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1 Year of Beginning

“Give me one year of your life and I’ll give you the money you need.” Feng Mian is a normal and down to earth modern woman. She just wanted an ordinary life, an ordinary job and find an ordinary man to marry in the future. (Yes, all should be ordinary). But when family matters took a turn for the worst, she faced a huge dilemma called shortage of money. Suddenly, a contract came due to a series of coincidences. Zhang Liang was fed up with his father's (yes, father not mother) matchmaking schemes for him. He wanted to have a peaceful year because this was his chance to expand his business overseas, yet his father didn’t seem to get the message. When an ordinary fresh graduate employee in his company accidentally saw a scene, he decided to take the chance. “Since she has a normal background with nothing remarkable, nothing should go wrong, right?” Browsing through the contract, Feng Mian gritted her teeth. 'Fine. It was just one year of my life anyway. I wouldn't lose a lot.' But was it true? Or would that one year turn out to be a ride full of ups and down for both of them? ... Story set in modern era in fictional country. This story is purely fiction, any similarities with real life's event is purely coincidence. Special thanks for CatarinaM2811 for making the cover Word count: 900-1800 words/chapter Discord: https://discord.gg/pBy2wGB ... Thorough the Years' Series: 1. 1 Year of Beginning [complete] 2. 2 Years of Restarting [complete] 3. -Work in Progress- 4. -Work in Progress- 5. -Work in Progress- 6. -Work in Progress- 7. -Work in Progress- The series are all STANDALONE, meaning you don't have to read the other series in order to be able to follow this story. You can just read one and you still didn't lose anything. Each of the series have different main leads but they all happen in the same universe (and similar timeline, some are overlapping but mostly not) ... Other novels: -Flowers Bloom from Battlefield [complete] - Under the Veil of Night [complete] - 7 Path of the Lilies [on long hiatus] - Villain Lady [complete] - Science and Fantasy [complete] - Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower [on going] - The Quiet Empress [on going] ... Note for those who read Sorahana's other novels: This novel took a different approach compared to my other novels because it focused heavily on romance and also in main lead's perspective. follow me on IG: @sora100518

Sorahana · สมัยใหม่
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198 Chs

Contract Offer

"President?"

Feng Mian followed after Zhang Liang to the empty room in the first floor. It was the waiting room used for unexpected important guest. She herself had never entered one before because she didn't work with the guests in this company and was just busy on her floor.

Zhang Liang beckoned for her to sit, so Feng Mian took the seat before him. Her eyes looked back at Zhang Liang in confusion. Even though she wanted to stay far away from him, she didn't dare to do so.

"Have you heard rumors about me?"

"Pardon?"

"Have you?"

Even though Feng Mian was not totally sure why Zhang Liang asked about this, she knew some of them. As the president of the company who dominated the sweet in this country, there were obviously some gossips revolved around the president. At 26 of age, he was still considered young and many women targeted him, but so far, Zhang Liang never showed any interest in any of them.

There were even some rumors where he kicked out a woman who dared to come when he was working. The woman was sent away from the city and had never been heard again ever since then.

Since then, no one dared to have any thoughts regarding their president during work anymore. They did their work diligently and never let any mishap occur at all.

"Yes, President."

Zhang Liang nodded. "That's good. I'll tell you one thing, they're mostly correct because I found women annoying."

Yes? Feng Mian was confused why he would say that to her so suddenly. There was no need to divulge his private information, right?

"I need your help?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you won't be able to reject the offer and I have already done a background check on you."

Feng Mian's lips twitched. This was one of the reasons she didn't want to have any deal with the powerful people standing at the top of the food chain. They were very powerful and with their words alone, they could command a lot of people to do as they wished. On the other hand, she was just an ordinary person hoping for an ordinary life away from those struggles of power.

It should have worked well if only she didn't meet with this man today… probably.

"What do you want, President Zhang?" Feng Mian kept her composure and asked again.

Zhang Liang nodded. Even though he could sense the obvious displeasure Feng Mian had, she still kept her calm. He needed someone who could stay calm in front of him but would not cross the lines by making thing difficult. Those pampered women were obviously a big no because he didn't want to deal with those annoying clingy women.

"I want you to get married with me."

Get….

Married?!

"Excuse me?"

"I said, I want you to get married with me," Zhang Liang repeated his words. His dark irises were looking at Feng Mian directly, showing her that he was being serious in his words.

However, how could she believe it?!

Feng Mian was looking at Zhang Liang as if she was looking at some weirdos. "President Zhang, are you serious?"

"Yes."

"I humbly reject your offer."

Having a rich and powerful person giving a proposal to you would certainly be like a dream come true. However, Feng Mian knew better than anyone that it was nothing more than a deal. She was not a princess from some rich families or a missing daughter that was protected by the government whatsoever.

She came from a small family. Her father was an ordinary architect that was not famous while her mother was a chef in a small restaurant. Both of their family members were also ordinary with no influence whatsoever.

Knowing that she had nothing on her back, Feng Mian had long planned to just have a normal life. She didn't want to get tangled in the dispute and schemes these powerful people at the top of the food chain had. They might have more money, but she didn't want to be like them in dealing with everyday problems.

"Don't be so quick to answer. If your mother entered the hospital again, it means that you need a lot of money, right?"

Feng Mian looked at Zhang Liang warily. "What do you want, President Zhang?"

"I need to fool my father for a year," Zhang Liang replied. He planned on expanding his business overseas this year. With his father nagging behind him for him to get married and giving him grandchildren, he knew that he wouldn't have any peace.

Feng Mian was stunned. Achieving success in just a year was simply impossible. On second thought, there was no word impossible in Zhang Liang's dictionary. He was one of the most successful businessmen in the entire country. Even with his young age, he was capable of being the one who dominated the sweet in this country.

"Why me?"

"Don't you know the answer for that?"

Feng Mian clicked her tongue. Because she didn't have any complications in her life, she had become the perfect target for Zhang Liang. However, she didn't really want to get married to someone she had never known. Even if it was just for a year…

"There are a lot of other options to get money aside from accepting this contract," Zhang Liang added. "But I can assure you that you won't be able to live well for years to come."

"W-what?"

"Loan shark, prostitution, selling organs, becoming a se,…" Zhang Liang listed out easily.

Feng Mian's face darkened upon hearing his words. She knew very well the dark side of this world. Even in the modern world where there was law, there were always those shady dealings for illegal things. After all, there was no lack in people who needed money.

Zhang Liang looked at Feng Mian's face. "What's your answer, Feng Mian?"

"I…"