After Getting Married to My Obsessive Older Sister - Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Bai Shaoman: …Truly people who came out of the same blanket.

“Forget it, you go back to the firm first,” Tan Ze re-collected the two contracts. “I’ll analyze these with Chu Yiqiao myself.”

Bai Shaoman looked at Tan Ze suspiciously.

Tan Ze’s face was impassive: “Line by line.”

Bai Shaoman was left behind, his mind full of doubt, as the front door closed behind him.

Tan Ze immediately cleaned up the dining table that had been used for the brief meeting. Chu Yiqiao, like a rag doll, lay draped over the side, watching Tan Ze wipe the table with her face turned toward him, her large eyes fixed.

Tan Ze gave a small laugh, rolled the white contracts in his hand into a tube, and tapped Chu Yiqiao’s head like a game of whack-a-mole: “Didn’t I tell you to read carefully when I was in the room earlier?”

It didn’t hurt at all.

For all these years, Chu Yiqiao had never been hit by anyone (Tan Ze spanking her bottom didn’t count). She knew deep down that her sister was the best to her, and she was always brazen about her feigned anger toward Tan Ze.

“I don’t understand it,” Chu Yiqiao reached out to tug at Tan Ze’s sleeve. “Sister…”

“Stop acting cute.” Tan Ze spoke rather coldly, then looked down at her watch: “You’re going to be late in thirty minutes. Hurry up, I’ll drive you today.”

Chu Yiqiao reluctantly stood up and glared at Tan Ze with resentment.

Everything in the movies was a lie.

There was no BGM or slow-motion replay during love at first sight, and a two-person romance couldn’t change the world at all, even if the couple was Tan Ze and Chu Yiqiao.

They loved each other so much! They were going to get married! But on the morning of Thursday, April 24th, Chu Yiqiao still had to go to school for a despised Art History Survey class, and Tan Ze still had to go to the company to work, meet partners, and attend meetings…

The world seemed to have not changed one bit. The power of love was so small!

The house was close to the university, and with all green lights, the car stopped on the street outside the North Gate of Jing University in just ten minutes.

Chu Yiqiao fiddled with her phone. A few minutes ago, her Art History Survey professor and undergraduate advisor suddenly “resurrected” in the group chat, saying, “Don’t leave immediately after class, we can have a chat.”

The first person sent “Okay okay [Rose],” and the next few people copied and pasted the same.

Chu Yiqiao had been planning to be a clingy presence at the company, so she felt annoyed and only sent “Okay okay” without the [Rose], making a bold statement.

Tan Ze noticed Chu Yiqiao wasn’t moving. She leaned over and helped Chu Yiqiao unfasten her seatbelt.

Chu Yiqiao always liked to sit closer to the driver when she was in the passenger seat, so they were very close at this moment. Tan Ze’s scent enveloped Chu Yiqiao, and her warm breath brushed against Chu Yiqiao’s sensitive ear, causing a slight tremor each time.

Chu Yiqiao put down her phone and turned her head, meeting Tan Ze’s eyes.

From Chu Yiqiao’s gaze, it seemed she could tell that Tan Ze was intentionally teasing her, but she couldn’t definitively prove it due to a lack of evidence.

This was where Tan Ze was clever; everything was done naturally. This position just made it easy to touch, there was no helping it.

The two looked at each other for a while, then Tan Ze kindly reminded Chu Yiqiao: “You have ten minutes left.”

“Oh.”

Chu Yiqiao stopped dwelling on it. She was experienced now; she hadn’t complained even when her sister bit her butt this morning, so what was a little puff of air near her ear?

“Will Sister Jingxing pick me up this afternoon?”

Tan Ze nodded.

Chu Yiqiao opened the car door. It was still sunny outside. The world wouldn’t experience a huge upheaval just because the two were on the same page, which was a little disappointing for Chu Yiqiao, who valued a sense of ceremony.

On the other side, Tan Ze had sat back up, the fluid, superior lines of her profile made more prominent by the sunlight.

Chu Yiqiao looked at her and decided to make a small change to their little world herself.

“Sister.”

Tan Ze turned her head. Chu Yiqiao leaned over and proactively kissed Tan Ze.

“Bye bye,” Chu Yiqiao waved at Tan Ze from outside the car, her smile mysteriously sly. “Wife.”

“Bye bye.”

Tan Ze nodded calmly, turned the key, and sped away with a stomp on the gas pedal.

Chu Yiqiao thought about it, opened her phone, and added the [Rose] back.

After Class

Even in the classroom, Chu Yiqiao felt proud of that endearment she’d used.

Her chat box with her sister was silent. Chu Yiqiao persistently sent many “wife” messages, but Tan Ze didn’t reply to any, her reaction very cold, seemingly unfazed.

