Contractual Love: Mistaken for True - Chapter 38 - What Makes a Good Man

Xia Chen drove Xu Xiaoyou out to the suburbs. Along the way, Xu Xiaoyou kept asking Xia Chen where they were going, but he remained silent. Xu Xiaoyou understood that some things were not meant to be revealed, no matter how much she asked.

The car came to a stop on the mountainside, and Xia Chen opened the door, saying, “Get out.”

Xu Xiaoyou nodded and stepped out of the car. What could they possibly be doing in the mountains at this late hour? Especially since it was still early spring. Xia Chen took off his jacket and draped it over her shoulders, saying, “It’s a bit chilly up here, but it won’t be long. Just a little while.” He checked the time; it was almost right.

As the hour hand pointed at nine, the previously pitch-black night began to flicker with light. At first, it was just a glimmer, but soon it became bright. Xu Xiaoyou was a bit surprised. Did this mountain really glow?

Xia Chen explained that they were filming a movie here; they were just at the top of the mountain, so they couldn’t see it from where they stood.

So it was for filming. That was quite beautiful.

“Do you want to go up and see them filming?” asked Xia Chen.

“Is that allowed?” Xu Xiaoyou asked, surprised. “I heard that the filming process is confidential.”

“Of course, as long as I’m here,” Xia Chen smiled. He knew very well who was filming and what it was about.

“Then let’s go!” Xu Xiaoyou pulled Xia Chen back into the car.

When they reached the top of the mountain, they found that the wind was much stronger. However, they saw many of Xu Xiaoyou’s favorite stars. She pulled a notebook out of her bag, ready to get some autographs, but Xia Chen quickly stopped her. He reminded her that they were filming and couldn’t be interrupted. Disappointed, Xu Xiaoyou reluctantly put the notebook away. Thinking that since Xia Chen was the CEO of Tianchen, he could probably get them to sign for her, she shoved the notebook into his hands. Xia Chen refused to take it, knowing that he couldn’t do something like that; it would ruin his reputation if it got out.

Not caring whether Xia Chen agreed or not, Xu Xiaoyou stuffed the notebook into the pocket of the jacket she was wearing.

Xia Chen led Xu Xiaoyou into the film crew area. When the crew members saw the CEO had come to visit personally, they all paused what they were doing. Xia Chen greeted several directors and actors. Xu Xiaoyou followed him closely, looking more like an assistant. Some stars even asked if Xu Xiaoyou was a new assistant that Xia Chen had hired. Xia Chen chuckled and looked at Xu Xiaoyou, asking for her opinion. Initially, she would have brushed it off, but with everyone saying it, she couldn’t hold back and shouted, “I’m Xia Chen’s wife! We’re married!” As soon as she said it, she regretted it; this was a gossip-filled world, and saying that meant the whole world would know.

Xia Chen wrapped his arm around Xu Xiaoyou and introduced her to everyone, saying, “This is my wife, Xu Xiaoyou.”

Everyone gasped in surprise, not expecting that Xia Chen had gotten married in just a few short months.

Xu Xiaoyou felt quite displeased by their reaction, but then reminded herself that they were all stars and couldn’t offend them, so she hid in Xia Chen’s embrace.

On the way back, Xu Xiaoyou felt a bit chaotic inside. Xia Chen had shared so much about their relationship with the film crew earlier; wasn’t that just giving the reporters material? If they were going to go public, it should be something she wrote herself.

Seeing Xu Xiaoyou biting her lip, Xia Chen asked her what was wrong.

“Ah Xia, do you think the newspaper will announce our relationship tomorrow?” she asked, her voice tinged with anxiety.

“Probably,” Xia Chen said seriously. It was rare for him to have his own gossip, especially one that came directly from the source. Anyone who didn’t write it would be a fool.

“Then… what should we do?” Xu Xiaoyou felt tears welling up in her eyes.

“Do you not want to make our relationship public?” Xia Chen questioned.

“I don’t want to right now,” Xu Xiaoyou answered honestly, unaware of the change in Xia Chen’s expression.

