Chapter 1: Registering the Marriage

At the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Bai Shuruo clutched the household register in her hand, her palms damp with sweat; because of her nervousness, she occasionally used her little white shoe to kick and nudge a small pebble at her feet.

There were several times she wanted to run away, but the moment she thought about how she had already made an appointment with that man to come and register the marriage, she felt it would be too cowardly to go back on her word.

Right, what was that man's name again? Han something-Ting? Or Han something-Ting? Why couldn't she remember?

Just as she was struggling with this, a black business van stopped in front of her, the door opened, and a man in his thirties, wearing a white casual suit, tall and steady, stepped out of the car.

Bai Shuruo actually called out his name accurately at this moment: "Han Yangting... Brother Han."

Immediately after, she felt an overbearing aura rushing toward her.

Han Yangting was too tall, nearly one meter ninety, and nine years older than her; he looked very serious when he wasn't smiling, standing in front of her like a mountain.

She couldn't help but take a step back, her heart starting to beat a retreat again.

This marriage, was it a bit too hasty?

"Um... Brother Han, are you sure you want to register the marriage with me today?" Bai Shuruo lowered her head, her voice as small as a mosquito's hum.

Han Yangting, however, heard it clearly: "I am sure!"

"Actually... although our two families have a marriage contract, that was, after all, decided by my grandfather and your grandfather. My grandfather is already, already no longer with us, and now is an era of marriage freedom, you don't have to marry me."

Bai Shuruo's head was bowed as low as it could go, and her face was burning red.

Han Yangting moved a step closer to her, then used two fingers to lift her chin, forcing her to look up and gaze at him helplessly.

His handsome face remained very serious, "The Han Family's ancestral teachings have always been about honesty and keeping one's word. If I don't marry you today, wouldn't I become someone who forgets their roots? When I reach the Nine Springs in the future, how would I face my ancestors?"

Bai Shuruo: "..."

The marriage certificate registration went very smoothly; half an hour later, Bai Shuruo and Han Yangting each had a copy in hand.

Coming out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, Bai Shuruo only felt that the sky outside hadn't changed, but her world had been turned upside down; not yet twenty-two, she had actually become a married person.

"Ruoruo."

When Han Yangting called her, she didn't react for a moment.

Having just finished registering, could he already call her so affectionately?

She couldn't help but look at him timidly, then made a sound: "Hm?"

Han Yangting's handsome face remained serious, but his voice sounded a bit softer, his throat naturally carrying a bass-cannon quality, sounding incredibly pleasant: "You haven't graduated from university yet, so we can listen to you and not hold the wedding for now, but you need to move in and live with me. I currently live at Sunshine Garden, Building 6, 1601. Do you need me to help you pack your luggage?"

"No, no need, I can go back and pack it myself." Bai Shuruo hurriedly refused; she had always been used to doing things for herself.

"Then do you need me to take you home?" he asked again.

"Also no need, I can just take a taxi back myself."

"Alright then, you should move over as soon as possible. Contact me on WeChat if anything comes up." Han Yangting did not force her; he gave her the access card and keys, said goodbye to her, and then ducked back into the business van.

Bai Shuruo let out a sigh of relief, watching the business van disappear around the street corner in a daze, after which she also boarded the bus home.

Bai Shuruo's home was in an old villa on the east side of Fengcheng.

Currently, this old villa was inhabited by her and her stepmother, as well as a younger half-brother; there had originally been an older sister six years her senior, but she had moved out since she started working.

Just as she returned to the doorway, her stepmother Lin Wanfen hurriedly came out to ask: "Ruoruo, did you get the certificate?"

Bai Shuruo took the bright red marriage certificate out of her crossbody bag and waved it in front of Lin Wanfen.

Seeing this, Lin Wanfen smiled until the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes curled like a blooming chrysanthemum: "It's good that you got it. Now that you've married into such a good family, your father in the Nine Springs must be very comforted. Right, when are you moving to the Han Family to live?"

