Chapter 25 “Mr. Duan, it seems you have a scandal.”

Duan Zhuxian drove steadily. Jiang Yao fell asleep as soon as they hit the road. When they arrived, Duan Zhuxian woke him up by shaking him. After getting out of the car, Jiang Yao didn’t wait for Duan Zhuxian and walked alone towards the building with red characters on a gray background, walking with a demeanor as if going to a negotiation.

Jiang Yao entered the door quite casually but hesitated when signing the documents.

Since the marriage was arranged, Jiang Yao had always been indifferent, eating and drinking as usual, and never missing a chance to bicker with Duan Zhuxian.

It was just fulfilling a family task driven by mutual benefits, with contracts and terms piled almost half a meter high, no different from handling a large project.

As for the conflicts between him and Duan Zhuxian, it wasn’t a big deal.

After all, when did the parties in a contract ever maintain a loving and cooperative attitude from start to finish? There were always overt and covert fights for benefits.

It wasn’t until this moment that he woke up from his dream, realizing with an unprecedented sense of reality—

He was actually getting married.

And the partner was his enemy of ten years, Duan Zhuxian.

The same Duan Zhuxian whom he swore never to forgive on his eighteenth birthday.

Thinking about it this way, reality truly felt surreal, as if the heavens were playing a joke on him.

Duan Zhuxian had already signed, his speed faster than when he usually signed documents.

He put down the pen, his gaze shifting from his own name to the tip of Jiang Yao’s pen, which was still hesitating. Then, his gaze moved up along Jiang Yao’s slender, fair right hand.

Jiang Yao seemed to be in a daze, or perhaps he was struggling with something. His pale eyelids faintly revealed blue veins, giving his eyes a cool and aloof look.

He looked both fierce and soft, especially easy to bully.

Duan Zhuxian’s eyes held a hint of amusement. “When it’s time to be quick, you should be quick.”

Jiang Yao, currently sensitive to the word “quick,” almost blushed on the spot. He glared at Duan Zhuxian and said angrily, “Shut up, you sharp-tongued devil!”

The two registrars opposite them had been patiently waiting for a while. The younger one couldn’t help but tease, “Hurry up, handsome guys, even the Matchmaker is getting anxious.”

Duan Zhuxian reminded, “Write it neatly.”

Jiang Yao ignored him, but his hesitant right hand finally gripped the pen tightly and fell onto the paper, the writing more twisted and bizarre than a chicken’s scratchings.

The two registrars exchanged glances: Were these two really here to get married?

After submitting their documents, the staff congratulated them in unison, “Wishing you both a long and happy marriage.”

The auspicious words were a bit awkward but were said cheerfully nonetheless.

After registering, the two of them took an ID photo in front of a red backdrop. With most of the procedures completed, Jiang Yao reported the situation to his parents, who were on a business trip far away.

When it was time to press their fingerprints and receive the certificates, Jiang Yao was given wedding candy by the staff. Feeling peckish, he ate one. It was milk-flavored and quite sweet.

The small bag had two pieces, with one left. He asked Duan Zhuxian, “Want one?”

Duan Zhuxian was looking down at his brand-new certificate. When he heard Jiang Yao, he looked up just in time to have a piece of candy stuffed into his mouth. As the milk candy melted on his tongue, it brought an unprecedented sweetness.

Stepping out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Jiang Yao looked at the small red booklet in his palm, squinting with an expression that was hard to read—whether it was novelty or indifference.

Such a thin little booklet could instantly upgrade two unrelated people to immediate family, even entitling each other to half of their assets.

He pinched the small red booklet between his thumb and index finger, looked at it from left to right, dangled it in the air twice, failed to grip it properly, and dropped it. He picked it up and continued to dangle it, only to drop it again.

After the third drop, a well-defined hand reached out in front of him.

“Give it to me.”

Before the words even settled, the small red booklet in his hand was unceremoniously confiscated.

“?”

Jiang Yao looked at Duan Zhuxian in dissatisfaction, but accidentally let the pouring sunlight blur his vision, making it seem as if there was a mistake in his sight—

At the far end of what seemed to be overexposed vision, sunlight flowed over Duan Zhuxian’s profile, gathering at his pale lips, forming an upward shadow, almost like a faint smile.

Jiang Yao blinked hard, wanting to take a closer look…

But Duan Zhuxian strode ahead, leaving behind a pretentious figure.

