Chapter One: Marriage Proposal

"Shi Nian, I'm here to offer you a marriage proposal," Yun Nan casually uttered from where she sat on the opposite side of Shi Nian's office desk.

Shi Nian was just then signing a document and his hand twitched at her words, causing the last stroke of his name 'Nian' to drag out a little.

He frowned and looked up at the beautiful woman before him and then politely reminded her, "We've only just met for the first time today."

"Indeed," Yun Nan nodded and continued, "But we both know of each other. You have an engagement with the daughter of the Yun family, but you don't want to marry Yun Liu. However, you can't disobey your elders, so you keep delaying it."

"That won't work for long. I'm the real daughter of the Yun family; this engagement is between you and me in the first place. You'll be free from your predicament if we get married."

Shi Nian looked at Yun Nan and asked calmly, "Miss Yun, you wish to discuss a collaboration with me?"

Yun Nan smiled; it was certainly a pleasure dealing with intelligent people, "That's right."

Shi Nian was dazzled by her bright smile and decided to hear her out. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. He then raised his eyebrows and stated, "What's in it for me?"

Yun Nan gave him the 'marriage agreement' she'd prepared beforehand.

Shi Nian flipped it open and read it carefully whilst Yun Nan's voice flowed past his ears like a stream as she listed the main points within the agreement.

"The term of our collaboration is five years. Once the five years are up, we will divorce and the fault in our 'relationship' will be mine—we can say that I was unfaithful."

"You will have absolute freedom during these five years and I will act as your wife in all your activities and social gatherings, with family or in public. I will present myself properly and never embarrass you. However, behind closed doors, we are strangers and will not interfere with each other."

Shi Nian placed the document on the table and pointed at a paragraph with the pen in his hand and said, "And in return, you request that I provide you with a safe haven and give you the help you need?"

Yun Nan nodded, looking very relaxed as she answered, "That's right. I find myself in need of support from a bigshot like yourself."

Shi Nian steadily gazed at Yun Nan as he probed, "You went missing when you were a child, hence your parents adopted Yun Liu. You returned to the your family two years ago, right? I'd expect the Yun family to pamper and spoil their princess as compensation for those lost years so why are you seeking aid from me? Despite the engagement, no one can force me if I insist on not going through with it."

He spoke truly; Shi Nian was a talented man with great influence that few wished to tackle. At the age of eight, Shi Nian was accompanying his grandfather as he attended board meetings. When he was sixteen, he opened an overseas branch company by himself. At twenty-five, he had already secured the position of chairman of the Shi Corporation. 

Shi Nian experienced great storms in his life, but he'd never met anyone who dared to come up to him and brazenly negotiate conditions like Yun Nan did, especially when she looked like a young girl barely into her adulthood.

"But your grandfather can't afford to wait any longer!" Yun Nan smiled. "His greatest wish currently is to see you get married, right? My adopted sister, Yun Liu, always wanted to take the engagement for herself. If you like her, I wouldn't be here discussing this with you but since that's not the case, Shi Nian, why not concede and give this collaboration a chance?"

"It's only for five years; it's not a loss for you and it will make your grandfather happy. All I want is the title of Mrs. Shi so that I can break free from the Yun family; I'm not interested in you or your money. It's all written clearly in black and white; it'll be a clean break when we get divorced. What do you think?"

Honestly, this agreement was flawless, and Yun Nan's words hit his soft spot.

Shi Nian pondered for only a moment before he signed the agreement. He handed it back to Yun Nan, who took it with a cheerful smile and said, "I look forward to working with you!"

Shi Nian glanced at his watch, "There's just enough time. Let's go register our marriage!"

...

Standing in front of the Yun family's villa, Yun Nan let out a soft sigh. Her adoptive parents were a pair of modest traders. They led hard lives, but they had given her the greatest gift in the world: selfless and abundant love.

She had gone missing when she was a child and had almost no memories of the Yun family. It was her adoptive parents who spent a lot of effort to find her kin. They had even given up the opportunity to live the rest of their lives in peace and relaxation, traveling far and wide in search of Yun Nan's family and dying in a foreign land.

Whereas her original family had adopted a girl of similar age to Yun Nan to deal with the grief of losing her. After raising the girl for so many years, it's understandable that they had developed deep feelings for each other. 

However, Yun Nan's adopted sister had been targeting her ever since she returned to the family, but her parents and brother turned a blind eye to it. Instead, they were always picking on her and restricting her, causing her once expectant and fiery heart to gradually cool down.

A family is something you make, not something that's given; this applied to both her and her biological parents. They didn't find each other acceptable and since that was the case, she had to take care of herself.

As soon as she entered the house, she could hear her father—Yun Xiang—begin to furiously berate her.

"Where were you? What right do you have to change your sister's role? She bared her soul to you and tried her best to please you. What else do you want from her? She relied on her own hard work to get to where she is today. Not only did you disregard your bond as sisters, but you even secretly tripped her up! Why are you so malicious?"

Yun Xiang was livid; he pointed and yelled at Yun Nan from afar, while her so-called sister, Yun Liu, was sobbing on the sofa.

Her mother—Gu Wei—quickly came forward and pressed her father's raised hand down as she tried to calm him. "Oh, honey, keep your voice down. Why are you so angry? Give Yun Nan a chance to say her piece." She then gave Yun Nan a look, indicating for her to take the initiative and apologize.

"Mom, don't help Yun Nan this time; she's the one at fault!" Yun Zhang spoke up angrily, "Director Zhang already agreed to give the lead role to Yun Liu, but Yun Nan refused to accept that. She even threatened Director Zhang, stating that if he chose Yun Liu, she wouldn't direct the film anymore and would even take back the script. She clearly has it out for Yun Liu!"

Yun Zhang glared at Yun Nan so heatedly it was as if his eyes could spew fire.

Yun Liu stopped crying to move towards Yun Xiang and clutched his arm, saying in a panic, "Dad, don't be angry, it's all my fault. This has nothing to do with Yun Nan, I'm just not good enough for the role."

Her tears fell like pearls from a broken string as she began to cry anew.

"Yun Liu, don't cry. What do you mean it's your fault? Why are you blaming yourself again?! Mom and Dad are here; we'll definitely support you and set things straight. Please don't cry!" Yun Zhang rambled as he tried to stem Yun Liu's tears. He'd been unable to bear seeing his sister cry since he was young; when she cried, his heart ached.

"Yun Zhang, say no more. It really has nothing to do with Yun Nan. It's my fault for not being good enough," Yun Liu cried sorrowfully. Her entire body shook as she sobbed and leaned into Yun Zhang's arms. 

"I'm just an adopted child; I don't know what kind of family I'm from. I'm slow-witted; no matter how hard I work, I'm not good enough. Mom and Dad wasted their time and effort raising me—" Yun Liu's last sentence ended in a wail.

Gu Wei's heart felt like it was being cut by a knife when she saw her daughter in distress. She hurriedly hugged Yun Liu and gently consoled her, "Silly child, what are you talking about? You are very outstanding! We raised you and that means you're our daughter, so stop this foolishness about being adopted and whatnot!"

Her emotions got the better of her as she spoke and Gu Wei started crying too. The two weeping women riled up the men even further and they stared daggers at Yun Nan in unison.

It had been two years since she returned to this family, and Yun Nan couldn't remember how many times this scene had been repeated.

Yun Liu's acting skills were much better in real life than within a film set. If she could act like this before the cameras, Yun Nan still wouldn't let the woman be the female lead in her movie but she would at least recommend Yun Liu to other directors.