After Being Forced to Marry My Sworn Enemy - Chapter 2

An Yanqing’s brows knitted slightly as she said in a cool voice, “It’s not a divorce.”

At the same time, Zhong Chu, who was on the other side, received the same skeptical look. She rubbed her wrist irritably and glanced toward An Yanqing. “We are here to get a marriage certificate.”

The staff member was completely bewildered by the pair. Their gaze shifted back and forth between the two women several times, and they couldn’t help but confirm once more before finally letting it go.

The appointment number was under An Yanqing’s name. After a reminder from the staff, Zhong Chu was forced to compromise and walked over reluctantly.

Even though there were seats available, since An Yanqing was already sitting, Zhong Chu preferred to stand as far away from her as possible rather than sit beside her.

An Yanqing naturally shifted over a bit, widening the distance between them as much as she possibly could.

The staff member wondered at the dynamic between this couple-to-be, but didn’t let it show on their face. “Give me your identification.”

Hearing this, Zhong Chu’s expression worsened. She felt her empty pockets. “I left in a hurry; I didn’t bring anything.”

An Yanqing rested her hand on the window ledge. Hearing this, she turned her head to look at her and suddenly laughed. “You didn’t bring your brain either, I assume?”

That one remark sent Zhong Chu’s temper flaring again.

The two locked eyes once more. An Yanqing hadn’t moved her mask, but she had taken off her hat, revealing her eyes clearly.

Her eyes were beautiful, with long lashes that blinked slowly over dark pupils that looked like an unfathomable, pitch-black pool. Even though she was smiling, there wasn’t a hint of mirth in her gaze.

The surface of that dark pool calmly reflected Zhong Chu’s furious expression. Zhong Chu suppressed the fire inside and gripped the back of the chair tightly.

She wanted to explode, but remembering her grandfather’s angry scolding, she had to swallow her pride. “…Fine, you did remind me what to bring. It’s my fault for forgetting.”

She first apologized to the staff member, then pulled out her phone and asked An Yanqing, “I’ll have someone deliver them immediately. Will there be enough time?”

An Yanqing took off her mask, revealing the face Zhong Chu knew so well. Her voice was too calm to detect any emotion. “If you hadn’t been half an hour late, I think there would have been.”

She was strikingly beautiful, with features of exquisite elegance—a high, straight nose and a clean, sharp jawline. She had the kind of “high-impact” beauty that was stunning at first glance and remained captivating upon further look.

Yet, there was rarely a smile on her face, and her expression was cold. Coupled with her tall stature, she possessed a strong sense of aloofness. A single cold glance from her was enough to create an overwhelming aura.

Just like now, even though it was clearly her own fault, Zhong Chu felt flustered and short of breath under that casual glance. She lowered her head and began messily tapping at her phone.

She had just found a contact number when she heard a movement and looked up. She saw An Yanqing pulling out a stack of documents, tilting her chin toward her nonchalantly. “However, even if you went back now, it probably wouldn’t be necessary.”

An Yanqing handed the prepared documents through the window. Zhong Chu froze at first, but when her sharp eyes spotted her own photo, she instantly flew into a rage. “An Yanqing! You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

She raised her phone, but her reason and upbringing ultimately reined in her impulse. She had come just a hair’s breadth away from hurling it directly at An Yanqing’s infuriatingly beautiful face.

An Yanqing’s lips quirked slightly. She watched the staff member review the documents inside the window and didn’t look at her again. “Grandpa Zhong sent the documents to me long ago. If you truly had any intention of preparing for today over the past few days, you wouldn’t have failed to notice that until now.”

If Zhong Chu was a burst of flame, An Yanqing was the bucket of water poured over her head, always managing to make her snap back to reality at the critical moment.

Zhong Chu gripped her phone so hard her knuckles turned white. A sudden sense of guilt suppressed the anger rushing to her head, and her voice involuntarily dropped an octave. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m just used to… my assistants handling those kinds of life trifles for me.”

An Yanqing loosened her shirt tie and gave her an ambiguous look, smiling faintly. “Isn’t it actually because you had already planned to stand me up today?”

Why must she speak the blunt truth?

