Substitute Husband.

"Sir, I wonder if you need a wife? You have waited for so long here and it is only a few minutes before the civil affairs bureau closes, I understand how you feel but, I suspect your bride won't show up today. How about this, give yourself to me in marriage today and I will pay you back honestly. Trust me, sir, it is a win-win situation and you definitely won't regret it" Meng Xi offered seriously.

Need a wife? Give himself to her?

Lu Jingze arched a brow coldly and stared intently at the audacious woman standing before him. He could help but wonder which part of him looked like he needed a bride. He lifted his eyes slightly and saw that he had indeed been standing in front of the marriage bureau since morning and this must have been misunderstood by her.

And as for the audacious lady, with her manner of approach, her fiance must have ditched her. This was not his business though but, he was quite interested in the lady's wit. She was the first woman ever to speak to him in such a manner.

"Sir, why are you not responding? You may not know this, the bureau will close once it is five and we have only a few minutes left. Your wife isn't here now and as for me, my fiance ditched me... we both have similar conditions... so, I suggest we get married" Meng Xi blurted out. She seemed frustrated a bit and glanced at her watch again.

Lu Jingze's assistant who had just walked over heard the lady's sudden suggestion to his boss, his jaw dropped and he nearly stumbled over.

Suggest to get married?! What marriage?!!

Where the heck did this stray woman come from?! The assistant was shocked! He was about to rush over to save his boss from the woman when the boss suddenly called his name.

"Hu Dong," Lu Jinze's cold voice reached the assistant and his back straightened immediately before rushing over.

"Yes, boss!" Hu Dong answered swiftly and waited for his boss' instruction.

"Bring my household register over" Lu Jingze instructed.

"Yes, boss!— wait, what— your what boss?" Hu Dong was utterly stupefied.

Lu Jingze threw his assistant a look and the latter shivered.

"Yes, right away, sir!" Hu Dong muttered and bobbed his head incessantly.

Meng Xi could not help but sigh in relief inwardly when she saw the man make a move. Even if it was going to be a substitute husband, she must get her marriage registered that day whichever way.

"Sir, we could go in now and wait for him" Meng Xi suggested. She could not bear to take any more chances.

Lu Jingze was amused by her wits, he gave a small nod and gestured, "after you," he muttered. A meaningful smirk was hidden on his lips.

Meng Xi thanked her good luck for finding such a cooperative man, she walked into the office and approached the marriage registration table with the man following suit. Unlike the man whose expression was cold as ice, Meng Xi managed to pull a forceful smile on her face and answered the necessary question all on her own. She picked up the form and began filling it by herself.

While Meng Xi filled out the form, Lu Jingze watched her from the side, his eyes caught the sight of her ID and he saw the character 'Meng Xi', his eyes narrowed slightly and a loop-sided smile forged on his face. He took out his phone and quietly sent a text message to a person. In another minute, a bunch of information was mailed to him. He calmly read through it without missing a word.

An unpopular Meng family's young missus, huh? Interesting... he thought and kept his phone.

"Mhm... fill in your part quickly" Meng Xi muttered and gave the form to him. Lu Jingze nonchalantly glanced at the form before picking up the pen. He lazily fill out the form as though he was not concerned about his sudden marriage.

Of course, he really hoped it would be fun in the end. He did not like to be involved in boring stuff after all.

His strokes were perfect as his slender wrist moved across the paper. Meng Xi had to say, the man's handwriting was just as neat as his face. She did not look at what he was writing for too long before shifting her gaze. She failed to see when the man sighed his name with perfect stroke and spelled out the two characters;

Lu Jingze.

The lady at the desk took the forms and at the same time, Lu Jingze arrived with his document and it was submitted alongside a copy of his ID.

Meng Xi also submitted hers and waited. She almost could not sit properly as her eyes glittered with joy and gratefulness when she saw the lady returned with two copies of their red marriage certificate. She jumped up from her sit and took the certificates. She scanned it briefly and nodded in satisfaction.

She failed to notice the lady who attended to them was staring intently at Lu Jingze's back as they left the office. Even if she noticed, she could not care about that.

Outside the civil affairs bureau, Meng Xi stood in front of Lu Jingze and smiled brightly. For the first time since their unexpected encounter, Lu Jingze saw her smile and felt blown away by it. He stare back into her eyes, and even though he knew the woman had used him for a purpose, he did not seem to mind. This was very unusual of the young master Lu who was normally a vengeful spirit and very unkind.

"Thank you for your cooperation today, sir. You have done me a great favor. I would like to borrow these certificates first. You can write me your address and when I am done dealing with my business, I will come to see you so that we can discuss what you want for your end of the deal" Meng Xi enunciated with a smile. Since she finally got what she wanted, she was increasingly patient and easy.

Lu Jingze returned her smile and said, "no problem, please, suit yourself"

No problem?! Please, suit yourself!!! Hu Dong almost suspected that he was deaf when he heard what his boss said. He had been an assistant for many years and this was the first time he saw a smile on his boss's face. And it was not even the evil kind of smile but a polite one!

"Okay, thanks," Meng Xi said.

Lu Jingze gave a curt nod, he got a pen and paper from his assistant before he personally wrote his address for Meng Xi. She took the paper gratefully before flagging down a taxi and leaving the place.

Only after the lady had left before Hu Dong finally found his lost voice.

"Boss, what just happened?! Why did you suddenly get married? And what deal was the lady talking about? I thought we were here for an entirely different deal! Boss, I came rushing over because you said we will meet those guys around today! What happened then?!" Hu Dong uttered, his expression clueless and exasperated.

"The group didn't show up. We can forget about them and work with the others" Lu Jingze voiced and frowned. He had waited all day for nothing.

Oh— it was not really all for nothing in the end, he thought and smirked deviously.

"If that was the case, then who was that lady?!" The assistant queried.

Lu Jingze smirked and looked in the direction of the closed bureau, he looked back at the stiff assistant and patted his shoulder.

"Young Madam Lu, your young madam" Lu Jingze answered, an evil smile gracing his thin lips as he walked into his car.

The assistant was frozen for a second, his master's words rang in his head.

Young Madam Lu... His young madam—!!!