No more looking.

*

Jiang Yao was still on vacation. After dropping him off at home, Duan Zhuxian went to the office.

Pushing open the office door, he saw Fu Yang sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, scrolling through his phone while waiting for him.

Fu Yang stood up and stretched. “I heard from your secretary that you went out for personal business?”

Duan Zhuxian responded with a simple “Mm” and walked to his desk, sitting down. Having been absent for half a day, his desk was piled with documents awaiting his signature.

Fu Yang followed him and leaned against the desk. “What kind of important matter would make workaholic Mr. Duan take half a day off?”

Duan Zhuxian unbuttoned two buttons of his suit, picked up a fountain pen, and leisurely signed a document. After a long silence, his lips finally parted to utter two words: “Got the certificate.”

Fu Yang was stunned, then slammed the table. “Duan Zhuxian!! Are we still brothers or not?”

He had known Duan Zhuxian since elementary school, practically childhood friends, though he had moved to Europe with his business-oriented parents and recently returned to start his independent career.

During his years in Europe, he shared everything with Duan Zhuxian, including details about his ten ex-girlfriends.

Duan Zhuxian straightened the pen holder that Fu Yang had knocked over and said, “It was decided hastily; I haven’t had time to inform friends and family.”

“Oh, so it was a flash marriage.” Fu Yang lowered his voice, drawing out his words with a hint of teasing. After waiting a while and seeing that Duan Zhuxian had no reaction to his banter, he curiously asked, “Do you have a photo? Let me see what your partner looks like.”

Duan Zhuxian took a small red booklet from his inner pocket and handed it to Fu Yang.

Fu Yang had expected Duan Zhuxian to maintain his enigmatic demeanor, but he was surprised when the other party handed over the marriage certificate so openly. Such a high-profile move was out of character for the usually reserved Duan Zhuxian.

Growing even more curious, Fu Yang immediately opened the still-warm hard booklet. The first thing he saw was their photo together.

Duan Zhuxian looked as calm and composed as ever, but if one looked closely, they could see the subtle curve of his lips and the gentle look in his eyes.

Next to him stood a young man with delicate features and an extraordinary demeanor. His fair skin was accentuated by the bright red background, making it as white as freshly fallen snow. Even as a man, Fu Yang couldn’t help but think to himself, “Beautiful.” But the young man’s expression seemed a bit…

Fu Yang pointed at Jiang Yao’s face and sincerely commented, “It looks like your wife isn’t too happy about marrying you.”

“That’s just his personality.”

Before Fu Yang could take a closer look, Duan Zhuxian took back the marriage certificate.

The seemingly hastily captured moment in the photo was actually a pose that Jiang Yao had deliberately struck in front of the camera. That cool and aloof expression was one of the looks Duan Zhuxian liked most.

“Jiang Yao…”

Fu Yang found the name familiar and muttered it a few times while rubbing his chin, then suddenly widened his eyes.

“Wait, isn’t Jiang Yao the one they say is incompatible with you?”

Duan Zhuxian paused his action of reviewing the documents, looked up, and glanced at Fu Yang. “A master calculated it; our eight characters are very compatible, perfect for marriage.”

Fu Yang was dumbfounded. “…?”

He must have gone abroad too early and missed his good friend’s development, resulting in his good friend possibly developing a romantic obsession.

Seeing Duan Zhuxian’s indulgent attitude, Fu Yang decided not to make a fool of himself any further. He quietly waited for Duan Zhuxian to finish signing the documents and then reminded him, “You haven’t forgotten that we agreed to go to Rong City tonight to help me secure a client, right?”

Duan Zhuxian responded with a simple “Mm.”

“Good, I’ve already prepared the tickets and hotel for you, Mr. Duan.”

Fu Yang had recently returned to the country and was still building his network. To quickly establish himself, he relied on his old friend.

*

At 6 PM, the plane landed at Rong City Airport.

Since this was a personal trip, Duan Zhuxian didn’t bring an assistant. Once seated in the business car that came to pick them up, he closed his eyes to rest for a while. Suddenly, he heard Fu Yang’s surprised voice beside him.

“Mr. Duan, it seems you have a scandal… but it looks like the person involved isn’t your wife?”

He opened his eyes.

Fu Yang shook his phone, wearing a face that expressed both deep sympathy and a hint of schadenfreude. The phone screen was paused on a gossip news article in the entertainment section.