Zhong Chu pursed her lips. Faced with such a sharp, direct hit to her inner thoughts, her instinct was to escape.

She moved even further away from An Yanqing, her expression slightly unnatural. “You’re not a mind reader. Stop trying to be clever and making wild guesses about what I’m thinking.”

Although An Yanqing was sitting, the gaze she cast over was clear and cool, carrying a condescending pressure. It felt as if every dark thought Zhong Chu had ever harbored was laid bare before her eyes.

An Yanqing leaned forward slightly, resting her elbows on the ledge. Even though she didn’t say a word, Zhong Chu couldn’t help but kick at the ground with her toe, suddenly feeling a sense of being humiliated and looked down upon.

The staff member worked efficiently and quickly finished auditing the documents.

She pulled out a few sheets of paper and was about to hand them through the window when she suddenly remembered something. She leaned forward to look at An Yanqing, then at the tense-faced Zhong Chu, and finally at the gap between them—wide enough to fit three people. She asked hesitantly, “Are you two… sure you want to get married?”

It would have been better if she hadn’t said anything. Her words reminded Zhong Chu once again.

If today ended smoothly, their status as a married couple would be legally solidified. From then on, this feeling of being stifled by An Yanqing would haunt her for the rest of her life.

Compared to that long-term oppression, even her grandfather’s threats didn’t seem like much for a moment.

An Yanqing was about to say, “We’re sure,” when she saw Zhong Chu stepping forward quickly out of the corner of her eye. Her brow furrowed instantly, and she stood up, grabbing Zhong Chu’s wrist. “What are you trying to do?”

Zhong Chu struggled hard but couldn’t break free. She said impatiently, “Forget it, I’m not getti—”

An Yanqing was almost driven to laughter by her anger. She yanked hard on Zhong Chu’s wrist. As a result, the second half of Zhong Chu’s sentence turned into an uncontrollable gasp of surprise due to the sudden loss of balance.

But she didn’t fall to the ground. The fingers on her shoulder were like iron, holding her steady. “Are you afraid?”

Zhong Chu subconsciously looked up, meeting An Yanqing’s deep, bottomless black eyes and a question laced with mockery.

It wasn’t that Zhong Chu was so arrogant that she couldn’t handle any form of provocation, but her reason seemed to leave her every time she encountered An Yanqing, making it impossible to maintain her usual composure.

She slapped the hand away from her shoulder heavily, staggering to regain her balance. Without thinking, she blurted out, “The first one to wimp out is a coward!”

Perhaps even she didn’t realize that when she was angry, the corners of her eyes would redden, and a thin layer of physiological tears would seep into her gaze. That shimmering, watery light gave her a rare look of vulnerability that was even more alluring than usual.

She didn’t look like she was crying out of anger; she looked as if she were being ruthlessly bullied to the point of tears in some intimate, romantic moment.

The atmosphere in the room was solemn and formal, yet the brilliant spring sunlight managed to peek through the crevices like tiny, searching tentacles.

An Yanqing watched her for a moment, then suddenly let go.

As if feeling her collar was still too tight, she yanked open the top button of her shirt and exhaled slowly. Her expression was weary and impatient. “Zhong Chu, I’m busy. I don’t have time to play house with you. You agreed readily enough at the start, yet now that it’s time, you suddenly want to back out.”

She glanced at the identification in the staff member’s hand, then turned her head away indifferently. “I’ve already given you so many days. If you’re still not mentally prepared, then go back and discuss it properly with your family. This marriage was proposed by your Zhong family, and now I’m willing to give up the initiative. Regardless, just notify me of the result when the time comes.”

It wasn’t uncommon for people to suddenly regret their decision at the crucial moment of registration. The staff member, used to such scenes, said nothing and simply handed the documents back to them.

An Yanqing leaned down to take them. At that exact moment, a flash of insight struck Zhong Chu, and she suddenly realized something.

It wasn’t just her who hated the idea of marrying An Yanqing; as long-time rivals, An Yanqing felt exactly the same way.

The marriage wouldn’t just be torture for her—An Yanqing’s fatigue revealed a restlessness and irritation that was no less than Zhong Chu’s own.

