Lu Zhiyue picked up the thin sheet of paper and scanned it from top to bottom — Chi Suinian’s handwriting, like the man himself, was wild and untamed. The text wasn’t neatly written, but its carefree style was striking.
Title: Fake Marriage Agreement.
Lu Zhiyue raised his eyes after reading just one line: “We’re in a real marriage.”
“Just sign it!” Chi Suinian frowned. “Stop wasting time.”
Lu Zhiyue lowered his gaze and continued reading.
1. The duration of the fake marriage is one year, after which it will end automatically.
2. Both parties will not interfere with each other’s private lives during the fake marriage.
3. After the divorce, neither party shall divide the other’s personal property.
These terms take effect upon signature.
The terms were simple and brutal, much like Chi Suinian’s mood at the moment.
Chi Suinian noticed that Lu Zhiyue had put the agreement back on the table without signing it. His expression darkened: “You’re not going to sign?”
Lu Zhiyue smirked provocatively: “I need to think about it.”
“How long?”
Leaning back, Lu Zhiyue tapped the food container on the table. “I’ll give you an answer after I finish this porridge.”
“…” Chi Suinian had no appetite. The mere thought of being tied to Lu Zhiyue made him feel blocked up — mentally, physically, in every way.
“If you won’t sign, get lost.”
Despite not reaching an agreement, Lu Zhiyue wasn’t in a rush. He picked up the contract and reviewed it again. “I don’t agree with the first term.”
Chi Suinian narrowed his eyes.
“A year isn’t enough.” Lu Zhiyue crossed out the number “one” and wrote “three” instead. “Let’s make it three years.”
Chi Suinian’s frown had started to ease, but seeing him casually revise the contract made his brow furrow again, tighter than before. “Who said you could change my writing?”
After finishing the revision, Lu Zhiyue signed his name at the bottom with a flourish. “Divorcing after just a year is too abrupt. People will think we had marriage problems.”
Chi Suinian sneered. “A broken marriage is still better than being widowed.”
Lu Zhiyue blinked, amused by the odd comment. “So you admit I’m your spouse?”
“Lu Zhiyue.” Chi Suinian ground his teeth, frustrated. “Keep running your mouth and you’ll get what’s coming.”
Chi Suinian was all bark at the moment, lacking the physical strength to follow through. But he was proud and stubborn, never willing to back down, no matter the situation.
He was like a child who refused to admit defeat.
Lu Zhiyue’s lips curved into a faint smile. He coughed lightly into his fist and said, “Alright, I’m serious now. I can agree to all three terms, but I have one condition.”
“Say it.”
“During the contract period, you must live with me at the Lu family home.” Before Chi Suinian could protest, Lu Zhiyue added casually, “If we’re going to put on a show, we should make it convincing. You’re such a good actor, it’d be a shame not to continue.”
Chi Suinian caught the jab. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“A year ago, you chased me, showered me with sweet talk. Then, suddenly, you changed your mind. What else could that be but the behavior of a scumbag?”
Chi Suinian was speechless.
Though the past shouldn’t be dwelled on, every time Chi Suinian thought of how he used to shamelessly court Lu Zhiyue — to the point where the whole city knew about it — he wanted to bash his head against the hospital wall.
“That’s all ancient history. I don’t remember, so say whatever you like.”
Lu Zhiyue chuckled mischievously and pulled out his phone.
Alarmed, Chi Suinian asked, “What are you doing?”
Without looking up, Lu Zhiyue replied, “Starting a group chat to see if anyone else remembers how you chased me last year.”
“…”
Chi Suinian clenched his jaw. Killing someone is illegal, and it wouldn’t do to end up in prison right after waking up. He took a deep breath, suppressing his rising anger.
“Fine.” Chi Suinian’s face was dark. “But I’m difficult to live with. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Lu Zhiyue might have smiled faintly. Chi Suinian turned away, missing the moment.
“Deal.”
—
For the next few days, Chi Suinian stayed in the hospital for various checkups. He had woken up just in time, so his body hadn’t suffered any irreversible damage. Aside from slight muscle atrophy in his calf, there were no major issues.
A week later, he was discharged. Lu Zhiyue had paused his work to personally pick him up from the hospital, maintaining the pretense of a loving couple.
The day of discharge, Chi Suinian had just finished a round of physical therapy.
After being in a coma for three months, his muscles and bones had become uncooperative. Just walking two laps while holding onto the wall left him panting heavily. His physical fitness couldn’t compare to before the accident.
He sighed deeply and wanted to walk two more laps.
But as his sore knees suddenly gave way, he felt like a heavy sack spiraling toward the ground.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached, and a steady arm caught him.
