Chapter 25

Shu Shiran did not expect Ji Xi to be so blunt.

Seeing Dai Jiao’s look of utter disbelief, she glanced at Ji Xi and said, “You should head back first. I’ll talk to her.”

Not until Ji Xi’s car drove away did Dai Jiao snap out of her daze. She asked uncertainly, “Babe, the ‘wife’ he mentioned… it couldn’t possibly be you, could it?”

“It is,” Shu Shiran replied.

“You married Ji Xi?? Since when?” Dai Jiao only then fully found her voice, her tone regaining its usual vigor.

“It’s been a while. We just haven’t made it public,” said Shu Shiran.

“…” Dai Jiao was rendered speechless once more. A few seconds later, she asked, “Didn’t you say he was a playboy? Why did you marry him?”

They had previously warned each other to be careful and ensure the young women at the firm wouldn’t get swindled by Ji Xi. She never imagined that the one who would end up falling for his schemes was Shu Shiran herself.

Facing Dai Jiao’s expression, which clearly read, “How did you become so bewitched by him?”, Shu Shiran remained silent. She had almost forgotten that she had ever said such things herself.

“Actually, it was an arranged marriage—a flash marriage.”

As soon as “arranged marriage” was mentioned, Dai Jiao understood immediately. High-society unions were common enough, just like in the dramas. “So that’s it.”

She suddenly recalled something else and asked, “So, the ‘new situation’ in your life is Ji Xi? Was it him who sent you those flowers?”

Shu Shiran nodded.

Dai Jiao pressed, “When exactly did you register the marriage? And did he contact our firm because of you? That doesn’t seem right; he was still abroad at the time.”

“It was after that. We only registered a month ago.”

“When he came to our office last time, you two…”

“We were already married by then.”

Dai Jiao’s eyes widened. “You two kept it well hidden. I didn’t notice a thing.”

“I’m sorry, Della. I hadn’t told you until now.”

“I’m truly shocked. You’ll have to treat me to a meal to help me recover from the surprise.”

“Of course.”

“You two seem to be getting along well enough?”

“I suppose so.”

Shu Shiran had expected Dai Jiao to ask a barrage of questions, but once the phrase “arranged marriage” was uttered, Dai Jiao seemed to adopt an “I understand everything” attitude.

“In the blink of an eye, you’re already married,” Dai Jiao sighed. They were alumni of the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL and had known each other since their student days. She handed the documents she was holding to Shu Shiran and said, “My cousin is still waiting in the car, so I’ll get going.”

“Sure, I’ll treat you to dinner next week.”

Dai Jiao nodded, then added before leaving, “I’ll keep it a secret until you make it public.”

***

Shu Shiran’s cousin on her mother’s side, Xue Fu, had recently returned to the country. On the evening of the 31st, Shu Shiran and Xue Fu had planned to have dinner together. Since it was New Year’s Eve, Xue Fu wanted to celebrate on the river, so they decided to dine on a yacht and invited a few friends along.

The group was lively in the main deck’s living room. After dinner, they set up a game of Mahjong and a table of cards as midnight approached. Shu Shiran had never been good at board or card games, so she spent most of the time sitting next to Xue Fu, watching and replying to messages. Xu Ying and Cheng Yexiu had gone to Hokkaido. Zheng Tingyan had intended to come tonight, but a last-minute dinner commitment she couldn’t decline had come up.

Just as Shu Shiran was typing, a voice call came through. It was Ji Xi.

She answered. “Hello?”

A few seconds passed, but there was no sound on the other end. Confused, Shu Shiran whispered, “Ji Xi?”

This time, there was a response. “Shu Shiran.”

His voice was muffled, and combined with the chatter and laughter from the Mahjong table, she almost didn’t hear it.

“Wait a moment.” She stood up with her phone and headed to the deck. The cold air outside instantly cleared her head. She turned around, shielding herself from the wind.

“Okay, it was a bit noisy just now.”

Again, there was no sound from the other end. Just as Shu Shiran was about to call out again, a low voice came through the phone pressed against her ear: “Where are you?”

“On the river,” she said, then paused and asked, “What about you?”

“Had a dinner event tonight. Just got home.”

“Did you drink?” Shu Shiran asked.

Ji Xi hummed, “A little.”

That explained it. His tone was different from usual—more languid and carefree. The alcohol had stripped away some of the coldness in his voice, adding a touch of tenderness.

“Shu Shiran.” He called her name again, almost like a murmur.

With the phone pressed to her ear, Shu Shiran felt her heart skip a beat. After calling her name, he went silent again. She had assumed he was calling for a reason, but now it seemed like a drunken, aimless call. The wind blew against her flushed face. “Get some rest early. I’m hanging up now.”

Suddenly, Ji Xi asked, “Did you like the gift I gave you?”

He must have been referring to her birthday gift.

“I liked it quite a bit. I had actually been eyeing that watch—”

“Not that,” Ji Xi interrupted.

Shu Shiran was slightly stunned. He must have been referring to the rose pendant, then. Was there something special about it? Just as she was about to ask, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Xue Fu and her friends were excitedly rushing onto the deck.

“Quick, quick! Eight seconds left!”
“Six seconds!”
“Last three seconds… midnight!”
“Happy New Year!”
“Happy New Year! Wishing us all smooth sailing!”

