"Is there really no room for negotiation?" she asked.
Bian Xunzhou did not answer, merely gazing at her in silence.
He said nothing, yet it felt as though he had said everything.
Wen Xuyu sighed. "I have nothing more to say about the agreement itself, but you need to give the Wen Family some sort of explanation!"
"Don't worry, I'll handle it."
Bian Xunzhou spoke casually. Pulling a pen from goodness knows where, he pressed it into Wen Xuyu's hand and tapped the paper with his slender fingertips.
"What you need to do right now is sign the agreement."
Knowing she had run out of options, Wen Xuyu did not waste any more breath. Hardening her heart, she signed her name directly on the document.
Moments later, the two of them stepped into the Civil Affairs Bureau together. Photos, signatures, certificates—everything was completed in one smooth sweep. Then they rushed off to the hotel together, which led to the farce that had just occurred.
...
"They're just two red booklets. Did you really need to stare at them for so long?"
While Wen Xuyu was lost in thought, the items were snatched right out of her hand by Bian Xunzhou.
Without even glancing at them, the man slipped them directly into his pocket. "I'll keep the marriage certificate."
Wen Xuyu: "..."
"Move over here today, and live with me."
"Fine." Since she had already signed the agreement, Wen Xuyu had no desire to put up any pointless resistance. She turned her face toward the car window, her mood inexplicably gloomy.
Noticing this, Bian Xunzhou watched her profile with deep, dark eyes.
"Why did you block that blow for me just now?"
"Just a reflex."
This was indeed her honest thought.
Bian Xunzhou gave a cold chuckle, and the conversation between them lapsed.
"You don't need to worry about the Wen Family," Bian Xunzhou spoke again a moment later, a hint of disdain mixed into his tone. "I've already had Lu Zhao send money over to the Wen Family. The Lu Family offered five hundred million, so I gave them one billion. That way, they won't have anything to complain about."
Lu Zhao, sitting in the driver's seat, chimed in right on cue. "That's right, Young Miss... Madam, you don't need to worry. I saw that Mr. Wen was very happy!"
After all, a daughter who was originally worth five hundred million was now worth one billion. Who wouldn't be happy about that?
Though it sounded crude, that was simply the reality of it.
Hearing how Lu Zhao addressed her, Bian Xunzhou furrowed his brow slightly.
He was adapting rather quickly!
Wen Xuyu curved her lips faintly, though there was no real smile in her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Bian."
This kind of behavior—selling one's daughter—meant the Wen Family would probably hand her over to whoever offered the highest price. How truly pathetic!
Bian Xunzhou closed his eyes to rest, and the rest of the car ride passed in silence.
...
The Wen Family estate.
"Wen Xuyu is really something else. From five hundred million to one billion—the price doubled just like that!" Sitting at her vanity, Wen Qianxue swept all the cosmetics in front of her onto the floor, her expression full of bitter hatred.
She never imagined that a dark horse would suddenly emerge midway, and none other than the eldest young master of the Shang family!
In the upper circles of Kyoto, the Shang family and the Lu Family possessed deep foundations and were well-deserved centurial clans, belonging to the top tier.
Following them were the second-tier families: the Bai family, the Zhu family, and the Qiao family.
Wealthy households like the Wen Family could only manage to scrape into the third tier.
She had originally intended to push Wen Xuyu into that fiery pit of the Lu Family, but now she had ended up married to Bian Xunzhou instead. Only... she had heard that Bian Xunzhou was ranked number one on Kyoto's list of villains—a presence even more terrifying than the Lu Family's illegitimate son.
Strange, how did a bumpkin like Wen Xuyu come to know someone like that?
"Could it be..." Wen Qianxue narrowed her eyes, slammed her hand onto the table, stood up with a sudden flash of realization, and thought, "Wen Xuyu didn't want to marry into the Lu Family, so she latched onto Bian Xunzhou's coattails ahead of time. No wonder she was so calm and collected last night—she had planned her escape for today all along!"
As if convinced by her own deduction, Wen Qianxue gnashed her back teeth, not a trace of her previous fragile demeanor remaining on her face.
