Chapter 9: If You Want Me to Come, Then Sweet-Talk Me — Personally Buy Her a Diamond Ring
“Hiss—!”
Xie Youci sucked in a sharp breath of pain. Looking up darkly, he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Chi Er’er, are you trying to murder your husband?”
“If you let our cover slip and everyone finds out about our relationship, you’ll be the first person I kill.”
“Finished spending that five-billion-yuan wedding gift yet?”
“Nope.”
“Then you want to be a widow?”
“Wouldn’t it be the same if I just inherited your estate?”
“…”
“And I’d probably get to spend even more.”
Chi Yang answered with complete confidence, every word leaving Xie Youci utterly speechless.
“Fine.” He gritted his teeth. “Tonight I’ll go home and draft a will naming you my primary beneficiary.”
“How generous of you.” Chi Yang smiled sweetly.
Xie Youci was so annoyed he almost laughed.
“Chi Er’er, you’ve been gone from home for an entire week. How are you still acting like you’re in the right?”
“Why should I go home?” She shot him a sidelong glance. “We agreed this marriage was just for show. When we’re not putting on an act, I can do whatever I want. What business is it of yours?”
“…”
His dark eyes grew colder and sharper.
After a long moment, he let out a short laugh and leaned back in his chair.
“Fine.”
Served him right for thinking about her all day.
And here he’d been wondering whether all those stolen kisses whenever she got drunk meant she actually liked him. He’d even considered giving this marriage a real chance.
Meanwhile, she was perfectly fine.
What secret crush?
Bullshit.
She was just a drunken female hooligan.
Every bit of it had been an illusion.
“Come home with me tonight,” Xie Youci said in a low voice.
Chi Yang blinked.
A suspicious gleam flickered through her eyes as she studied him.
“Xie Youci.”
He lifted a brow, signaling for her to continue.
Leaning closer, she examined him thoughtfully.
“You haven’t actually fallen for me, have you?”
The hand holding his teacup froze.
Slowly, he lifted his gaze and tapped the rim of the cup with one finger.
“…Have you lost your mind?”
“You suddenly run into me at the mall, then use Xue Rang as an excuse to invite me to lunch, and now you’re trying to take me home.”
She analyzed the situation seriously.
“You knew I was signing a contract at the National Museum today, didn’t you? You guessed I’d come shopping afterward, so you deliberately staged this whole encounter!”
“…”
Xie Youci took a complicated sip of tea.
“Xie Dog, you’re done for. You’ve fallen head over heels. Too bad I’m destined to be the woman you’ll never have.”
“…You’re overthinking it.”
“You’re so nervous you’re drinking water.”
“…I’m thirsty.”
“Really?” Chi Yang eyed him suspiciously. “Then why did you suddenly invite me back to our marital home?”
Setting down his teacup, Xie Youci lowered his head and closed his eyes.
He rubbed his aching temples, genuinely baffled by the bizarre logic inside Chi Yang’s head.
“That’s not—”
He opened his eyes to explain, only for loud voices to suddenly drift in from outside the private room.
“Which room was it again? Little Sweet Pear, where are they?”
“Over there,” Jiang Li replied helplessly.
“Oh, right!”
Their voices grew closer.
Without warning, Chi Yang kicked Xie Youci under the table again.
“Don’t talk to me during lunch.”
“…”
Xie Youci tilted his head back and sucked in another painful breath.
The veins along his neck practically stood out.
The bite marks she’d left on his jaw and collarbone had finally faded, but this woman seemed to have been a woodpecker in her previous life.
At this rate, she was going to kick holes straight through his legs.
When Jiang Li and Xue Rang returned, the atmosphere in the room felt… strange.
Chi Yang and Xie Youci weren’t fighting.
Yet somehow it felt as though a blazing fire had suddenly frozen over, leaving behind a chill that no one could quite explain.
“Ahem.”
Xue Rang raised a fist to his lips.
These two were seriously exhausting.
Determined to save the conversation, he shouldered the burden of socializing.
“How about this?”
