Married The Crybaby Childhood Crush First, Then Fell in Love - Chapter 7

Lin Wanqing received Yan Qiu’s notification again after several days had passed.

During these days, she still hadn’t found the stolen work, so she could only make a new pair of gloves.

Yan Qiu arranged to meet her at the Lin family’s mansion. Right outside the school gate, a black sedan was parked to pick her up.

Yu Fei opened the car door: “Miss Lin, President Yan is personally going to the Lin mansion today to propose marriage. I’d trouble Miss to come along and take a look.”

Lin Wanqing nodded shyly. She was wearing a beige long trench coat over an ivory white long dress. The chest area had layers of ruffled trim tied with a bow.

It didn’t look festive at all.

“Do I need to change my clothes?” Lin Wanqing looked at her all-white outfit. “Will it be unlucky?”

Yu Fei smiled and waved her hand, “Not at all, Miss Lin, please get in the car.”

Lin Wanqing sat in the back seat while Yu Fei drove in the front. “I am President Yan’s secretary. Miss Lin can come to me for anything.”

Lin Wanqing memorized the secretary’s phone number and agreed.

Yu Fei was driving at a moderate speed, very smoothly. Lin Wanqing broke the silence in the car, asking,

“I thought the scene for an engagement proposal would be more formal.” For instance, the two families meeting, going through complex rituals, preparing the ‘Five Gold’ gifts…

Yu Fei: “Our President Yan is going to dig a hole… Ah, no, to discuss cooperation with the Lin family. Rather than a simple marriage proposal, it’s more focused on the commercial dealings between the two families.”

Lin Wanqing: “…I see.”

Yu Fei smiled genuinely: “I’ve never seen President Yan pay so much attention to anyone as she does to Miss Lin. It’s been over twenty years since I last saw President Yan smile so happily.”

Lin Wanqing: “…?”

Yu Fei only looked serious when working; in private, she read a lot of weird books.

“President Yan has a terrible temper, but she is supremely gentle towards Miss Lin. I hope Miss Lin will spend more time with her.”

Lin Wanqing: “But wasn’t Sister Qiuqiu forced into this marriage by her family’s old man?”

Yu Fei, who had always been by Yan Qiu’s side, hadn’t expected her boss to make up this story, but she covered for her:

“Mr. Yan is worried that the boss will grow old alone, with a disability, without anyone close to her to keep her warm. So pitiful.”

Lin Wanqing was too shocked to speak. Would someone with Yan Qiu’s status really lack a female companion?

Yu Fei spoke non-stop: “No one else is as exceptionally talented, beautiful, and gentle as Miss Lin. They can’t even compare to Miss Lin’s fingernail. How could those others catch the boss’s eye?”

Lin Wanqing stiffened: “…”

No need to be so excessive.

Yu Fei turned the steering wheel, thinking that since she had set the mood so well, it would be easy for her boss to win the beauty’s heart. She was such a caring secretary.

Yan Qiu arrived at the Lin mansion first.

Qiao Lihua and her husband Lin Hui were waiting at the door. As soon as they saw the black Bentley stop, they hurried over to greet her.

Standing beside the couple was their younger daughter, Lin Zhenxi, who had just started high school. She was kicking the stones at her feet, her childish face full of impatience.

“I thought Lin Wanqing and Yan Qiu would come together. It seems Yan Qiu doesn’t care much about her.”

When Lin Zhenxi saw Yan Qiu stepping out of the car alone, a hint of mockery appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Qiao Lihua quietly reminded her, “Don’t talk nonsense in front of President Yan.”

Lin Zhenxi, spoiled by her parents, snorted, “How could someone as stupid and reclusive as that sister be liked by Yan Qiu? If she went, she’d only be a mistress.”

Lin Hui frowned and sternly scolded, “Shut up.”

Yan Qiu took in the scene completely, her expression darkening slightly.

Her little rabbit had gotten used to being bullied at home.

Entering the reception room, Yan Qiu had someone place two documents in front of the couple, a meaningful smile playing on her lips,

“After the company’s auditors evaluated it, the investment for the textile raw material processing plant has been approved. An additional thirty million will be added to the original amount.”

Qiao Lihua gasped and covered her mouth, smiling, “Eighty million in total!”

Lin Hui, who was usually composed, was overjoyed. That factory would never have gotten such a large investment; the original fifty million was already beyond their expectations.

Yan Qiu lightly tapped the table with her fingers, “Lin Wanqing is very good. We will register our marriage next week, and the wedding will be held on an auspicious day.”

