Chapter 9
She was comforting herself.
The girl was slender and pale, like a flower in water. Even when holding her hand, Fang Yi didn’t dare to use force, fearing she might hurt her.
Yet, this fragile girl was actually comforting her.
A strange feeling suddenly surged in Fang Yi’s heart.
She had anticipated many scenarios.
If the Lin family’s so-called marriage for good fortune was some malicious, dark magic, like transferring illness or borrowing life, He Shuanghua, waiting outside, would call the police immediately, and Wang Quan, with security consultants, was already ambushed outside the mansion.
She had seen too many disasters caused by feudal superstition. This was just a simple offering table, nothing to worry about.
Even if Shui Wuding restrained her, she had ten thousand ways to fight back.
If her hands were immobilized, she could use a sweeping kick. If her vital points were held, she could rely on feints to escape. The ring she wore could be reversed to act as brass knuckles… No matter how profound the master, they couldn’t withstand her physical iron fist.
But her hand was being held.
It felt like a feather tickling her palm, or a cat’s tail rubbing against her calf. Her heart felt itchy.
Fang Yi squeezed Lin Shuxing’s hand back, whispering, “Okay, I’m not scared.”
The woman’s emerald vertical pupils, hidden in the shadows, took in their interaction. Her red lips curled up, deliberately teasing them:
“The first step of the marriage for good fortune ceremony is kissing. Do you need me to teach you?”
Fang Yi: “…” What nonsense is she talking about!
Lin Shuxing lowered her head, the fingers intertwined with Fang Yi’s slowly tightening.
Fang Yi said coldly, “Don’t engage in this feudal dross. If you talk nonsense again, I’ll smash your candle holders and burn everything down. No one will have a good time.”
“What exactly do you want? Where is Lin Lan? Is all this your idea or hers?”
“So fierce,” Shui Wuding sighed lightly, “Alright, no more fooling around. It wouldn’t be good to truly miss the time.”
She gently clapped her hands. The curtains in the room automatically drew open, and the lights came on.
“You just need to write your names on this paper,” Shui Wuding picked up a yellow talisman and a half-bowl of dark brown pigment, “Write them down, burn them, and they will reach the heavens.”
She seemed to have anticipated that Fang Yi wouldn’t cooperate obediently. She handed over a phone, “Let your shaman speak to you.”
On the other end of the phone, an old woman with white hair was catching a chicken. The sound of dogs barking was faintly audible.
Fang Yi: “Grandma?”
The old woman heard the movement, looked up, and smiled widely, “Hey! Xiao Yi, treat the girl well! Your mother and I are doing fine now.”
Fang Yi keenly noticed that the luxurious courtyard behind her was not her small rural home.
“How do you prove you are my grandmother?”
The old woman on the other side paused, then switched to the local dialect, raising her eyebrows, “If I’m not your grandma, could I be an old ghost?”
The familiar fiery temper. It was definitely her.
Shui Wuding turned the phone, “Sister Yu, your granddaughter has a temper just like yours. I teased her a bit, and she threatened to burn my altar.”
The old woman laughed heartily, “Well, of course. Why would you tease her properly?”
The old woman was in excellent health, and her voice was loud. Even without speakerphone, her voice was full of vitality.
She said, “Xiao Yi, this is Grandma’s friend. Don’t feel burdened, okay? It’s just a formality, nothing serious.”
“By the way, I forgot to tell you, we moved. Come back after we’ve settled down, okay?”
Fang Yi: “?” Suddenly, her home ran away.
She didn’t need to think to know this was the Lin family’s doing.
Shui Wuding hung up the phone, had them sign their names one by one, and chanted some scriptures mysteriously.
Before lighting the yellow talisman, she made a gesture between Fang Yi and Lin Shuxing with both hands, smiling, “This will occupy your marriage destiny slot. Are you sure—?”
Before she could finish asking, Lin Shuxing had already nodded.
Fang Yi also waved her hand, “Yes.”
The so-called ceremony was simple. After burning the yellow talisman, the two offered incense together. Shui Wuding shook a bell, and it was considered complete.
Afterward, they smoothly signed the agreement. Lin Shuxing didn’t make any further demands.
But before Fang Yi left, Lin Shuxing suddenly looked up and asked, “Don’t you need to ask your mother about this kind of thing?”
