Chapter 7
In the evening, Chen Pingzhou told him that a branch of the Shang family—Shang Ze Nian’s cousin—was getting engaged tomorrow, and Jiang Cheng should prepare and go with them.
Since it was Shang Ze Nian’s cousin, Shang Ze Nian would definitely be there. Jiang Cheng was now extremely afraid of seeing him. Just at the right time, tomorrow was also the day exam results would be released, so he used “checking scores” as an excuse and asked Chen Pingzhou if he could not go.
Chen Pingzhou also knew that exam results were very important for someone like him who was relying on education to change his fate, and wanting to check them first thing was reasonable, so he didn’t force him.
Although Shang Ze Nian’s cousin was from a branch family, she was still part of the Shang family, so the engagement banquet was held very grandly.
Lu Xiyuan was also invited. He found Shang Ze Nian on the terrace.
Shang Ze Nian was holding a wine glass, his long legs crossed casually without a proper place to rest, leaning against the railing. His gaze occasionally drifted downstairs.
When he saw Shang Ze Nian, Lu Xiyuan exaggeratedly said, “Wow.”
“Brother Shang, you look pretty handsome today. Don’t you usually hate this kind of restraint?”
Today, Shang Ze Nian wore a sharply tailored dark suit. It made his shoulders look broad and his waist narrow, his tall frame like a straight pine tree. His usual lazy, unruly aura was restrained by the suit, giving him a more proper and noble young master air.
Because it was a formal banquet, many male guests dressed like this—but he was still the most eye-catching one. No one knew how many girls he would charm.
Lu Xiyuan suddenly thought of something. “Is that Miss Chen coming today?”
Shang Ze Nian did not hide his intention. “Otherwise, who do you think I’m dressing up for?”
“You’re making me even more curious about that Miss Chen. What kind of beauty could make someone like you fall so hard?”
This cold-faced “mad dog” in love looked completely different from his usual self.
At that moment, Shang Ze Nian’s gaze dropped to the first floor.
Lu Xiyuan followed his line of sight eagerly.
A black Maybach stopped at the entrance. The valet opened the door, and a couple in their thirties stepped out one after another, then walked into the venue arm in arm.
The Maybach was driven away for parking, and no other car followed.
Shang Ze Nian narrowed his eyes.
“Huh? Which one is Miss Chen? I don’t see any young woman,” Lu Xiyuan said, like an excited gossip goose, stretching his neck.
“She didn’t come,” Shang Ze Nian said flatly, taking out his phone.
Lu Xiyuan swallowed his teasing when he saw Shang Ze Nian’s dark expression.
Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng was walking outside with the old master. The sky had just turned dark, and the evening finally cooled down. A breeze carrying lake water freshness blew over, very comfortable.
The wheelchair moved forward automatically. Jiang Cheng’s hand rested absentmindedly on the back of it.
Exam results would be out at 7 o’clock. It was already past 7, and his heart was boiling with impatience.
“Move faster, legs!”
But the wheelchair couldn’t go any faster.
The old master looked tired, eyes half closed. Jiang Cheng was thinking about secretly checking his phone when it suddenly buzzed.
It was Shang Ze Nian on WeChat.
Shang Ze Nian: Why didn’t you come today?
Jiang Cheng quickly replied:
Chen Yin: I’m not feeling well.
Shang Ze Nian: Sick?
Chen Yin: No… it’s just, you know, that time of the month. My stomach hurts.
Shang Ze Nian: I thought I scared you last time, so you’re avoiding me.
Jiang Cheng thought: You’re right! I am avoiding you!
After thinking, he sent a tongue-out emoji and let him interpret it himself.
Shang Ze Nian didn’t reply.
After finishing the walk with the old master and accompanying him for a while, the old master went to rest. It was already eight o’clock.
Jiang Cheng quickly returned to his room and opened the score website.
He logged in, entered his exam number, took a deep breath, and clicked “check.”
The site wasn’t busy anymore, so the page loaded quickly. Even though he already had a rough idea, his heart still pounded hard.
When the number appeared—six points higher than he expected—Jiang Cheng let out a long breath. His heart finally settled.
With this score, based on previous years’ admission lines, getting into Capital University was absolutely safe.
He couldn’t help smiling and made a small “yes!” gesture.
Years of hard work finally paid off. Happy, very happy.
He really wanted to share this joy with someone, so he opened WeChat—and just then it vibrated again.
Shang Ze Nian: Still not feeling well?
Jiang Cheng didn’t dare say he was fine, afraid Shang Ze Nian would force him to go to the engagement banquet, so he casually replied “mm,” then was about to switch accounts.
But WeChat buzzed again.
Shang Ze Nian: Wait.
