"Xu Yiyi…"
After the secretary finished, she saw a rare sight: Ruan Tang, a woman who wouldn't lose her composure even if Mount Tai crumbled before her, became extremely agitated and rushed out of the office.
Ruan Tang frantically pressed the elevator button, but the lift was stuck on the thirteenth floor and wouldn't descend. Anxious, she took off her high heels and ran down the stairs.
「First-floor lobby of the office building.」
Four security guards were lying on the ground.
Xu Lai squatted down, speaking to them earnestly, "I already told you, I'm here to find my wife. Why didn't you believe me? You just had to attack me. Now you're hurt, aren't you?"
The four security guards looked utterly desolate. The man before them was too bizarre! Their fists clearly hadn't touched Xu Lai in the slightest, yet their bodies had been sent flying as if they had crashed into a wall.
"Daddy, does Mommy not want us anymore?"
Xu Yiyi, wearing a new white dress, sat on Xu Lai's shoulders, swinging her little legs back and forth, her small face filled with sorrow.
Just then, Ruan Tang pushed open the stairwell door. The moment she saw her daughter, whom she had longed for day and night, sitting on a man's shoulders, tears streamed down her face.
"Yiyi!"
Ruan Tang ran over and hugged Xu Yiyi tightly, choking out, "Yiyi, Mommy missed you so much."
"Yiyi missed Mommy very, very much too!"
Xu Yiyi tilted her head up, her small hands wiping the tears from Ruan Tang's face as she said softly, "Don't cry, Mommy. You're not pretty when you cry. Right, Daddy?"
"Daddy?"
Ruan Tang took two steps back, on guard, finally getting a clear look at Xu Lai's face.
She stared, stunned, for a full thirty seconds before gritting her teeth and forcing out, word by word, "Xu. Lai!"
"You still have the nerve to show your face to me? Get lost!"
"..."
Xu Lai coughed. "Honey…"
"Don't you dare call me that! I'm not your honey!"
"Well then, our daughter's mother…" Xu Lai suggested, "We're in a public place. How about we find somewhere quiet to talk?"
Only then did Ruan Tang remember that she was on the first floor of a bustling office building. Not only her secretary but also employees from other companies were all staring at them, dumbfounded.
Good heavens! Ruan Tang actually had a child? So the rumors about East Sea City's number one beauty CEO having a daughter with a mysterious man were true!
At that moment, the hearts of countless men who secretly or openly admired Ruan Tang shattered, including the four security guards still lying on the ground.
「Half an hour later.」
「Baiyun Community, Building 7, Apartment 301.」
Seated on the living room sofa, Xu Lai and Ruan Tang stared each other down. The atmosphere was fraught with tension.
Only the carefree Xu Yiyi looked utterly adorable, happily nibbling on an apple.
After a long silence, Ruan Tang spoke. "How did Yiyi end up with you? And what is your connection to the Ye Family?"
"I destroyed the Ye Family," Xu Lai explained. "Our daughter said she missed you, so I brought her here."
Without the slightest hesitation, Ruan Tang picked up the phone and called her secretary. "Get me the number for the best psychiatric hospital in East Sea City."
"Hey, hey! Is this how you treat your child's father after we've been apart for so long?" Xu Lai glared.
"Yiyi's father is dead!" Ruan Tang stared straight at Xu Lai, her voice devoid of emotion. "When I was being tortured by the Ye Family, when the Ruan Family was forcing me into marriage, when I was scorned by everyone and you were nowhere to be found, you were already dead to me!"
"Even the dead can be reborn…"
"Impossible," Ruan Tang said icily. "Please leave my home, and never appear in front of me and Yiyi again!"
"Mommy, I don't want Daddy to go," Xu Yiyi pleaded pitifully, clinging to Ruan Tang's sleeve.
"Yiyi, be a good girl." Ruan Tang's voice lost its cold edge, becoming gentle and soft. "Mommy will find you a better daddy, okay?"
DRIP.
DRIP.
Xu Yiyi didn't say a word. She just pouted, staring at Ruan Tang with an aggrieved expression as large tears rolled down her cheeks one by one.
Ruan Tang was suddenly at a complete loss, and no amount of comforting seemed to work.
"Yiyi, Mommy's just joking with you. How could she possibly be willing to drive Daddy away?"
Xu Yiyi looked up, her eyes full of hope. "Mommy, can we be a family and always stay together? All the other kids have their mommy and daddy with them. Yiyi wants a complete family, too."
She desperately wanted to throw this heartless bastard out. But she already felt so guilty toward Yiyi; how could she bear to refuse her daughter's one and only request? She didn't care if the entire world laughed at her. But the mere thought of other children mocking her daughter for not having a father was unbearable.
