"Stay here with me? I'm no saint," Zhou Fan said, taken aback. He looked at Chu Yan in confusion.
"I trust you."
What the hell?
'A stampede of wild beasts thundered through Zhou Fan's mind.' 'Do I fucking need you to trust me?'
'She's clearly questioning my manhood!'
Speechless, Zhou Fan grabbed a pillow, tossed it onto the sofa, and casually lay down.
"How about we make a deal?"
Seeing that Zhou Fan had tacitly agreed, Chu Yan's lovely eyes shifted. She thought of her current predicament, biting her lip as if she were making this decision after a great internal struggle.
"Five hundred for the night."
Zhou Fan glanced at Chu Yan, who was sitting across from him, and nearly choked. From his angle, he had a perfect view of her impressive bust.
PFFT!
Upon hearing Zhou Fan's words, Chu Yan almost coughed up blood. 'Five hundred for the night? Why does that sound so sleazy?'
Composing herself, Chu Yan asked softly, "Do you have a girlfriend?"
"I do, but it's nothing steady."
"Nothing steady? What do you mean?"
"I'm a man of broad affections. I often go to help out the young ladies shivering on the street corners. I meet different ones every day, so it's never steady."
Zhou Fan said it so casually, but Chu Yan was completely floored.
'Wow,' she thought, 'that's the first time I've ever heard soliciting prostitutes described so poetically!'
"Isn't that just hiring a prostitute?" Chu Yan began to doubt her earlier idea. 'How can this guy seem so unreliable in every way?'
"I'll have you watch your language. They need money, and I happen to have it. I need a night of affection, and they happen to provide it. It's called killing two birds with one stone, understand?" Zhou Fan strongly disagreed with her phrasing, sitting up straight to deliver his righteous rebuttal.
"You're not bad-looking. Have you never thought about finding a real girlfriend?" Chu Yan asked, confused. In her eyes, while Zhou Fan wasn't devastatingly handsome, he was very masculine. His features were sharp and well-defined, giving off a sense of security.
"I can't afford one. You have to buy gifts for every holiday, plus jewelry, makeup, and designer bags. And after all that, she might not even stick around. But those other ladies? They only cost a few hundred bucks, and they're obedient, gentle, and considerate. They use every skill they have just to make me happy, and they never ask for gifts, a car, a house, or any of that romantic ceremony stuff. I'd have to be crazy to get a girlfriend."
Zhou Fan lit a cigarette and spoke with a completely straight face. His earnest, rhythmic delivery was so convincing that Chu Yan almost believed him.
Chu Yan pressed a hand to her forehead. 'Is this guy a salesman or something?'
"I'll get straight to the point. Marry me. Not only will I not ask you for any gifts, but I'll also get you a respectable job and give you an extra fifty thousand a month. How about it?"
She said it all in a rush, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. Her eyes, however, were fixed on Zhou Fan, not blinking for a second.
This was the deal she wanted to make.
Her company was facing a cash flow problem. She'd tried everything to no avail and finally went to her grandfather for help. He told her she could have the capital she needed, but on one condition: she had to get married.
The moment she was married, he would deposit one hundred million directly into her account.
But she'd never even had a boyfriend. Where was she supposed to find someone to marry?
So she'd gone to a bar for a drink to blow off some steam, never expecting to be targeted. Thankfully, she ran into Zhou Fan. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.
And this man before her—who hadn't taken advantage of her when she was drugged, who had even saved her—seemed like the perfect candidate. He might seem a little unreliable, but he was also handsome and gave her an inexplicable sense of security.
"You're not planning on harvesting my kidneys, are you? Is there really such a good deal in the world?" Zhou Fan was skeptical. In terms of both figure and looks, Chu Yan was an absolute knockout. It was hard not to be suspicious of the motives of a woman like her making such an offer.
Then again, even if Chu Yan had her motives, didn't he have his own?
Chu Tianxiang, the patriarch of the Chu Family, possessed something that Zhou Fan was determined to obtain. It would be a great help in healing his injuries.
Marrying Chu Yan would be a golden opportunity. On one hand, he could keep his identity hidden; on the other, he could get closer to Chu Tianxiang.
"Why don't you save those two kidneys for taking care of the ladies on the street corner? I'm not interested," Chu Yan said, rolling her eyes. She then explained her real situation, since if they did get married, she would need his help to fool her grandfather.
"So, will you be fulfilling your wifely duties? I can't stay a monk forever after we're married, can I?" Zhou Fan voiced the question on his mind.
"No, at least not in the near future. Of course, if one day I genuinely fall for you, then maybe," Chu Yan said after a moment of serious thought, giving him an answer that couldn't be faulted.
"That's not going to work. What if you never fall for me? I'd be screwed, wouldn't I? Unless... you promise I can still go out whenever I want to comfort and help out those ladies on the street corner, just like now."
"You're dreaming. No matter what, I'm a public figure in Nanjiang City. If people find out my husband is going out to find... what would happen to me?"
"Then the deal's off. You're beautiful and you have a great body, but I can't touch you, and you won't let me go find someone else? No thanks."
Never in her wildest dreams did Chu Yan imagine that she would be sitting in the home of a man she'd just met, discussing such a topic. And to top it off, she was wearing his clothes; whenever she moved her legs or bent over, she would reveal a flash of skin, giving the man across from her quite an eyeful.
Looking at the man before her with his standoffish attitude, Chu Yan had the overwhelming urge to lift her foot and kick him squarely in the face.
'How infuriating!'
Countless talented young men in Nanjiang City pursued her, and she wouldn't give them the time of day, yet this guy was actually turning her down!
"Then you have to promise that when you go out... seeing those women, you can't get caught. And even if you do, you have to handle it yourself. It can't affect my reputation or my company's valuation."
Taking a deep breath, Chu Yan reluctantly conceded.
"I have one more condition."
"Zhou Fan, don't push it!"
Hearing that Zhou Fan still had another condition, even with her good temper, Chu Yan finally snapped. She spread her hands and lunged for his neck.
SMACK!
But another crisp sound rang out. Chu Yan froze, her pretty face flushing crimson. Her eyes were a mixture of shame, shock, and towering rage.
"Calm down. I just wanted to add one thing: if one day either of us finds someone we truly like, the other person absolutely cannot stand in the way," Zhou Fan said with a serious expression, completely ignoring the murderous look in Chu Yan's eyes.
"That's no excuse to slap my ass! And this is the second time!" Chu Yan erupted like a volcano, charging recklessly at Zhou Fan.
「The next morning.」
Zhou Fan and Chu Yan walked out of the apartment and headed straight for the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Both of them had even worn white shirts. Although it was just a marriage of convenience, they were both taking it somewhat seriously in their hearts.
After submitting two photos and answering a few questions, they walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau holding their bright red, festive-looking marriage certificates.