Fang Yi hadn’t expected her to ask this and was stunned, “No, I can decide for myself.”
However, Lin Shuxing’s question made her realize: For such a big matter, why hadn’t Lin Lan shown up?
Fang Yi still left in He Shuanghua’s car. Wang Quan, who had been lurking outside, was extremely disappointed at the lack of opportunity to show off her prowess. She grudgingly took her team and left.
He Shuanghua answered her, “Because Lin Shuxing is an adult and has full civil capacity. Signing this kind of agreement doesn’t require a guardian’s supervision.”
“There’s another reason,” she winked cunningly, “Today is the unified coming-of-age ceremony for the aristocratic high school, APU. Lin Lan must have gone to attend.”
“Oh, a coming-of-age ceremony,” Fang Yi nodded, then felt strange, “Doesn’t Lin Shuxing need to go?”
“APU is later than public high schools. The timing is staggered.”
Fang Yi frowned. They weren’t in the same school?
She had overlooked this fact until now.
Wang Quan also graduated from APU, an institution specifically for children from wealthy families. Beyond the excellent educational resources, the networking opportunities were even more crucial.
Most APU students went abroad for further studies. Those who stayed in the country generally fell into two categories: one, future heirs who would take over the family business during university, for whom studying abroad was inconvenient.
Two, favored children who weren’t expected to achieve great things. Their parents feared the distance and insecurity of being far away, so they kept them domestic to play around.
Lin Lan hadn’t sent Lin Shuxing to APU. Did she know Lin Shuxing wasn’t her biological daughter all along?
He Shuanghua glanced at her, implying, “That’s why I said the situation in these wealthy families is very complicated.”
Fang Yi looked back at the Lin family mansion, obscured by dense trees, feeling that the truth was veiled by a layer of mist.
It couldn’t be ruled out that someone was playing tricks, deceiving Lin Shuxing into agreeing to cancel the engagement with Li Sinian.
But why go to such lengths?
The System wailed a reminder: 【The mission is not complete!! Not complete!! I knew it, large points wouldn’t be so easy!】
【Did we buy the wrong one? She only said ‘little bear,’ it doesn’t necessarily mean plush!】
In the following days, Fang Yi brought Lin Shuxing a little bear almost every day.
From ceramic baked bears to plastic bear keychains, the entire city’s bear-related products were practically holding a convention in Lin Shuxing’s bedroom.
But the mission still showed no progress.
The System was desperate: We even prepared a bear cake and bear socks. What exactly does she want?!!
Wang Quan, as Fang Yi’s number one fan and business partner, was also collapsing: Did the Lin family put a curse on the Boss? Why does she run to that broken villa every day!
In the past, Fang Yi was very efficiency-oriented. She wouldn’t even wait for popular internet-famous shops that required queuing.
The Lin family old mansion was secluded. Just the daily commute back and forth took a significant amount of time.
The Boss’s time is precious. How can it be wasted on such things!
Abnormal, too abnormal. Wang Quan clenched her fists indignantly, even considering secretly plucking two strands of Fang Yi’s hair to send for testing, to see if she was truly poisoned.
She had once heard that a long, long time ago, wives would put chronic poison in their husband’s breakfast. The longer the husband stayed away from his wife, the more dangerous it became, causing discomfort all over. Only by obediently returning home on time, the sooner the better, could he eat the loving dinner mixed with the antidote.
Wang Quan stealthily pinched, and cleanly plucked—
“Hmm?”
Fang Yi turned around in pain, seeing a small tuft of black hair in Wang Quan’s hand.
She asked calmly, “What are you going to use that for?”
“I’m so sorry!!!”
Wang Quan let out a sharp shriek, “I didn’t mean to! I just, wuaa, because Boss, you are too devoted to Lin Shuxing. I was afraid you were poisoned or cursed!!”
Fang Yi turned her head and patted the restless Wang Quan.
“Boss, don’t be angry. I’ll buy you black sesame paste and X-King shampoo so you can grow lots and lots of hair!”
Wang Quan slumped down dejectedly, like a large dog lying down, her imposing presence significantly diminished, “I just don’t want to see you acting like a dog for a woman!”
Fang Yi pulled her up, her expression serious, “Since it concerns my dignity, I won’t hide it from you.”
