A beautiful summer night

"I was wrong." Xia Wanzhi hugged Ms. Ross's hand and admitted her mistake. "It's all because Dad said he would let me stay in Beicheng because I'm with Xie Qiyan. He also encouraged me to bravely pursue love."

“Your father and I never intended to force you to return to England with us,” Ms. Ross explained. “We respect your opinion.”

"Then Dad..."

"Your father suddenly changed his mind because he mistakenly thought you liked Xie Qiyan and didn't want you to be with him. At the same time, he was worried that you would get too deeply involved and couldn't extricate yourself, so he wanted to take you away from Beicheng to find your prince," Ross explained with a smile.

"In fact, he still does everything according to your wishes. No matter how much he has opinions about Xie Qiyan, he is still willing to postpone his return to England for a few days, thinking of observing Xie Qiyan and seeing if he is worthy of being entrusted."

"I don't like Xie Qiyan..." Xia Wanzhi has explained this many times.

“What you say doesn’t count.” Ross said cryptically, pressing his hand against Xia Wanzhi’s heart. “Nothing comes from nowhere.”

Xia Wanzhi was a little confused.

“I will explain this to your father. In short, we will not force you to do anything you don’t like. I will also handle your grandfather’s side. You don’t need to pretend to be Xie Qiyan’s boyfriend to fool your parents. I don’t want fakes, I only want the real thing.” Ms. Ross touched her cheek and hugged her. “Stay here and have fun with your friends. Mom will take care of everything.”

Xia Wanzhi was so moved that she wiped her wet eyes.

Thank goodness I have a mother, otherwise if I were to die in this life, I would definitely be wrongly accused and killed by my own father's imagination.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Comrade Xia and Ms. Ross boarded the plane.

Xia Wanzhi watched them go at the airport, and felt a sense of emptiness in her heart after their figures disappeared.

She didn't quite understand some of what Ms. Ross said, in particular.

"Reluctant to leave?" As they left the airport, Xie Qiyan noticed her frequently turning her head to look towards the boarding gate. He gently pressed his large hand against the back of her head and led her forward. "Isn't it your grandmother's birthday in a few days? Then the whole family will be reunited."

Xia Wanzhi pouted: "My mom saw through our act. Only my dad's brain could conjure up such a big drama."

Xie Qiyan paused slightly, his breathing becoming softer: "So?"

"So you don't need to be my boyfriend." Xia Wanzhi felt relieved, but when she looked up and met Xie Qiyan's gaze, she subconsciously wanted to look away.

She couldn't quite grasp this strange feeling.

Xie Qiyan stopped completely, and Xia Wanzhi raised her eyes in confusion.

His gaze seemed gentle, but his expression was serious, and he leaned slightly forward as we made eye contact.

Xia Wanzhi instinctively tried to take a step back, but his hand restrained the back of her head and even pulled her forward a step.

He bent down, his soft breath falling on Xia Wanzhi's ear: "Not quite right."

The magnetic voice flowed into Xia Wanzhi's ears, sending a shiver down her spine and a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

"What...does that mean?" Xia Wanzhi almost stammered.

“Your parents are fine, but the old man and Xie Tan have a bigger problem.” He said, straightening up and holding Xia Wanzhi’s head with his hand as he continued walking forward.

It's just like a domineering boyfriend embracing his little girlfriend.

"What does this have to do with your grandfather and Xie Tan?" Xia Wanzhi shrank her neck, forcefully pried his hand off, and looked at him with a determined expression. "You're not trying to pin this on me, are you?"

Xie Qiyan raised an eyebrow slightly: "Your dad asked me for his phone number last night, and Xie Tan saw it."

Xia Wanzhi swallowed hard: "And then?"

"Uncle also inquired about something, which Xie Tan overheard," Xie Qiyan continued unhurriedly.

Xia Wanzhi unconsciously slowed her breathing: "Investigate...investigate what?"