Qiao Lihua couldn’t stop smiling, “Good, good, good. It’s Wanqing’s good fortune.”

Lin Hui moved his lips, his throat hoarse, “This investment, is it given because of Wanqing?”

Lin Hui felt a twinge of guilt about selling his daughter, but that slight bit of guilt vanished without a trace after the contract was truly signed—the amount given was simply too much.

As a businessman, Lin Hui was greedy and cunning. He wasn’t completely unaware that his wife was marrying their daughter off to Yan Qiu. He even thought that if Lin Wanqing interacted more with Yan Qiu, they might secure a bit more investment.

Yan Qiu remained silent, which the couple took as confirmation.

Lin Zhenxi quietly scoffed, “Lin Wanqing is lower than a cleaner in our house. A person like her deserves to be sold outside, no one would even want her.”

She had been spoiled by the whole family since childhood. Her father was constantly on business trips, and her mother detested Lin Wanqing. If she made a mistake, she only had to blame it on Lin Wanqing to let her take the scolding and punishment. In her eyes, Lin Wanqing, that fool, never fought back, so she must be low-born to the core.

Yan Qiu turned her icy gaze onto Lin Zhenxi.

Qiao Lihua quickly offered a placating smile, “Lin Zhenxi is Wanqing’s younger sister. She’s back for the holidays and is still young, President Yan, please don’t take offense.”

Lin Hui’s expression was also displeased, but he thought of his younger daughter’s cute innocence, “The child is still small and speaks carelessly. Apologize to President Yan quickly.”

The couple dared not act like elders in front of Yan Qiu.

Lin Wanqing hadn’t entered the door yet when she heard her nominal sister mock her with cold sarcasm.

Yu Fei immediately offered words of comfort, but saw that Miss Lin was neither angry nor sad. Her face was as calm as if she hadn’t heard anything.

She’s used to it. She does owe the Lin family.

Yu Fei had heard the whole conversation at the doorway and was indignant:

“That father of yours is not a decent person at all, marrying you off to the boss for an investment, and when his wretched daughter curses the boss’s sweetheart, he only lightly dismisses it, saying the child is still young. Pfft!”

Whether it was the cold wind or a stirring in her heart, the corners of Lin Wanqing’s eyes and the tip of her nose turned red.

Compared to her mother’s harshness, her father was relatively kind to her, but there was still a huge gap compared to her sister.

Lin Wanqing: “Has President Yan finished her business? Should we wait outside first?”

The secretary sister’s posture of crossing her arms and spitting ‘pfft’ was too practiced. She couldn’t imagine what she had been through.

Yu Fei: “The last person who spoke carelessly in front of the boss now has grass two meters high on their grave.”

Lin Wanqing looked back at her. That terrifying?

Yu Fei: “Of course! There was once a scumbag who cursed the boss’s legs, guess what? I heard he was cemented into the foundation. And another one was tied with a rock and thrown into the Huangpu River.”

Lin Wanqing was shocked: “…”

Yu Fei awkwardly laughed: “Haha, just kidding. We are law-abiding citizens.”

Lin Wanqing: I think that sentence is the joke.

A sudden scream erupted from the reception room, “Am I wrong?! Mom, why are you so biased, letting Lin Wanqing marry President Yan?! What makes her worthy?”

Once, Lin Zhenxi and her mother attended a social gathering of wealthy ladies and saw Yan Qiu from afar. Coincidentally, Yan Qiu also saw her. Their eyes met for a moment, and she instantly liked her.

She was even more drawn to her after hearing others speak of Yan Qiu with a mix of fear and respect.

Yet, the good fortune she had hoped for fell on Lin Wanqing, the one she had always looked down upon.

Yan Qiu sat in her wheelchair, watching the boring drama with cold indifference.

Until her peripheral vision caught Yu Fei standing by the window. The secretary, afraid the boss wouldn’t see her, specially waved her hand forcefully,

Here! Here!

Yan Qiu’s mood visibly worsened. She regretted bringing Lin Wanqing here to witness her proposal.

She said to the bodyguard standing behind her, “Miss Lin has arrived.”

The bodyguard in the black suit received the order and forcefully pressed down on Lin Zhenxi’s shoulder with one hand, “Excuse me.”

Qiao Lihua and Lin Hui hadn’t reacted yet when they saw the tall, burly bodyguard push their younger daughter to the doorway in front of Lin Wanqing.

Lin Wanqing was startled and took a step back.

Lin Zhenxi screamed in fear, “You can’t do this, let go of me! Dad, Mom, say something!”

“Apologize.”