“I’ll tell you some gossip about Ji Fengting! He got played by another girl recently!”
“Hm?” Jiang Li looked up while nibbling on her chopsticks.
Though neither Chi Yang nor Xie Youci showed any interest, Jiang Li clearly did.
Encouraged, Xue Rang launched into the story with dramatic flair.
He was always the liveliest person in their friend group.
A walking loudspeaker.
The type who would gladly sell out his best friend just to liven up the room.
He started from how Ji Fengting had met the girl at a bar and continued through every detail of their interactions.
Somehow, Ji Fengting convinced himself she secretly liked him.
Feeling pleased with himself, he paid more and more attention to her because of that misunderstanding.
Then he ended up falling for her instead.
Only for the girl to tell him in the end that he’d imagined the whole thing.
Jiang Li burst out laughing.
“Seriously? He’s dated plenty of people. How can he still mistake basic friendliness for romantic interest?”
“Well…” Xue Rang waved a hand. “Beauty clouds judgment. Honestly, the girl probably didn’t do anything at all. He just kept overthinking everything and talked himself into falling for her.”
Xue Rang kept talking.
But Xie Youci wasn’t listening.
He never cared about gossip.
Leaning lazily back in his chair, he pulled out his phone and sent Chi Yang a WeChat message.
Ding.
Her phone lit up.
Looking up, she found Xie Youci glancing at her from beneath lowered lashes before subtly tipping his chin toward her phone.
For some reason, she suddenly felt like they were conducting a secret affair.
She glanced at Xue Rang.
Then at Jiang Li.
Only after confirming nobody was paying attention did she secretly check her messages.
Xie Dog: Come home tonight.
Chi Yang: ?
Chi Yang: And if you tell me to, I should just obey?
Xie Dog: Not our place. Dad wants me to bring you back to the Xie family home for dinner tonight.
Her brows knitted slightly.
Not their marital home?
So she’d misunderstood earlier?
How embarrassing.
Chi Yang: Not going.
Chi Yang: Unless you sweet-talk me first.
Xie Dog: …
Resting one cheek in her hand, Chi Yang smiled radiantly.
Her eyes sparkled with smug satisfaction as she looked at him.
Xie Youci narrowed his eyes.
Their gazes met silently.
As though they were exchanging classified information right in front of Xue Rang and Jiang Li.
“Hey, Brother Ci!” Xue Rang suddenly turned toward him. “Are we continuing the site inspection later?”
Almost instantly, Xie Youci wiped all expression from his face.
Chi Yang reacted just as quickly, lowering her eyes and cheerfully helping herself to more food.
“No.” Xie Youci glanced at her twice before answering. “I’ve got some personal business to take care of today. Go home and write that report your dad asked for.”
Xue Rang had been dumped on him by his father.
Since Xie Youci happened to be inspecting an investment project today, Father Xue had sent his son along to learn something.
That’s why he’d ended up here in the first place.
“Fine.” Xue Rang crunched on a piece of cartilage. “Then I’ll head home after lunch. What about you, Little Sweet Pear?”
“I need to edit videos,” Jiang Li replied. “I haven’t uploaded anything in days.”
She ran a culture-focused content channel.
Consistency was important.
So the lunch gathering wrapped up quickly.
As they left, Xue Rang was still lamenting dramatically.
“Brother Ci! I said this meal was supposed to be my treat!”
“Next time,” Xie Youci replied lazily.
Hands in his pockets, he strode forward with his usual carefree arrogance.
As they exited the restaurant, his gaze drifted downward to the floor below.
A custom wedding-ring jewelry store happened to catch his eye.
After Xue Rang and Jiang Li left, he looked casually at Chi Yang.
Then he tilted his chin toward the shop.
“Want to take a look?”
Chi Yang blinked.
Suspicion immediately surfaced.
“You’re trying to sweet-talk me?”
“Mm.”
His deep voice carried a faint note of resignation.
“After all, I need Mrs. Xie to cooperate with me tonight.”
His gaze lingered on the jewelry store below.
“How about we buy a pair of rings?”
