Xie Qichen took Tan Mo away. Tan Zhiwan and the others saw this and were so shocked that their jaws dropped, thinking they must be hallucinating.
The girls had originally intended to teach Tan Mo a lesson, but who dared to stop her in front of Xie Qichen?
Chen Ningning covered her burning, red cheek and was so angry she almost cried: “Didn’t Tan Mo say that Xie Qichen hadn’t contacted her for a long time?!”
“Yeah, why does Xie Qichen still protect Tan Mo like he used to?”
“Maybe it’s because our families are planning a marriage alliance, so Xie protects her for that reason…”
Listening to their discussion, Tan Zhiwan’s palms turned pale from being gripped too tightly by her nails.
If she had agreed to the marriage alliance a few days ago, perhaps Xie Qichen would have protected her just now…
A sense of dissatisfaction from being overshadowed filled her heart.
As the girls continued their chatter, Tan Mo was led out of the mansion by Xie Qichen.
Her earlier anger had transformed into confusion because of his sudden appearance, and she hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.
The night was cool like water. The man’s jacket wrapped around her exuded a deep sandalwood fragrance, dispelling the chill. Xie Qichen held her close, his palm like a hot iron imprinting on her skin, a warmth impossible to ignore.
Tan Mo remembered how, in the past, Xie Qichen had always protected her in public.
That time was also at a banquet. She had been brought along by her parents. Standing quietly in a corner of the banquet hall, too shy to speak to anyone, she had seen Xie Qichen leaning casually on a railing chatting with others not far away.
He wore a crisp white shirt, his arm draped over the railing, a faint smile curling his lips, relaxed and effortless.
Just standing there, he was the most radiant person in the crowd.
Tan Mo only knew him at the event and was hesitating whether to approach him when a girl beside her saw through her thoughts: “Tan Mo, you dare to shamelessly throw yourself at Xie Qichen again? Don’t make a spectacle tonight with so many people around.”
As Chen Ningning and the others were sarcastically mocking her, they noticed the boy’s peach-blossom eyes (a term often used to describe charming, alluring eyes) suddenly turn toward them.
Some girls immediately felt their hearts flutter, only to see the boy’s gaze shift sideways, landing on Tan Mo standing behind them. Tan Mo sensed something and looked up to meet his eyes.
“Aren’t you coming over?”
He raised his eyebrows, staring directly at her.
Dazed, she walked toward him. Xie Qichen smirked: “A bunch of silly girls gossiping nonsense, and you’re just standing there listening like an idiot?”
The girls froze instantly at his words.
Right now, just like back then, Tan Mo’s heart was beating rapidly.
Her emotions were in chaos until a familiar low, cool, and magnetic male voice from above pulled her back to reality:
“Does your hand hurt?”
She was momentarily stunned: “What…?”
“You hit someone earlier.”
“…?”
He had seen what happened just now, yet instead of questioning why she had hit someone, he was concerned about whether her hand hurt?
She shook her head, realizing she was being held by him and awkwardly tried to pull her hand away. Then she heard the man speak again:
“What did they say to you?”
Xie Qichen felt that Tan Mo was like a cat. Although she was usually playful, spoiled, and had a lot of little temper tantrums, if she actually resorted to physical confrontation, it must mean someone had crossed a line.
Tan Mo lowered her eyes and shook her head:
“It’s fine. My hands were just itchy today, so I hit someone to relieve the itch. It made me feel better.”
Xie Qichen was silent for a few seconds before uttering a few words:
“If they bother you again, tell me.”
Hearing this, Tan Mo was momentarily stunned.
What was she supposed to tell him for…
When she regained her senses, Tan Mo saw that they had already reached the entrance of the mansion.
A familiar license-plate Rolls-Royce was parked by the roadside, and the waiting driver immediately opened the car door for them. Xie Qichen said, “Get in first.”
Tan Mo stepped into the car, feeling a twinge of pain in her ankle, but she endured it and showed no sign of discomfort.
Xie Qichen got in from the other side. She turned to look at him, dressed in a suit and tie, and hesitantly asked, “When did you come back…”
“The plane landed half an hour ago.”
So he came looking for her immediately after getting off the plane?
