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The reason He Chi had initially considered marrying Jiang Yining was simple—he thought she was beautiful. To put it bluntly, it was attraction at first sight.
Over the years, he’d met plenty of good-looking people, but none had left a lasting impression. Jiang Yining was the only one who stayed in his mind after just a single encounter.
He still remembered how stunning she had looked the first time they met.
It was during a visit to his parents’ home. Jiang Yining was still in her freshman year of university. When she saw him, she appeared a little shy, but there was a subtle coolness in her eyes.
She had a delicate face with refined features—pure and radiant in a quiet, literary way.
After that, he rarely visited the university to see his parents, so his encounters with Jiang Yining were few and far between. He sensed her distant demeanor and chose not to approach her.
But when he saw her again at the café, he realized that youthful naivety had faded. Now, she carried an even more elegant and serene presence.
He knew Teacher Lin was very protective of Jiang Yining. Honestly, He Chi had never thought there would be anything between them beyond casual acquaintance.
It wasn’t until after fulfilling his duty to go on a blind date arranged by Teacher Lin and finding out that Jiang Yining was also being set up on blind dates, that He Chi was genuinely surprised.
He had always seen marriage as a kind of constraint. But if the other person were Jiang Yining… maybe getting married wouldn’t be so terrible.
After he said this, he kept his eyes on her.
Jiang Yining’s face instantly turned bright red, and her ears were burning.
Noticing the visible change in her expression, He Chi chuckled softly and said, “Is it that embarrassing to be told you’re good-looking?”
Jiang Yining tried to defend herself. “I’m not…”
But the truth was hard to deny. Even without a mirror, she could feel how red her face had gotten. She had always been reserved—completely unaccustomed to He Chi’s blunt honesty.
Trying to regain a bit of composure, she shot back with a similar kind of directness, “You’re handsome too.”
He Chi found that amusing. He responded with a quiet hum. “That’s why Teacher Lin said the thing we’re most compatible in is our looks.”
To keep Jiang Yining from getting even more flustered, He Chi quickly changed the subject. “So, are we eating at home tonight or going out to find a restaurant?”
“Let’s eat at home. We can go to the supermarket to get some groceries, and I’ll cook dinner tonight.”
He Chi said, “The residential complex offers housekeeping services. If needed, just make a call and they’ll send someone over to cook or clean.”
“I prefer cooking myself. We can have the housekeeper help with the cleaning.”
If it weren’t for the size of the apartment making cleaning such a chore, Jiang Yining wouldn’t even want to hire someone for housework.
He Chi suddenly remembered that he hadn’t yet handed over control of the household finances. “Wait here for a moment,” he said.
Jiang Yining didn’t know what he was up to but obediently stayed put.
He Chi went to the guest room and returned holding a black leather document folder.
He placed the contents one by one on the table. “These three are the bank cards for my start-up company, the lounge bar, and the family company’s annual dividends. The rest are important documents and property ownership certificates.”
“Later, we’ll go to the bank together and open a new account for you. From now on, the dividends from the family business will be deposited into your account.”
He added, “Everyone in the family knows we’ve registered our marriage. My aunt is currently stationed at a branch office out of town. My mom thinks we should wait until everyone is back together, then have a family dinner.”
Jiang Yining gently declined, “You should keep these. I’m worried I won’t be able to take care of them properly.”
He Chi chuckled. “What’s so hard about taking care of them? Are you worried a thief might target them, or are you just afraid of the responsibility?”
Without giving her any chance to refuse, he simply pushed all the documents toward Jiang Yining. “It’s getting late. Let’s go grocery shopping.”
Jiang Yining had no time to argue. “Give me a second—I’ll go fix my hair and touch up my makeup.”
She jogged off, calling over her shoulder, “I’ll be quick!”
While Jiang Yining was changing, He Chi neatly packed the bank cards and documents back into the folder and left it on the desk in the study.
The supermarket wasn’t far from the residential complex. It was a large, comprehensive store. Once inside, Jiang Yining wanted to check if they had the sanitary pads she usually used.
It seemed her go-to brand had been discontinued, so she was looking to try a new one.
As she walked over to that aisle, she looked at He Chi, who was pushing the cart beside her. “Do you want to check out other sections first?”
“It’s crowded. I’m afraid I might lose you later,” he replied.
Jiang Yining wasn’t quite used to it—a grown man accompanying her to pick out sanitary pads. But then again, it wasn’t anything shameful. It was just a basic necessity.
What surprised her even more was that He Chi was actually studying the different products.
It was his first time realizing there were so many kinds—daytime, nighttime, even tiny little boxed ones.
Jiang Yining picked out a pack.
He Chi asked, “Why not get a few more? Better to stock up.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m not sure how well this brand works. It’s something I saw recommended online—I want to try it out first.”
After that, they passed the fruit section. He Chi steered them over. “You can’t have watermelon right now. Pick out something else you like.”
Jiang Yining chose a few nectarines and a bunch of grapes, then didn’t pick out anything else. They moved on to get ingredients for dinner.
Before leaving the house, Jiang Yining had checked the fridge—it was nearly empty. By the time they were done shopping, their cart was nearly full.
When they entered the supermarket, it wasn’t too crowded, but now there was a long line at checkout.
This store didn’t have self-checkout, so they had to line up with everyone else.
After waiting for seven or eight minutes, it was finally their turn. He Chi pulled up his mobile payment QR code.
The cashier said, “Sir, we’re currently running a promotion. For every ¥100 you spend, you get ¥10 off. This total is ¥670. Would you like to add anything to round it up?”
Jiang Yining immediately understood what the cashier meant—suggesting they top it up to ¥700 to get more off.
Only a fool would say no to free money.
She responded quickly, “Then let’s grab a few more things.”
But when she turned around and saw the long line behind them, she realized it wouldn’t be polite to make everyone wait while they went to grab more items. She hesitated, then gave up with a trace of disappointment.
He Chi, noticing a row of items conveniently displayed next to the register—items particularly helpful for maintaining global population stability—casually picked up two boxes and placed them on the counter. “We’ll take these too.”
Jiang Yining was so stunned by his choice that she didn’t know how to react. She couldn’t even look directly at those two little boxes.
What was He Chi trying to say?
They had only just agreed that afternoon to sleep in separate rooms for the time being.
But yes, it was only temporary. And she was legally married to He Chi now. As husband and wife, they had marital rights—and responsibilities.
He Chi deliberately stayed silent, just to see if Jiang Yining would blush again. As expected, she did—right on cue.
Once they left the supermarket, He Chi finally said slowly, “We’ll need it sooner or later. Better to be prepared.”
Jiang Yining’s cheeks were still warm. She gave a soft “Mm.”
After a moment, she looked up at He Chi and gently reminded him, “You bought the smallest size.”