Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The Civil Affairs Bureau closed at noon, so the marriage registration had to be postponed to the afternoon. Since it was Xia Yinxi’s major life event, Xia Yucheng and Meng Shuxue both took the day off work. Now Ji Yunzhuo was sitting in the living room, enduring a barrage of questions from the two of them.

“Ahaha, A-Zhuo, have you seen my room yet?” Xia Yinxi, afraid Ji Yunzhuo might slip up, pulled him upstairs. “Mom, Dad, I’ll show him around!”

“Hurry, hurry.” Xia Yinxi closed the door. “Sit anywhere.”

Ji Yunzhuo discreetly surveyed the bedroom. The first impression was spaciousness—the bed was big enough for five or six adults, the closet was just as spacious, every piece of furniture was bright in color, and a few stuffed animals were scattered on the bed and small sofa.

He sat down on the sofa and asked, “Are you gonna live with me after we get married?”

Xia Yinxi thought it over. Moving out would make it easier to keep up the act, and later, when the real young master comes back home, he could just move in.

Still, he really liked this bedroom now.

When he got rich, he’d totally get a room just like this!

“Of course I’ll live with you.” Xia Yinxi smiled. “Do I have a room at your place, CEO Ji?”

“You can sleep in the master bedroom with me.”

Xia Yinxi’s smile stiffened.

He couldn’t share a bed with anyone!

Even sharing a hotel room with a coworker on business trips, he couldn’t sleep well, let alone a bed!

His face gave it away; Ji Yunzhuo chuckled. “Or you can take the guest room. Your call.”

Xia Yinxi let out a relieved sigh. “I toss and turn a lot. I might kick you.”

“No worries. I can handle a kick.”

“...” Xia Yinxi fumbled for another excuse. “That’d still mess with your sleep. You’ve got work.”

“I can show up late.”

Xia Yinxi took a deep breath. Since he was planning to take a cut of the family fortune, he let the capitalist attitude slide and switched topics. “What time are we leaving this afternoon, CEO Ji? Should I change and put on some makeup?”

“Yeah, go for it.”

“...”

This guy was so annoying.

Watching him purse his lips with a look that said he was about to cuss, Ji Yunzhuo couldn’t help smirking.

For some reason, he always wanted to see Xia Yinxi make different faces.

They were so lively, so pretty.

But he couldn’t push it too far. Ji Yunzhuo knew when to quit and asked, “You got plans tonight? I’ll take you to meet my friends.”

Xia Yinxi asked, dead serious, “You actually have friends?”

“Hah.”

“Okay, you do.”

He knew when to bend and when to back off.

Getting married wasn’t complicated. Two stamps, and they were legally hitched.

Other people were taking pictures, and newlywed couples were lining up under the oath platform to pour their hearts out. Xia Yinxi and Ji Yunzhuo exchanged a look and, without a word, walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

Today, Ji Yunzhuo was driving himself. On the way there, the awkward silence in the car was killing Xia Yinxi, so he kept his head down, texting like crazy to avoid talking to Ji Yunzhuo.

“Congrats, host! Mission accomplished!”

“Don’t mention it. What’s the reward?”

“Just put in the request. The boss said the reward is doubling your savings~”

Xia Yinxi stopped typing. “All of it?”

“Yes!”

Xia Yinxi sucked in a breath.

The original body had eight figures in the bank, but he never thought of it as his, so he never spent a cent.

But! The doubled money would be his, right?!

He was loaded!!!!

“Then do I even need to marry him?” Xia Yinxi’s hand, holding the phone, shook a little. “I have money now. No need to split his assets.”

He could still turn back and head to the Civil Affairs Bureau.

“The marriage must last a year for the reward to be issued. If the mission fails, it will be revoked.”

Xia Yinxi calmed down instantly. “Never mind, then.”

After a moment of calm, he asked again, “Won’t that cause inflation?”

The system rambled on for over twenty minutes in obscure technical jargon, and Xia Yinxi barely caught the last sentence: “If you live to be five hundred, your assets will far exceed what you’d have at eighty. We’re just pulling from the time cracks of parallel worlds—your future assets.”

“...”

Alright, he still didn’t get it.

