Contractual Love: Mistaken for True

Before National Day¹, Xu Xiaoyou called home to invite Papa Xu and Mom Xu to come to City S for a visit. However, Papa Xu insisted that the timing wasn’t right and that they couldn’t meet Xia Chen’s mom yet. Xu Xiaoyou was puzzled-did they have to pick a specific time for everything? If the timing wasn’t right now, they could still visit and meet later when it was. Madam Xia frequently asked why her parents hadn’t come yet, leaving Xu Xiaoyou unsure how to explain.

No matter how much Xu Xiaoyou insisted, Papa Xu refused to go right now. After all, Madam Xia’s birthday was approaching, and wouldn’t it be better to visit then? This was a reason he kept to himself, not sharing it with Xu Xiaoyou or Mom Xu. He was still struggling with how to face old friends he hadn’t seen in over twenty years. Everything had changed, and they were no longer young. Many things needed explaining, especially to the children. Xia Chen knew everything, but what about Xiaoyou? He hadn’t told her anything and didn’t want her to know either.

Seeing Xu Xiaoyou hang up the phone, Xia Chen immediately sensed that Papa Xu was unwilling to come. He had also called the two elders, but while Mom Xu had no objections, Papa Xu kept saying they should wait without specifying until when.

“Ah Xia, do you think my dad doesn’t want me to marry you?” Xu Xiaoyou felt particularly troubled. It was surprising that her father, who should care about her marriage, seemed so indifferent and evasive.

“How could that be?” Xia Chen wrapped an arm around Xu Xiaoyou’s shoulder. “You’re just overthinking it. Dad and Mom probably have other commitments right now, but there’s still time. No rush.”

“But your mom keeps asking me when my parents will come to visit, and I don’t know how to respond.” Xu Xiaoyou couldn’t help but recall how enthusiastic Madam Xia was during every meeting, while her own parents kept making excuses.

“It’s okay. I’ll talk to Mom and ask her to focus on something else, so she doesn’t keep dwelling on this issue. Plus, you shouldn’t look so worried. How about thinking of where to go for National Day instead?” Xia Chen tried to comfort Xu Xiaoyou.

“How many days off do you have for National Day?” Xu Xiaoyou was excited about the holiday trip; this would be her first time traveling with Xia Chen, and they needed to plan it well.

“Hmm…” After thinking for a moment, Xia Chen replied, “I can ask Zihan to supervise; he’s not busy these days anyway. Finding some tasks for him would be good too, so that gives me about half a month off.”

“Really?” Xu Xiaoyou was elated. With seven days off plus her previous vacation days, they would have a whole half month-just enough time for a great trip.

“I’ve never lied to you,” Xia Chen said, playfully poking Xu Xiaoyou’s nose.

“Then I need to plan our trip carefully,” Xu Xiaoyou said as she dashed upstairs to grab her laptop and start searching for famous tourist spots, both domestic and international.

In the end, Xu Xiaoyou decided to go to Tibet. Given the current weather, it was likely to be crowded there, but she thought that would be great for finding travel companions. Xia Chen had no objections but was worried about potential altitude sickness since Xu Xiaoyou was not in the best of health. He feared she might struggle with it. However, Xu Xiaoyou confidently assured him that she was fit and wouldn’t suffer from altitude sickness, and Xia Chen chose not to argue further.

Just before their departure, Yilin called Xia Chen, saying there was an urgent situation at the office that needed handling. After hanging up, Xia Chen looked apologetically at Xu Xiaoyou and told her he wouldn’t be able to accompany her. Xu Xiaoyou replied that it was okay and encouraged him to go back to the office to handle things, saying it was fine for her to go alone.

As she watched Xia Chen’s car drive away from the airport, Xu Xiaoyou felt a sense of emptiness wash over her. It felt like something was slipping further away from her grasp.

She called Jingjing, hoping to convince her to join the trip. She figured that since Shen Mobai was away, Jingjing would be able to come. To her surprise, when Jingjing heard Xu Xiaoyou wanted to go to Tibet, she quickly declined. Xu Xiaoyou couldn’t understand why Jingjing would refuse to visit her favorite place, especially now that she had the opportunity.

After pressing her for answers, Jingjing hesitantly admitted that she was pregnant and couldn’t go to that kind of place. Xu Xiaoyou was shocked. They worked together every day, yet Jingjing hadn’t mentioned her pregnancy at all. Recently, Xu Xiaoyou had noticed Jingjing eating more than usual but hadn’t thought much of it. To find out she was already two months along was a surprise; how could Jingjing have kept this secret? By the time Jingjing mentioned that Shen Mobai didn’t know about the baby either, Xu Xiaoyou felt a little relieved; at least she wasn’t the only one left in the dark.

Thinking that going to Tibet alone would be boring, Xu Xiaoyou decided to head home and convince her parents instead. She immediately stored her stuff at the airport and texted Xia Chen to let someone else pick it up. Then, she traveled light back home.

Xia Chen didn’t see the message right away; as soon as he returned, he began organizing a meeting to discuss how to handle a significant issue. The most influential piece of land in the suburbs of City S had been acquired by him last year. They had plans to build a resort there, but now the government was planning to construct a high-speed rail through that area, which would pollute the air and impact the resort.

“Mr. Xia, should we notify the chairman to join the meeting?” Yilin asked, following Xia Chen.

Mom? She must be on her way already. This piece of land had always been Papa Xu’s dream; he had worked so hard to secure it. Now that the resort was about to be completed, this unexpected change came.