She finally waited until the class bell rang for a reply.

[Wife Sis: Study hard]

Hmph.

 Okay wife, wife work hard, wife loves you.

Tan Ze stopped replying.

It was genuinely hard to make theory classes like Art History Survey interesting. Chu Yiqiao was called on once during the class, stood up, and read a passage on the “process of development.” She finally slogged through the class, only to have a group meeting afterward.

In the huge classroom, four people faced each other around a table.

The so-called undergraduate advisor was just a title. Art students don’t do research, so all the advisor could really do was keep an eye on GPAs and forward a few activity announcements in the group chat. At this specific time—the 9th week of the third year—a conversation like this was inevitably about post-graduation plans and future goals.

Sure enough, the first thing the professor said after sitting down was: “You’re all entering your final year soon. Do you have any plans?”

Two of the four said they were planning to take the graduate entrance exams. Since the national score lines had just been released last month, they naturally complained about the exam situation and the score lines for half an hour.

The third person said they were joining an agency and were busy interning. Their starting salary was around seven or eight thousand, and they could take on private commissions, making for a stable life.

Chu Yiqiao admitted she was initially entertained, but as her classmates spoke enthusiastically, she gradually felt a little restless.

Time sped up in the second half of the third year. At the start of the semester, everyone was still discussing which pigment had the best color payoff, but now, they were all heading toward their respective futures.

The professor finally asked Chu Yiqiao: “Yiqiao, what do you plan to do?”

Just as Chu Yiqiao had been staring at others, the remaining people now turned their gaze to her.

Oh gosh, what to say?

Chu Yiqiao’s plan was actually just to keep painting. She didn’t feel there was anything wrong with that, but saying so now sounded unprofessional.

Remembering Tan Ze’s previous arrangement, Chu Yiqiao said, word by word: “I considered many options, but ultimately, I want to be a pure artist. I’m currently submitting to galleries.”

The room instantly filled with various “Wows.”

Chu Yiqiao’s professional skills were excellent. She had scored the national number one spot to enter, and for the next three years, she was always at the top of the professional assessments. When students chatted privately, they inevitably brought up a few prominent figures, and their predicted path for her was always: study abroad sign with a gallery become a pure artist. Her choice to become a pure artist now was somewhat expected.

The professor asked: “No plans for further study abroad or graduate school? You should be able to apply to a few better schools. It’s good for young people to see more of the world, no need to rush.”

Chu Yiqiao hesitated for a few seconds, recalling her conversation with Tan Ze: “No, short-term programs are fine, but I can’t stay away long-term.”

“That works too,” the professor nodded. “I’ll keep an eye out for exchange programs for you. If you’re submitting to galleries, you’ll need to prepare your portfolio carefully.”

Chu Yiqiao nodded guiltily. She had been playing around for almost a month… Love makes people lazy.

The Ring and the Company

Throughout the conversation, no one noticed the ring on Chu Yiqiao’s finger, which disappointed her.

In contrast to Chu Yiqiao’s ring’s obscurity at school, the moment Tan Ze appeared at the company, the ring on her left middle finger instantly caught the attention of the receptionist. The news of “Boss is likely engaged” spread like a virus through several private group chats.

As Tan Ze walked down the hall, people who normally avoided her like the plague stopped just to get a closer look at the ring on Tan Ze’s middle finger to verify the rumors.

Zhao Jingxing followed beside her, deliberately staying two steps back to allow her colleagues to gossip.

The commotion only subsided temporarily when the office door closed.

The day after successfully proposing to Chu Yiqiao, Tan Ze’s reaction was far calmer than Zhao Jingxing had anticipated. It was as if the person who said “I do” in the backseat of the car wasn’t herself, and the person who inexplicably sent Zhao Jingxing a dozen photos at dawn, instructing her to acquire all of them, wasn’t herself either.

Zhao Jingxing remembered clearly that the night before, the young mistress had put the ring directly on Tan Ze’s ring finger, symbolizing marriage. She didn’t know why it was on the middle finger today, reverting to engagement.

The boss’s inner world was unfathomable. As an employee, Zhao Jingxing just asked for instructions.

“Should we start preparing the wedding now?” Zhao Jingxing asked.

“Not considering it for now. Book a pre-marital check-up first,” Tan Ze opened her computer and clicked around with the mouse. “The wedding can’t be rushed.”

The last sentence was very soft, as if she were talking to herself.

Zhao Jingxing nodded and made a note.

She turned to leave, but Tan Ze called her back and handed her two brand-new contracts.

Since Zhao Jingxing was allowed to see the contracts, it meant Tan Ze hadn’t intended to hide them. She spoke directly: “Fang Yizhen will be here soon. Tell her this is the maximum, and I’m not even going after the money Chu Yiqiao transferred to her. Tell her to wait; I’ll see her after my meeting with the Marketing Department.”