Realizing this, all of Zhong Chu’s negative emotions vanished instantly, replaced by a smile that reached her eyes. The thrill of revenge felt exhilarating; as long as it made An Yanqing miserable, even the heavy burden of marriage became a cause for celebration.

Just as An Yanqing’s fingertips touched the edge of the documents, her wrist was suddenly gripped tight. Her brows furrowed slightly as she followed the fair, delicate arm upward.

Zhong Chu tilted her head slightly, revealing her long, elegant neck. She held An Yanqing’s wrist firmly, her face full of smiles, with not a trace of resistance left. “An Yanqing, are you wimping out?”

Raised as a pampered eldest miss, her personality was arrogant and haughty. Every inch of her, down to the last strand of hair, was meticulously maintained. As the bright lights from the ceiling hit her at an angle, her skin glowed with the delicate luster of polished jade.

An Yanqing’s thoughts momentarily stalled. Dazzled by that striking fairness, her gaze involuntarily lingered on her for two seconds longer than necessary. “…What kind of joke are you playing?”

Zhong Chu wasn’t annoyed at all. She leaned in slightly, staring directly into An Yanqing’s eyes. Her voice was soft and sweet, as if infused with flowing honey. “Are you backing out? You little coward—are you afraid to marry me?”

The tender tone was the polar opposite of her words. The smile on Zhong Chu’s face was exceptionally piercing, her provocative intent clear as day. An Yanqing, who had been pressing down on the documents to pull them away, suddenly stopped.

The two confronted each other in silence, undercurrents surging between them.

A moment later, An Yanqing was the first to look away. Pressing her fingers firmly against the documents, she slowly pushed them back toward the stunned staff member and said, “Confirmed. Marriage.”

Zhong Chu straightened up, a sneer escaping her lips.

An Yanqing sat back down and began to roll up her sleeves with slow, deliberate movements.

In this round of confrontation, no one had lost, and no one had won.

The staff member almost felt like kneeling before these two beauties.

In their eyes, the grand matter of marriage really did seem like a game of children playing house. Although they spoke rationally, their actions were increasingly childish. If one were to really judge, their personalities were actually a perfect match.

Upholding her professional ethics, the staff member offered one more piece of advice: “Ladies, marriage is not child’s play. If you aren’t fully prepared mentally, you can wait a few days before formalizing the relationship.”

An Yanqing’s lips quirked as she replied politely, “Thank you for the reminder, but my wife and I are deeply in love and inseparable. I have considered this carefully and am fully prepared.”

Who doesn’t know how to be nauseatingly fake?

Zhong Chu followed suit with a hypocritical smile. She leaned down slightly, intentionally draping an arm around An Yanqing’s shoulder and whispering into her ear, “My wife and I are mutually devoted. I’ve long been unable to wait to register with her and bind our lives together forever.”

Their gazes collided, and the air was so thick with tension it felt like sparks would fly at any second.

They turned their heads away simultaneously. An Yanqing lowered her eyes, subtly rubbing the shoulder that had been squeezed to the point of aching. Zhong Chu pulled out a wet wipe and, right in front of her, openly wiped the palm that had just touched An Yanqing’s shoulder.

The staff member was speechless. After staring at them for a long while, she finally pushed the application forms toward them to officially enter the next step of the process.

She pointed to the form. “Sign here, and add your thumbprints.”

Once this part was finished, the next step was to take the photos for the marriage certificate.

No matter how thorough Old Man Zhong had been, he couldn’t have prepared things that required both parties to be present in person.

The staff member pointed out the location. Both women understood the procedure and raised no objections. They gathered their materials and prepared to move to the next area.

An Yanqing had only taken two steps when she suddenly turned back with a frown. “Zhong Chu, after you finished signing just now, you touched my waist for no reason.”

Zhong Chu’s heart skipped a beat. She was half a step behind and hadn’t caught up yet, so her back was already toward An Yanqing. She used her body to hide her hand, quietly shielding it from view.

Sure enough, in the next instant, An Yanqing’s voice turned cold as she reached back to feel the back of her shirt.

Her tone was exceptionally certain: “Did you rub the red ink from the stamp onto my clothes?”

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