Chapter 3

1:30 AM. The experimental building of S University's School of Medicine.

The entire building was plunged into darkness, save for a single lamp burning in the laboratory on the top floor.

"Buy! Buy it all!"

Jiang Yin sprawled across her computer, her slender fingers flying across the keyboard with a furious clatter.

The screen displayed the ordering page of a top-tier biological instrument manufacturer.

Those long lists of expensive equipment, which had once made her eyes water and her heart ache, now seemed as cheap as cabbage to her.

You have successfully ordered: Top-tier Constant Temperature Incubator x2. Estimated delivery: Tomorrow morning.

Payment successful...

As a series of green "Payment Successful" pop-ups flashed across the screen, Jiang Yin gazed at the remaining balance in her account—a figure that, though reduced, remained astonishingly large. She let out a long, heartfelt sigh.

"Awesome!"

Was this the taste of money?

No, this was the taste of freedom!

Her Junior Brother, who was also pulling an all-nighter monitoring data, shuffled over, his eyes rimmed with dark circles like a raccoon's. He stared at her as if she were a ghost. "Senior Sister, have you gone crazy? Professor Gu said the lab's budget was already in deficit. Where did you get the money to buy all this? You didn't actually take out a loan from a loan shark, did you?"

Jiang Yin looked up from her computer screen. Though her face was pale from an all-nighter, her fox-like eyes shone with an almost frightening intensity.

She wagged a single finger, her expression enigmatic. "High-interest loans? How vulgar."

Junior Brother: "Then you're..."

"This is..." Jiang Yin gritted her teeth, Ji Xiangwan's smirk-like face flashing in her mind. She declared with a mix of anguish and righteous fervor, "This is 'If I don't go to hell, who will?' This is temporarily bowing to the forces of evil for the sake of science!"

Junior Brother: "?"

He didn't understand, but he was deeply shaken.

Jiang Yin had no time to explain. Her mind was a tempest of frantic excitement and creeping dread.

As the initial impulse faded, reason began to return.

She, Jiang Yin, had sold herself to her archrival for five million.

And it was the kind of sale that left no room for regret—signed, sealed, and irreversible.

"Forget it."

Jiang Yin slumped back in her chair, gazing at the rows of expensive orders on the screen. She tried to comfort herself, "Ji Xiangwan may be annoying, sharp-tongued, and sinister... but her money is innocent! Look at these instruments—so white, so gleaming, so... fragrant!"

With that thought, Jiang Yin suddenly felt her waist no longer ached, her legs no longer pained, and even Ji Xiangwan's icy face seemed to soften into a benevolent smile.

"Senior Sister, what about our batch of cells that are about to die..."

"Save them! We absolutely must save them!"

Jiang Yin waved her hand with the swagger of a newly minted millionaire. "Go! Get our little mice the most expensive imported feed! Get the cells the most expensive culture medium! From now on, we only buy the most expensive lab supplies, not the most suitable! We'll show Professor Gu what 'money-powered research' really means!"

By the time she finished placing orders and scrambling for experimental materials, the sky was beginning to turn pale.

Jiang Yin glanced at her phone. 7 AM.

Two hours left until that damn "meet at the Civil Affairs Bureau at nine."

A sense of tragic grandeur, as if she were about to march to her execution, washed over her.

She rushed into the lab's break room and splashed cold water on her face.

The woman in the mirror still had striking features, but the dark circles under her eyes and the bloodshot veins in her eyes were impossible to hide.

"No!"

Jiang Yin slapped her cheeks in front of the mirror. "Jiang Yin, you're going to register your marriage with your archrival! This is a war, and you can't lose on the battlefield! If Ji Xiangwan sees you looking like this, she'll laugh at you in her head!"

She rushed back to her dorm and ransacked her closet.

That designer white dress she'd been saving?

Get it out!

Those red-soled heels that stretched her legs to an impossible length, even if they pinched?

Put them on!

And that limited-edition Hermès bag—the one she carried even when it was empty?

After a thorough makeover, it was 8:30.

Jiang Yin stood before the full-length mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

Her flawless makeup concealed the fatigue from her sleepless night. Slightly upturned eyeliner added a touch of sharp beauty, and the white dress didn't make her look frail; instead, it transformed her into a proud swan.

"Perfect."

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Yin put on her sunglasses and strode out of the dorm building with determined steps.

Target: Civil Affairs Bureau.

Mission: To retrieve that marriage certificate... no, that marriage license.

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Nine o'clock sharp, at the entrance of the S City Civil Affairs Bureau.

Since it was a weekday, there weren't many people applying for marriage licenses.

The moment Jiang Yin stepped out of the taxi, she spotted the strikingly conspicuous black sedan parked by the roadside.

Its license plate was a string of consecutive numbers, a subtly arrogant display that perfectly matched its owner.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Ji Xiangwan's flawless profile.

Today, she wore a dark blue suit with her usual crisp white shirt underneath. Her gold-rimmed glasses perched on her high-bridged nose, giving her an air of refined, restrained elegance.