Stroking her daughter's hair, Ruan Tang said gently, "Okay, Mommy promises."
"Mwah! Mommy's the best." Xu Yiyi happily planted a kiss on Ruan Tang's cheek, making her face light up with a smile.
"Where's Daddy's kiss?" Xu Lai leaned his face closer.
Xu Yiyi gave Xu Lai a kiss as well. "Mwah!"
After that, Xu Yiyi ran around the room, overjoyed.
Ruan Tang's gentle expression slowly faded, replaced by the formidable demeanor of the ice-queen CEO. "This doesn't mean I've accepted you. I'm doing this for Yiyi's sake. And I think we need to have a serious talk."
"Go on," Xu Lai nodded.
"Yiyi is very fond of you, and she wants a complete family. I also want to give her a healthy childhood. If you can accept it, we can enter into a contract and pretend to be a married couple for now."
"A contract? Pretending?" Xu Lai raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. We'll announce publicly that we have reconciled and are engaged, and that we'll be officially registering our marriage soon. The contract will last for five years and will end when Yiyi turns ten. During that time, if either of us finds someone we truly love, the contract will be immediately voided."
Ruan Tang looked at Xu Lai, awaiting his answer.
He knew he couldn't be forgiven or accepted by Ruan Tang right now. Five years. Five years of hatred was a long time, but he would use the rest of his life—hundreds, thousands, millions of years—to make it up to her and Yiyi. He would make them the happiest women in the entire universe!
Xu Lai nodded solemnly. "I agree."
"Since you agree, I'll draft a contract and show it to you when it's done." Ruan Tang paused, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes. "Also, how exactly did you get Yiyi out of the Ye Family's estate? It's heavily guarded, with formidable Martial Artists standing watch."
Steal... The corner of Xu Lai's mouth twitched. He put on a serious expression. "Well, the consequences do seem pretty dire. What do you think we should do, honey?"
"First, we'll find a private kindergarten for Yiyi. If the Ye Family comes for revenge…" Ruan Tang bit her lower lip. "Then we'll call the police. In any case, Yiyi isn't in their hands anymore, so I'm not worried about their threats."
"Wait a minute—" Ruan Tang shot Xu Lai a glare. "Don't call me your honey again. We're only pretending to be a couple!"
"Then let's go to the civil affairs bureau tomorrow and make it official," Xu Lai said earnestly.
Ruan Tang was dumbfounded. That wasn't what she meant at all. The man's shamelessness was truly beyond her expectations!
"I'm just worried Yiyi might see through the act," Xu Lai explained. "If we're going to put on a show, we have to go all the way, right?"
His logic was sound. Ruan Tang couldn't find a reason to refuse. "Fine," she said coldly. "But you have to go out and find a job. I won't support a freeloader."
"Okay."
Xu Lai agreed instantly and started to think about what kind of job he could get. After mulling it over for a long while, he still had no idea.
Suddenly, he slapped his thigh. "Honey, how about I come work at your company? Fashion design sounds interesting."
Ruan Tang looked up, slightly unnerved, her gaze filled with disgust.
"What's that look for? As if I'm some kind of pervert," Xu Lai said with a raised eyebrow.
"My company exclusively produces women's sleepwear and lingerie."
"..."
Sorry for the intrusion.
Xu Lai silently stood up and looked around the apartment. Ruan Tang's place wasn't large, with two bedrooms and one living room, about ninety square meters in total.
The thought of living here with his wife and daughter filled Xu Lai with boundless anticipation. This was the ordinary life he had always wanted! As for this 'pretend couple' business… he quietly set a small goal for himself: make it official as soon as possible!
Suddenly, the somber voice of the First Divine General sounded in his mind: "Supreme Emperor, the Black Dragon has been captured."
Xu Lai was delighted. Taotie is certainly reliable.
With a wave of his hand, two dark, serpentine creatures appeared. He immediately carried them into the kitchen.
I'll stew one and braise the other.
He got right to work, busying himself in the kitchen.
Ruan Tang's mind was already in turmoil at the thought of living under the same roof as Xu Lai from now on. Hearing the noise from the kitchen, she got up and walked over. When she saw Xu Lai handling two snakes, her face went pale with shock. "Where did you get those snakes!"
"These are dragons. Black Dragons," Xu Lai corrected her. "They're very precious. There are only three hundred of them left in the entire Immortal Domain. I had my subordinate get them specially to help nourish our daughter."
"Dragons, my foot! You can eat them if you want, but don't you dare feed Yiyi something so foul!"
"You're not having any?"
"No!"
With that, Ruan Tang shut the kitchen door.