Chapter 3: Getting Married with a Certificate
Yuan Xi drove to the residence of Huo Shiyuan, the largest shareholder of Mi Chen, feeling somewhat distracted.
The daughter of the wealthiest family, that was something she never dared to dream of.
Yuan Xi and Chu Yan had attended the same university.
Chu Yan was a prominent figure at Jiangcheng University, flaunting a red Bugatti Veyron around campus since her freshman year.
Back then, after Yuan Xi's adoptive parents passed away, her uncles had seized the family inheritance meant as compensation, and she couldn't claim much since she was kidnapped and lacked official adoption papers.
Even pursuing lawsuits didn't allow her to receive much inheritance.
To continue her studies, Yuan Xi had to work from dawn to dusk to earn tuition and living expenses.
Yuan Xi would always remember that day in June of her sophomore year, after a heavy rain, as she was returning to her dorm from her part-time job at a milk tea shop.
Chu Yan sped past her in her Bugatti Veyron, splashing muddy water from a puddle that soaked Yuan Xi through and through.
The cup of toppings given to her kindly by the store manager, her dinner, was ruined by the mud and water.
In the distance, the laughter of Chu Yan and her friends could be heard.
At the time, Yuan Xi felt both angry and helpless.
Looking back now, Yuan Xi could only find it laughable.
Could it be that Chu Yan, the arrogant girl envied by the whole school, was actually a fake heiress, while she, drenched in muddy water, was the true daughter of the richest family?
Yuan Xi finally arrived at Ruohu, where the road beside the lake was completely devoid of cars and the scenery was magnificent.
Passing through a grove next to Ruohu, Yuan Xi reached a small Western-style house in the woods. As her car approached the entrance, the butler hurriedly opened the iron gate upon seeing the license plate.
Yuan Xi drove in, parked the car next to the front door, and walked towards the house.
The living room of the mansion was spacious, with a vaulted ceiling and a hanging crystal chandelier.
Entering the house, Yuan Xi saw a young and handsome man sitting on the sofa under the crystal chandelier.
The man looked to be about twenty-seven, wearing a casual black silk shirt. Upon seeing Yuan Xi come in, he closed his laptop.
"Secretary Yuan."
Yuan Xi, looking at the extremely handsome man before her, recalled the absurd drunken night from over a month ago, her ears turning slightly red.
Yuan Xi took the documents out of her bag and handed them to Huo Shiyuan, offering a professional, faint smile, "President Huo, I've already sent you the electronic version of the first quarter's financial report. This is the paper version."
Huo Shiyuan opened the paper file, flipped to the first page, and saw an ultrasound report. He looked up at Yuan Xi, "Mine?"
Unable to discern Huo Shiyuan's emotions, Yuan Xi nodded, "President Huo, I want to keep these two children. If you don't wish to acknowledge them, my children will never know who their father is."
Huo Shiyuan gripped the report tightly, "Did you bring your household registration book?"
"Hm?" Yuan Xi looked at Huo Shiyuan.
Huo Shiyuan said, "Since we have children, can Secretary Yuan allow me to take responsibility? Let's get married."
Perhaps because she had faced one major event after another today, Yuan Xi didn't show any shock at the news that Huo Shiyuan wanted to marry her, but she didn't know what to say for the moment.
"Secretary Yuan, I hope our children can grow up in a family with both parents present."
Although Yuan Xi wished for her children to grow up in a complete family, she had heard from Gu Hanchen that Huo Shiyuan had a childhood sweetheart who grew up with him, his lifetime's first love.
Huo Shiyuan had always been determined to marry that childhood sweetheart, and yet now he was proposing to her. What about his first love?
Huo Shiyuan pulled out his phone and checked the calendar, "May 13th, auspicious for marriage. Let's go."
Yuan Xi asked Huo Shiyan, "Don't you need to find a lawyer to sign some sort of property agreement?"
Although Huo Shiyan was young, as the sole heir of the Huo Family, his net worth was in the hundreds of billions, and he additionally possessed tens of billions in cash…
Huo Shiyan still had no idea she was the precious daughter of the Chu Family.
Huo Shiyan said, "No need."
Yuan Xi looked at Huo Shiyan, "President Huo, can we keep our marriage a secret from Gu Hanchen for now? Let's just not let anyone know."
Huo Shiyan was taken aback, "Why?"
"I've submitted my resignation. After serving Gu Hanchen for five years, I don't want to deal with his temperament while I'm pregnant. If he finds out we're married, he's likely to dump all of Mi Chen's issues on me."
After all, Huo Shiyan was Mi Chen's largest shareholder, holding close to forty-nine percent of the shares.
Once Mi Chen's IPO went public, Huo Shiyan would reap the greatest benefits. If Gu Hanchen knew about her marriage to Huo Shiyan, he would definitely play the absentee manager and leave her to handle everything at Mi Chen.
Huo Shiyan agreed, "Alright, then we'll keep it a secret from Gu Hanchen for now."
The afternoon sun in May was bright, and the marriage registration office wasn't very crowded.
When they got their two red marriage certificates, Yuan Xi couldn't help admitting that getting married to Huo Shiyan was a win for her as she looked at the photo on the marriage certificate.
Huo Shiyan, at twenty-seven, was in the prime of manhood, and his looks could hold their own even in the entertainment industry as a top-tier celebrity.
Otherwise, a month ago, she wouldn't have found herself in a drunken daze after a drinking party...
Huo Shiyan turned to Yuan Xi, "Shall we go to your place to pack up to move to Ruohu Mansion, or just go straight to the mall and buy new things?"
Yuan Xi was momentarily stunned at his words.
Huo Shiyan pointed at the marriage certificate, "Yuan Xi, we're married now, and I have no intention of living apart after marriage."
Yuan Xi clutched the marriage certificate tightly, looking at Huo Shiyan, "President Huo, there's something I haven't told you—I've found my biological parents. I need to visit my biological parents' home today, so I can't move today."
Huo Shiyan raised an eyebrow slightly, "Congratulations on finding your biological parents."
Yuan Xi put the marriage certificate into her bag.
Actually, there wasn't much joy for her in it.
Because all this was too much like a novel, and right now, she was the malicious real heiress in such a story...
To say she didn't hate Chu Yan, she would feel like she was lying to herself.
Even though she knew Chu Yan was innocent too, just a child adopted by her biological parents.
But that day, when the mud splashed on her and she heard Chu Yan's guilt-free laughter with a friend in the car after seeing her drenched, it hurt.
And it should have been her in that Bugatti...
Yuan Xi's four years at Jiangcheng University, she didn't know how she made it through, working all day every day in order to scrape by.
The clothes Chu Yan wore during her four years of university, which cost tens of thousands for a single piece, were never seen on her more than once.
Yuan Xi finally understood why the real malicious heiress in the novels would be so full of hatred towards the fake heiress upon returning, even if the fake heiress was innocent.
Some "malicious" real heiresses feel entitled to believe that the innocent fake heiress stole everything from them and are determined to force the fake heiress to leave their home.
This raw contrast of wealth and poverty brought about a resentment that Yuan Xi, who had been struggling in the workplace for five years, found difficult to calm down in the moment.
Yuan Xi pulled herself out of her thoughts and raised her eyes to Huo Shiyan, "President Huo, I need to go back to my biological parents' house now. Be careful on your way back to Ruohu Mansion."
Huo Shiyan's eyebrows slightly raised, "Yuan Xi, now that we are married, don't you plan on taking me with you to meet your biological parents?"