QAQ
Jiang Cheng didn’t dare switch accounts anymore.
He quickly asked: “What are you going to do?”
Shang Ze Nian: Bring you something to relieve your stomach pain.
Chen Yin: No need! I’ll sleep and be fine! Aren’t you at your cousin’s engagement banquet? Don’t worry about me, I’m not that fragile!
Chen Yin: I’m going to sleep! Don’t come! Really!
Shang Ze Nian: I’m almost there.
Shang Ze Nian: [Image]
It was a photo of the entrance of his residential area.
Jiang Cheng: “……”
His scalp went numb, like he might faint.
It was over. The fiancé was coming to his door.
Author’s note:
Chapter 6
Jiang Cheng realized that pretending to be a turtle hiding in its shell was useless. In Shang Ze Nian’s eyes, as long as he hadn’t clearly rejected the engagement, it meant he accepted it by default.
He didn’t know what to do now, and he didn’t dare casually say he didn’t want the engagement. So he quickly told Chen Pingzhou what happened.
Chen Yin: Can I just directly refuse him?
Chen Pingzhou replied immediately: No.
Jiang Cheng quickly typed: But I’m a man. If I reject him, I might get exposed. And I’ll be leaving soon anyway—how do we explain it later?
Chen Pingzhou sent several voice messages. Jiang Cheng converted them to text.
“Listen to me. You cannot refuse him. If you do, your identity will raise suspicion in Lin Min and Chen Pingye’s eyes. In their view, marriage with the Shang family is extremely beneficial to us. There is no reason you would refuse.”
“If you reject him when Shang Ze Nian already shows interest, they will think something is wrong. They’ll suspect we’re hiding something and are afraid of being exposed, so we would rather give up the benefits of the marriage.”
“My younger brother is very suspicious. Right now, he believes you look like my sister Chen Yin and has no choice but to accept it. If you refuse, he may secretly take your DNA sample for testing. Then everything will be exposed. Not only will you lose the money, you might even go to jail and leave a criminal record.”
Jiang Cheng: “……”
When he saw the words go to jail, he was completely stunned.
That serious?
QAQ he suddenly wanted to run away.
But he was already here. Backing out now seemed even worse.
No—worse than that, he would also have to pay breach penalties. Chen Pingzhou had signed a contract with him to prevent him from backing out. If he quit midway, he would owe triple compensation.
Triple means 300,000. Even selling himself wouldn’t cover that.
Chen Yin: Even if I pretend to be with him now, how do we end this later?
Chen Pingzhou: At that time, I’ll say I’m sending you abroad for studies. Then you can say you don’t want a long-distance relationship and, after two months together, you’ve lost feelings. That’s how we break up. You don’t need to worry about anything after that. I’ll handle it.
Chen Yin: But isn’t that basically scamming his feelings?
Chen Yin: I don’t want to deceive him.
Chen Pingzhou replied coldly:
“You’re thinking too much. What feelings? Shang Ze Nian isn’t really in love with you. This engagement benefits both families. It lets the Shang family grow further and saves them ten years of effort. He’s just acting like he likes you for profit.”
“Think about it. He’s seen countless girls chasing him over the years. Why would he suddenly fall for you—a plain, inexperienced, barely educated mute country bumpkin?”
“It’s all for profit.”
Jiang Cheng felt a bit shaken.
Yes… someone like him, from a small town, who couldn’t even recognize the brand of Shang Ze Nian’s car, and who couldn’t speak… why would Shang Ze Nian like him?
After hearing that, it suddenly made sense.
Chen Pingzhou sent another picture.
“Look, today’s bride is Shang Ze Nian’s cousin. Her marriage is also an arranged one. The two of them barely interact and sit back to back. There’s no such thing as true love in wealthy families.”
Jiang Cheng opened the image.
It showed the bride and groom sitting together—but turning away from each other, not speaking at all. They didn’t look like a loving couple at all.
He was deeply shocked.
He couldn’t understand. These rich people had so much money, yet they couldn’t even choose their own marriage. What was the meaning of that?
No wonder there were so many scandals in wealthy circles. It turned out most marriages weren’t even based on love.
Naive Jiang Cheng completely believed it.
At that moment, WeChat buzzed again.
Shang Ze Nian: I’ve arrived. If you’re in pain and can’t move, I’ll ask a servant to bring it up.
“……”
So fast.
It felt like Shang Ze Nian was giving him a choice: if he went down personally, it meant he accepted the engagement; if he let a servant bring it up, maybe Shang Ze Nian would give up.
Of course, Jiang Cheng didn’t know—once Shang Ze Nian set his eyes on someone, giving up was impossible.
What should he do… was he really going to date a man for two months?
