After Being Cheated, I Had a Flash Marriage with My Ex's Aunt - Chapter 16

Li Sui was momentarily speechless. It’s this obvious, and she’s still asking me? She wasn’t an idiot, but she couldn’t exactly say it out loud. She had already “messed up” once before; she didn’t want to leave Shuyi with a bad impression. Staying a bit reserved was definitely the right move.

Li Sui pulled the duvet up over her face. “I don’t know. I’m going to sleep.”

Hearing her muffled voice, Shuyi felt a tiny pang of disappointment. “I’ll stop teasing you, then. Go to sleep.” Shuyi got up to turn off the light, but just then, Li Sui’s phone buzzed on the sofa.

Shuyi reached for the phone to hand it to her, but Li Sui sat up to grab it herself. Shuyi caught a glimpse of the caller ID; Li Sui’s brow furrowed, and a look of pure disgust flashed across her face.

“Who’s calling this late?” Shuyi asked casually.

Li Sui set the phone to airplane mode and looked up at her. “My ex-girlfriend. Or, in the words of my best friend: that ‘god-awful, cheating piece of trash.'”

Shuyi’s lips curved into a smirk. “Then she clearly has terrible taste.”

*****

After that night at the bar, Shuyi had asked her secretary to look into Li Sui’s past. She had discovered that the little girl who had rescued her and her aunt on that rainy night years ago was none other than Li Sui. She knew Li Sui had only been at that bar because she was drinking away a broken heart.

Li Sui has so many virtues, Shuyi thought. Her ex was a fool for not cherishing her.

Still, Shuyi was curious. Had Li Sui truly let go of her ex? She hadn’t finished reading the full report, and she found herself wanting to know more. “How… how did you two break up?” Shuyi asked, trying to sound indifferent.

“We were together for two years,” Li Sui said, her voice dropping. “But I caught her cheating, so I dumped her. I can’t tolerate infidelity—it’s my absolute bottom line. When you asked me what I looked for in a partner, you understood what I meant, right?”

“It’s my bottom line, too,” Shuyi said firmly. She saw the sadness in Li Sui’s eyes and paused. “When I told you I wanted to build a family with you, I wasn’t joking.”

Li Sui stared at her. She had always been an emotional person, and life’s hardships had made her perceptive; she could tell Shuyi was being sincere. Liang Xiaona had been a nightmare, but maybe she didn’t have to let that shadow haunt her forever.

“Okay,” Li Sui said, a small smile finally reaching her eyes. “I believe you.”

That smile made something shift in Shuyi’s chest. A rare, genuine warmth bubbled up, and her own lips curved upward. They shared a silent look, the air between them turning naturally intimate.

“Cough.” Li Sui broke the silence, eager to change the subject. “By the way, I haven’t had time to prepare gifts yet. Who exactly is in your family?”

“I’ll handle the gifts,” Shuyi said, her expression turning serious. “There is something I should probably tell you in advance.”

Li Sui’s heart squeezed at Shuyi’s gravity. “What is it?”

“My family… it’s a bit complicated,” Shuyi explained. “My father is a ‘matrilocal’ husband—he married into the family. We haven’t officially split the household, though the younger generation lives separately. We all gather for holidays, so there are a lot of people.”

Li Sui realized Shuyi was giving her a heads-up. Big families were usually chaotic. Are they not getting along? “So… if we go back for the holidays, does that mean we’ll get a lot of red packets?” Li Sui asked with a grin.

Shuyi hadn’t expected her to focus on the money. She burst into a laugh. “Naturally.”

Li Sui exhaled in relief. “Then it’s fine. We’ll live our lives, and everyone else can just stay out of it. I thought you were going to tell me something scary.”

“There won’t be any distant relatives tomorrow, just the immediate family,” Shuyi added. “My father is overseas on business and won’t be back in time, so we’ll have dinner with him when he returns.”

“Got it.”

“And one more thing,” Shuyi said, cutting to the chase. “When my mother was pushing me to get married, she promised that my spouse would receive a 10% equity transfer in the Jiangshan Group. She’ll likely have you sign the papers tomorrow in front of everyone. Just go ahead and sign them.”

“What equity transfer?” Li Sui’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Are you saying your family… owns the Jiangshan Group?”

Shuyi nodded. “Mhm. My eldest sister manages it currently.”

Li Sui was floored. The Jiangshan Group was a global behemoth—one of the top Fortune 100 companies—with subsidiaries in tech, entertainment, real estate, and finance. Compared to the Jiangshan Group, the animation studio she ran with Tan Xiao was a lemonade stand.

