After the Arranged Marriage, I Was Pampered by the Powerful Tycoon - Chapter 1

The young master of the Cheng family, a perennial fixture in the gossip headlines of Jincheng, was about to enter an arranged marriage.

Everyone in Jincheng said that the Cheng family’s precious young master was arrogant, overbearing, and willfully pampered—practically spoiled to the heavens by Old Master Cheng. Unfortunately, the Old Master had dominated Jincheng for years, spanning the worlds of both politics and business. Even though his disappointing son spent his time dallying with various women—who would show up at the door every few days with illegitimate children in tow—the Old Master only recognized Cheng Ruan as his sole legitimate grandson. Thus, his excessive doting was considered justified by everyone.

Once the news of the marriage alliance broke, it instantly became the focal point of public discourse in Jincheng. Moreover, the person Cheng Ruan was marrying was none other than the eldest young lady of the Luo family, another prominent clan in Jincheng.

“Luo Zhen?”

The person on the other end of the phone raised their volume, before lowering it again at Cheng Ruan’s reminder: “What were you thinking, agreeing to a marriage alliance with the Luo family?”

Cheng Ruan had just emerged from a high-tension meeting room. He walked unhurriedly into his office, waited for the female secretary to close the door, and only then let out a sigh. He propped his chin on his right hand, staring blankly: “I don’t know either. The Old Master just notified me; my life’s major event was arranged just like that.”

The person asked, “You didn’t even struggle?”

Cheng Ruan knit his delicate brows: “I wanted to struggle, but the Old Master was serious. He gave me an ultimatum, saying that if I don’t get married, I shouldn’t bother coming back to the Cheng family, and I can forget about inheriting the family fortune.”

“I thought, that won’t do. If I leave, won’t the Cheng family fall into the hands of those others?”

“And you believed him?”

Cheng Ruan shook his head: “I didn’t. Although I know he couldn’t bear to treat me like that, he only just got out of the hospital not long ago. I don’t want to send him back in there.”

The person on the phone teased, “So you agreed?”

Cheng Ruan paused, asking gloomily, “Wu Zhou, am I particularly spineless?”

Wu Zhou teased him intentionally: “What happened to the arrogant, overbearing, and willfully pampered young master of the Cheng family?”

Cheng Ruan interrupted him anxiously: “Are you looking for a beating again!”

“Alright, I’ll stop laughing,” Wu Zhou composed himself and asked seriously, “Honestly, the Luo family… hiss, what is your Old Master thinking? Outsiders might not know, but our families can’t be in the dark. I won’t comment on Luo Zhen, but her adoptive father…”

Wu Zhou shook his head as he spoke: “Calm and rational on the surface, but in reality…”

Cheng Ruan cut in: “Impulsive and tyrannical?”

Wu Zhou said leisurely: “In reality, he is also very calm and rational.”

Cheng Ruan lost his steam: “Then what are you being so dramatic for?”

“You think everyone is like you?” Wu Zhou looked at him with a ‘hopeless’ expression and continued, “That man truly came up through blood and blades; his methods are even more formidable than your grandfather’s. Not to be nosy, but if your future father-in-law decides to plot something… with your level of cunning, you’ll likely be picked clean until not even your bone shards are left.”

“I thought of that too.” Cheng Ruan was somewhat worried. “But I’ve only just entered the group headquarters, and there are so many people outside watching like tigers, waiting to see me fail. You know how hard I worked to get where I am today; I won’t hand everything over to someone else.”

Wu Zhou pondered: “So now… you’re prepared to be a groom?”

Cheng Ruan reached out and poked the cactus in front of him: “It’s just a marriage alliance. So many people around me do it; I can handle it too.”

“It’s just…”

Cheng Ruan turned around and looked out of the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside was the CBD commercial center reaching into the clouds, where the most prominent buildings belonged to the Luo family’s industries.

Cheng Ruan blinked, staring seriously at the magnificent architecture opposite him.

It’s just… he hoped his future “gentle and obedient” wife, and his “calm and rational” father-in-law, could be a bit…

“Tender” toward the “willful and arrogant” him.

The office door was knocked three times. Cheng Ruan reflexively retracted his finger from teasing the cactus and sat up straight: “Enter.”