“But how did you know I was here…”
“I asked your father, and he said you were here.”
Tan Mo softly acknowledged and handed him back his coat. “Thank you.”
The man slowly took it, and the atmosphere inside the quiet car became increasingly subtle due to the sudden events of the past few days. Tan Mo lightly clenched her fingertips, her heart feeling as if suspended by a rope. She turned her head and stared straight out the window.
A faint male voice came from beside her.
“Weren’t you pretty fierce on the phone the other day? Why are you so timid now that you’ve seen me?”
“…”
Tan Mo glanced at him guiltily: “Who’s timid?”
The car ride wasn’t long. Ten minutes later, the car stopped in front of a detached villa.
Xie Qichen asked her to get out, and Tan Mo, puzzled, asked, “Where is this?”
“My usual residence.”
???
Seeing her wary look, Xie Qichen chuckled, “What? Are you afraid I’ll lock you in and never let you out?”
“…”
What kind of kidnapping plot was this?
Then he spoke seriously, “I’m going back to the villa to drop off my luggage. I have something to talk to you about.”
Tan Mo had no choice but to follow him inside.
Inside the villa, the space was vast, the decor understated yet stylish, with a cold black, white, and gray style, devoid of any vitality.
Xie Qichen first carried the luggage upstairs. Tan Mo stood in the living room, feeling waves of pain from her ankle that she could no longer suppress, almost piercing into the bone.
Unable to bear it any longer, she leaned against the sofa and looked down, realizing her ankle had already swollen and turned red.
Oh no, the pain from walking on it earlier must have made it worse…
She furrowed her delicate brows and bent down to gently rub the swollen area. However, Xie Qichen quickly came downstairs and she immediately stood straight, but it was too late—he had already seen. He walked up to her.
“What happened to your foot?”
“No…”
Xie Qichen saw her ankle and his eyes darkened. “Did those girls do this?”
Tan Mo quickly shook her head. “I just accidentally twisted it while walking on the lawn. It’s really nothing.”
“You’re so pale from the pain and you still say it’s nothing?”
Tan Mo bit her lip.
Xie Qichen examined her ankle and then, wrapping one arm around her waist, scooped her up effortlessly.
“Xie Qichen…”
Her eyes widened.
Her nose was filled with his cold, fresh scent, and her heart suddenly felt weightless. Fortunately, within two seconds, her bottom was already on a high stool in front of the dining counter.
Watching Xie Qichen walk away, Tan Mo could only sit there, reminded of that night in the mountain villa, a scene so similar.
Sigh, why was her foot always causing trouble…
A moment later, Xie Qichen returned with an ice pack. He held her ankle, lifted it slightly, and placed the ice pack on it.
His movements were very gentle, as if handling something fragile.
Tan Mo’s heart was completely thrown into disarray by him. She thought again about the marriage alliance, and frustration and confusion uncontrollably surged within her. She wanted to keep her distance:
“I don’t need this. I can do it myself.”
She tried to take the ice pack, but Xie Qichen firmly refused to let her take it.
She withdrew her hand, lowered her head, and felt the man’s gaze, sometimes present, sometimes absent, resting on her. After a while, she couldn’t bear it anymore and looked up at him, speaking with deliberate detachment:
“Xie Qichen, I really don’t have time to waste here. If you have something to talk to me about, just say it directly.”
Xie Qichen locked eyes with her and rolled out a few words from his throat:
“What do you think we need to talk about?”
Two seconds of silence passed before she heard him speak again:
“Let’s talk about the marriage alliance.”
She was quiet for a moment, then forced a smile: “Talk to me? Isn’t it enough for you to just decide and inform me later? Do I even have the right to speak?”
“Who said you don’t have the right to speak?”
“Isn’t that the case?”
“You’re the person involved, why wouldn’t you have the right?”
She angrily took a deep breath and raised her cold amber eyes to meet his, getting straight to the point:
“Fine, then I’ll ask you directly. What do you mean by choosing to form a marriage alliance with me?”
“You think you know my intentions?”
Tan Mo gave a light laugh: “As the president of Aochuang, you want to use a marriage alliance with the Tan family to cooperate with Yuntong and gain the benefits you want. Unfortunately, Tan Zhiwan refused, so you had to settle for me as a backup option, right?”