“Why should I apologize? Was what I said wrong? Lin Wanqing is the shameless one who stole my marriage.”

Her shoulder blade was pressed painfully. The bodyguard, who was paid to do his job, didn’t care that Lin Zhenxi was the Lin family’s most spoiled young lady. He pressed firmly on her back, forcing her to bow at a ninety-degree angle.

“Ah—it hurts, it hurts, let go of me!”

Lin Wanqing looked at Yan Qiu for help.

Lin Zhenxi struggled in vain, screaming in pain. Lin Hui and Qiao Lihua couldn’t bear to watch, “President Yan… the child is ignorant, please don’t take it to heart.”

“Wanqing, really, quickly tell them to let go of your sister!” Qiao Lihua scolded Lin Wanqing.

“Shh,” Yan Qiu’s voice was gentle and soft: “My fiancée is timid. Your loud voices will scare her.”

Lin Zhenxi, unable to hold on, was forced to bow and apologize. She gritted her teeth:

“I’m sorry, Sister. I shouldn’t have cursed you behind your back. I, I apologize… Please ask President Yan to let go of me.”

Her always proud chin and spine were forcefully held down by the bodyguard, making her apologize in a humiliating and shameful manner to the sister she had always looked down upon.

Lin Wanqing gently murmured, startled by the scene. After a half-minute pause, “I accept your apology.”

Every second felt like a year.

Only then did the bodyguard release his hand. Lin Zhenxi cried, her neck and shoulders aching from the pressure.

Yu Fei was accustomed to this and even found the apology rather dull, “If Miss Lin hadn’t been here, the scene would have been much more exciting.”

Lin Wanqing: …

Yu Fei chuckled, “Just kidding, we are all law-abiding citizens.”

Lin Wanqing: I think that sentence is the joke.

Yan Qiu maneuvered her wheelchair in front of her, looking down: “I’m sorry, you had to hear such foul things today.”

Lin Wanqing shook her head: “I’m fine, Yan… Sister Qiuqiu, have you finished the proposal?”

Yan Qiu ignored the three people huddled together crying behind her and was silent for a moment: “It probably counts as having completed the proposal.”

Yu Fei added: “Look, the elderly couple are so moved they’re crying.”

Yan Qiu: “…”

It was the first time Lin Wanqing had been earnestly apologized to by her sister. Her heart was in a complex state, and before she could ask for clarification, Yan Qiu leaned close and sniffed her neck after they got into the car.

Lin Wanqing’s neck tickled from Yan Qiu’s sudden proximity, and she felt a momentary tingling sensation throughout her body.

“Sister Qiuqiu?”

Yan Qiu took off her glasses, her dark eyes looking at her seriously, “The scent on you is citrus and basil, mixed with geranium and jasmine. It’s a very lovely, fresh, citrusy perfume.”

Lin Wanqing: “I’m not wearing perfume.”

It was probably a fragrance she picked up while blending scents in her studio. She looked nervously at Yan Qiu, worried that her secret identity of running a studio would be exposed.

Yan Qiu said meaningfully, “Is it a sweet body fragrance?”

Lin Wanqing’s cheeks flushed red, “Sweet…”

Yan Qiu: “I think you are very cute, so I’ve given you a nickname. Can I call you Tian Tian (Sweetie)?”

No one had ever given Lin Wanqing a nickname before. Being suddenly given one by Yan Qiu made her feel a sense of shame, as if she were being treated like a child.

Yan Qiu: “I really like the products of a certain perfume studio. The style is somewhat similar to the scent on you. Shall I send you a bottle next time?”

Lin Wanqing swallowed. The two were too close; she even thought Yan Qiu was about to kiss her next second.

“Okay.”

Yan Qiu had Yu Fei drive Lin Wanqing back to school. She stood at the school gate watching Yan Qiu. Yan Qiu reached out and gently smoothed the stray strands of hair on her forehead.

Yan Qiu pointed to a car ahead, “There’s a camera in that car taking photos of me. You are my wife, and you need to pretend to be intimate with me in front of outsiders.”

Lin Wanqing’s eyes trembled. She looked at the car parked on the roadside; it seemed there really was someone taking photos.

She tentatively hugged Yan Qiu. Her slender waist was tightly grasped, and Yan Qiu’s lips brushed against Lin Wanqing’s cool earlobe.

People were coming and going at the school gate, and Lin Wanqing’s heart pounded deafeningly.

Yan Qiu gently pinched the skin on the back of Lin Wanqing’s neck,

“Hold me tighter, put your hands on my waist, don’t be nervous. You are my fiancée, be good.”