“Why not?” Xia Chen asked, trying to keep his cool. They had been married for a while now, and even Papa Xu had accepted him. Why wasn’t it time to go public?

“I don’t want people to know that I’m married yet,” she explained.

“Then why did you agree to marry me in the first place?” Xia Chen was bewildered. If she didn’t want to, why agree in the first place?

“At that time, it was to please my parents,” Xu Xiaoyou admitted candidly.

Suddenly, the car came to a screeching halt by the roadside. Xia Chen looked at Xu Xiaoyou with a blank expression. “So now that you don’t have to please your parents, are you planning to kick me to the curb?”

“Huh?” Xu Xiaoyou blinked in confusion. Kick him to the curb? Why would she do that? “No, why would you think that?”

Xia Chen leaned closer to Xu Xiaoyou, his breath brushing against her face, sending shivers down her spine. “Xu Xiaoyou, I’m angry. How are you going to appease me?”

Xu Xiaoyou was momentarily at a loss for words. “Ah Xia, don’t get so close to me.” She felt the tension in their position.

Xia Chen straightened up, restarted the engine, and shot Xu Xiaoyou a fierce look. “You’ll pay for this when we get home.”

When Xu Xiaoyou woke up, Xia Chen had already gone to work. On the table, there was breakfast and a gift with a sticky note underneath that said, “Your Valentine’s Day gift.” It was a heart-shaped necklace, delicate and exquisite.

Jingjing hadn’t come to work for several days in a row. When Xu Xiaoyou asked the editor-in-chief, she said Jingjing had taken a leave of absence. Jingjing’s phone was still with Xu Xiaoyou, and she hadn’t called even once to check in. What on earth was going on with Jingjing? She decided to ask Shen Mobai, but his phone was also turned off.

Moding magazine is published at the end of every month, and this issue’s theme is “What Makes a Good Man?” The magazine cover features the most influential person in the city, Xia Chen, dressed in a silver-white trench coat and holding a pair of sunglasses. The background is bustling with people carrying luggage, making it look like an airport scene.

When Xu Xiaoyou got her hands on the magazine and flipped through it, she felt an overwhelming urge to scream. This issue seemed to be a special feature about Xia Chen, with most of the content focused on him. She wondered when Xia Chen had done this interview since he had never mentioned it to her. Moreover, some of the photos seemed clearly to be candid shots-Xia Chen was even okay with that. Then, she stumbled upon a page displaying a picture of the two of them wearing couple outfits as they walked down the street. It was taken on Christmas Eve, and she realized that when Xia Chen had suggested wearing matching outfits, he had an agenda. Following that was an excerpt detailing their conversation on Valentine’s Day at the film crew, and of course, their wedding rings drew significant attention.

Feeling a surge of frustration, Xu Xiaoyou picked up her phone and called Xia Chen, but no one picked up. When she tried again, she found that his phone was turned off. She tossed her phone onto the table and muttered at the photo of Xia Chen in the magazine, “You’re going to pay for this when you get home.”

To her surprise, Xia Chen entered the room just then. “Who do you want to pay?” he asked, leaning against the door.

“You…” Xu Xiaoyou stood up, her face stern. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Seeing the magazine on the table, Xia Chen immediately understood what she was upset about. “If I had told you, would you have agreed for them to publish it?”

Xu Xiaoyou thought for a moment and replied, “No.”

“Exactly! So I had to publish it without your consent,” Xia Chen said casually as he sat down on the sofa and picked up the magazine to flip through it. “It’s well-written, but not as good as what you would write.”

Xu Xiaoyou snatched the magazine from him and tossed it aside. With their relationship now public, she feared they’d be the talk of the town when they walked down the street tomorrow.

“What’s wrong?” Xia Chen asked, getting up and placing his hand on Xu Xiaoyou’s shoulder.

“Xia Chen, you’re really strange. Aren’t you usually the one who hates this kind of thing the most? Now you’re actively on the magazine-did a donkey kick you in the head?” Xu Xiaoyou was pretty blunt.