“You alright?”
That familiar, annoying voice.
It was Lu Zhiyue.
Clutching his chest, Chi Suinian coughed harshly. His throat itched with a dry, scratchy feeling, and the person beside him handed over a cup of warm water. He grabbed it and drank it all in one go. A bit of water dribbled from the corner of his mouth, slipping into the collar of his disheveled shirt.
After drinking, the itch in his throat eased, and he leaned against the bed, catching his breath.
“No need to thank me,” Lu Zhiyue said, standing by the bed.
Chi Suinian turned his head and scoffed. “Did I say I was going to? Don’t be so full of yourself.”
Lu Zhiyue stood silently, looking down at his bedraggled state.
From his angle, the youth on the bed had a messy collar, his pale collarbone glistening with droplets of water. Sweat and water mixed together, and his flushed face, framed by teary eyes, looked delicate. His lips, red and slightly parted, quivered as he panted heavily…
He looked like a seductive demon who had just drained someone’s life force.
Lu Zhiyue turned his gaze away. “…Fix your clothes.”
Chi Suinian’s expression darkened. He shoved Lu Zhiyue aside with his elbow, his mood shifting rapidly. “Get lost, and stop pretending to care.”
After a moment of silence, Lu Zhiyue’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. “I’m here to take you home.”
Chi Suinian’s face was sour. “No need.”
“It’s my responsibility.”
“?”
Was Lu Zhiyue unable to understand plain language?
“Your recovery is a big deal. A lot of people are watching. If I don’t come to pick you up, they’ll start speculating.”
Chi Suinian understood. It was all about appearances.
He sneered. “And you say my acting’s good. You’re not too shabby yourself.”
“Mm.” Lu Zhiyue shamelessly nodded. “Learned it from you.”
“…”
Chi Suinian wanted to keep his discharge low-key, not even informing his friends. The reason was simple: he still needed a wheelchair, and he didn’t want to be seen like that.
But Tang Jin, that clueless idiot, somehow found out. He organized a big welcoming ceremony at the hospital entrance with a bunch of familiar faces.
Brightly colored luxury cars filled the parking lot, and a group of men and women showed up, setting off a dozen confetti poppers before anyone had even said a word.
Then a G-wagon roared up late, stirring up dust. Lu Heng, who’d been grounded for days, stood on the hood, brandishing a roll of red cloth with a flourish.
“Congratulations to Chi Suinian for coming back from the dead!”
Chi Suinian: “…”
Lu Zhiyue: “…”
As the confetti trickled down his neck, Chi Suinian’s voice was uncharacteristically serious: “Let’s go.”
This group wasn’t here to welcome him out of the hospital — they were here to make a spectacle.
“The welcome ceremony seems fun,” Lu Zhiyue quipped with a meaningful smile. “Not joining?”
“If you want to embarrass yourself, go ahead. Leave me out of it.”
Without missing a beat, Lu Zhiyue pushed his wheelchair around the group of party-goers and headed toward his car.
“Hey, Suinian!” Tang Jin tossed aside the confetti cannon and hurried after them. “We went to all this trouble for your welcome ceremony. Don’t leave — let’s take a group photo to remember the occasion.”
A group photo at the hospital entrance?
What kind of idiotic attention-seeking behavior was this?
Chi Suinian was starting to wonder how he’d ever hung out with these people.
Tang Jin: “Don’t leave…”
“Who let you make a mess at the hospital entrance?!” The commotion attracted the attention of a nurse, who came over angrily to scold them.
Seeing the nurse, Tang Jin quickly stuffed the confetti cannon into his arms and fled like the wind.
···
In a corner of the parking lot, Lu Zhiyue’s stylish Cari was parked. Chi Suinian only glanced at it once and recognized it as the car he had been eyeing back then.
The car was still almost new, as if it had hardly been driven. The scratch on the headlight from when he had smashed it still hadn’t been repaired.
Lu Zhiyue had shamelessly swooped in and taken the car, only to let it sit at home collecting dust?
“You like it?” Lu Zhiyue noticed his gaze and stopped walking. He said regretfully, “Too bad you can’t drive it now.”
Lu Zhiyue meant, “You’ll be able to drive it once you recover,” but his straightforward and concise way of speaking often didn’t account for how certain sentences could take on entirely different meanings in specific contexts.
So, to Chi Suinian’s ears, it sounded like a thinly veiled insult.
As Lu Zhiyue bent down, intending to lift Chi Suinian into the car, he was met with a cold warning: “If you don’t want to lose that hand, keep reaching.”
Lu Zhiyue frowned slightly, unsure of what had upset him again. “You can’t move, so I’ll carry you.”
