Chapter 141

Chapter 141

The next day, Ji Mian waited at the spot they had agreed on for Yu Chuang to pick him up.

Because Ji Mian lived too close to the Ji Group's office building, even though the company name had been changed to something unrecognizable long ago, Ji Mian still got up early and took a longer route by car before sending his location to Yu Chuang.

Yu Chuang had also been sitting in the driver's seat for an hour, waiting aimlessly, when he received Ji Mian's call.

When Ji Mian's name appeared on the screen, Yu Chuang's heart raced, not just because he was about to marry the man on the screen.

But also because over the years, he had dreamed multiple times of receiving a call from Ji Mian in the middle of a meeting, only for it to disconnect after less than two seconds. In the dream, he would abandon everything and rush back to Ningcheng to see Ji Mian, who would then frown oddly and say it was just a wrong number, mocking Yu Chuang for rushing back in such a flustered state over a simple phone call.

It was a ridiculous dream, but it left a bitter taste. When he woke up, the pain was piercing.

Yu Chuang drove to the spot Ji Mian had sent him, only to find Ji Mian standing by the side of the road, waiting.

Since he had never seen Yu Chuang's car before, Ji Mian's gaze swept past the car, looking elsewhere.

Yu Chuang immediately felt a pang of dissatisfaction. Why was he always being ignored?

He pulled up next to Ji Mian and rolled down the window, "Why are you waiting here?"

Ji Mian didn't answer, opened the passenger door, and got in.

Yu Chuang tilted his head to look at him.

Ji Mian was wearing a white jacket, his black hair resembling a sesame ball with a bit of filling peeking out.

As it happened, Yu Chuang was wearing black. While some men wear white for wedding photos, black is more common.

So what if it doesn't match? Yu Chuang thought, but then he caught sight of a patch of black under Ji Mian's collar.

After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and unzipped Ji Mian's jacket.

Ji Mian was startled by the action. Who just starts by unzipping someone's jacket!? If it weren't for the cramped space in the car, he might have jumped back.

Under the jacket was a black suit, and beneath that, a shirt with a half-open collar, the buttons undone by the outer clothing, revealing a large expanse of collarbone.

After a moment of stunned silence, Yu Chuang's gaze lingered on that collarbone, and when he withdrew his hand, he inadvertently brushed his knuckle against the smooth skin.

Ji Mian found it utterly incomprehensible and quickly zipped up his jacket again.

Yu Chuang wanted to ask if Ji Mian had all the necessary documents, but he thought that Ji Mian's mood was probably not great about marrying him today, so it was better not to step on his landmines.

"Do you live around here?" he asked.

Ji Mian fastened his seatbelt and said, "Where I live is none of your business."

Yu Chuang thought: After we get the marriage certificate, it will be my business.

He didn't want any accidents to happen today, especially worried that Ji Mian might change his mind, so he silently started the car.

The process surprisingly went quickly, and within a little over an hour, both of them held a red booklet in their hands, with photos of the two of them smiling inside.

Originally, they weren't smiling, but the young lady taking the photos was particularly enthusiastic, constantly telling them to relax and not be nervous.

Little did she know that they weren't nervous at all, but each was putting on a cold face for reasons they couldn't articulate.

When they walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Yu Chuang's steps were floating, as if he were walking on clouds.

He held Ji Mian's wrist with his right hand and pinched the not-so-thick red booklet with his left, feeling a surreal sense of finally obtaining something he had yearned for, lingering in a daze for quite a while.

Ji Mian, too, gazed at the marriage certificate for a moment.

"System, this is my first marriage," he thought. In previous worlds, same-sex marriage wasn’t an option.

Ji Mian had never thought there was much difference between being married or not, as he and his brother could never be separated anyway.

But now that they had this formal relationship, he felt strangely unsettled.

The system chimed in cheerfully, "Happy wedding."

It wanted to remind him to focus on the mission but held back.

Looking at Ji Mian's total points, excluding the portion the system needed to deduct, Ji Mian’s Affection Points were nearing 100,000, with at most three months left.

However, since points were only settled at the end of each world, and there was a penalty for plot deviations, the system had been pushing Ji Mian to save more points to avoid mishaps.

But it had recently noticed that Ji Mian was losing patience, especially after Yu Chuang returned to Ningcheng, which explained why he had agreed to marry him so readily.

Regardless of the impact on Yu Chuang's Affection Points, once Ji Mian married Yu Chuang, his public image of liking Pei Qing would inevitably falter.

Ji Mian's friends, Ji Hai, and the main characters, though individually minor, collectively amounted to a substantial number of points.

Being with Yu Chuang meant that for decades to come, it would be hard to gain points from these people.

Moreover, Yu Chuang was sharp, and living together after marriage, he’d quickly uncover Ji Mian’s true motives.

Thus, the last source of Affection Points would be cut off.

The system was on edge. It hoped nothing would go wrong.

Noticing Ji Mian lost in thought, Yu Chuang thought he was having second thoughts and asked gruffly, "Having regrets?"

Regrets didn’t matter now; the marriage was already done.

"..."

"I’ll hold onto it for you," Yu Chuang said, reaching for Ji Mian's marriage certificate.

Ji Mian instinctively clutched it, coldly saying, "Why should you keep it for me?"