“What?” Wang Quan instantly perked up, her face screaming: Tell me now!!
“To prove that I am not marrying into the Lin family as a kept man, I boasted and promised Lin Shuxing a few wishes.”
“She wants a little bear.”
“It would be very shameful to break my promise.”
Fang Yi maintained a straight face, speaking earnest nonsense, “You understand. Honor, to a knight, is more important than life itself.”
The right medicine for the illness. Wang Quan fell for this completely.
Sure enough, Wang Quan didn’t doubt her, clapped her hands, and suddenly understood, murmuring, “So that’s what it is!”
If anyone else heard this, they might think Fang Yi was crazy. But in Wang Quan’s mind, a deeper script had even evolved:
The vicious Queen Lin Lan didn’t want the princess to marry, deliberately instigating a difficult task. When the warrior Fang Yi failed to complete it, they would laugh wildly from the castle, “How dare a pauper like you covet my treasure? Get lost!”
“Never mind a little bear, you savage who doesn’t even have a puppy or kitten! What do you have to match my daughter!”
Fang Yi didn’t know what Wang Quan was thinking, but Wang Quan clearly quieted down, finally allowing her to write her research plan in peace.
But before she could put pen to paper, Wang Quan grabbed her hand, her eyes as determined as diamonds, flashing with an eerie light.
“I know! A little bear, you lack a little bear. They would never dream that you, the dignified Fang Yi, are someone they can’t afford to mess with!”
“Thirty years east, thirty years west. Don’t underestimate the poor youth!”
“The three-year period is up! Welcome back, Boss! Time to slap the vicious Lin family’s face!”
Fang Yi: “…?” ==
Facing Fang Yi’s confused and bewildered eyes, Wang Quan dragged her off, speeding all the way to her private zoo.
“Little bear, a little brown bear. It likes to eat fruit.”
Fang Yi looked down at the round, chubby little bear the zookeeper placed in her arms. For the first time in a bustling city, she felt the word “fantasy.”
A real bear?
There’s a real bear?
Wang Quan waved her hand grandly, “Mine is yours. Take it and defend your honor and glory! Boss!”
The zoo director appropriately bowed and added, “CEO Wang, CEO Fang, we have proper procedures and conditions for raising them. The little bear is very healthy, with regular check-ups and deworming. It’s two months old, very docile, and can be mixed with other pets at home.”
CEO Fang. The title made her skin crawl.
The System jumped up: 【That’s right, that’s right! This is the taste of the rich. It’s normal for their preferences to be a little different!!】
Desperate times called for desperate measures. The System was already going crazy.
Never mind a legal and compliant little bear. It even considered that the Host’s nickname was Little Bear. If necessary—
【As long as the mission can be completed, even if it means my Host truly marries into a wealthy family, gets perfect love, and has sex every day, I’m willing!!】
Fang Yi: ?
She thought for a moment, not rashly bringing the little cub back. Instead, she took out her phone and snapped a picture for Lin Shuxing.
[Fang Yi]: Look, a little bear.
[AAA Fiancée]: Little bear.
While Fang Yi was slowly typing, several more messages came from the other side.
[AAA Fiancée]: You want to bring this home?
[AAA Fiancée]: Not allowed.
Predicted.
Fang Yi rubbed her nose, carefully placing the heavy little bear cub back on the ground.
“Give the baby back to the big bear.”
The little bear looked up at Fang Yi with its round, black eyes, stumbling over to hug her thigh.
It really is… kind of cute.
The phone dinged, and another cat-head message popped up.
[AAA Fiancée]: Do you know how many bears there are at home?
Attached was a selfie. In the photo, the girl was sitting amidst a variety of plush brown bears, black bears, polar bears, and red pandas, arms crossed, her lips pressed downward, making an angry face.
Wang Quan, standing nearby, watched Fang Yi reveal a smile that could only be described as gentle, and immediately clenched the hair in her pocket tightly.
Testing, it must be tested!! What kind of poison is so potent that she can’t even control her facial muscles!!!
The task panel refreshed again, but this time it didn’t bring good news.
Fang Yi watched the penalty column slowly melt, turning into a pool of dark red, dripping into the darkness.
“You are an unloved child.”
Noo…