"When did I start liking you? How long have we been together? What advantages do I have over Zhou Yu? Will I like you forever? Will we marry each other in the future?" Xie Qiyan seemed to be smiling, his demeanor exuding a sense of ease.

Xia Wanzhi: "!!!"

Old Xia, you're so foolish! How could you do something so despicable?

"How do you answer?"

"That's not the point," Xie Qiyan said seriously. "The point is that Xie Tan saw it, heard it, and immediately told the old man. Guess what, given the old man's personality, he might have already prepared the betrothal gifts for me?"

"The old man has always been high-profile. Such a big thing as preparing a betrothal gift has probably already spread throughout the Xie family. The Xie family is gossipy, so they've probably already told others."

Xia Wanzhi's expression froze completely.

Things seem to be getting a bit serious.

"I can apologize." Xia Wanzhi was clearly intimidated, and her voice was weak and feeble.

Xie Qiyan raised an eyebrow slightly, as if deliberately pretending not to hear: "Kiss? That's too fast."

Xia Wanzhi was startled by his lewd words and angrily slapped him, saying, "I beg your forgiveness! I will personally beg Grandpa Xie for forgiveness!"

After exiting the airport, Xie Qiyan opened the passenger door: "No need."

Xia Wanzhi asked, puzzled, "Why don't you need to?"

"What I need is a girlfriend." Xie Qiyan fastened his seatbelt, and before starting the car, he lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Xia Wanzhi.

Xia Wanzhi was completely stunned.

I feel like I've been tricked.

“Last month, the old man finalized a list of marriage alliances that included me. Xie Lin and Xie Nan were to be married into the Luo and Lin families respectively. As for me, after this trending topic happened, the old man crossed out my name and left it blank.”

Xia Wanzhi waited for him to continue, her eyes unblinking.

"I was able to take over the Xie family business partly because of the old man's efforts. There are some things I can't disobey," Xie Qiyan said, his tone softening.

Businessmen are driven by profit. Even though the old man delegated power to Xie Qiyan, he was still the chairman of the board. What he said could not be true.

Marriage alliances involve interests; Xie Lin and the Luo family, Xie Nan and the Lin family, are all related to interests.

But not Xia Wanzhi.

The old man genuinely wanted Xia Wanzhi to become his granddaughter-in-law.

So when he learned that Xie Qiyan and Xia Wanzhi had a potential relationship, he did not hesitate to cancel the marriage he had arranged for Xie Qiyan.

Even if Xia Wanzhi was slow to understand, she could still grasp what Xie Qiyan meant.

"You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend to appease Grandpa Xie?" Although she understood, Xia Wanzhi still wanted to confirm it again.

Xie Qiyan mimicked her tone from the day before yesterday: "Young lady Xia, please consider it. You won't suffer any losses."

Xia Wanzhi: "..."

Xia Wanzhi was seriously considering the matter during the journey back.

I had already settled into the role and adopted the right attitude since yesterday; now it's just a matter of changing the target of my efforts.

There is no difference in nature.

"One year?" Xia Wanzhi proposed the condition.

Xie Qiyan subtly suppressed the fleeting smile in his eyes: "Deal."

Her innocence stirred feelings within one's heart.

He hadn't expected a year to be so long.

Xie Qiyan thought that if he really sold her, she might actually help him count the money.

At 8 p.m., Xia Wanzhi moved all the remaining ingredients from Old Xia's kitchen to Xie Qiyan's side, almost filling his entire refrigerator.

Xie Qiyan ended the conference call and leaned against the island counter with great interest, asking her, "Are you moving in with me?"

He tactfully suggested, "There's no need to be so proactive."

Xia Wanzhi gave him a cold look: "Stop your wicked thoughts. I can't cook, so these are for you."

Xie Qiyan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Xia Wanzhi smiled and said, "You said you wouldn't let me suffer any losses, so thank you, brother. Thank you for taking care of my meals for the next year."