Su Mianmian's words were like a thunderclap out of nowhere.
The first to object was Su's mother, "Mianbao, what nonsense are you talking about? How old are you!" Su Mianmian looked at everyone seriously, "I just turned twenty recently, which is the legal marriage age."
Second Master Gu pondered for a moment, "That still won't do. Our A-Zhou is engaged to Miss Su, and if the wedding is suddenly changed to Miss Su, what will people say?" The more he thought about it, the more he felt it would be offensive. "I think President Su should quickly find a way to bring Miss Su back."
Seeing everyone's opposition, Su Mianmian became anxious and could only place her hopes on Gu Yizhou, who had remained silent until now. "Brother-in-law, what do you think? If you agree, we can get our marriage certificate immediately, and there won't be any more broken engagements."
At this moment, everyone's eyes fell on Gu Yizhou, who calmly took a sip of tea, placed the teacup back on the coffee table, and only then did a slight ripple appear in his calm, lake-like eyes. "Can I talk to you alone?"
...Half an hour later, Su Mianmian and Gu Yizhou arrived at the private room of Yixin Pavilion. The room was decorated in an antique style, with a view of a small bridge and flowing water from the window, and the soft, gentle sound of a zither like a light rain caressing a paulownia tree. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Gu Yizhou looked at the girl opposite him, who had been keeping her head down since entering. Sunlight filtered through the branches outside the window, falling on her cheeks, revealing the fine downy hairs. "Say...say what?"
Su Mianmian lowered her head even further. Earlier at home, she had been full of passion and eloquence. Now, alone with Gu Yizhou, she felt inexplicably suppressed by his aura. "Say what you want to say."
Su Mianmian bit her lip, leaving fine teeth marks on her pink lips. "I've already said everything I wanted to say at home." Gu Yizhou nodded, his long, slender fingers pushing a plate of pastries towards her. "The yam cakes here are quite good, try some."
Su Mianmian looked up, and within her sight, neatly arranged, temptingly colored, and uniquely shaped yam cakes were displayed in a jade-colored porcelain stack.
There were blueberry cheesecake, matcha berry pink, and even a blue-and-white porcelain jujube paste cake… Her eyes lit up slightly, and she picked up a piece of the blue-and-white porcelain one and put it in her mouth. Sure enough, it melted in her mouth, fragrant and soft. "Delicious." Gu Yizhou's lips unconsciously curved into a smile upon hearing this.
"You've finished talking, now it's my turn to speak." Su Mianmian nodded, hurriedly swallowing the yam cake in her mouth, sitting up straight like a student. "I'm eight years older than you." Su Mianmian's voice was barely audible, "I know."
"My view on marriage is only for the rest of my life, not for simply cohabiting." The rest of her life… a lifetime. Su Mianmian felt that this phrase was so far removed from her. "But our marriage is an arranged one. Isn't a marriage without a foundation of love just… a partnership?"
Gu Yizhou lowered his gaze, poured tea, his expression focused and serious. "That depends on how you manage it." Su Mianmian gave an "Oh," seemingly understanding but not quite. "I'll give you ten more minutes to consider. If you can accept both of these points, we'll get our marriage certificate in three days."
He glanced at his watch and started the timer. Su Mianmian: That's it? Her eyes lit up with excitement. "You mean you agree to let me marry you in place of my sister?"
Gu Yizhou tapped his watch. "Eight minutes left. Think it over seriously. Marriage isn't child's play." Su Mianmian gave an "Oh," her mind filled with thoughts of Su Yang finally being able to be with the person he loved.
Gu Yizhou looked at the girl with a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth. From her expression, he could guess that she was probably not seriously considering marrying him at all. He glanced at the time for the third time, his narrow eyes behind his glasses narrowing slightly.
"Time's up. Tell me your answer." Su Mianmian snapped out of her reverie, her clear, watery eyes meeting Gu Yizhou's. Their eyes locked, and a strange tension suddenly filled the air. Su Mianmian blushed first and looked away.
"I've thought it over. We'll get our marriage certificate in three days." Gu Yizhou's grip on his teacup loosened slightly. "Okay." Su Mianmian suddenly remembered her parents. "My parents…" Gu Yizhou's voice was deep and magnetic. "Leave it to me."