So, the New Year had arrived. In the distance, the crowds gathered by the riverbank to celebrate were also bustling with activity. The noise and splendor of the New Year were like a bell tolling, abruptly shattering the indulgence fueled by the lingering alcohol.

“Shu Shiran, Happy New Year. May you be safe and sound every year.”

Shu Shiran had been briefly distracted by the sudden commotion. She only came back to herself when she heard his voice through the phone. She smiled and said, “Happy New Year, Ji Xi.”

Xue Fu ran over and gave her a warm hug. “Happy New Year, sister!”

Shu Shiran hugged her back. “Happy New Year.”

Seeing the phone still pressed to Shu Shiran’s ear, Xue Fu asked, “Are you on a New Year’s call with someone?” She winked at her, shielded her mouth with her hand as if whispering a secret, and asked softly, “Is it that person my dad mentioned?”

Shu Shiran did not deny it. Xue Fu’s eyes lit up. “Then take your time; I won’t disturb you.”

After Xue Fu left, Shu Shiran glanced at her phone screen. The call was still ongoing—one end vibrant and lively, the other cold and quiet.

“Hello?” Ji Xi responded.

Shu Shiran picked up the previous topic. “Is there something special about that pendant?”

There was a two-second silence on the other end. The wind on the river whipped Shu Shiran’s hair into a frenzy. Xue Fu and the others found the deck too cold and retreated inside after a short while.

“I was talking about the car,” Ji Xi said.

“The car?” She had assumed he gave it to her because he noticed she liked that model. It was normal for a drunk person to be rambling.

“I haven’t really seen you driving it.”

“I drove it tonight.” Xue Fu had also thought the Ferrari was beautiful and had taken several photos of it.

“What did you tell your friend yesterday?”

His voice still carried a distinct tone of intoxication, but Shu Shiran felt his manner was different from before—more like his usual composed and self-assured self.

“I told her that our situation is similar to an arranged marriage—a marriage of convenience.”

“A marriage of convenience?”

Shu Shiran hadn’t used those exact words at the time, but she had just said it now. Still, Dai Jiao must have understood it that way. Moreover, their current status was indeed similar to a marriage of convenience.

A soft chuckle from Ji Xi came through the phone.

“The things between us are a bit complicated, so that’s how I phrased it.”

There was no response from the other end. Shu Shiran waited for a few seconds. “Hello? Ji Xi?”

She hoped he hadn’t fallen asleep. Checking the screen, she discovered the voice call had already ended.

“…”

She stood there for a while longer before leaving the deck.

***

On the first workday after New Year’s Day, everyone was a bit out of sorts, and the office was filled with the aroma of coffee. At ten in the morning, the team held a meeting. After it concluded, Dai Jiao followed Shu Shiran into her office.

The meeting had covered the progress of the firm’s current projects. The Jinhe Mansion project was a residential one, relatively simple. Furthermore, since Ji Xi had insisted on following Shu Shiran’s preferences entirely, there was no need for repetitive communication or design revisions, so it was progressing smoothly and was already at the construction documentation stage.

Once the office door was closed, Dai Jiao said, “I only realized when we were talking about the Jinhe Mansion project in the meeting—is that project the bridal home for you and Ji Xi?”

Shu Shiran, who had expected her to have something else to discuss, nodded. “Yes, it is.”

Dai Jiao suddenly remembered how, after Ji Xi left that one time, she had said she felt sorry for the woman involved, and Shu Shiran had defended him. That explained it.

“It seems I misjudged him back then. It wasn’t that he didn’t value the woman or consider her thoughts; it was that he let you make all the decisions.”

Shu Shiran replied, “Actually, before he said it in the meeting room, I didn’t even know he intended it to be our bridal home.”

“Were you just married then?”

Shu Shiran thought for a moment. “I think it was the day after we registered.”

Dai Jiao clicked her tongue, just about to remark on how smooth he was, when a knock sounded at the office door. She had to swallow her words.

Wu Tianqi pushed the door open and stepped in, sensing immediately that he might have interrupted something. “Oh, Della is here too.”

Seeing the small model in his hand, Dai Jiao asked, “Here to hand in your homework?”

Wu Tianqi nodded. He had been practicing sketches for a month, and his progress was visibly evident. Recently, he had been continuing his sketches while helping out with various projects. Occasionally, Shu Shiran would give him small assignments to practice spatial composition. They were simple exercises, and this time, it was to construct something using curved surfaces.

Shu Shiran examined his rough model and said, “Not bad. Better than the last one.”

Hearing her say “not bad,” Wu Tianqi beamed. That was already high praise. The last time she looked at his model, she hadn’t said a word for a long time, then turned the question back to him, asking what he thought it looked like. Wu Tianqi hadn’t been able to tell, and just as he was about to praise his own work, she had remarked that it looked like a birdcage. Later, he had looked at it and agreed—the more he stared, the more it looked like one.

After the critique, Wu Tianqi said, “I’ll head out now.” He intended to take the model home to display.

As he walked out and prepared to pull the door shut, he recalled the atmosphere when he entered and intentionally slowed the closing of the door, hoping to eavesdrop on any gossip.