Chapter 35: The Wife Needs to Be Coaxed, the Sister-in-Law Needs to Be Deceived.

"Arranged marriages are just the remnants of feudal etiquette."

In the café, the masked girl spoke confidently, completely ignoring the strange looks from the other patrons.

"If it's just for the sake of getting married, don't you think such a marriage is a grave?"

"We haven't been married, so we can't answer that question," Xing Yuanzhi sighed.

"Sister Ah Zhi!" The girl slapped the table again. "I'm talking to your fiancé, don't interrupt me!"

Xing Yuanzhi: .....

"Alright, who are you?" Cheng Jinyang asked helplessly.

"Don't worry about who I am," the girl said impatiently. "Do you know that you are ruining Sister Ah Zhi? If you can't give her love, let her go and give her freedom, okay? Aren't there other girls in the Shendu Cheng family for you to harm?"

"Who said there's no love between us?" Cheng Jinyang showed a puzzled expression.

"...Huh?" Yang Wangshu was taken aback.

"Don't be silly," Cheng Jinyang sneered. "Do you think that if Yuanzhi didn't like me, the Hejian Xing family could force her to marry me? Do you know she's already a core member of her family?"

"Ah, this..." Yang Wangshu turned her questioning gaze to Xing Yuanzhi, but the mask completely concealed her expression.

"I told you already," Xing Yuanzhi turned her head, idly stirring her milk tea with a straw.

"I don't believe it!" Yang Wangshu keenly noticed her gaze shifting away, a clear sign of guilt.

"What don't you believe?" Cheng Jinyang asked.

"I don't believe she likes you!" Yang Wangshu asserted. "You're not even sharing the same cup of milk tea!"

"Who told you that couples have to drink from the same cup of milk tea?" Cheng Jinyang laughed. "That kind of public display of affection is so outdated."

Yang Wangshu: ???

"You're deliberately not answering my question." She slapped the table again for emphasis. "Answer honestly, do you like Sister Ah Zhi?"

"Of course I do," Cheng Jinyang answered immediately.

"What do you like about her?" Yang Wangshu quickly followed up.

"Hey! Why should he answer your question…" Xing Yuanzhi couldn't take it anymore. Discussing this in public was like a public execution for her. However, Cheng Jinyang had already prepared his response and smoothly answered:

"Ah Zhi, though she always appears cold and proud, is actually very gentle and pure inside. She pretends not to care about anything, but she secretly cares about those around her and stubbornly refuses to admit it... That's what makes her so adorably tsundere!"

Yang Wangshu was dumbfounded: How could I not know? It's exactly because of this that I admire her! But this guy... He's only been with Sister Ah Zhi for a month and he's already figured all this out?

"And she's very serious and responsible. She changes clothes when she gets home, uses serving chopsticks at meals, and cleans the house twice a day. She's the perfect housewife, the ultimate dream for any man." Cheng Jinyang spread his hands, shaking his head disdainfully, with a look that said, "You don't understand Ah Zhi at all."

"Isn't every man's ultimate dream to have such a super perfect wife? You ask me what I like about Ah Zhi, and I'll ask you back: Is there anything about Ah Zhi that's not worth liking?"

"Let me tell you straight." He confidently gave a thumbs up, "I like Ah Zhi the most!"

Next to him, Xing Yuanzhi's body trembled, while Yang Wangshu was left speechless by his direct confession. After a while, she stammered, "But, but! If we talk about flaws... What about her OCD? Isn't her cleanliness annoying? If you can't tolerate her OCD, how can you say you like her?"

"OCD?" Cheng Jinyang sneered, showing a 'that's it?' expression. "What OCD? Is it a flaw for a girl to love cleanliness and hygiene? Do you know how much dead skin, dust, and fungi accumulate between the skin and clothes if you don't shower for more than eight hours? Do you know how soft and fragrant Ah Zhi is after a shower?"

"Ugh!" Yang Wangshu recoiled in horror, her mind blank except for his last sentence, which echoed repeatedly in her ears.

This bastard, has he already slept with Sister Ah Zhi? Damn it, given Sister Ah Zhi's personality, won't she be bound to him for the rest of her life?

"Alright, I don't need to explain more to you." Seeing her rendered speechless, Cheng Jinyang stopped his aggressive stance and glanced at Xing Yuanzhi. "Since she's willing to recognize you as her sister, after we get married, consider me your brother-in-law. This meal is on me."

He then scanned the menu to order more egg tarts. Yang Wangshu remained silent for a while, then looked at Xing Yuanzhi.

Xing Yuanzhi sat there with her eyes downcast, lips pursed, and hands resting on her lap, as if completely frozen.

Although she said nothing, Yang Wangshu knew she was just extremely shy. Since Cheng Jinyang had said such sweet words and she hadn't refuted them, it was clear she accepted everything her fiancé said.

So, my dear Sister Ah Zhi has really been taken by someone…

Freshly baked egg tarts quickly arrived. Overcome with grief, Yang Wangshu turned her sorrow into appetite, opening the lower part of her mask to start devouring the hot egg tarts.

"Damn it… Let me tell you, since Sister Ah Zhi doesn't object, I have nothing to say… but…"

She rudely grabbed the milk pudding beside her and took a bite with a spoon. "If you ever make her sad… This is delicious… I will never forgive you!"

"That's not something you need to remind me of." Cheng Jinyang said grumpily. As she continued to eat, he secretly glanced at Chu Qingqing at the next table.

Seeing Miss Qingqing give him a 'done' gesture over the partition, he thought, So Miss Wang is done? Well, I don't know what they're up to, but this should be enough.

Opposite the partition, Miss Qingqing was still eating her sausage when Wang Wanrou stood up to leave.

"Hey, done already?" Chu Qingqing was confused. "I haven't finished eating!"

She had only been sitting with Wang Wanrou, watching Cheng Jinyang talk to Yang Wangshu over the partition for a few minutes, and then… it was over?

Hurriedly packing up the food, Chu Qingqing made a gesture to the two across the partition and followed Wang Wanrou out of the café.

"Is that all?" she asked, bewildered. "Weren't you going to befriend her?"

"Spiritually," Wang Wanrou said dismissively.

Spiritually, my foot!

Chu Qingqing was still unwilling to give up, tentatively asking, "What about Jinyang and Yuanzhi? Aren't we waiting for them to go back together?"

"What else?" Wang Wanrou asked her back. "Or are you interested in him and want to compete with Xing Yuanzhi?"