Zhao Jingxing took the contracts and left, her scattered thoughts gradually organizing into a single line.

No wonder Tan Ze suddenly announced a month ago that she wanted to acquire scattered shares and put them under Chu Yiqiao’s name.

Zhao Jingxing had initially thought Tan Ze had a moment of conscience, finally thinking of compensating Chu Yiqiao after tricking her into signing so many agency agreements throughout March, now that they were dating.

Now it looked like she had planned it with Fang Yizhen around that time. The transfer of scattered shares in Chu Yiqiao’s name fulfilled the requirements of the double redistribution of the inheritance.

Chu Yiqiao was blindly obedient to her sister, signing everything handed to her directly, only glancing at the content. Zhao Jingxing had witnessed Chu Yiqiao’s methods frequently since seven years ago, and it shocked her every time.

Zhao Jingxing knew the content of most contracts, such as the inheritance share proxy, some share transfers, and property transfers.

Zhao Jingxing didn’t know the content of a small portion of the contracts; only Lawyer Bai who drafted them and Tan Ze who reviewed them knew.

Chu Lingtong chose to go straight to Tan Ze, likely because she saw that given the nature of the two sisters’ relationship, the ownership of Mingsheng was essentially at Tan Ze’s whim. Of course, that was indeed the case.

What she hadn’t accounted for was that Tan Ze couldn’t control her own “whim.”

In the past two months, Zhao Jingxing had witnessed many conversations between Tan Ze and Chu Lingtong.

When Chu Lingtong asked about the progress, Tan Ze would block her by saying, “We’re not married yet, there’s nothing I can do.”

She used this excuse every time, and the other party bought it every time, lingering in Yanjing for month after month, seemingly not in a hurry.

In fact, it wasn’t that complicated.

Without Tan Ze needing to think, based on Zhao Jingxing’s understanding of Chu Yiqiao, she could immediately think of several effective methods.

Company difficulties, a broken capital chain, an aunt’s illness, comforting the true heir…

Which one wouldn’t be effective and highly efficient?

Tan Ze, a person of supreme intelligence, chose marriage.

And having chosen marriage, she actually followed the normal person’s path: confession—dating—proposal—engagement—marriage. This truly stunned Zhao Jingxing.

Compared to Chu Yiqiao, who was born with a silver spoon and whose life had been fraught with major and minor setbacks, Zhao Jingxing believed that Tan Ze was the true winner in life. She started disadvantaged, but everything since then had developed in a way favorable to Tan Ze.

From Chu Lingfeng’s accidental death to Chu Yiqiao’s misunderstanding of the proposal, at every step, in every event, Tan Ze had directly or indirectly benefited. In other timelines, the two might have been strangers, but here, cruel fate had firmly bound their two lives together.

The young mistress certainly wouldn’t see it.

Zhao Jingxing sat in the car by the roadside, watching Chu Yiqiao skip toward her, thinking: Did that damned boss see it?

Tan Ze had gained almost the entire world from Chu Yiqiao.

Fang Yizhen intentionally arrived half an hour late, then waited another hour in the lounge, but never saw Tan Ze. Instead, she was greeted by a curious Chu Yiqiao.

“Sister Yizhen? Why are you here? Are you looking for my sister?” Chu Yiqiao’s magnetic card could open all doors. With a “hiss,” she let herself in.

Fang Yizhen smiled at her, immediately noticing the ring on Chu Yiqiao’s ring finger.

“I’ll be interning here after May Day,” Fang Yizhen said.

The result of her negotiation with Tan Ze was that she would take 30% of the company shares, calculated at the market price from the year Chu Lingfeng died.

Fang Yizhen’s original plan was to make a profit and leave, she didn’t care if Mingsheng’s shares would continue to rise in the future.

She was working two jobs, naturally receiving two salaries. She was here at Mingsheng today to collect her portion from Tan Ze.

“Oh,” Chu Yiqiao nodded, then suddenly began dramatically fiddling with her hair with her left hand in front of Fang Yizhen.

“Hmm?” Having received tens of thousands of dollars in transfers from the young mistress, Fang Yizhen was willing to play along. “Chu Yiqiao, did you get married?”

So smart!

“Not yet,” Chu Yiqiao smiled reservedly. “It’s only an engagement, we haven’t registered the marriage yet.”

“But it’ll be soon, right?” Fang Yizhen smiled even more deeply. She hadn’t had a chance to collect her portion from Chu Lingtong yet.

Chu Yiqiao had spent a lot of time searching on Xiaohongshu (a social media platform) today, understood the basic process, and now spoke with the air of an expert to Fang Yizhen: “The next step should be the pre-marital check-up.”

Fang Yizhen’s smile deepened.