It was like pouring oil on a fire. Chi Suinian gripped the armrest tightly, his fingernails nearly piercing through the steel. “I’m sick, not crippled!”
Who said he couldn’t move?!
… Any time he spoke to Lu Zhiyue, it felt like he was losing years off his life from the stress.
Chi Suinian braced himself on the armrest and stood up, unsteadily swaying.
Lu Zhiyue reached out to help, but Chi Suinian shot him a glare, forcing him to retreat.
Struggling, Chi Suinian held onto the car door, slowly lifting his slightly atrophied leg into the car. He shifted his hips and sat down in the back seat, then repeated the process with his other leg, shuffling to sit properly.
“Drive.”
The driver, a newly hired young man, held great respect and awe for Lu Zhiyue. Witnessing the young man in the backseat treating the boss with such a rude attitude left him completely baffled.
He looked at Lu Zhiyue outside the car, pleading for direction.
But the boss, despite being harshly rebuked, didn’t seem the least bit angry. There wasn’t a trace of displeasure on his face.
Instead, Lu Zhiyue personally loaded the wheelchair into the trunk, then bent down and got into the back seat.
Chi Suinian, still fuming, closed his eyes and muttered, “Sit in the front.”
Lu Zhiyue paused, surprised.
The young driver broke out in a cold sweat.
After two seconds of silence, Lu Zhiyue actually complied, stepping back out of the car.
The young driver had never experienced the “honor” of being personally supervised by the boss. He straightened his posture more than usual, driving carefully, not daring to hit even a single pebble on the road.
The car left the sterile scent of the hospital behind, merging into the bright, bustling city.
It wasn’t until this moment that Chi Suinian felt the sensation of being alive. He rolled down the window, letting the lively city air rush into the car, resting his chin on his hand as he gazed outside.
Chi Suinian had lived in Jin City for thirteen years and was familiar with every street and alley, yet as he rode through, he noticed some things had changed.
The bar he frequented had turned into a seafood restaurant, a long-abandoned office building on the roadside had finally reached its top floor, and a small pub that had struggled for years had given up, replaced by a bakery whose fragrance could be smelled from far away…
Chi Suinian clicked his tongue in disbelief.
A lot had changed.
It seemed he really had slept for quite a long time.
As Chi Suinian stared out the window, Lu Zhiyue, seated in the front, glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
The young man naturally possessed a striking appearance. Even without any embellishments, his sharp features were handsome, full of distinct character. The illness had added a slight pallor to his side profile, softening the harshness in his eyes, making him look even more beautiful.
Chi Suinian felt someone’s gaze lingering on him and frowned, turning his head.
But both men in the front seats were sitting quietly.
Was it just his imagination?
···
Lu Zhiyue’s villa was located in the serene Yuanshan Lake community, the most tranquil area of Jin City. The land was expensive, the scenery was beautiful, and a few scattered red-roofed, white-walled buildings were nestled among the lush greenery and water. It was spacious and clean.
Chi Suinian always operated on the principle of “if I’m not comfortable, no one else will be either.” Carrying a belly full of anger, he immediately set out to make Lu Zhiyue’s life difficult.
“Where’s the master bedroom?”
The butler, Uncle Zhang, who had been waiting in the living room after receiving instructions, glanced at Lu Zhiyue and said, “It’s on the second floor, turn left at the second room. That’s where sir resides.”
Chi Suinian let out a casual “oh” and smiled faintly, “Now it’s mine.”
“The master bedroom is already yours, madam,” the butler explained. “It’s your and sir’s room.”
Chi Suinian’s smile faded. “Don’t call me madam.”
He was always a man whose emotions showed plainly on his face. When he smiled, he was strikingly beautiful, but when he was serious, his cold, sharp demeanor was almost intimidating.
The middle-aged butler was stunned for a moment, but he awkwardly stammered out, “Alright… Master Chi.”
After a brief pause, the butler asked, slightly confused, “But just now, did you mean…”
Chi Suinian pointed at Lu Zhiyue, “He’s moving out.”
Then he pointed at himself, “I want that room.”
“…” The butler couldn’t make the decision himself and turned to Lu Zhiyue for instructions. “…Sir?”
Chi Suinian propped his hand on his forehead, his smile taunting, so bright it was almost blinding: “I told you, I’m very hard to live with. If you can stand it, we can live together for three years, five years, or even ten years, it’s all the same to me.”
Lu Zhiyue’s eyes shifted slightly as he glanced at the butler. “Do as he says. Move my things to the guest room.”
TL- Hey readers!! Let me know if you spot any mistakes and Happy reading.
