Near closing time, the Civil Affairs Bureau was nearly empty, and all the procedures were straightforward.
Under the guidance of the staff, payment, photos, and document pickup were handled in one seamless flow.
Luo Ningxi looked at herself in the photo, her smile stiff and utterly at odds with the festive joy of the wedding.
She had never imagined that one day the man on her marriage certificate would not be Yu Chengnan—nor had she ever imagined that she would simply grab a random person to marry.
She handed one of the marriage certificates to Li Bochen.
"The three rules we just agreed on — you still remember them, don't you?"
Before entering the Civil Affairs Bureau, she had explained to Li Bochen her reasons for wanting to marry in such a hurry, and made it perfectly clear: she was getting married solely to put a man's name in the spouse column—fulfilling any wifely duties was out of the question.
If he doesn't agree, she can break off the engagement.
Li Bochen, "I remember."
Luo Ningxi looked him up and down. "Considering my father will definitely never accept your line of work, I need you to find a proper job in the short term. I'll cover whatever the salary falls short — how does twenty thousand a month sound?"
Li Bochen couldn't help but find it funny.
He was the esteemed CEO of Shengshi Group, a man who tossed around contracts worth hundreds of millions without a second thought — and she had the nerve to send him packing with a paltry twenty thousand yuan?
Luo Ningxi watched his smile, her heart drumming with unease — did he think it was too little?
"And the thirty thousand?"
The smile on the man's handsome face grew even more playful……
She gritted her teeth. "Forty thousand — not a penny more!"
"Deal."
Ha, so he really did think she'd given too little after all!
Fortunately, when she came of age, she had inherited some stocks and funds left behind by her mother. They weren't worth a fortune, but the monthly dividends were decent enough. If she reined in her spending a little, supporting him should be no problem.
Leaving her contact details, Luo Ningxi bid a hasty farewell and departed.
She had to get back as soon as possible and tell Father Luo — he could forget about selling her for money!
Li Bochen watched her disappearing figure, his gaze slowly drifting down to the marriage certificate in his hand. The corners of his thin lips curved slightly upward. He took out his phone and called Assistant Mo. "Come pick me up. I'm at the Civil Affairs Bureau."
"The Civil Affairs Bureau? Good heavens, Boss — don't tell me you actually married that girl? Even if you want to repay a kindness, there's no need to pledge yourself to her for it…"
……
At the Luo residence, it was already six in the evening when Luo Ningxi returned.
In the living room, Luo Yi sat on the leather sofa, his face ashen.
Beside him, Jiang Jingya kept trying to soothe him. "Honey, calm down. Ningxi definitely didn't mean to ignore your calls — she's probably just busy…"
"Zhiqin works overtime every day, generating so much revenue for the company, and even she has never stayed out all night like her. I can see she won't be satisfied until she drives me to my grave!"
Luo Zhiqin was immensely pleased with herself.
Luo Ningxi most likely slept with a gigolo and lost her chastity—unable to bear the shame of it, she's probably out there throwing herself away.
She'd better die out there — and never come back for the rest of her life!
Yet his mouth spoke in a pitiful, plaintive tone, "Dad, have some tea and calm down. I've already sent the household servants to look for little sister — I'm sure she'll be brought back very soon…"
Luo Yi took the teacup she offered him, his heart heavy with emotion. "If Ningxi were even half as sensible as you, I'd have nothing left to ask for…" Then he turned to Jiang Jingya and said, "Jingya, all these years, you've raised your daughter so well. It is I who have wronged you."
Luo Ningxi had barely stepped into the living room when she was greeted by this "warm and harmonious" scene—her hands balling into fists with rage.
What did they mean, he owed Jiang Jingya? If anything, the one he had wronged most deeply was her mother!
More than twenty years ago, Jiang Jingya and Mama Luo were the closest of friends. Heartbroken by her first love, Mama Luo buried herself in her work and single-handedly built the Luo Group from the ground up.
Under the guise of acting in her best interests, Jiang Jingya introduced Luo Yi to her and repeatedly manufactured opportunities for him. In the end, Luo's mother accepted Luo Yi's courtship and gradually handed the full reins of the conglomerate over to him……
Who could have known that, during her pregnancy as she awaited the birth, she would discover that Jiang Jingya and Luo Yi had long been involved with each other — and that Jiang Jingya had just delivered a daughter at the hospital!
Overcome with fury, her water broke on the spot — she went into premature labor……
After childbirth, her qi and blood were severely depleted. Luo Yi knelt before her every day begging for her forgiveness, swearing he would never see Jiang Jingya again. Luo's mother forgave him, for the sake of the child — yet in the end, she could not hold on for more than a few years before passing away……
Yet the shameless Luo Yi had the audacity to bring Jiang Jingya and Luo Zhiqin back home just a few years later!
And yet he still had the nerve to claim he was here to look after her…
"Second Young Miss, you're finally back — Master couldn't find you anywhere and was nearly worried to death…"
The servant's voice pulled Luo Yi back from his thoughts.
He caught sight of Luo Ningxi standing at the doorway, and rage surged through him like a torrent.
"You wretched girl, you finally deigned to come back? Tell me — where exactly have you been running off to these past two nights, not coming home at all?"
Luo Zhiqin turned her back to Luo Yi and addressed Luo Ningxi with feigned concern. "Ningxi, Dad was a bit harsh with his words, but he worries about you too. You're a girl — if you don't come home at night and happen to run into hooligans or riffraff, what are you going to do?"
Out of Luo Yi's sight, the more concerned Luo Zhiqin's voice sounded, the more provocative her expression became!
The moment Luo Ningxi thought of how this vile woman had schemed away her innocence, a nameless fury surged through her chest — and she wheeled around and struck her hard across the face —