A 10% stake meant Li Sui could do absolutely nothing and still receive hundreds of millions in dividends every year. The sheer weight of that wealth made her go cold.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before we got married?”

“Why are you so surprised?” Shuyi asked, amused. “Didn’t you look me up?”

“I really didn’t know!” Li Sui said, her face a mask of complex emotions. “I saw you on the variety show trends, but I had no idea about your family. I just thought you were a successful lawyer…”

“I am a lawyer,” Shuyi said simply. “The Jiangshan Group is the family business. My personal assets aren’t that different from yours.”

Li Sui was silent. A sense of unease began to creep into her heart. Does your mother know about my background?

“She knows,” Shuyi said, sensing her shift in mood. “But you saw her today. She likes you.”

Li Sui felt as if she’d stumbled into a dream—or a high-stakes novel. She had flash-married the daughter of one of the richest families in the country and had been gifted Imperial Jade just for showing up. But she was an orphan whose stepfather was in prison for domestic abuse. She and Shuyi had no foundation. They weren’t from the same world.

She closed her eyes, a sudden wave of doubt washing over her. Was this choice too reckless?

Shuyi didn’t expect this reaction. Li Sui looked like a wilted flower. After the lights went out, Shuyi wanted to speak to her, but seeing Li Sui’s back turned toward her, she decided to give her space.

****

The next morning, the first rays of sun hit the bedroom. Shuyi woke up to find Li Sui still fast asleep in her arms. She stared at the girl, feeling a strange, intense surge of happiness. It felt just like that morning after the bar—except now, they were legally wed.

Shuyi got up quietly to freshen up in the guest room. When Li Sui finally woke, her mind was a bit clearer. She’d spent half the night tossing and turning over Shuyi’s revelation, but eventually, she’d reached a conclusion.

We’re already married. Shuyi hasn’t hidden anything from me, and she’s been sincere. If she’s from the richest family in the city, so be it. I’ve already accepted the emeralds. We’ll live our lives, and if it doesn’t work out, we can always divorce.

Feeling better, Li Sui got up and brushed her teeth while searching for more info on the Jiangshan Group. Every member of the Bai family was a powerhouse. Even Shuyi’s father’s side was high-society royalty.

Will the rest of them really accept someone like me?

She headed downstairs to find the house filled with the delicious aroma of breakfast. Shuyi was in the kitchen, and her mother, Bai Zhilan, was on the balcony playing with the cats.

“Good morning, Mom,” Li Sui said politely.

“Good morning, Sui-sui! Did you sleep well?” Zhilan asked, noting the slight dark circles under the girl’s eyes.

“Meow~” The blue cat, Dundun, saw Li Sui and wiggled out of Zhilan’s arms, racing across the floor to rub against Li Sui’s legs.

“Two cats certainly makes for a lively house,” Zhilan laughed. “They were fighting earlier; it took me ages to separate them.”

“Don’t worry about it next time,” Li Sui said, scooping Dundun up. “They fight all the time, but neither ever wins.” She whistled for the cow cat. “Dudu, come here.”

Dudu, the cow cat, flicked an ear but remained stoically on the floor, ignoring her.

“Meow! Meow!” Dundun, however, was a total suck-up, purring loudly as Li Sui grabbed a brush to groom him.

Shuyi emerged from the kitchen with breakfast, watching her mother and her wife interact with the cats. The scene was unexpectedly harmonious. Her phone buzzed, and she took a quick look. It was a message and a photo from her secretary.

Her expression turned grim.

Liang Xiaona? The trash that dumped Li Sui… was Liang Xiaona?

Shuyi’s lashes flickered. So, she cheated on Li Sui with Su Tan? Disgraceful.

A cold, sharp smirk played on Shuyi’s lips. Infidelity is an unforgivable sin. People who are unfaithful deserve to be discarded.

Li Sui appeared at her side. “What are you looking at?” she asked, seeing the smile.

Shuyi quickly locked her screen. “Just checking my horoscope for the day.”

“Your horoscope?” Li Sui asked, surprised. “Do you believe in that? Can you see if your luck is good today?”

“It’s very good,” Shuyi said, her gaze turning tender as it landed on Li Sui. “In fact, ever since the night I met a certain heartbroken girl at a bar, my luck has been incredible.”

Li Sui’s heart did a sudden, violent somersault. How can she say such things so naturally?

Support After Being Cheated, I Had a Flash Marriage with My Ex’s Aunt