The grievances and anger that had been building up in her heart over the past few days surged forth, making Tan Mo’s nose sting.
She looked at him: “Xie Qichen, let me tell you clearly, I’m not willing.”
“I know I’m not some noble and refined young lady,” Tan Mo choked up, “but why do you all treat me like an object to be picked and sacrificed at will? What am I in your eyes?”
She admitted that in the past, when she secretly loved him, her greatest wish had been to marry him.
But she had hoped it would be because he loved her, not through this method that trampled her dignity underfoot.
After a few seconds of silence, Tan Mo suppressed her emotions, lowered her reddened eyes, and refused to look at him anymore: “You can treat marriage casually, but don’t drag me into it. I can tell that Tan Zhiwan is quite willing to marry you. She’s just more reserved. You can go ask her again.”
She got down from the high stool, trying to push him aside and leave, but her wrist was firmly gripped by his strong hand, pinning her against the dining table.
“Tan Mo, who said you’re a sacrifice?”
The man looked down at her, his deep, hoarse voice falling:
“In your eyes, would I use you like this just for profit?”
Trapped in place by him, Tan Mo then watched him pick up a document from the nearby table and hand it to her.
“Read this first.”
Tan Mo took it and opened it, discovering it was a marriage contract.
“I drafted this marriage contract these past two days. You can browse through it.”
“Our marriage alliance will last only two years. After two years, you can choose to end it. During this time, if you regret or no longer wish to continue, the marriage alliance can also be terminated at any time. Of course, if you don’t want to proceed at all, I’ll go and tell your father that it was my idea, having nothing to do with you.”
He looked at her:
“Tan Mo, at any time, you have the right to refuse.”
She had absolute freedom; he wouldn’t force her into any decision. From the beginning, he had never intended to pressure her.
Tan Mo was stunned. She then heard Xie Qichen continue:
“The two-year marriage agreement is the development period for both groups. For Yuntong and Aochuang right now, each is an important partner for the other. The market competition is fierce. Aochuang plans to enter the international market, and Yuntong also has this intention.”
“After the marriage alliance, our two groups can carry out comprehensive, in-depth cooperation and technology sharing, jointly develop products, and Yuntong won’t have to worry about orders in the future. You will become Aochuang’s largest supplier.”
The marriage contract detailed the cooperation direction between Yuntong and Aochuang Group after the marriage alliance, as well as various benefits Yuntong would gain.
Tan Mo flipped through the agreement, reaching one page, when Xie Qichen said:
“Not only will the groups benefit. Here are the personal benefits you will receive after marriage.”
Tan Mo saw the clauses below and was stunned—
Included in the agreement were more than ten properties under Xie Qichen’s name, both domestic and foreign, each worth tens of millions.
In addition, the man had given her shares in Aochuang Group and several of his overseas companies, as well as shares in several other investment enterprises he had in various countries over the years, along with other miscellaneous assets, all written in the agreement.
“These assets can be converted into cash and will not be reclaimed regardless of how long the marriage agreement lasts. If you have any other requests, you can also put them forward,” the man said.
Tan Mo was completely stunned: “Xie Qichen, are you crazy? I can’t match this amount of money to exchange with you.”
“You don’t need to exchange anything.”
“Then why are you giving me so much…”
“This is the——bride price.”
His tone was calm: “My bride price for marrying you.”
Tan Mo was stunned. Finally, the man leaned down to her eye level, his eyes reflecting only her, his emotions surging:
“And who told you that I chose you only because I couldn’t have Tan Zhiwan?”
“This marriage contract, with me as Party A and you as Party B, has been set and never changed.”
“Before this, I don’t know and have no interest in knowing how your father negotiated the marriage alliance with my father using Tan Zhiwan’s identity, or whether Tan Zhiwan refused or not, because she has never been in my consideration.”
The person before his eyes was suddenly astonished.
“Tan Mo——”
He called her name.
They were very close, and outside the nearby floor-to-ceiling window, the night poured in like water, illuminating the man’s handsome and distinct face, half in shadow.
Tan Mo looked up and met the man’s dark, burning black eyes, his voice low and husky:
“I’ve never considered anyone else.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage