Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The first time I met Zhou Yubai was at a dinner that felt nothing like a blind date.

My father sat at the head of the table, two documents laid out in front of him.

One was the handover agreement for the Nan’an Project.

The other was a prenuptial property agreement.

He pushed a fountain pen toward me and said, “Wen Yi, you’re twenty-seven. The board can’t keep handing the company’s most important project to someone who might be affected by her emotions at any moment.”

I looked at him.

“So I need to get married to prove I won’t be affected by my emotions?”

The private dining room fell silent for a second.

My stepmother was the first to laugh. “Don’t make it sound so ugly. The Gu Family is offering excellent terms, and Gu Cheng’an likes you. Once you marry into their family, the project will still be yours.”

I laughed too.

“Still mine, or the Gu Family’s?”

My father’s expression darkened.

What he hated most was me tearing away his polished facade in front of outsiders.

But I had endured it for too long.

From the day my mother died, to the day he brought me into Wen Corporation.

From the three years I spent turning the Nan’an Project from a pile of useless blueprints into the company’s biggest cash flow this year, to the board suddenly starting to question my “personal stability.”

They had never believed I was capable.

They only believed a woman’s career ought to be adjusted by marriage, arranged by her family, and stamped for safekeeping by a suitable man.

Gu Cheng’an sat across from me, slowly swirling the wine in his glass.

“Wen Yi, you don’t have to be so guarded around me. After we’re married, if you want to keep working, I won’t stop you.”

Looking at the charity in his expression, I felt a chill in my stomach.

It was only later that I learned Zhou Yubai hadn’t come that day specifically for me either.

Zhou’s Mother had arranged for him to meet the Su Family in the private room next door.

They were discussing a marriage arrangement, as well as merging his firm back into Zhou Corporation.

The two private rooms were separated only by a hallway.

My father’s assistant had accidentally delivered one of the attachments for the Nan’an Project to their table.

Just as I was about to stand up, there was a knock at the door.

The manager opened the door halfway and said quietly, “Chairman Wen, Mr. Zhou from next door says a document was delivered to the wrong room.”

Another man walked in.

A black overcoat, a white shirt, his watch fastened tightly around his wrist, his features cool and detached.

He held a blue folder in his hand.

On the cover were the words: Nan’an Project Handover Attachment.

I recognized him.

Zhou Yubai.

The Zhou Family’s disobedient youngest son.

I had heard he had broken away from his family to start his own architectural firm and had several urban renewal projects in his hands, but recently the Zhou Family had been pressuring him into a marriage alliance with the Su Family.

His gaze swept over the documents on the table before finally landing on my face.

“Miss Wen.”

He said, “Interested in discussing a partnership?”

My father frowned. “Yubai, this is the Wen Family’s private matter.”

Zhou Yubai smiled faintly.

“Perfect. I have a private matter too.”

He placed the folder back on the table.

“Chairman Wen, your assistant delivered the supplier replacement list drafted by the Gu Family to my mother.”

Then he sat down beside me, as if that had always been his place.

Gu Cheng’an’s expression changed.

“Mr. Zhou, what are you implying?”

Zhou Yubai didn’t look at him.

He pushed a business card in front of me.

“You need a marriage that can shut the board up.”

His voice was not loud.

“I need a wife who can make my mother give up on the Su Family marriage alliance.”

I stared at him.

He continued, “One year. Husband and wife in public, partners in private. You protect your project, I protect my freedom. When the term is up, we divorce and owe each other nothing.”

Everyone in the room froze.

My father slammed his hand on the table. “Absurd!”

Only then did Zhou Yubai look at him.

“Chairman Wen, if Wen Yi marries me, at least the Nan’an Project won’t fall into the Gu Family’s hands.”

With one sentence, he hit every person’s most sensitive nerve.

Gu Cheng’an’s face turned completely cold.

I lowered my head and looked at the business card.

There were only three words on it.

Zhou Yubai.

Clean. Sharp. Just like the man himself.

I asked him, “What do you get out of this?”

He tilted his head and looked at me.

The light fell into his eyes, without the slightest hint of ambiguity.

“You have a clear head.”

After a pause, he added, “And you won’t fall in love with me.”