But whatever. As long as he got the money. OvO

His joy was unmistakable, and the once-awkward atmosphere in the car inexplicably relaxed. Ji Yunzhuo glanced at him. “What’s got you so happy?”

Xia Yinxi brushed it off casually. “Happy to marry you, of course.”

Ji Yunzhuo let out an ambiguous laugh. “I’m happy too.”

“...”

Hah, you’re just happy about getting the shares, aren’t you?

Ji Yunzhuo dropped Xia Yinxi off at home and went back to the office to handle work.

As dusk fell, Xia Yinxi finally got up to change clothes and get ready to go out.

At home, he liked wearing loose T-shirts and shorts, and he preferred relaxed fits when going out too. But today, for the sake of appearances, he picked a fitted embroidered shirt. The base was pure white, with silver-threaded crabapple branches stretching from the collar to the chest, catching the light with a soft pink iridescence—fresh and spring-like.

Messages from Ji Yunzhuo and Li Yili popped up on his phone at the same time. Xia Yinxi replied to Ji Yunzhuo's location first: "Got it."

Then he tapped on Li Yili's thread with 20+ messages.

"LiLiLi": My brother said he's bringing his sister-in-law later.

"LiLiLi": Should I sneak a photo and send it to you!

"LiLiLi": Aren't you even a little curious?!

"LiLiLi": I'm planning to start a group chat. Song Baichuan's dying to know who'd marry my brother!

"Xiao Xiliu ya Xiao Xiliu": ...

The sister-in-law herself: "No thanks."

Song Baichuan and Li Yili had already bonded over their shared childhood trauma. A three-person group chat didn't need the other person's consent, and Xia Yinxi was forced into it, watching the two huskies make a racket like ten people, and he sent a string of ellipses.

He'd almost forgotten—Li Yili hadn't mentioned it, but he still hadn't told Song Baichuan about the marriage.

But he really didn't know how to bring it up. Could he just say, "Hey, Donghai, I married our childhood nightmare"?

"Haha, Lili, actually, your sister-in-law is me."

...They'd both freak out, wouldn't they?

Forget it. They'd see each other soon anyway, so he didn't have to say it himself.

They agreed to meet at a club owned by the Ji family. Xia Yinxi had his driver take him there, and he stood at the main entrance and texted Ji Yunzhuo: "I'm here. Come get me."

The club had a gorgeous traditional Chinese front courtyard, with covered bridges, a blue lake, pavilions, and painted boats, oozing classic charm. Above the door, a plaque bore the four bold, calligraphic characters "Ming Ji Club," giving off an antique vibe.

Xia Yinxi knew himself—he'd definitely get lost in a place like this. QvQ

"Xiaoxi." Ji Yunzhuo's voice came from behind him. He called him so intimately that Xia Yinxi felt awkward and hummed softly in acknowledgment: "You just got here?"

"I've been here a while. I figured it'd be better to go up together, so I waited."

Seeing how committed Ji Yunzhuo was, Xia Yinxi perked up immediately, reached out and took his arm, giving it his all with twelve percent acting skill: "Let's go, hubby."

Ji Yunzhuo looked down and chuckled: "Let's go, baby."

"You..."

You little... you little... you little!

The private room was in the middle of the top floor. This floor only had five VIP rooms, and the guests who came here were all high-status, mostly old acquaintances of the host.

It was Ji Yunzhuo's first time showing up with a handsome, unfamiliar young man, arm in arm, looking intimate. The waitstaff on the top floor all sneaked glances, curious which family's young master this was.

Xia Yinxi was long used to ignoring other people's stares and didn't notice the glances and scrutiny from all directions. As he walked up the stairs, he was mentally writing his script.

Should he play the part of a clingy, delicate little bird, or someone deeply in love and devoted?

...Those two didn't seem all that different.

Or maybe

A celestial being descending to earth? Indifferent to everyone else but doting only on Ji Yunzhuo?

That was a bit complicated—his acting skills might not be up to the task.

His mind was a mess when suddenly the private room door burst open with a "bang." Xia Yinxi was startled, instinctively tightening his grip on Ji Yunzhuo's arm as he looked up.

The person at the door looked young, wearing a stiff gray suit, his mouth wide open, jaw practically on the floor.

