Chapter 16

Jing Liyuan parked the car by the riverside, rolled down the window to let the river breeze blow into the car, and remained in the car with Yin Xiaoxiao. Neither of them spoke.

"Yin Xiaoxiao, you still have a chance to back out." Jing Liyuan broke the silence and didn't sound upset at all as he continued, "I helped you out by getting your family off your back. I won't force the issue if you don't wish to marry me, but..."

He suddenly stopped and turned to look at the woman sitting next to him.

She was so gorgeous that she seemed as beautiful as a fairy when she was wearing makeup, but once her makeup was removed, she looked just like a pure and innocent rabbit. He had to admit that he had been stunned by her beauty when he first saw her.

Yin Xiaoxiao instinctively looked up at him. Jing Liyuan had driven them to the riverside after they had left the house, and this was their first real conversation after getting married.

"But I will not entertain the idea of divorce once we are married."

The word "divorce" did not exist in the vocabulary of the Jing family, but he felt that he should give Yin Xiaoxiao a choice regardless of why she had chosen to marry him earlier that day. He was not planning to accept any answer but a rejection from her!

Yin Xiaoxiao suddenly broke into a smile as she looked up at him.

The corners of her lips curved upward and it was like a devil's snare blooming brightly by the riverside on a spring day. Soon, he heard her say, "Jing Liyuan, you said that you would not entertain the idea of divorce once we get married. Doesn't this mean that we can't get divorced now? I need you to help me keep all my family at bay and you seem to need a wife, right?"

Her eyes shone brightly as though she had read his mind. "Since you don't plan to accept any answer that isn't a rejection from me, does my answer even matter?"

This was just a rhetorical question and they both knew it.

They stared at each other for a while and suddenly, Yin Xiaoxiao stretched out her hand and said playfully, "Jing Liyuan, I hope we'll have a happy marriage."

Jing Liyuan's brows arched as he looked at her hand before he reached out to shake it.

This was how, in a couple of hours, two complete strangers had decided to embark on the most important stage of their lives together.

"Let's go house viewing tomorrow. I'll take you to meet my parents in the afternoon." Jing Liyuan told her his plans for the next day as he sent her home. "Then, we'll start preparing for our wedding ceremony. After an auspicious date has been selected, we'll hold the official ceremony."

Yin Xiaoxiao didn't raise any objection. She knew that there would be no backing out of this after she agreed to marry him.

Yin Xiaoxiao nodded earnestly and set reminders on her phone as he spoke. She knew that there were many things to be done before they could hold their wedding ceremony. She was so engrossed in his words that she didn't even notice when he suddenly stopped the car.

"Why did you..." Yin Xiaoxiao started to ask and finally stopped looking at her phone. She immediately turned pale when she looked up and saw the face of the man being illuminated by the car's headlights.

Jing Liyuan looked at the man in front of the car with slightly arched brows. He didn't know this man well, but he was acquainted with him. He looked at Yin Xiaoxiao but didn't say anything. He didn't seem particularly upset, but his ambivalent attitude made her feel a little uneasy.

Sometimes, Jing Liyuan gave off an imposing aura that could strike fear into the hearts of others.

Yin Xiaoxiao opened the door and walked up to Xiang Chen. She looked cold and aloof as she said softly, "Congratulations on your impending marriage to my sister. I, too, will be..."

He suddenly pulled her into his embrace before she could tell him that she was also married. He spoke loudly into her ear, "Xiaoxiao, I'm sorry, it's all my fault. Will you forgive me? I'll call off my engagement with Ruoyun and I won't marry her, so could you call your marriage off too? Shall we start anew?"

Jing Liyuan's eyes narrowed as he sat in his Evoque. His expression suddenly hardened and the air around him crackled with tension.