Bro, that sounded way too suggestive!

Ye Jing’an's eyes darted guiltily away. He lowered his head in embarrassment and covered his face, saying nothing.

"Actually, I may be in the enemy camp, but my heart is with you. I'm on your side."

Once Yan Qingdu sat down beside him, Ye Jing’an turned his head and quietly defended his earlier behavior.

Yan Qingdu gave Ye Jing’an a mild glance and said meaningfully, "Given our current relationship, I wouldn't get angry with you."

Huh?

Ye Jing’an looked up at Yan Qingdu with an indescribable expression. Bro, that sounded way too suggestive!

"Huh? You two..."

Madam Yan, Qin Yunzhi, looked back and forth between Yan Qingdu and Ye Jing’an, hesitating to speak, with a hint of disbelief.

Yan Qingdu's father, Yan Shanting, exchanged a glance with Ye Chongli. Each could see the shock in the other's eyes.

Lu Qingwan instantly sat up straight. There was something indescribably menacing about the kindly look she gave her son as she smiled and said,

"So this is the... person you said you've been getting to know lately, the one you have feelings for?"

"No!"

Ye Jing’an waved his hands repeatedly, exasperated and anxious as he cleared his name. "There's nothing going on between Yan Qingdu and me. I like girls."

Ye Jing’an turned his head again and said irritably, "Tsk, I never knew you were this kind of person, Yan Qingdu. Are you really that vindictive?"

"You have a girlfriend?" Yan Qingdu raised one eyebrow, a little surprised.

He hadn't heard Ye Jing’an mention it before.

So this was what brothers did-secretly stop being single and stun everyone?

"We're still getting to know each other. I'll have one soon. Well? Are you so jealous your eyes are bleeding? Do you need me to share my expertise?"

The rain had stopped, the skies had cleared, and Ye Jing’an felt he had his swagger back. He instantly began putting on airs, raising his eyebrows smugly.

"So that's a no."

Yan Qingdu didn't care about any of Ye Jing’an's fancy talk and cut straight to the point.

Ye Jing’an was momentarily speechless. Only after a while did he stress, "Soon! Very soon!"

"Oh, but I already have a partner."

Yan Qingdu said casually, "I'm married."

Though Yan Qingdu's words were lightly spoken, they were like a stone tossed into a tranquil lake, stirring up enormous waves.

"What? Seriously? You're pulling my leg!"

Qin Yunzhi couldn't stay seated anymore. She sprang to her feet and stared intently at Yan Qingdu. Only then did she notice that he was indeed wearing a ring on his left ring finger.

Everyone present looked shocked.

Ye Chongli's mouth fell slightly open. This was juicy gossip. Then he lowered his head and typed furiously on his phone.

Ye Chongli: Your dream man is already married. Your love life is officially over. You have my sympathy for two seconds.

"This is a gift my partner prepared for you."

Yan Qingdu nodded slightly and handed the gift box to his mother. "He couldn't come today because of work, so he asked me to bring his gift. He hopes you'll like it."

Qin Yunzhi took the gift box in a daze, unable to calm down for a long time. Was this real or not?

"If you were going to put on an act like this, you should've given me a heads-up. I don't even know how to play along."

Remembering what Yan Qingdu had said yesterday, Ye Jing’an thought this was merely a way for him to dodge this large-scale matchmaking event and muttered quietly to him.

Yan Qingdu's lips curved, but he only smiled without answering.

Qin Yunzhi absentmindedly opened the gift box. Inside was a necklace of jadeite beads with excellent translucency and texture, clearly worth a fortune.

Lu Qingwan leaned over to look at the jadeite necklace, wondering to herself. It seemed familiar.

"What does he do for work?" Qin Yunzhi's attention was entirely on this marriage partner of Yan Qingdu's who had appeared out of thin air.

Of course, the marriage itself still needed a question mark beside it.

"He's an actor. A very good one." Thinking of Ye Yizhou's award-winning-caliber acting, Yan Qingdu couldn't help the slight upward curve of his lips.

Ye Chongli shared the gossip with Ye Yizhou in real time.

Ye Chongli: Yan Qingdu's new spouse is in show business too.

Ye Chongli: You're in show business too. What do you lack compared to him?

Ye Chongli: Son, your dad is very disappointed in you.

Ye Chongli fired off a whole string of messages before Ye Yizhou's reply finally arrived.

Ye Yizhou: Yellow smiley face.jpg

The smile on his son's face when he mentioned his partner looked very genuine to Yan Shanting.

But.

Yan Qingdu was a bona fide award-winning actor. If he wanted to act, it really would be difficult to tell.

"What's his name? Surely, now that you're married, we as your parents should at least know his name!"

Yan Shanting feigned composure. Once he knew who it was, wouldn't having someone look into it clear everything up?

Yan Qingdu raised his brows slightly and said with a curve of his lips, "His name is Ye Yizhou."

"Huh?" Even Ye Jing’an lost his composure and cried out.

Clatter. The gossip had come back to Ye Chongli's own doorstep. So startled that he lost his grip on his phone, he dropped it on the floor, accidentally playing Ye Yizhou's voice reply.

"No need to be disappointed. Have you considered the possibility that I'm the one who registered a marriage with Yan Qingdu?"

Instantly, everyone's attention turned to Ye Chongli.

"Don't panic. Let me ask him some more."

Though Ye Chongli said not to panic, the hand holding his phone was shaking. Had that brat really gone this far?

Ye Chongli sent him a voice reply. "You're lying to me, right? You said it yourself that day. Qingdu himself said he didn't need a business marriage, so how could you two have registered?"

"Exactly. He said he didn't need a business marriage, so ours is true love."

There was even a touch of smug pride in Ye Yizhou's tone.

"I told you before, didn't I? The only thing standing between Yan Qingdu and me getting married was getting to know each other. Thanks for setting us up, Dad. Love you."

Ye Chongli: ...

Ye Chongli was speechless. What he had least expected was...

"Thank you, Dad." Yan Qingdu thanked Ye Chongli very earnestly.

Ye Chongli gave an awkward but polite smile.

Ye Jing’an finally caught on and laughed in exasperation. "No wonder you said that about our current relationship earlier. Our relationship really is different now!"

Yan Qingdu's lips curved, but he said nothing.

"I knew that jadeite necklace looked familiar. Isn't it the one Yizhou bid on when he went to the auction with me last time?"

The memory instantly came flooding back to Lu Qingwan.

"Yizhou? If I remember correctly, he only graduated from college two years ago. You're six years older than him. Yizhou is so good-looking. Why would he be interested in you?"

Qin Yunzhi and Lu Qingwan were close friends. She had met Ye Yizhou a few times, though she had mostly seen photos of him. He was a very sweet, pretty young man.

"Why did you register so suddenly? Did you see how young and good-looking he was and trick him into registering with you? How could you be so awful!" Qin Yunzhi frowned slightly and smacked Yan Qingdu's arm.

"Ours is true love."

Yan Qingdu felt helpless. Though that didn't sound convincing either, surely it was more believable than saying Ye Yizhou had coaxed him into marriage!

"Wait, he's been home these past two days. What work could he possibly have that kept him from coming?"

Though Ye Chongli had yet to digest the news that Ye Yizhou and Yan Qingdu had already registered their marriage, he still had questions about this.

"He's going on a dating show soon. It's not convenient for him to appear here, or for us to make our marriage public."

Yan Qingdu explained the situation casually.

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at Yan Qingdu with varying degrees of complicated feelings.