A moment later, the female secretary opened the door and said, “Sir, the Old Master requests your presence at the old residence for dinner.”

Cheng Ruan raised an eyebrow: “Understood. Go arrange the car.”

The secretary nodded and was about to close the door when Cheng Ruan called out to her.

“Secretary Lu, wait a moment.” Cheng Ruan subconsciously toyed with his exquisite cufflinks, the engraved tulips gleaming with a metallic luster. He said, “Come here for a second and close the door.”

Secretary Lu nodded, briskly closed the door, and walked over to wait for his instructions.

Only then did Cheng Ruan change his expression, softening his tone: “Secretary Lu, you’ve been with the Old Master for a long time. This marriage alliance… do you know what his intention is?”

Secretary Lu answered conservatively: “The Old Master has his own reasons. This is your family matter, sir; I’m afraid it’s not convenient for me to speculate.”

“…” It was the expected answer.

Fine. Cheng Ruan sighed and stood up: “Let’s go. Let me go back and ‘speculate’ on the Old Master’s intentions myself.”

The Old Master’s intentions were actually quite obvious.

Looking at the news Secretary Lu had forwarded to his tablet, Cheng Ruan instantly understood the value of the alliance between the Cheng and Luo families.

The Cheng family had recently set its sights on the Muyao Town tourism development project. This was exactly what the executives had been arguing about in the meeting room earlier. Although the Cheng family had deep roots, they hadn’t invested much energy or capital into cultural tourism and physical industries in previous years. Cheng Ruan had been put in charge of this sector as soon as he entered the group; for both him and the Cheng family, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The Luo family happened to be the holders of the land use rights for that area.

If it were just a simple tourism project, it wouldn’t be worth such concern. However, Muyao Town was uniquely endowed—ideally located with several hot springs and mineral deposits, situated halfway up a mountain with mature transportation links and stunning scenery. It was also a cultivation base for rare Chinese medicinal herbs. With the addition of intangible cultural heritage, Muyao Town had become a hotspot for covert competition.

Tourism development was merely the beginning.

The Cheng family would never let such a great opportunity pass, but the business world is ostensibly upright while secretly turbulent. A slight lapse could lead to total failure. Fighting alone was inevitably taxing; an alliance was perhaps the best current choice.

A marriage alliance with the Luo family was the “best choice” provided to him by the Old Master.

It was hard to say who had convinced whom first.

Cheng Ruan hadn’t ignored the Luo family before; on the contrary, he knew that in terms of financial power, status, and background, cooperating with them was the optimal solution.

But, he wasn’t familiar with the Luo family.

However, in the Old Master’s eyes, being unfamiliar was a non-issue. Business is about creating opportunities; if you aren’t familiar, you become familiar by becoming in-laws. In other words, in his decades in the “vanity fair,” he had never seen a problem a marriage alliance couldn’t solve.

Cheng Ruan found it hard to agree. He rubbed his eyes, stepped out of the car, took the elevator up to the manor, and walked into the old house.

Seeing him arrive, the Old Master gestured to the butler to serve the meal.

Cheng Ruan walked over to greet him: “Grandfather, I’m back.”

The Old Master’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly as he asked, “Why do I feel like you’ve lost weight again?”

“Have I?” Cheng Ruan touched his own face. “I think I’m fine.”

While the servants set the table, Cheng Ruan took the chance to ask: “Grandfather, are you really making me marry the young lady of the Luo family?”

The Old Master glared at him: “What, are you unwilling?”

Cheng Ruan muttered: “I’m secondary, but Miss Luo herself probably won’t be willing… What era is this? Getting married to a stranger. Even for an alliance, one should at least find someone with a bit of an emotional foundation.”

The Old Master laughed at his naivety: “Isn’t the essence of marriage an exchange of interests? Did you think that getting married these days must equal finding true love?”

Cheng Ruan shook his head: “Marriage is supposed to be a solemn matter. Although alliances are common, using marriage so bluntly as a bargaining chip feels inappropriate to me.”

“It’s only fair if it can be called a ‘transaction’,” the Old Master said. “You’ve been making a name for yourself outside all these years, but I don’t see you searching for true love either. Rather than pinning your hopes on emotions that might break at any time, it’s better to exchange for interests that won’t betray you.”