"Wen Xuyu, I won't let you off easy!"
...
The Wen Family study.
Wen Yuqin stood with his back to the desk, making a phone call. On the other end of the line was none other than Lu Qingyuan, head of the Lu Family.
"Old Lu, calm your anger. This matter really was our family's fault; I failed to properly discipline my daughter, allowing her to do something so disgraceful." Wen Yuqin's tone was ingratiating.
Something was said on the other end.
"Yes, yes, yes, you're entirely right." His voice grew lower and more submissive. "You know how it is—this girl didn't grow up by our side since childhood, and she lacks sense now that she's back in the Wen Family. Don't worry, I will definitely discipline her severely and have her come apologize in person, to give the Third Young Master an explanation, and to give the Lu Family an explanation."
"The investment from the Lu Group?" Wen Yuqin's voice suddenly turned tense, though his face remained placid. "Old Lu, don't be like that. We have all these years of friendship between us... Yes, yes, yes, I understand. We were definitely in the wrong on this one."
A few seconds later, a busy tone came from the other end of the line. The call had evidently been hung up.
"What an arrogant piece of work!" Wen Yuqin threw his phone onto the desk with a deep frown, spitting out his disdain.
*Knock, knock.* The study door was tapped.
"Come in!"
Wen Qianyu entered, his expression somewhat grave. "Dad, what did the Lu Family say?"
They had received the news two hours ago that Wen Xuyu had been taken away by the eldest young master of the Shang family, immediately followed by the delivery of one billion in capital. What that meant went without saying.
"What else could they say?" Wen Yuqin slowly seated himself in the main chair, his index finger tapping rhythmically on the sandalwood desk, his gaze fierce.
"I've already blocked news of that billion. Right now, the most critical thing is to placate the Lu Family's anger." He let out a breath and continued, "Call Wen Xuyu and tell her she must find a way to break off the engagement with the Lu Family—preferably by making the Lu Family's Third Young Master initiate it himself."
Hearing his father's confident tone, Wen Qianyu's brows smoothed out, though they quickly tightened again.
"But how did Wen Xuyu get mixed up with Bian Xunzhou in the first place? In the meantime..."
Wen Yuqin was pondering this very question, but could find no clue. "Never mind all that. The Shang family is even more generous with their money than the Lu Family!"
Wen Qianyu nodded and took out his phone, ready to make the call.
"No, I'd better make it myself," Wen Yuqin said suddenly. After a moment of slight consideration, he stopped his son's action.
Wen Qianyu understood. Matters like this still required his father to step in to ensure success.
...
The black Maybach pulled into the underground parking garage of Xuanshui Bay once again.
Looking at the large villa before her, Wen Xuyu felt an inexplicable sense of depression.
She still remembered how she had bolted out of there yesterday...
Bian Xunzhou looked so unapproachable—would those two maids end up being punished?
"What's wrong? Can't your legs walk again? You ran pretty fast yesterday, didn't you?"
Bian Xunzhou got out of the car, opened the door for her, and caught sight of the woman's pensive expression.
The corners of his eyes lifted, his dark eyes narrowing slightly as he deliberately provoked her.
Hearing this, Wen Xuyu hurriedly stepped out of the car, as if a ferocious beast were chasing her from behind.
"I apologize for what happened yesterday," she lowered her gaze. "I was forced into a desperate situation at the time, and since you kept failing to show up, I..."
Bian Xunzhou crossed his arms, watching her at his leisure. "I don't accept verbal apologies. There's no sincerity in them."
Wen Xuyu hesitated for a moment, slowly raised her head, and spat out three words: "I have no money."
Top-tier young masters like him had lived in luxury since childhood, eating fine foods and wearing silk without ever lifting a finger. How could they possibly lack anything?
Bian Xunzhou was taken aback as well, clearly not expecting her to say that. It really was quite amusing.
"Then you can just owe it to me!"
Seeing the man stride toward the door, she quickly hurried after him.
"Your room is still the same one as before."
Dropping those words, Bian Xunzhou headed straight for the study on the second floor.
Lu Zhao, bringing up the rear, passed by and added one final sentence.