Chapter 1 Flash Marriage

"A Xuan, over here, come over here."

Mrs. Huo waved at Ye Xuan. Standing beside her was a robust and exceptionally handsome man with a cold expression. Ye Xuan couldn't help but blush upon seeing him; this must be the grandson Mrs. Huo had mentioned.

Indeed, as Mrs. Huo had described, he was quite handsome. But he had an icy demeanor, exuding an aura of aloofness.

"A Xuan, come meet my eldest grandson, Huo Jianchen. Take a look. What do you think?"

Mrs. Huo acted like a salesperson in a mall, proudly showing off her family's product.

Ye Xuan felt her face heat up and extended her hand. "Hello, I'm Ye Xuan."

Huo Jianchen kept one hand in his pocket, his expression sour, offering only basic courtesy to Ye Xuan.

"Miss Ye, hello."

Ye Xuan felt a bit awkward, and Mrs. Huo wasn't pleased either; she lightly nudged her grandson with her elbow.

"You're a man; why are you letting the girl take the initiative?"

Under Mrs. Huo's stern gaze, Huo Jianchen had to speak up to appease her.

"I heard you've been taking care of Grandma in the hospital all this time. Thank you. Miss Ye, please come with me."

Huo Jianchen's face wore a forced expression as he spoke. Mrs. Huo sat happily in the car, dragging Ye Xuan along.

"A Xuan, don't blame Jianchen for being cold. He's always been pure and has never had a romantic relationship. Grandma guarantees you'll fall for him once you spend more time together."

Ye Xuan softly murmured, following Huo Jianchen into the Civil Affairs Bureau. Mrs. Huo sat in the car with a beaming smile, waiting.

Originally, she didn't have many expectations for marriage. Her family had three children; she had an older sister and a younger brother.

Recently, her brother got married. They had a slightly over 100-square-meter apartment: her parents in one room, she and her sister in another, and her brother alone. Later, after her sister got married, there were still two rooms available. However, after her brother got married and had a child on the way, housing became tight.

And her mom had given her the final ultimatum: she had to get married. She also had to earn at least three hundred thousand yuan as a betrothal gift for her brother's wife. Otherwise, don't bother coming back.

Ye Xuan knew her mother's character, and whether or not it was three hundred thousand yuan didn't matter. The main thing was that she had to get married. Only by marrying could she escape her parents and the bitterness brought on by her original family.

However, Ye Xuan sighed. Was this really a good idea? Her sister got married, and although her child was three years old, she hadn't lived a good life after marriage. Instead, she had to work and earn money while taking care of the child alone. Every time her husband gave her money for household expenses, it was like a landlord paying his workers' wages. He scolded her sister and never had a good expression.

This man was also someone she was meeting for the first time. She worked as a nurse in the hospital, and every month's salary was collected by her mother. She relied on borrowing money from friends outside to run a flower shop and earn some extra money for her daily expenses.

Last month, she saved Mrs. Huo, who had suffered an acute cerebral infarction on the side of the road and was brought back by an ambulance. Seeing Mrs. Huo alone and needing care was pitiful, so she took the initiative to help her. Under her careful care, Mrs. Huo was able to regain her life.

After the two became familiar with each other, Mrs. Huo also sympathized with Ye Xuan's family situation and told her about her grandson. She said her grandson was nearly twenty-five and had never had a girlfriend. She said her grandson was cold by nature and only knew how to work. Anyway, Ye Xuan was eager to get married, and she could vouch for her grandson's character, so she proposed that the two get married.

Ye Xuan made a desperate move, not knowing why she nodded in agreement. Mrs. Huo said her grandson was a high-ranking executive at a company and had a generous salary. She told her not to worry about their future lives.

She also said their family was just an ordinary one, a little better than theirs at most. It's just that they had more people. Because Mrs. Huo didn't just have Huo Jianchen as a grandson, she had three sons and two daughters.

That is to say, if each family had two children, Mrs. Huo now had at least ten grandchildren. If there were a couple more, there would be dozens of people in their house now.

"In other words, if each family had two children, Grandma Huo would have at least ten grandchildren now. If there were a couple more, there would be dozens of people in their house now. Ye Xuan felt that her own family, with only three children, was already chaotic enough; Grandma Huo probably wouldn't have such peace and quiet anymore.

"Documents, please."

She was still lost in thought when Huo Jianchen said coldly. Ye Xuan hesitated a bit; after all, she wasn't familiar with the man in front of her.

"Miss Ye, if you haven't thought it through, you can back out. I'm busy."

With a few simple words, Huo Jianchen expressed his impatience. He didn't believe in Grandma's claims of her good character, willing to help, and not being pragmatic and materialistic.

Although he had felt a little bit of favor towards Ye Xuan when he saw her earlier, with her plain and simple appearance. Regardless of what kind of person she was inside, at least her naive and innocent appearance was half true, as Grandma had said.

"No, I won't back out. I promised Grandma Huo."

Ye Xuan mechanically handed over her household registration book and ID card. Anyway, her marriage was just a way to escape the barriers of her original family and Huo Jianchen. It didn't matter who she married. At least Grandma Huo didn't seem like a bad person, and her grandson, though a bit aloof, didn't seem like someone who had ill intentions towards her.

At least she felt that as a little nurse earning just over two thousand yuan a month and running a flower shop in debt, there wasn't much she could be deceived of. At most, he would deceive her with his appearance. With Huo Jianchen's looks, it couldn't be said that she was losing out.

And Grandma told her that Huo Jianchen was actually very pitiful; he was the oldest in the family, and his parents were too busy with work to show him any love, so he couldn't express his own emotions. She hoped that a woman could bring warmth to his home.

In Grandma Huo's eyes, Huo Jianchen was just a poor child in need of redemption. Ye Xuan's heart trembled a bit; Huo Jianchen's background was somewhat similar to hers. Her parents only loved her brother and had never given her and her sister any warmth.

Even the money she used to study after high school was saved up by herself through part-time work. Her sister wasn't as lucky; she was forced to marry after junior high school.

"Let's take the photo. The processing fee is thirty yuan."

The staff glanced at them, confirming that they were here to get married, not to divorce.

Without hesitation, Ye Xuan took out her phone and looked at Huo Jianchen. "Bring out the QR code."

"??"

"For payment. The staff said the processing fee is 30 yuan, and I can't let you pay alone; I should contribute half as well. Grandma Huo said you're a high-ranking executive with a salary of several hundred thousand yuan a year, but whether you have money is your business. Even if I marry you, I can't take advantage of you."

Huo Jianchen's mouth twitched slightly, his facial expression somewhat stiff, as he said, "No need."

Then he added, "I'll cover it."

Ye Xuan stared at him for several seconds. "This is what you said; you can't ask me for it later."

It wasn't that she wanted to do this; it was just that she was too poor. After her salary was handed over, she relied on the income from the flower shop to get by, so she was very frugal economically. She was willing to pay 15 yuan out of the 30 yuan processing fee, even though it felt like she was cutting her own flesh.

Huo Jianchen glanced deeply at her and said, "Don't worry, I won't. I have to go back to work later; you can take a taxi by yourself."

After saying that, he went back to the car alone, leaving Ye Xuan muttering as she watched his back.

"He has a car; why can't he even bear to send me off? So stingy."