“Besides, feelings can be cultivated over time. In the future, you and your partner can treat each other with mutual respect; you could even consider it having a companion.”

Cheng Ruan’s breath hitched, seemingly reminded of something, and then he said submissively: “I will do as you say, Grandfather.”

The Old Master said, “That’s more like it.”

“Sit down and eat.”

The Old Master took a handkerchief from a servant to wipe his hands and said, “Don’t worry, I’ve looked into that Luo girl. Her biological father was a subordinate of Luo Mingzhi. Although she is Luo Mingzhi’s adopted daughter, her appearance and character are every bit the noble lady. She is very well-bred. Even if there is no mutual passion, there shouldn’t be a problem with mutual respect.”

“Once this project successfully lands, I can step down legitimately and hand the Cheng family over to you.”

Cheng Ruan gave a delayed “Oh” in response. He accompanied the Old Master through dinner while being completely preoccupied, eventually finding an excuse to return to his room upstairs.

The moonlight poured gently through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a bright glow on the glass. Cheng Ruan sat on the Persian rug by the window, slowly hugging his knees and burying his head between his legs. His silhouette was rimmed with a fuzzy white light.

So… was the marriage alliance really happening?

Although Cheng Ruan didn’t yearn for so-called “love,” and marriage held no special meaning to him, for some reason, his chest felt tight—like a breath was stuck that he couldn’t pull in or let out.

If Mom hadn’t chosen Cheng Duan back then, but had married into an alliance instead, would she have been less miserable?

Though he might not have existed, she at least wouldn’t have repeatedly seen her hopes crushed by a husband’s domestic violence and infidelity for the sake of “true love,” ultimately dying in despair and gloom.

Perhaps the Old Master was right. Rather than pinning hopes on emotions that might break at any time, it was better to exchange for interests that would never betray him.

That was the most sober and rational choice at this moment.

The dance floor on the first floor of the club was always noisy. Music mixed with voices, making it a struggle to hear or speak.

Cheng Ruan covered the receiver of his phone and said with effort: “Wu Zhou, I’m here. Where are you?”

At this moment, Cheng Ruan had shed his expensive suit for a pink loose T-shirt paired with sky-blue jeans. His light brown hair fell softly over his forehead. Despite the casual attire, it did nothing to hide his refined elegance and delicate features.

Wu Zhou spotted the strikingly fair Cheng Ruan in the crowd at a glance and went down personally to lead him up.

This wasn’t Cheng Ruan’s first time in a high-end entertainment venue, but Wu Zhou’s establishment was indeed a bit different.

The members here were primarily male.

Wu Zhou’s sexual orientation was an open secret in Jincheng. He didn’t hide it either, choosing to open a club and step out of the closet completely. On opening day, Cheng Ruan had even come to cut the ribbon, making the front page of the Jincheng Daily.

As for Cheng Ruan… in the hearts of Jincheng’s citizens, nothing he did was surprising.

Cheng Ruan walked into the private room. A waiting server brought over a glass of iced lemon water and then closed the door as he left.

Wu Zhou picked up a specialty Margarita with interest and asked Cheng Ruan: “I’ve heard about the Muyao Town project. That troublesome younger brother of yours also has his eye on Muyao Town. Apparently, he’s going to get engaged to the daughter of one of your investors. It looks like he’s going to fight you to the end. This marriage—you’re likely stuck with it.”

“You’re about to enter an arranged marriage. Aren’t you going to take the chance to drown your sorrows?”

Cheng Ruan took a sip of lemon water, headache mounting: “Alcohol messes things up.”

Compared to the stimulation of various alcohols, Cheng Ruan preferred the tartness of lemon water—crisp and refreshing, it wouldn’t make his head spin or cause him to lose his reason.

Wu Zhou knew Cheng Ruan never drank. His eyes darted around as he said seriously: “I asked around the circle about Luo Zhen. She’s quite beautiful, humble, and gentle. She’s currently studying finance in the UK with good grades. She still has half a year until graduation, so even if you get married, you’ll be living apart.”

Cheng Ruan’s eyes flickered.

Wu Zhou continued: “She’s had a girlfriend before.”

Cheng Ruan looked up: “Huh?”