Ji Yunzhuo patted Xia Yinxi's hand: "Don't be scared."

Then he turned to the person at the door: "What's your problem?"

Someone inside asked what was up. Ji Yunzhuo frowned: "Get in."

"Got it, Brother Zhuo."

The private room door closed, and everything went quiet. The person who had rushed out frantically straightened the knocked-over chair: "This must be my sister-in-law! I'm Cheng Hao! Sister-in-law, you're so beautiful!!"

Xia Yinxi: "...Thanks?"

Though he'd been called "beautiful" countless times since childhood, Xia Yinxi still wasn't used to it.

Can't he be called handsome?!

The man sitting in the inner seat was also in a suit, with a much more composed demeanor. He stood up and extended his hand to Xia Yinxi: "Hello, I'm Bai Yiheng."

"Hello, hello, I'm Xia Yinxi."

Everyone looked at Li Yili, who was silent with a blank expression. Ji Yunzhuo asked: "Had too much to drink?"

Xia Yinxi let out a dry laugh: "You're back from your business trip?"

"Don't talk." Li Yili raised a hand to stop him. "I heard that if you fall from a height in a dream, you'll wake up."

With that, he got up and walked to the window, bracing his hands as if to jump. Cheng Hao cursed "Holy shit!" and rushed over to grab his waist: "Holy shit! Holy shit! What are you doing!"

Xia Yinxi ran over to help, grabbing Li Yili's shirt: "Calm down!"

"How can I calm down!! Xia Xiaoxi!! You!!"

"What's wrong with him?" Ji Yunzhuo shot a cold glance over, and Li Yili instantly calmed down, standing up straight.

"Nothing."

Ji Yunzhuo took the main seat and gestured for Xia Yinxi to come to him. Then he looked at Li Yili and said coldly: "No respect."

Li Yili said nothing, just lowered his head and typed.

Xia Yinxi: ...

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, his phone rang a second later. Xia Yinxi hung up three times under Ji Yunzhuo's gaze, but couldn't stop Song Baichuan's relentless calls.

Ji Yunzhuo saw "Donghai" on the phone screen and his eyes flickered: "Why not answer?"

"He doesn't have anything important." Xia Yinxi smiled at him and directly long-pressed to shut down the phone. "Let's eat first."

Sorry, Donghai. I'll explain when you've calmed down.

Bai Yiheng suddenly asked, "A Zhuo, how did you and Xiaoxi meet?"

Cheng Hao also chimed in, "I want to know too. It’s so sudden—I thought you were just..."

The latter half of his sentence was cut off by a glance from Bai Yiheng, and Cheng Hao let out a chuckle, "Come on, tell us how you and Brother Zhuo met? It’s unbelievable that he could actually like someone."

Seeing that Ji Yunzhuo had no intention of speaking, Xia Yinxi briefly recounted the love-at-first-sight story. Li Yili looked up in a daze, "Love at first sight? Which first sight?"

The one where the urn was knocked over?

"..." Xia Yinxi picked up a piece of food and put it in his bowl, "Eat your food and keep quiet."

Afraid his brother might kill him, Li Yili bowed his head and ate his greens without a word. But Cheng Hao, oblivious, pressed on, "Which first sight? When did you meet?!"

"Sis-in-law? Did you make the first move on Brother Zhuo?"

Xia Yinxi smiled, "No."

No way—no way I'm playing the desperate one. Even a fake script wouldn't allow that!

Ji Yunzhuo chuckled, "I chased him."

Cheng Hao slapped his thigh, "Sis-in-law, you’re too easy to win over. How did a blockhead like Brother Zhuo ever manage to catch you?"

Xia Yinxi nodded, "Right."

"Right?" Ji Yunzhuo suddenly leaned in, one arm resting on the back of Xia Yinxi’s chair, as if encircling him in his embrace. "Regretting it?"

Xia Yinxi turned his head slightly to dodge, feeling Ji Yunzhuo’s breath on his face, which made him uneasy. "Don't... don't get that close."

Cheng Hao covered one eye with his hand and teased, "Ooooh, ooooh, ooooh—"

Li Yili’s fingers were a blur under the table, typing like crazy.