“Notify the shareholders for a meeting, and call to check if the chairman has arrived,” Xia Chen instructed while preparing the necessary documents for the meeting.

Yilin promptly left to call the chairman, who was none other than Mom Xia, but as soon as he stepped out, he ran into her. She arrived quite quickly.

Mom Xia walked straight into Xia Chen’s office. This was the Xia Group, and ever since she handed the company over to Xia Chen, she had rarely come by. There were a couple of reasons for this: Xia Chen spent most of his time at Tianchen, only coming to this side for important meetings, and she wanted to step back to see if her son could successfully manage the business. It turned out he could, but this recent situation was unexpected for everyone.

“Mom,” he said, looking up to see her standing in front of him. “I assume you’ve already heard the news.”

Mom Xia nodded and asked, “What are you planning to do about it?”

“The government isn’t likely to reverse their decision, and they might even requisition our land. This would be a huge loss for us. I’m thinking about making some adjustments to the resort plans.”

“What kind of adjustments?” Mom Xia asked. The resort had always been Papa Xu’s dream; they had hoped to finally realize it, but now this unforeseen issue had arisen.

“I don’t have a solid plan yet. I’ll consult the design team at the company to come up with new ideas,” Xia Chen replied, feeling a bit uncertain.

Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoyou got off the plane just as it was about to take off. Something felt off to her. Xia Chen said it was a minor issue, but if it were truly minor, could Chen Zihan handle it? There must be a good reason for him to return. She couldn’t let Xia Chen face this alone; she wanted to be there for him.

After trying to call him without success-he was likely in a meeting-she considered going to the company. But she was hesitant, fearing she might disrupt him. In the end, she decided to go home and wait for him, believing he would eventually return.

For three continuous days, Xu Xiaoyou didn’t catch a glimpse of Xia Chen. His phone was off, as was Yilin’s. She tried reaching out to Mom Xia, but no one answered. What on earth was happening?

One day, as she came downstairs, she ran into Dissie in the elevator. That’s when Xu Xiaoyou discovered that Dissie lived on the fifth floor, which meant Wang Jie knew her. Dissie had changed a lot; it was the first time Xu Xiaoyou was seeing her without makeup since she distanced herself from the entertainment industry. Surprisingly, Dissie looked quite beautiful even without any makeup.

“Xu Xiaoyou, we need to talk…” Dissie said, her tone devoid of any chill. She genuinely wanted to have a conversation and had some things to share with Xu Xiaoyou.

Xu Xiaoyou nodded, uncertain about what Dissie wanted to discuss, but with such a friendly demeanor, it would have felt rude to refuse.

“I’m still sorry about what happened last time,” Dissie said as the two women sat across from each other in a nearby café.

“That was a long time ago,” Xu Xiaoyou replied, knowing Dissie was referring to the incident in Hainan. “Besides, I’m not that petty.”

“Is that also true for what you did to Xia Chen that night?” Dissie looked intently at Xu Xiaoyou. In fact, Dissie had asked this deliberately; she wanted to gauge just how deep Xu Xiaoyou’s feelings for Xia Chen ran, and whether it was worth everyone’s blessings.

Xu Xiaoyou helplessly cradled her cup. It was impossible to say she didn’t care.

“Xu Xiaoyou, you’re really lucky to have met Xia Chen before Murong Qing returned and to have made him fall in love with you,” Dissie said, her tone filled with genuine envy. She had been by Xia Chen’s side for so many years, but he had never truly let her into his heart.

Xu Xiaoyou was at a loss for words. Was that really luck? When they first got together, she never imagined things would end up this way. What kind of luck was that?

“You’ll find someone too,” Xu Xiaoyou reassured Dissie.

“I’ve already found someone,” Dissie declared, her face lighting up with happiness. “By the way, there’s actually one more thing I wanted to tell you today.” Dissie reached into her bag and pulled out a wedding invitation, handing it to Xu Xiaoyou. “I’m getting married on the fifteenth of next month, and I hope you can be my bridesmaid.”

“Why me?” Xu Xiaoyou asked, disbelief etched on her face. She and Dissie weren’t that close, were they?

“Do you want the bridesmaid to be Murong Qing instead?” Dissie shot back without answering directly.

“Um… how do I even respond to that? It’s not my wedding,” Xu Xiaoyou stuttered.

“What I mean is, do you want the spotlight to be on you or on Murong Qing? Remember, Xia Chen will be there, and he’ll naturally want his wife to be the most beautiful one, right? Do you want to be overshadowed by Murong Qing?” Dissie pressed.

Of course, if Murong Qing was also attending, it would be best if Xia Chen’s attention remained on her. But Xu Xiaoyou had never been a bridesmaid before; how was she supposed to handle that?

“I can be your bridesmaid, but I honestly don’t know what a bridesmaid is supposed to do.”

“You don’t have to do anything, just be there for me,” Dissie replied. Then, as if remembering something, she added, “You probably don’t even know who the groom is.”

Xu Xiaoyou shook her head; she hadn’t had a chance to open the invitation yet.

“It’s Wang Jie-Wang Jie from your company.”

Xu Xiaoyou’s hand froze just as she was about to open the invitation. Had she heard that right? Wang Jie? Together with Dissie? She quickly opened the invitation and indeed, saw Wang Jie’s name clearly printed-she was all too familiar with that name. How had they gotten together? How did nobody know about it?

“When did you two start dating? He never mentioned it to me at all.”

“It was when I went to the UK. We bumped into each other at the airport. I almost missed my chance, but thankfully we didn’t,” Dissie recalled. If it hadn’t been for that pickpocket, they might never have met at all.

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