Seeing Jiang Yin, Ji Xiangwan pushed open the car door and stepped out.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a warm glow on her pale skin.

She stood tall and elegant, drawing frequent glances and whispered comments from passing girls.

"Wow, that woman is so beautiful."

"And that girl in the sunglasses is gorgeous too. Are they a couple?"

Hearing these comments, Jiang Yin snorted inwardly. A couple? Hmph, more like a pair of sworn enemies.

She walked toward Ji Xiangwan in her high heels, the clack-clack-clack of her steps echoing on the pavement. Removing her sunglasses, she gave Ji Xiangwan a critical once-over.

"President Ji is quite punctual," Jiang Yin said, her smile not reaching her eyes.

Ji Xiangwan looked down at her. Her gaze slid from Jiang Yin's meticulously applied makeup to her bare ankles, exposed for the sake of maintaining her composure, and finally settled on the faint redness at the corners of her eyes.

"Haven't slept all night?" Ji Xiangwan asked, ignoring Jiang Yin's jab and asking an irrelevant question instead.

"This is called research spirit!" Jiang Yin retorted stubbornly. "Unlike you capitalists, President Ji, who just have to move their lips."

Ji Xiangwan remained silent. Instead, she turned and retrieved a steaming cup of soy milk and a warm sandwich from the car, thrusting them into Jiang Yin's hands.

"Take these."

Jiang Yin froze. The warmth seeping through the packaging made her empty stomach clench involuntarily.

"What's this? Trying to poison me?" she asked suspiciously.

"You need to eat to have the energy to act."

Ji Xiangwan locked the car, straightened her cuffs, and said calmly, "We'll be taking photos and taking the oath later. It's a long process. I don't want my future spouse fainting on the way to get the marriage license. If that happens, people will think the Ji Corporation is bankrupt and can't even feed its own boss's wife."

"......"

Jiang Yin took a bite of her sandwich, thinking bitterly, For five million and the fact that this sandwich is pretty good, I won't hold it against you!

The two women entered the Civil Affairs Bureau one after the other.

Because Ji Xiangwan had called ahead, they were immediately escorted to the VIP reception room, bypassing the queue.

Filling out forms, signing documents, and pressing their fingerprints.

Everything went surprisingly smoothly.

Until it was time for the photo.

The photographer was a cheerful-looking woman who frowned as she barked out instructions.

"Alright, newlyweds, look here! Closer! Goodness, you're too far apart—you could fit another person in between!"

"Smile! It's a happy day, so don't look like you're here to collect a debt!"

Jiang Yin forced a strained smile that looked more like a grimace, her body practically screaming to distance itself from Ji Xiangwan.

Ji Xiangwan, as usual, remained cool and composed, sitting upright with her hands folded in her lap, as if attending a board meeting.

"Um... Miss Glasses, could you smile a little?" the photographer pleaded earnestly. "And you, Miss White Dress, don't be so stiff! This is a wedding, not a feud!"

Jiang Yin's lips twitched.

A feud? Close enough.

"Closer! Tilt your heads toward each other! Look more intimate!" the photographer continued directing.

Jiang Yin's fingers, resting on her knees, curled slightly.

She glanced sideways at Ji Xiangwan beside her.

Closer?

Cuddling with my nemesis?

Jiang Yin rolled her eyes internally. Just as she was about to say, "That's close enough," a hand suddenly wrapped around her waist.

The palm was warm, pressing through the thin fabric against her lower back. With an irresistible force, it gently pulled her closer.

Caught off guard, Jiang Yin lost her balance and stumbled directly into Ji Xiangwan's arms.

The familiar, crisp scent of cedarwood filled her nostrils.

This time, it was closer, more intense than last night at the club.

"You..." Jiang Yin looked up in panic, her eyes meeting Ji Xiangwan's gaze.

Behind the lenses, Ji Xiangwan's phoenix eyes were as deep as the sea, reflecting Jiang Yin's flustered face.

Ji Xiangwan lowered her head slightly, her warm breath brushing against Jiang Yin's ear. Her voice dropped to a low tone, audible only to the two of them:

"Jiang Er, you took the money. You need to be professional."

"Don't forget, you're acting right now."

Jiang Yin's ears turned crimson instantly.

Not from shyness, but from sheer anger! And from this sudden, unexpected intimacy!

"I know!" Jiang Yin gritted her teeth, forcing the words out between clenched jaws.

She steeled herself. If Ji Xiangwan wanted to play this game, she would play it to the end!

Jiang Yin suddenly reached out, linking her arm with Ji Xiangwan's. She leaned her head against Ji Xiangwan's shoulder, her face blooming into an overly sweet smile:

"Is this intimate enough, my dear?"

Ji Xiangwan's body stiffened slightly, but a deep amusement flickered in her eyes.

She tightened her arm around Jiang Yin's waist. "Hmm, not bad."

Click!

The shutter snapped.

In the red-tinted photograph, the two women leaned together—one cool and elegant, the other radiant and proud.

They looked, surprisingly, like a pair of truly devoted lovers.