Just as Chu Yiqiao walked into the conference room and sat down for barely two sentences, Tan Ze immediately appeared at the door with her assistant. Chu Yiqiao walked toward her, deliberately using her left hand to touch Tan Ze’s left hand. The assistant’s eyes widened, staring intently at the matching plain silver bands on their hands.

Tan Ze tapped Chu Yiqiao’s forehead: “I bought you some pastries. They’re in the conference room. I’ll be done here soon.”

Chu Yiqiao nodded and walked away with her bag.

Tan Ze watched Chu Yiqiao disappear from view, then turned around, the smile on her face immediately dropping.

“Have you looked at the terms? Sign if there are no issues.” The contract was drafted by Tan Ze’s side. She pulled out a pen and neatly signed her name on the signature line.

Fang Yizhen read a clause: “General Manager Tan gave an extra apartment, so generous. I hope there isn’t a bomb hidden inside.”

Tan Ze: “I just hope Miss Fang will stop using a mortgage as an excuse to sell misery and scam people out of money.”

Fang Yizhen shrugged and signed her name as well.

At this point, her mission was half complete.

While organizing the contract, Fang Yizhen looked up and suddenly said, “I’ll be starting my internship next week.”

Fang Yizhen’s internship was a legitimate one, applied for through proper channels, and the position matched her professional requirements. Tan Ze’s approach to dealing with suspects was always to keep them close, so she hadn’t interfered.

Tan Ze was already at the door. Hearing this, she looked back. Fang Yizhen was smiling brightly and added, “And, happy wedding.”

How sly.

Tan Ze had originally been too lazy to acknowledge Fang Yizhen, but hearing this, she paused and replied, “Thank you.”

Wife

In the office, Chu Yiqiao was nestled in the boss’s chair eating pastries—a box from Daoxiangcun.

Sister Jingxing said they were ordered when HR placed the afternoon tea order, which meant they weren’t specifically for her.

Chu Yiqiao arrived late, so only half was left, but coincidentally, they were all her favorites. How lucky!

Chu Yiqiao held a hawthorn cake, taking small bites. She was still checking WeChat. Bei Tong forwarded a Xiaohongshu post.

Bei Tong: Is this post about you?

Chu Yiqiao was confused. She clicked it open. The post title was “Please Do Not Spread Rumors, Her Talent Is Undeniable.” She quickly scanned it and, seeing the words “using connections,” “comment control,” and “slandering,” realized this was a counter-attack post against the previous rumors about her.

Chu Yiqiao: Yes

Bei Tong: Did your sister hire this troll? How can they be so effective? Arguing fiercely against everyone. Yan Yuanjing was going to help out, but now he can only like the post.

Chu Yiqiao froze and then jumped to the app to see the details.

Sure enough, as Bei Tong said, the poster was extremely effective in combat. Anyone who argued against her was basically countered with three replies, maintaining a high-intensity output without resorting to vulgarity. The comment section even had onlookers who had “come after hearing the rumors.”

Looking at the post time, it was 9 PM last night.

Chu Yiqiao was initially unsure, but clicking into the profile and seeing the personal verification, she knew this person was a schoolmate. Scrolling further down, she confirmed the person’s identity through a familiar painting.

Chu Yiqiao: [Link] Did you post this? Thank you.

22 Oil Painting Wan Xianyi: It was me, but there’s no need to thank me.

22 Oil Painting Wan Xianyi: Actually, I saw those posts a long time ago, but I hadn’t replied until now.

Chu Yiqiao: No need to apologize, I’m genuinely grateful to you. You’re really good at arguing.

22 Oil Painting Wan Xianyi: ?

Chu Yiqiao sent an emoji of a little rabbit with hands clasped in “adoration.”

Just then, Tan Ze walked in. Chu Yiqiao was particularly excited to see her.

“Sister, you came at the right time. I have something to give you!”

Tan Ze walked over. Chu Yiqiao didn’t look up, focusing intently on operating her phone, then suddenly looked up at Tan Ze: “Done.”

Almost in the same second Chu Yiqiao spoke, Tan Ze’s phone made an electronic notification sound. The notification panel showed someone had transferred money to her.

Tan Ze calmly took out her phone: “If it’s more money withdrawn from Bilibili, you should keep it to buy milk tea.”

Tan Ze opened her phone and paused for a few seconds when she saw the amount.

Counting the zeros, there were five after the numbers.

“Chu Yiqiao, where did you get so much money?”

Chu Yiqiao blinked: “The wedding gifts from Bei Tong and Yan Yuanjing.”

“Wedding gifts are only collected during the wedding…” Tan Ze was halfway through her explanation when she felt someone tugging at her clothes. She looked down, and Chu Yiqiao was looking up at her.

“Sister, when are we getting married?”

“Wife.”

Support