Chapter 4

Marriage.

Xi Keqing had never been married.

She didn't know what marriage meant. The roles she'd played in the past hadn't clarified its meaning either. She only knew that married people wore beautiful clothes and took beautiful pictures.

Now, the meaning of marriage seemed to have become the ability to eat her fill.

God will give me anything I want to eat.

Xi Keqing's sobs paused, and her tear-filled eyes immediately lit up.

Gu Yizhen saw it clearly. "However..."

Xi Keqing froze instantly. A large tear rolled down her cheek, and her expression turned anxious.

She knew that word signaled a turning point.

Gu Yizhen didn't let the turning point linger. "However, we'll need to sign an agreement—a marriage contract. Are you willing?"

Xi Keqing blinked and nodded rapidly.

She didn't care about any agreements or marriage itself. As long as she had food and wasn't hungry, she would do anything.

She wiped her tears haphazardly, jumped up, and ran to the side.

She rummaged through her clothes, pulled out her ID card from her pocket, and hurried back to Gu Yizhen, holding the ID card and gazing at her with hopeful eyes.

She knew that signing an agreement required an ID card.

"Can we sign now?" she asked.

The large, obsidian-like eyes still glistened with unshed tears, shimmering with anticipation.

Gu Yizhen couldn't help but raise her eyebrows again.

Looking at the alpha before her, who seemed remarkably easy to deceive, she said, "Alright."

Gu Yizhen said this, but there was no ready-made agreement to give Xi Keqing to sign. Gu Yizhen said she would prepare the agreement's content and asked Xi Keqing to go wash up first.

Xi Keqing hesitated before standing up.

She walked to the bathroom, turning back to look at Gu Yizhen every few steps, wiping away her lingering tears as if afraid Gu Yizhen might change her mind and reject her.

Even while washing up, she didn't dare turn the faucet on too loud, constantly listening for sounds from outside.

After splashing water on her face, Xi Keqing glanced at the mirror and suddenly noticed her reflection.

Her hair was disheveled, her eyes were red from crying, and her nose was also red. Faint scratches could be seen on her bare skin, extending from her back.

She looked utterly unkempt.

She turned sideways to examine her back in the mirror. The scratches she had seen earlier had swollen considerably, and the bleeding spots had scabbed over. Every movement caused a sharp pain.

Normally, Xi Keqing would have cried out in pain, but today she was too preoccupied to make a fuss.

After all, compared to her full stomach, this pain was nothing.

But... how could she look like this?!

Xi Keqing was shocked.

She's a superstar!

A superstar whose beauty is her primary asset!

Xi Keqing couldn't believe she had agreed to marry Gu Yizhen looking like this. Even if it was just to survive, how could a wedding be anything less than beautiful?

She splashed several handfuls of cold water on her face, quickly tidied herself up, got dressed, and rushed out of the bathroom, afraid Gu Yizhen might have already left.

Fortunately, Gu Yizhen was still sitting there, typing the marriage contract on her tablet. Hearing Xi Keqing, she looked up and beckoned her over.

"Come here."

Xi Keqing lunged forward, then abruptly slowed down after a few steps, deliberately swaying her hips.

She tilted her chin upward, showcasing her slightly improved face from every angle, her obsidian eyes sparkling.

She looked exactly like a cobra hypnotized by a flute.

Unaware of having become Xi Keqing's flutist, Gu Yizhen calmly asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"

Xi Keqing blinked, clearly not realizing that Gu Yizhen had completely misunderstood her original intentions. "No, nothing's wrong," she said.

A tablet was handed to her. "Take a look," Gu Yizhen said.

Xi Keqing instinctively straightened up and took it.

"Marriage Agreement Contract."

She read the title word by word, but the text below was too long to read aloud.

Nor did she read it carefully.

She skimmed through it, catching phrases about her receiving an allowance and meals during the marriage, and being required to be available on call during her "special periods" to provide comfort.

Xi Keqing didn't care about anything else. The moment she saw the clause about being provided with meals, her eyes narrowed into a smile, her expression one of pure satisfaction.

But her smile froze. She spotted a line of text and, in disbelief, scrolled back to the beginning to reconfirm.

Whether at the beginning or the end, the agreement clearly stated that their marriage would last only—three years?!

Where did three years come from?!

Xi Keqing's face immediately furrowed. She tapped after the word "three," deleted the two disappointing characters, and typed in "forever."

She'd only been hungry for three years. How could she be satisfied with just three more years of full meals? She wanted to eat well for her entire life!

With a satisfied smile, Xi Keqing handed her revised document to Gu Yizhen. She half-knelt beside Gu Yizhen and pointed at the words, "I changed it. Not three years."

Gu Yizhen subtly frowned, but when she saw that the Alpha had replaced "three years" with "forever," she couldn't help but glance at her.

The Alpha was blinking at her, her eyes shining brightly.

In that bright gaze, Gu Yizhen changed "forever" back to "three years." "The duration can be extended if necessary."

If it really became necessary.

Xi Keqing gasped, letting out a long, drawn-out groan of indignation, but her protest yielded no results.

Gu Yizhen exported the document, confirmed each clause with Xi Keqing one by one, and then they both signed it.

Dejected, Xi Keqing added Gu Yizhen on WeChat. She opened the document Gu Yizhen had sent her and stared at the time, which had been reverted to three years, her heart sinking.

Waaah.

Why only three years?

Just after ten o'clock, a high-end business car was already waiting at the entrance of the Wanting Hotel.

As Xi Keqing walked out of the lobby beside Gu Yizhen's wheelchair, a person by the car hurried over to greet them, bowing respectfully. "President Gu."

The moment she recognized the person, Xi Keqing pulled down her sunglasses slightly. "Huh? It's you?"

Gu Yizhen looked up. "Do you know each other?"

"No, last night when I got into the elevator, I accidentally..."

"She bumped into me."

Xi Keqing cut in, pointing a finger at the person.

The person was Xiao Li, the beta who had nearly sent Xi Keqing flying in the elevator the previous night. The very same person who had given her the business card that made her drop her room key and enter the wrong room!

Though Xiao Li had ultimately been the reason she got to eat, Xi Keqing hadn't forgotten a single grievance.

Even now, Xi Keqing was wearing clothes Xiao Li had bought for her. However, due to Gu Yizhen's many tasks, the clothes had been delivered by a robot, so they hadn't seen her.

The two women changed into a new set of clothes. After all, they were going to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register their marriage, and they couldn't show up with a neck full of lingering marks of intimacy.

They put on matching high-necked blouses that covered most of the red marks.

But some marks still peeked out with their movements, clearly betraying their boss's relationship with the little peacock in front of her.

Ah, perhaps there was no need to make it so obvious. She already knew the nature of their relationship, or rather, the relationship that was about to change.

Who knew that after worrying all night, her boss would suddenly announce this morning that she was going to register her marriage with a newly met minor celebrity? The shock was overwhelming.

Xiao Li forced herself to finish her sentence, "...I'm sorry."

Gu Yizhen looked at Xi Keqing without saying anything.

Xi Keqing didn't press the issue. She had merely stated the facts. She snorted, "Be more careful in the future."

She turned to Gu Yizhen. "Let's go, let's go. We'll be late."

Gu Yizhen's gaze lingered for a moment before she nodded in agreement.

Xi Keqing didn't notice; her attention shifted quickly.

She stared intently at Gu Yizhen's exclusive seat—the split-type, retractable seat that extended outside the car—which seemed eager, as if it wanted Gu Yizhen to get out so she could try it herself.

Fortunately, the paper bag Xiao Li handed over interrupted her thoughts. Gu Yizhen first opened the larger one and took out the food.

She sat down obediently and ate breakfast with Gu Yizhen.

It was a bit late for breakfast, but too early for lunch.

After their strenuous night, they needed to eat something before any further plans.

Even though they had eaten their fill last night, Xi Keqing still picked up food when Gu Yizhen offered it and ate along with her.

Her stomach was full, but eating human food had no real effect on her. Instead, eating such food while full brought the demon a sense of contentment.

Marriage in reality was just as fast-paced as on television.

By the time they left the Civil Affairs Bureau, Xi Keqing was already holding two bright red marriage certificates, her hand adorned with a large diamond ring.

The ring had been presented by Gu Yizhen from another paper bag after they finished breakfast in the car. It was a pair of matching, yet slightly different, wedding bands. Gu Yizhen called them wedding rings.

The style was understated, but the diamonds were large and dazzling.

Xi Keqing had been excitedly admiring the ring all the way, but now, with the marriage certificates in hand, she had completely forgotten about the ring.

Though the two small booklets were identical, Xi Keqing opened them one by one, flipping through them repeatedly, comparing them, and scrutinizing them.

Her head still felt a bit hazy. The vows they had recited during the registration seemed different from the marriage agreement she had signed.

Is this what marriage is like?

Lost in thought, she heard Gu Yizhen ask, "When are you moving in?"

Xi Keqing didn't immediately register. "Moving where?"

"My place," Gu Yizhen replied.

Xi Keqing finally understood. "Oh, but I have a place to live."

Well, she didn't seem that surprised after all.

Gu Yizhen took one of the marriage certificates from her hand and waved it in front of her face. "We're married now. We should live together."

"That way, you can help me better when I need you, right?"

Xi Keqing pondered this seriously.

Hmm, it would be more convenient to eat together if we lived together.