“Not at all. If anyone got kicked, it would be by you! Besides, as the vice president of Moding, I should contribute something to my company. Moreover, this isn’t a bad thing,” Xia Chen argued reasonably.

“Vice president of Moding?” Xu Xiaoyou stared at him, her expression darkening. “What else are you hiding from me? How did you go from being just a shareholder to the vice president? Didn’t you say you were just a shareholder?”

“Uh…” Xia Chen scratched his nose awkwardly. “How should I put this? I was afraid you might feel too pressured, so I said I was just a shareholder. Plus, vice presidents are part of the board, and you simply didn’t think about it before.”

“You’re not hiding anything else from me, are you?” Xu Xiaoyou pressed, her tone serious.

“No, I promise there’s nothing else,” Xia Chen quickly waved his hands. “Really, there’s nothing.” He thought it best not to tell Xu Xiaoyou about the family matters; he feared she might not be able to handle it and would ultimately leave him. Where would he find such a wonderful wife again?

“Really?” Xu Xiaoyou clearly didn’t believe him. She had heard him say there was nothing before, only for shocking news to come out later. Now, she was beginning to doubt his words.

“Um… Xu Xiaoyou, can we not get bogged down in this issue? I’m hungry; let’s go out to eat,” Xia Chen suggested, trying to change the subject. He always thought Xu Xiaoyou didn’t care too much about things, but he was taken aback by how much she was thinking. He was genuinely worried that if she kept asking, he might accidentally spill the beans. His mother had told him not to share anything with Xu Xiaoyou.

Realizing her stomach was rumbling, Xu Xiaoyou remembered how she had been so focused on questioning Xia Chen that she had forgotten to cook. Now it would be too late to start making a meal, so she reluctantly agreed to go out to eat.

For the past few days, she had been trying to reach Shen Mobai, but his phone had been off. Both he and Jingjing had vanished for half a month, and she couldn’t help but wonder if something had happened. She figured that since Xia Chen was the vice president of Moding, he would surely know where Shen Mobai had gone.

Xia Chen initially didn’t want to tell Xu Xiaoyou. After all, Shen Mobai had once been his rival for affection. How could he reveal where his rival was? But fearing Xu Xiaoyou’s disappointment, he contemplated for a moment and decided to share the details after all.

It turned out that on Valentine’s Day, Jingjing and Shen Mobai had gotten into a heated argument. In a fit of rage, Shen Mobai smashed his phone. He was supposed to go on a business trip to the United States the following day. Concerned that Jingjing might run away during his absence, he ended up dragging her along. To nurture their relationship, Shen Mobai, who had never taken a day off before, called Xia Chen to inform him he was requesting a long leave, though the specific duration was uncertain. Xia Chen felt overwhelmed, but there was nothing he could do if Shen Mobai didn’t come back.

Xu Xiaoyou felt she needed to clarify something with Xia Chen, otherwise, she feared that the magazine next month would once again be connected to her, and she certainly didn’t want that kind of fame.

“Ah Xia, I’ve actually thought about our marriage,” she said, taking a deep breath.

Xia Chen looked at Xu Xiaoyou in silence.

“Just like you mentioned before, we could get married during the fifth anniversary of Tianchen,” Xu Xiaoyou blurted out, realizing only after that this might be something a guy usually says, not her.

Xia Chen was momentarily taken aback. When had he ever said they would marry on the fifth anniversary of Tianchen? But then he remembered that he might have mentioned it while he was with Dissie. It appeared that she had held onto that thought.

“Why not on the fourth anniversary instead?” Xia Chen asked.

“I already said I didn’t want to rush into marriage. Since you’re not on board, let’s pretend I didn’t say anything,” Xu Xiaoyou huffed, turning her head away.

“Wait, wait… I agree! I agree!” Xia Chen quickly replied, realizing he couldn’t afford to disagree. If Xu Xiaoyou changed her mind, that would be catastrophic.