Chapter Nineteen: Inform
âYun Nan, what were you thinking?! Isnât that jumping out of the frying pan into the fire? Why did you think that marrying Shi Nian was a good idea? You donât even know him! Is he reliable? How many days have you two been sleeping in the same room together? Did he behave and keep his hands to himself? What? Did he bully you?â Fang Xi frowned and grabbed Yun Nanâs wrist as she anxiously fired questions at her.
Yun Nan smiled, broke free from Fang Xiâs grip, and patted her friendâs hand. âRelax, Fang Xi. Donât worry! Iâm fine, arenât I?â
She poured herself a glass of water and drank it in one go. She then filled two more glasses. She handed one to Fang Xi and held the other in her hands.
âMy relationship with the Yun family is difficult and complicated. They will absolutely hold me back if I try to move forward. The only person who can keep them in line and whom I can negotiate with is Shi Nian.â
âShi Nian and I were betrothed to each other when we were young. The story goes that, back in the day, my grandfather saved Grandpa Shiâs life. Thatâs probably an exaggeration, but itâs true that the Shi family takes this affair seriously.â
âThey didnât cancel the betrothal even after I went missing. The Yun family planned to have Yun Liu marry Shi Nian. I think the elders of the Shi family werenât very satisfied with her, so they postponed the marriage.â
âHowever, the Shi familyâs elderly masterâShi Nianâs grandfatherâwas getting old, and I heard he was urging Shi Nian to choose between Yun Liu and me. Thatâs why I dared to use the marriage agreement as a condition to negotiate with Shi Nian.â
âThen, what about Yun Liu? Theyâve known each other for so many years; how can you be sure he doesnât have any feelings for her at all?â Fang Xi asked.
Then, something occurred to her. âOh, now that you mentioned it, I remember now. Yun Liu played up her identity as the daughter of a rich family when she first debuted, and it is rumored that she is the future daughter-in-law of a super-wealthy family.â
âHowever, an actress like her doesnât qualify to be a wife to such distinguished families, so I didnât take it to heart,â Fang Xi sniffed disdainfully. âSo, that super-wealthy family in question was the Shi family! Are you sure thereâs nothing going on between those two?â
Yun Nan nodded. âIâm sure. Yun Liu has been one-sidedly pursuing Shi Nian, but he doesnât return her feelings. Shi Nianâheâs 29 years old, but he hasnât even had a rumored girlfriend. He took over the Shi familyâs businesses a long time ago and is a workaholic. Iâve been perfectly fine sharing a room with him, so relax. Weâre just partners; our relationship is strictly business.â
Fang Xi took a deep breath, but she still wasnât convinced. âWhat will you two do after the five years are up? Then what?â
Yun Nan smiled and playfully tugged at Fang Xiâs hair, âFang Xi, donât you think that by then, our business will have expanded to the point that we can stand against the Yun family? The Yun family canât hound me anymore when Iâm a strong and independent woman!â
She went on to say, âIâll just treat it as working for Shi Nian for five years, playing the role of his wife and humoring his relatives. Five years later, Iâll leave with nothing and say I cheated on him. At worst, Iâll have one of our actors pretend to be my illicit lover and create a scandal. Itâs easy!â
Fang Xi blinked and asked, âAnd Shi Nian agreed to this?â
Yun Nan raised an eyebrow. âWhy would he disagree? He has nothing to lose financially. As the âguilty partyâ in the marriage, Iâm leaving with nothing. I wonât take a single cent from him. He wonât find anyone more suitable than me to satisfy his grandfatherâs wishes. Shi Nian is very filial; thatâs his Achillesâ heel, so I grabbed at it.â
âI mean, he doesnât mind that youâll â
cheat on him
â five years later?â Fang Xi gulped at the thought.
Yun Nan paused before slowly answering, âHeâŠ
didnât
disagree. Look, weâre both adults, and he handles a business empire. This teensy-weensy matter wonât trip him up. Besides, a scandal like that is nothing new. Anyway, with his status, no one would dare to gossip about him.
Iâll
be the bad woman; he just has to sit there and look pretty.â
âItâs
exactly
because he has a business empire to handle that he wouldnât be able to accept being cuckolded!â Fang Xi muttered.
Yun Nan scratched her head.
She figured that Fang Xi and her were looking at the issue from different perspectives. To Yun Nan, nothing came before her career; she felt that Shi Nian was similar to her in this regard.
Fang Xiâs mind, on the other hand, was still occupied by love and romance, so her thoughts were a little too much of an idol drama.
Besides, many things would happen in the five yearsâ time; she would deal with them when the time comes. The most important thing now was to make herself stronger, more powerful. With enough wealth and a firm foothold in the industry, she would fear no one!
Shi Nian sent a message stating that he had something on tonight and wouldnât be home for dinner.
Yun Nan was overjoyed at the news. She could now cook with Fang Xi to celebrate Fang Xiâs move to her new home. She would also have time to start painting.
Fang Xi was also a talented chef. She didnât allow Yun Nan to help out and told her to focus on her painting before shutting her in the art studio.
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