Chapter 5

On the rooftop, Lin Ying stood staring at the beautiful scenery. Beside her was Chen Zhen who constantly looked at his wristwatch.

Lin Quan had asked Lin Ying to show Chen Zhen around their mansion. This was of course just an excuse to let the duo have some time to themselves.

Lin Ying felt uncomfortable standing beside Chen Zhen because of his cold demeanour. He was quiet since she started giving him a "tour" of their home and even till this moment, he remained quiet and seemingly uninterested.

Chen Zhen looked at the time on his watch and sighed.

This act of his made Lin Ying feel uneasy. "Umm... you don't have to stay if you have somewhere important to go." she quickly suggested.

Chen Zhen said nothing in response. He placed his hands into his pocket and stared at the scenery. This act of his just made her feel even more uncomfortable.

She picked on her nails and bit her lower lips uneasily.

A few minutes passed and she was just about to tell him that they should return to the living room when she heard his bold and intimidating voice.

"Do you want to do this?" Chen Zhen asked.

"Huh?" she turned and looked at him surprised. Although he was asking if this wedding plan was not against her will, his voice was cold and for a second, she felt as though if she said she was uninterested in his proposal, he would turn into a vampire with an axe.

Chen Zhen raised an eyebrow causing her to shake her head unintentionally. He narrowed his gaze seeing that she had given him a 'no' as an answer.

Lin Ying quickly understood what he was thinking and tried to clear the air.

"No no... I mean yes." even she soon became confused. 'What am I spewing?'

Chen Zhen sighed. "I'll tell my grandfather to give you some more time to think." he decided but Lin Ying quickly interrupted.

"No!"

Chen Zhen looked at her with his left brow raised.

She lowered her head for a second then looked back at him. With a sigh, she spoke. "Let's get married. The earlier, the better."

'Did I sound desperate?' she thought to herself.

Chen Zhen stared at her for a while. He was trying to read her expression but she seemed unreadable. He sighed and faced the open space again.

"I'll have grandfather fix the date. It will be a very small wedding." after saying this, he turned around and walked away without hearing her opinion about having a small wedding.

Lin Ying watched him walk away and it was only after he was completely gone that she let out a sigh of relief.

Ying did not realize it but she had been holding her breath all the while.

She placed her hands on the railings and sighed. Feeling as though living with Chen Zhen would be a difficult challenge, she hit her chest over and over again.

From a corner, he watched her quietly and sighed before walking away.

A few minutes passed and Lin Ying returned to the living room where everyone sat, all except Chen Zhen.

She blinked twice and looked around for him but he was nowhere in sight.

"Ah... There you are." Lin Quan pointed to Lin Ying catching her attention.

Slowly, she walked up to where he sat and bowed slightly. She looked around again but didn't find Chen Zhen.

'Did he get lost while returning?' she wondered.

Old Chen noticed that she was looking for someone and his lips curved up in a smile.

"Chen Zhen had some work to do so he left first." old Chen explained.

Lin Ying looked at him surprised that he could tell what she was thinking then nodded in understanding. 'Seems he is always engrossed in work.' she murmured to her hearing.

Lin Ying went ahead and sat quietly.

"We are yet to come up with a date. Chen Zhen said you didn't want a loud wedding which he has already agreed to. All that is left is to date." old Chen spoke with a bright smile on his face.

Lin Ying was surprised to hear what the old man said. 'I never said that. It's not like he even asked for my opinion.' she thought to herself. But on the other hand, she was fine with a quiet wedding, after all, it was a marriage of convenience.

"Id like you to get married before the end of this month." old Chen was very eager to make Lin Ying his granddaughter-in-law.

The room fell silent. No one was expecting him to set an early date like that.

After a long moment of silence, Song Ting spoke for the first time that afternoon, "Why don't we push the date to September? After all, our Ying Ying just got back and she must be exhausted." she suggested trying to allow Lin Ying enjoy her single life a little more.

Although no one asked for her opinion, Zheng Xiang spoke, "I agree with madam Song. After all, Chen Zhen is still enjoying his bachelorhood and he needs some time." she pretended to be concerned for Chen Zhen when in actuality, she was only thinking about how to prevent this wedding from holding.

Old Chen was quiet for a while. Chen Zhen had told him to choose whatever date he felt was suitable but something was stopping him from concluding.

He tilted his head and looked at Lin Ying who was understandably quiet, "What do you say?" everyone turned to look at Lin Ying who was unaware that they were referring to her.

Lin Quan nudged her a little drawing her attention. "Huh?" she looked up startled.

Old Chen asked again, "This is your wedding after all. What would you prefer? Would you like a closer date or should we push it to September?" he asked in a more detailed manner.

Lin Ying was confused. She looked at the faces of everyone seated and didn't know what decision would be better.

'Pushing it to September would be better. After all, I'm not ready to get married.' she thought to herself but when the time came to give a response, she said something entirely different.

"The earlier the better."