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Gu Bai put down his controller with some reluctance to attend to his business.

"Hello."

The other person did not answer right away. Gu Bai heard a muffled sigh through the static.

"Gu Bai, this is Chu Zeshen."

Gu Bai understood. So this was about his first business deal, the marriage alliance contract. He had taken the principle of not discussing business after coming home to its fullest extent.

Gu Bai lied through his teeth. "Hello, Mr. Chu. I'm looking over the contract right now. I don't have any other questions at the moment."

All sorts of game controllers sat on the table, but not the contract he claimed to be reading.

Just then, Mocha came over to cause trouble and accidentally pressed a controller on the table. The paused game suddenly sprang to life on the screen, complete with sound effects.

The speakers faced the sofa, and the sound was loud enough to travel through the phone to the person on the other end.

Gu Bai covered the microphone in a futile attempt to hide it and scolded quietly, "Mocha, get down."

Then he pressed pause, and the sound effects finally stopped.

"Did I interrupt you?" Chu Zeshen asked.

Gu Bai got up to search for the documents he had left somewhere. "No, you didn't."

He searched the living room without finding them, then finally found them in the entryway.

Gu Bai was just about to speak when he heard someone on the other end say, "Mr. Chu."

"You're still at the office?" Gu Bai checked the time. It was already eleven.

Chu Zeshen's voice was a little low. "There's a proposal that needs to be sorted out tonight."

Gu Bai said, "Then I won't keep you. I'll message you if I have any questions about the contract."

Just as Gu Bai was about to hang up, he heard the other man say, "Save my number under my name."

Gu Bai paused. Remembering that he had just asked who the caller was, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"Okay."

The first thing Gu Bai did after hanging up was save Chu Zeshen's name to his number.

Mocha had been lying dejectedly on the sofa ever since being scolded. Gu Bai rubbed his head in comfort, then yawned before leisurely opening the documents.

He skimmed through them and realized that the terms in the documents mostly involved contributions from Chu Zeshen's side.

For instance, Gu Bai would not have to pay for dates, trips, clothing, food, housing, or transportation. On top of that, when the one-year contract ended, Chu Zeshen would give him another fifty million and a property as compensation.

It could be called the final performance fee for a year-long act. A year's performance fee rivaled the inheritance he had received as a son of the Gu family. If he kept acting for a few more years, the compensation would exceed the inheritance he held.

Looking at the final terms, Gu Bai admitted that he was a little tempted.

However, there were also terms both of them had to follow. After becoming legal spouses, neither could do anything that would damage the image of the Gu and Chu families. Put simply, they had to keep their noses clean.

Gu Bai did not mind that. Their marriage would be in name only anyway. But with how career-focused Chu Zeshen was, he probably would not start another relationship before this one ended.

So that clause was aimed at him.

Gu Bai remembered Chu Zeshen asking who Mocha was when he drove him home. If he was not mistaken, Chu Zeshen had thought he was keeping a lover at home.

He looked at Mocha, who was playing with a pink stuffed toy beside him. This little whiner could indeed be quite delicate at times.

After reading the entire contract, Gu Bai reached only one conclusion: he could never lose on this deal. Businesspeople were all about making a profit. A small profit was still a profit, and so was a big one.

Gu Bai told Mocha to fetch a pen from the coffee table. Hearing his owner's voice, Mocha immediately sprang into action.

Once Gu Bai had the pen, he signed his name at the end of the contract.

There seemed to be an unseen hand behind this marriage alliance, pushing things along rapidly. Including their first meeting at the Gu family home, with two voice calls about the contract in between, their second meeting was now, as the two of them emerged from the marriage registry holding their marriage certificates.

In less than a week, Gu Bai had married a man he had only met twice.

Unlike the other couples leaving the Civil Affairs Bureau, neither Gu Bai nor Chu Zeshen wore a smile, nor did they show any of the excitement or shyness of becoming officially married.

They were like two businessmen who had just stepped out of a business meeting, with a hint of distance and formality in their words and actions.

Still, the two handsome men standing together at the Civil Affairs Bureau, red marriage booklets in hand, made quite a lovely sight, drawing repeated glances from passersby.

There was some sort of event that day, with a stall set up outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, handing a red rose to each newlywed coming out.

The person in charge of the event approached Chu Zeshen with a smile. "Wishing you and your husband a happy marriage and a lifetime together."

Chu Zeshen accepted the bewitchingly red rose and smiled. "Thank you."

The organizer then handed Gu Bai a flower as well. "Congratulations on your marriage."

Gu Bai smiled too and replied, "Thank you."

The event area was decorated with plenty of wedding dolls and heart-shaped balloons. Many newlyweds who had just collected their certificates were taking photos there to commemorate this important day.

Holding his marriage certificate and rose, Chu Zeshen said, "I'll drive you home."

There was not much conversation between them. After getting into the car, Gu Bai thought about what to have for dinner. There seemed to be chicken in the fridge. Roast chicken would go nicely with a drink.

Speaking of drinks, should he have baijiu or red wine? Something strong, then. He had not had a drink in a week and missed it a little.

Suddenly, a ringtone sounded inside the car, interrupting Gu Bai's mental dinner plans.

Chu Zeshen said, "Could you answer that for me? Sorry for the trouble. It's not convenient while I'm driving."

Gu Bai picked up the still-ringing phone from the little compartment between the passenger and driver's seats. Seeing who was calling, he answered and put it on speaker.

"You brat! What took you so long to answer?"

Elder Chu's booming voice came through.

Chu Zeshen kept his eyes on the road ahead. "I'm driving."

Elder Chu harrumphed. "Have you picked up your marriage certificates?"

Chu Zeshen said, "We just did. I'm taking Gu... Xiao Bai home now."