…After leaving Yixin Pavilion, Gu Yizhou drove Su Mianmian directly to the entrance of A University. As Su Mianmian got out of the car, she ran into Song Zhi, who seemed to be returning from a carefree outing.
Song Zhi immediately recognized Gu Yizhou's car and greeted him with a smile, "Brother-in-law, hello." Gu Yizhou nodded politely, his jawline sharply defined, giving him a look that was both austere and sexy.
Song Zhi was practically drooling. She wanted to say a few more words, but Su Mianmian forcefully pulled her arm away. Reluctantly, she turned back, saying, "Goodbye, brother-in-law."
Gu Yizhou's gaze, through his glasses, followed the girl who seemed to flee, a faint smile playing on his lips. Song Zhi stumbled as Su Mianmian pulled her. "Mianmian, why are you walking so fast?
By the way, weren't you on a date with Cheng Yuli? Why are you back in your brother-in-law's car?" Song Zhi realized something was amiss and tried to pull back, but it was too late. Su Mianmian released her hand, looking at her with a resentful gaze.
"So, explain yourself. What do you mean by introducing me to a boyfriend? Do I look like no one's pursuing me?"
Song Zhi frowned. "How could our beautiful Su be without suitors? Cheng Yuli is your admirer, isn't he? I was just secretly helping him out." "Cheng Yuli admires me?"
Su Mianmian was suspicious; she hadn't sensed it at all. Song Zhi spoke with absolute certainty, "Before, you only had eyes for Tang Yunzheng, of course you couldn't see other guys. I've been keeping an eye on you for a long time, Cheng Yuli is deeply in love with you, there's no doubt about it."
Deeply in love? That's getting more and more fantastical. Even if Su Mianmian was slow to realize, from the ten or so minutes she spent with Cheng Yuli today, she could clearly sense that he had absolutely no interest in her. Su Mianmian shook her head, remembering her upcoming wedding.
"Stop playing matchmaker, I have no intention of dating."
Song Zhi raised an eyebrow, "Only if there's a good feeling, otherwise, of course, it's over. The reason I was trying to set you up with Cheng Yuli was purely to get back at that scumbag Tang, hehe, so, did you 'bump into' him at the movie theater today?"
Su Mianmian suddenly understood. No wonder she was so unlucky, even seeing Tang Yunzheng at a movie theater. Remembering how Tang Yunzheng had shamelessly made her bark like a dog, Su Mianmian was furious. "Don't even mention it! Just hearing his name gives me a headache."
Song Zhi blinked. "Did he upset you again?" Su Mianmian hummed in agreement and recounted what had happened with Tang Yunzheng that day. Song Zhi listened, stroking her chin. "You mean, that scumbag Tang is going to break up with that green tea Lin?"
Su Mianmian silently rolled her eyes. Why was Song Zhi's thought process always so bizarre? "He was just saying it casually, how could he really break up?" Song Zhi held up a finger and shook it.
"I think it's highly likely. Sigh, Mianmian, you only spent about ten minutes with Cheng Yuli in front of him, and that scumbag Tang got provoked and immediately told you he was going to break up with that green tea Lin. Is there any possibility…?" Su Mianmian frowned, then saw Song Zhi dramatically snap her fingers.
"Is there any possibility that the scumbag suddenly felt threatened and is trying to go back to her?" Su Mianmian was utterly speechless. "Stop with your wild fantasies. He won't turn back, and I'm not the kind of grass that waits for him to come back."
Song Zhi was unusually confident in her intuition. "Let's make a bet. If that scumbag Tang really breaks up with that green tea Lin for you, you'll treat me to milk tea for a month!"... The next morning, Su Mianmian received a call from her mother.
Her mother meant that she and her father had agreed to her marriage to Gu Yizhou. Her mother's tone was filled with reluctance and worry, "Mianmian, you've only just turned twenty. Are you sure you're ready to settle down with a man?"
Su Mianmian nodded. "Mom, you've asked me five times already. I'm absolutely certain that you trust Gu Yizhou's character. There's nothing to worry about."
Her mother sighed. "It's not that we don't trust Yizhou, it's just that you're really too young, Mom..." Her mother's voice choked with emotion. Su Mianmian's nose also stung with tears. "Alright, stop talking. Prepare my marriage certificate documents for me, I'll come back to get them later." Su's mother sniffed. "Yizhou took the documents yesterday. He said he'd bring them to pick you up from school." Su Mianmian: So urgent?