"Sys!! Help!! He doesn't actually like me, right?!"

"Sorry, host. Can't detect the character's emotions."

Xia Yinxi pushed Ji Yunzhuo away, "How much are those shares even worth for him to go this far?"

The idea of splitting the assets came back, and Xia Yinxi asked the system again, "Can you wait 'til I get half his stuff before you double it?"

So much freaking money!

The system: "...I'll ask my boss."

Ji Yunzhuo had married him for his grandfather’s shares—basically, without marrying him, he couldn’t get that power and money. So half of that stuff was rightfully his.

Totally reasonable!

"So creepy," Cheng Hao muttered under his breath. "Brother Zhuo actually... has moments like that..."

Li Yili was still typing, scared of getting caught, so he spoke up to change the subject: "Cheng Hao, what’s up with your outfit? Looks like you jacked it."

Cheng Hao rolled his eyes, "I haven't worn a suit in years. I dug this out just to meet the sis-in-law."

"Should've left it in the closet."

Xia Yinxi was focused on peeling sweet shrimp, piling up a full spoonful in front of him. Bai Yiheng watched for a while, about to remark that Ji the big shot didn't need someone serving him, when he saw Xia Yinxi scoop it up and eat it all in one go, squinting happily.

Bai Yiheng: "..."

After years at the top, he was used to thinking Ji Yunzhuo always had people waiting on him, and naturally figured that spoon of shrimp was for Ji Yunzhuo.

Only now did it hit him—this guy wasn't some underling taking orders, or some partner tiptoeing around the CEO. He was Ji Yunzhuo's... wife?

Weird word.

Xia Yinxi had taken too big a bite and was still chewing, but he managed to free a hand and punch Li Yili.

Li Yili looked up, face full of annoyance, and glared at him.

Xia Yinxi swallowed and whispered threateningly, "If you keep running your mouth to Donghai, I'll get your brother to freeze your card."

"You... you... you little—?!" Li Yili couldn't believe it. "Whose side are you on? We met first, remember!!"

"...Keep it down."

Bai Yiheng asked, "Xiaoxi and Ali know each other?"

Li Yili turned around, breaking down, "Why else do you think I was about to jump out the window?!"

Bai Yiheng guessed, "You... like Xiaoxi?"

Xia Yinxi: "..."

Ji Yunzhuo set down his chopsticks and looked over.

"Brother Heng, I'm straight," Li Yili sighed. "I just can't handle my buddy becoming my sister-in-law. Can you guys? Ah Hao, could you deal with Brother Heng marrying Brother Xuan?"

Cheng Hao: "Holy shit."

Li Yili: "Now you feel me?!"

Xia Yinxi scooted closer to Ji Yunzhuo and asked, "Who's Brother Xuan?"

"The eldest of the Cheng family."

So that was Cheng Hao's older brother... Xia Yinxi glanced at Bai Yiheng, who looked like he'd eaten a bug, and cracked up.

Bai Yiheng said, "Ah Xuan's overseas. He told me to say hi."

Xia Yinxi gave a shy nod.

Cheng Hao was already stuck on the image of his brother marrying Bai Yiheng, his brain uncontrollably swapping Xia Yinxi and Ji Yunzhuo's moment for his brother and Bai Yiheng, and he shuddered from the cringe.

Too freaking weird.

The meal went on for almost an hour, with Li Yili barely stopping his typing. Xia Yinxi could already picture Song Baichuan chewing him out.

So he turned and threw a few fake punches at Ji Yunzhuo, but his hand got caught and squeezed playfully. Xia Yinxi flinched, yanked his hand back, and slapped Ji Yunzhuo's hand with his vinegar-stained fingers.

It wasn't time for that kind of PDA yet!

Having witnessed the whole exchange of small gestures, Bai Yiheng chuckled and suddenly said, "A Zhuo, you haven't properly introduced Xiaoxi yet."

Ji Yunzhuo slowly looked up, wiping his hands with deliberate care. "My wife, Xia Yinxi. What else do you want me to introduce?"

Xia Yinxi: "?"

Xia Yinxi: "..."

And again Xia Yinxi: "%&Ω@ā*&￥ú#"

"Why does it sound so weird coming out of his mouth?!"

The system: ":)"