Chapter 134: Today Doesn't Count
Inside Liang Zheng’s car, the atmosphere was inexplicably tense.
Meili glanced at him, then glanced at him again, but he merely drove with a stern expression, saying nothing.
Meili was puzzled. “Are you upset?”
Liang Zheng frowned at her. “Why would you use something as serious as feelings for a bet?”
Meili suddenly understood. “You want to kiss me?”
Liang Zheng pulled the car over and looked at her with utmost seriousness. “This isn’t about kissing. It’s about your attitude...”
Before he could finish, a flash of pink collided with him. Soft lips quickly pressed against his, then darted away.
His heart instantly softened. Suddenly, whatever attitude he was supposed to have no longer seemed important.
He cleared his throat. “Didn’t we agree that if you lost the bet, you wouldn’t kiss me for a month?”
Meili waved her hand dismissively. “Today doesn’t count.”
His dark brows lifted at once. “Really?”
Meili nodded unconcernedly. “Of course. We said the next month, didn’t we? Today isn’t part of it—mmph...”
After quite some time, Meili finally pushed him away. “We agreed on one kiss. Why are you acting like you’re addicted to it?”
His eyes were filled with undisguised amusement. “When did I agree to that? How come I don’t remember?”
He stared steadily at Meili. “Gu Jingchen got his marriage license.”
Meili rolled her eyes. “I was there, okay?”
She had been there for the whole thing, all right?
His gaze remained fixed on her. “Don’t you think they rushed into it a little?”
Meili shrugged indifferently. “Some people move quickly, and some take their time. Everyone has their own pace.”
“What about you? What’s your pace?”
Meili froze. Was he... asking for a relationship status?
The alarm bells in her head immediately began ringing. Her expression turned serious. “What exactly do you mean?”
Seeing her reaction, Liang Zheng smiled helplessly. “I just want to know your pace so I can keep up with you, isn’t that all?”
He reached out and took her hand, his expression utterly earnest. “I’m serious about you, so you have to give me a chance to get to know you, okay?”
She instinctively wanted to refuse, but his gaze was too intent, fixed tightly on her.
She couldn’t bring herself to say those words. “But how am I supposed to give you that chance? I don’t even know what I want...”
She didn’t even know what she wanted herself. How could she explain it to him and make him understand?
His grip tightened around her hand. Liang Zheng’s voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible coaxing quality. “You’ll figure it out. As long as we spend more time together, we’ll know, won’t we?”
Meili gazed at his handsome profile and nodded absently. “Yes...”
That handsome profile turned slightly toward her. “Then give me a little time alone with you. Is that okay?”
“Okay...”
“Then let’s not go back just yet. How about we get something to eat?”
“Okay...”
By the time He Huanhuan and the others realized Liang Zheng’s car hadn’t followed them, the two of them were already seated in a private dining room!
He Huanhuan listened to Qi Meili’s guilty voice over the phone and was utterly speechless. “He seduced you, and you didn’t even know to close your eyes? You idiot!”
Qi Meili insisted that she couldn’t close her eyes. If she did, he would surely take advantage of the opportunity to kiss her several more times.
Honestly, there was no point trying to explain anything to this kindergarten-level idiot.
He Huanhuan hung up angrily. “Fine, fine. You two eat. We’re heading back first!”
She glanced at the car ahead, then at Han Mo. “Do you think Sister Yunzhi is going to get yelled at when she gets home?”
She had a feeling that someone as highly educated as He Yunzhi must have a very strict family.
A sudden marriage would be considered completely outrageous in a family like that, wouldn’t it?
Han Mo nodded without hesitation. “She definitely will.”
He Huanhuan couldn’t help feeling eager. “Then do you think we should go save her?”
They could descend like divine heroes just as He Yunzhi was being besieged by her parents and rescue her.
How cool would that be!
Following her gaze toward the car ahead, Han Mo said, “That’s their family matter. We can’t interfere casually, can we?”
He Huanhuan couldn’t help worrying. “I feel like Sister Yunzhi has such weak combat skills. What if she can’t win an argument with her parents?”
He Yunzhi clearly looked like the obedient sort who had listened to her parents ever since she was young. Surely she wouldn’t be able to withstand their attacks.
Han Mo smiled and shook his head. “I think she can handle it.”
If she couldn’t, she would never have dared to get married on a whim.
Some people’s tempers didn’t reveal themselves on the surface. They accumulated their resentment quietly, little by little, until it reached the limit. Then they would erupt in one enormous, ruthless display that left everyone stunned.
That was the kind of person Han Mo believed He Yunzhi to be.
As it turned out, He Yunzhi really was that kind of person.
On the way home, she was in an exceptionally good mood—almost exhilarated.
The anticipation in her heart urged her to hurry home, to face everything as soon as possible.
She couldn’t wait to shatter that false sense of peace.
When she pushed open the door, her parents were sitting on the sofa exactly as she had expected, their expressions solemn as they waited for her to return.
They were waiting to pass judgment on her.
She smiled at them. “Why do you both look so serious? What happened?”
He Jingyao slapped his thigh hard. “Is what you posted on your social media real or fake?”
She slowly sat down on the smaller sofa. “Of course it’s real. Weren’t you always hoping I’d get married? Well, I got married today.”
She took out the marriage certificate, and He Jingyao quickly grabbed it and opened it.
The bright red seal from the civil affairs bureau flashed before his eyes. “No, no, this can’t be right. Today is Saturday. How could you get your marriage license?”
The civil affairs bureau wasn’t open on Saturdays!
He Yunzhi’s smile grew even wider. “Dad, are you joking? You’re the president of the Institute of Technology. How could you not know how easy this is? It only takes one phone call, doesn’t it?”
“Nonsense!”
He Jingyao was furious. “You’re abusing your authority! This is dereliction of duty!”
He Yunzhi nodded. “Then call the police and have us arrested.”
“You!”
He Jingyao’s face flushed red with anger. “Yunzhi, have you lost your mind? No matter how angry you were with your mother and me, you couldn’t do something like this!”
He Yunzhi smiled. “Really? You think I’ve lost my mind too? What about before? Every time you arranged a blind date, I told you I didn’t like those men. Why did you force me to keep seeing them? I told you they weren’t right for me. Why wouldn’t you listen?”
If she had felt strongly uncomfortable around someone the very first time they met, what was the point of continuing to see him?
If a man was so ugly she could barely look at him, would spending more time with him somehow make him less ugly?
If he was half a head shorter than her, would continuing to see him make him grow taller?
She had said no, no, and no. Why wouldn’t they listen to her and insist on forcing her to keep seeing those men?
They thought all those men, ugly enough to make her eyes hurt, were worth getting to know.
Well, Gu Jingchen was worth marrying.
At least he was handsome, tall, highly educated, and came from a wealthy family.
“What do you need so much money for?”
He Jingyao couldn’t understand. “Is the family short of money for you? Have we ever deprived you of anything? You’re our only daughter. We’ve raised you with all our hearts. When have we ever treated you unfairly?”
He Yunzhi didn’t answer. She simply raised her right hand.
A huge diamond ring gleamed conspicuously on her ring finger.
He Jingyao’s expression changed instantly. “Why did you buy such a huge diamond ring? It makes you look like a nouveau riche. Take it off. People will laugh at you!”
He Yunzhi held her hand firmly before her chest. “I’m not taking it off. I like it, and I’m going to wear it.”