"If it gets lost..." Yu Chuang thought of something and suddenly fell silent.

Losing it wouldn’t change anything; it would just make divorce impossible.

If he wanted to keep it, fine.

"Why are you grabbing me?" Ji Mian glanced at Yu Chuang's hand gripping his.

Yu Chuang instinctively wanted to let go but then thought better of it and tightened his grip instead, reminding him, "We’re married now."

Ji Mian: "..."

After marriage, there were obligations to fulfill between spouses. Ji Mian couldn't just eat without working... though he didn't need Yu Chuang's food anyway.

Yu Chuang took Ji Mian back to the house in Lishui New Garden.

Ji Mian had visited the house a few months ago. Most of the furnishings had been auctioned or cleared out, and although someone was arranged to clean it regularly, it wasn’t as well-kept as when it was occupied. After all, maintaining such a large house in its original state would incur significant cleaning and maintenance costs.

The pool had been drained long ago, and most of Ji Hai’s expensive wines in the bar cabinet were given away as gifts to build relationships. The few that remained were also taken when Ji Hai moved to the outskirts of Ningcheng.

But now, coming back, the house looked eighty percent like it did two years ago. Clearly, Yu Chuang had someone redesign it.

It was eighty percent similar because Yu Chuang designed it from memory of the Ji Family. However, during the years he was away, the layout and furnishings inside the house had already undergone other changes.

Ji Mian was led to his former bedroom and was momentarily stunned.

The cabinet where he used to keep his watches was now half-filled, and what filled it were the watches he had sold.

Yu Chuang had said he would buy them back and give them back to him. It turned out he was serious.

Just then, Yu Chuang pulled out a box from somewhere, opened it to reveal two silver wedding rings, and casually handed one to Ji Mian, saying, "Wear it. Don’t take it off."

There wasn’t a wedding ceremony. The rings were hastily given in Ji Mian’s bedroom, without even a ritual exchange. It wasn’t that Yu Chuang didn’t want a ceremony, but he knew Ji Mian agreeing to marry him was already the limit.

"..." Ji Mian took the ring. Small diamonds were embedded around the side of the ring, while the front facing outward was plain.

He slid it onto the ring finger of his left hand. The slender, pale finger now adorned with a shiny silver ring looked beautiful.

Yu Chuang looked at Ji Mian’s left hand and reached out to take it.

Their fingers intertwined, the wedding rings on their ring fingers particularly conspicuous. Yu Chuang stared at them for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

Ji Mian was amused by his laughter and also secretly glanced at his own hand.

Yu Chuang suddenly hugged him, wrapping Ji Mian in his arms, just like the ring around Ji Mian’s finger.

The moment he held Ji Mian, his heart felt half-full.

The other half, Yu Chuang didn’t dare to hope for.

After a long while, he spoke up, "I’ve called Butler Li back. He’ll be here tomorrow. You’ll stay here."

Ji Mian blinked but didn’t respond.

"I have an early flight tomorrow, and this place is close to the airport." The implication was that he would also stay here tonight.

Originally, Yu Chuang should have left two days ago, but he delayed because of the marriage registration. If he weren’t the boss, but an ordinary employee, his work attitude would have gotten him fired long ago.

"..."

Ji Mian didn’t have much to say. Although the house was nominally his, he couldn’t just kick out the person who had bought it.

Yu Chuang continued, "Next weekend... I probably won’t be back."

Ji Mian nodded, "Okay."

He felt someone touch the hair on his head and knew Yu Chuang was secretly kissing him.

Ji Mian struggled to suppress the urge to wrap his arms around Yu Chuang’s waist, letting his hands hang coldly at his sides.

Yu Chuang held him for a long time before letting go. The indifference he had when he first returned to Ningcheng was long gone.

The love that had grown over time hadn’t diminished in the slightest. Instead, it had deepened with longing, and once it found an outlet, it surged even more fiercely than it had seven years ago.

The infatuation and affection in his eyes, even after being restrained, were still impossible to hide. Even during the time he had spent by Ji Mian’s side in the past, Yu Chuang had never exposed himself so openly in front of him.

It made Ji Mian’s heart soften, yet for some reason, he also felt a bit uneasy.

In the past, although Yu Chuang had a cold personality and rarely showed his emotions, he was indeed very obedient. Ji Mian used to dominate over Yu Chuang with a contract, and the latter had no choice but to comply.

Now the situation has reversed, and their positions have become more equal. Ji Mian can no longer command Yu Chuang with just a word.

While he was lost in thought, his lips suddenly felt warm. Yu Chuang leaned down and kissed him gently, his hand moving up to linger on Ji Mian's neck for a moment before deftly unbuttoning the top two buttons.

Yu Chuang was aware. They had just gotten married and had no emotional foundation, so rushing into things was not an option. He had to take it step by step.

He held back from unbuttoning Ji Mian's shirt further, planning to stop after just a touch.

His slightly warm palm rubbed against Ji Mian's collarbone under the shirt. Yu Chuang hadn't taken off his wedding ring yet, and the metal brushed against Ji Mian's skin, creating a subtle sensation.

Seeing Ji Mian's body tremble slightly and his head tilt to one side, the lines of his neck becoming beautifully taut, Yu Chuang chuckled, "Bear with it, young master. I'm leaving tomorrow."