Bai Shuruo smiled bitterly; this last sentence was the main point, wasn't it?

Ever since she turned eighteen, Lin Wanfen had intentionally or unintentionally wanted to introduce her to suitors, just wanting the two sisters to move out of this old villa as soon as possible so she could save the villa for her son to marry a wife in the future.

She and her sister had no choice; back then, after their father went bankrupt and became seriously ill, she and her sister were still in school, and it had been Lin Wanfen who took care of their father at the hospital, cleaning up his waste for three whole years.

Their father felt he owed Lin Wanfen, and he wrote a will stating that this old villa under their grandfather's name was to be left to their younger brother, telling the two sisters not to covet it.

If it weren't for being annoyed by Lin Wanfen constantly urging her to marry, and the fact that the Han Family was sincere, Bai Shuruo wouldn't have agreed to go register the marriage with the Han Family so quickly.

"Aunt Fen, I will pack my things and move out today," Bai Shuruo said.

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanfen's smile widened even further.

While Bai Shuruo was upstairs packing, Lin Wanfen crowded over, asking with a gossipy look: "Ruoruo, does the Han Family... have money? Is their family foundation substantial?"

Bai Shuruo paused, then said helplessly: "How would I know? Wasn't it you who said the Han Family was good before? I thought you had investigated them."

She had only met Han Yangting twice in total; it was said that one time was when she was a child, but she had no impression of it at all.

The other time was half a month ago when the Han Family came to propose marriage. Lin Wanfen urged her to marry, and her sister Bai Shunan also said Han Yangting was good, telling her to seize the opportunity, saying that the family their grandfather had taken a fancy to wouldn't be wrong.

It was said that Han Yangting had even stepped in to resolve a workplace crisis for Bai Shunan, and Bai Shunan said she had seen more men than Bai Shuruo had eaten salt; Han Yangting was a reliable person and worth marrying.

Lin Wanfen certainly hadn't investigated how much of a family foundation the Han Family had, but she was worried that Bai Shuruo would go back on her word, so she hurriedly said: "The Han Family is definitely quite good. They went to Beishi to venture out for so many years, they must have quite a lot of savings. No matter what, they are better than our family. Didn't the old man of the Han Family buy a villa in Fengcheng? It's in the riverside area and is worth tens of millions. You won't be at a loss marrying over there."

Bai Shuruo said: "But Brother Han lives in a residential complex, so he shouldn't be very rich."

"That must be because you are newlyweds and he wants to have a world for two with you. After you marry over there, you must please him well and give birth to a big, chubby boy early; then your status in the Han Family will be secure."

After Lin Wanfen finished speaking, seeing that Bai Shuruo's suitcase was too full and the zipper wouldn't close no matter what, she sat her bottom right on the suitcase; the suitcase buckled, and the zipper closed immediately.

Bai Shuruo was dumbfounded.

"Your suitcase is too heavy, I'll help you carry it downstairs." Lin Wanfen was overly enthusiastic today.

She even went to the entrance and paid out of her own pocket to hail a taxi for Bai Shuruo.

After Bai Shuruo disappeared from sight, Lin Wanfen spun around happily three or four times on the spot and said, "Ruoruo, happy wedding!"

Bai Shuruo dragged her heavy suitcase to Sunshine Garden.

This was a high-end residential complex with wide spacing between buildings; each floor had only one household, and the security was very strict, requiring a card to enter. Fortunately, she had an access card in her hand, as well as the keys to Han Yangting's home.

Arriving in front of 1601, she felt a bit uneasy.

She didn't know if Han Yangting was at home. If he was at home, how should they get along?

He is 31 years old; would he have needs of that sort? He probably does!

She became increasingly nervous.

Her older sister Bai Shunan had scared her since she was little, saying that doing that kind of thing would be very painful; when she asked how painful, Bai Shunan pointed to a scene of childbirth in a television drama and told her: it's even more painful than giving birth.

Watching those women drenched in sweat, screaming with twisted expressions, she couldn't help but tightly press her legs together.