealthy heiress too, so my old man won’t have to work fifty more years.”

“By the way, you only broke up with Lin Xihan a day ago. You said you wanted to find me, but I was in a meeting. Didn’t you go to the bar alone afterward?”

After bumping into Lin Xihan and Lu Chen kissing at Starbucks, Fang Mo immediately called Li Haowen. But since Li Haowen was busy with the family business, he couldn’t come. So Fang Mo went to the bar alone to drown his sorrows.

Fang Mo nodded. “Yeah, I went alone. That’s when I ran into Yuelan sister, who was there on business. Actually, I never told you before, but our families have been close for a long time.”

“My grandfather and her grandfather were comrades in battle, bound by life and death. Our families often gathered when we were kids, though the contact lessened after my grandfather passed.”

Wow!

The rich woman was right beside him—all along, the rich woman was his wife.

Li Haowen’s eyes sparkled as he pressed on.

“So what happened? Yuelan heard about your tragic situation and decided to comfort your wounded soul by pledging herself to you? That’s too melodramatic.”

“No way.”

Fang Mo winced recalling the awkward scene at the bar.

Still, he grit his teeth and told Li Haowen the whole story—the cause, process, and result.

After a long pause, Li Haowen stared at him in disbelief.

“So you got drunk at the bar, fought and struggled, and forcibly dragged Ning CEO to get the marriage certificate? And the craziest part is, she didn’t resist at all?”

Fang Mo’s face flushed. It was true. Though he blacked out, the red notebook in his hand proved it.

Li Haowen glanced at Fang Mo with envy.

“If we weren’t brothers, I’d be seriously jealous.”

“You’re already showing it on your face!”

Fang Mo rolled his eyes. Wasn’t he jealous enough?

If it weren’t broad daylight, this heir of the Li Group might have rushed to the bar to try his luck too.

“But actually, Yuelan sister didn’t totally give in. Because I was so drunk, grabbing and scratching her, she got scratches on her neck and shoulder.”

Fang Mo smiled wryly. “She was worried I’d ruin her face with my drunken rampages, so she just obediently let me drag her to the civil affairs bureau.”

Hearing this, Li Haowen immediately blurted out, “Bullshit!”

“Fang Mo, though I haven’t dated much, I know some basics. I bet Ning CEO wasn’t forced into this. Maybe it was all planned.”

Li Haowen gave Fang Mo a suggestive look.

Planned?

Yuelan sister?

Impossible.

Fang Mo shook his head vigorously.

“No way, absolutely not!”

Seeing Fang Mo’s confused expression, Li Haowen sighed in frustration.

“Are you really clueless or just pretending? Yuelan sister is a famous judo black belt.”

“You didn’t think she had no way to handle a drunkard?”

A judo expert?

Fang Mo was stunned—he had no idea.

Ning Yuelan was often in the news. As a businessman himself, Li Haowen naturally paid more attention to such reports.

Fang Mo cleared his throat.

“Maybe Yuelan sister was just afraid I’d throw a drunken tantrum.”

“A tantrum?”

Li Haowen sneered. “The heiress of a wealthy family afraid of a drunk? Even if she couldn’t find security in the taxi or call the cops, do you think she wouldn’t find help at the civil affairs bureau?”

“At a place like the civil affairs bureau, just shouting someone’s forcing you to marry would get seven or eight big guys rushing out to drag you away.”

“You’re just fooled because she told you that. Yuelan sister is young but has secured her footing in the brutal business world. Such a scheming woman wouldn’t be fooled by a fresh college graduate like you.”

Li Haowen shook his head and sighed, thinking Fang Mo was still too naive.

“Let me tell you, the only way to fool Ning CEO is if…”

He drew out the suspense.

Fang Mo’s heart clenched and he urged, “If what?”

Li Haowen shrugged. “Unless she really wants to marry you.”