In the Zhou Family Villa at the suburbs of Imperial, an elderly man lies weakly in his bed. He's been sick for a few years already and as time passed by, his condition just deteriorated further. All his life was spent on building his business empire that are now on the hands of trash people who knows nothing but leeching off of others hard work. He barely spent some time on his only daughter which made a rift on their relationship, a rift they never got to fix before he lost his daughter in a car accident. Now all that's left to him is his precious granddaughter, his only pride and glory.
"Xiao Yue, I'm not going to last for long. All I want is to see you getting married to a capable man that will take care of you.", the old man said in his weak, frail voice.
"Grandfather don't say that. You'll be able to last for 100 years. You would definitely will.", Zhou Yuexi answered, trying her best to suppress her tears from falling.
"Child, I know my body well. I just want to hand you over to someone who would take care of you on my stead. I already talked to Old Zhang and he agreed to have his grandson marry you for old times sake." Elder Zhou said before coughing several times.
Worry instantly flashed on Zhou Yuexi's face when the old man took time coughing before releasing haggard long breaths. Her hands that held the weak and wrinkly hands squeezed tighter, never wanting to let go of the person she held most dear.
The tears that she so long tried to stop fell down continously. "No, grandfather. I still have to redeem your company from those scheming dogs. I still have put it back to the pinnacle, from where it was before and where it should be. I still have to fight for it on your stead." Zhou Yuexi said, trying to console the old man, and at the same time convincing herself to remain strong.
"Xiao Yue, I've already decided. Old man Zhang and his grandson will come visit here tomorrow morning. You should try to get along well with him, after all you'd be spending the rest of your lives together."
Seeing that his granddaughter remained silent, Elder Zhou let out a soft but haggard chuckle. "Xiao Yue this is my only wish. I just want to be assured that you're in good hands after I leave. Won't you grant me this wish? You know there might not be another one."
"Fine." Zhou Yuexi said half heartedly. "If that's what'll make you happy, I'll do it." This proposition was brought out all of a sudden that it shook Zhou Yuexi's mind but it is her grandfather who wants it, and he barely asked for anything.
After hearing the answer he wanted to hear, the old man gently closed his eyes as he said, "I want to rest now Yuexi. Goodnight."
Zhou Yuexi then kissed her grandfather on forehead lightly. "Goodnight, grandfather.", she said then turned off the lights and left the old man's room.
As soon as she got out of the old man's room, she fell on a daze. Even though she already agreed to her grandfather, she can't fully accept the fact that she'd soon get married. She still had many things she wanted to do, many things she wanted to experience. She never even had a crush, more so a boyfriend, but now, she's about to be married.
Just the thought of it scares her but the expectant look on her grandfather's eyes popped in her head. Her grandfather never had a good relationship with her mother, he didn't even get to attend his daughter's wedding. Now all he asks is to see her getting married, would that really be hard to give?
She left out a long sigh. She's bound to get married one day, the only difference is she'd be doing it sooner than she imagined. It's the only way she could repay her grandfather for all the years that he provided for her all that she ever needed and wanted.
Zhou Yuexi snapped out of her daze when her phone rang. "Hello", she geeeted.
"Xiao Xixi, where are you?", the girl on the line asked.
Zhou Yuexi brightened up a bit after realising that it was her best friend, Zhang Qingyu. "I'm at Zhou Family Villa in the suburbs."
"Oh...", the girl on the phone said as if thinking of something. "Send my regards to Grandpa Zhou."
"Ok, I will. So, what's up? Why did you call?", Zhou Yuexi said as she entered her room and sat in front of her vanity mirror.
"Oh its nothing, I just wanted to confirm something.", the girl said knowingly.
A frown appeared on Zhou Yuexi's forehead. "Confirm what?"
"..."
Hearing no response from the other end, Zhou Yuexi asked again. "Confirm what Qingqing?"
Zhang Qingyu hesitated before she answered, as if what she was about to tell is something hard to believe. "If you're going to be my sister-in-law."
What Zhang Qingyu said caused confusion on Zhou Yuexi's mind. "What? Could you please speak English because I didn't get anything from what you just said. Why would I be your sister-in-law out of the blue?"
Zhang Qingyu released a sigh of frustration. "I don't really know Xixi. I overheard my grandfather and my brother earlier. They were talking about marrying the granddaughter of Old Man Zhou in the suburbs. When I heard the surname Zhou, you were the first one I thought of. Not that I don't want you to be my sister-in-law, I actually wish we're really sisters and this is a good opportunity. It's just that I know you don't plan on getting married yet, and that you want to take revenge on those who stole your grandfather's company."
Zhou Yuexi took time to fully digest Zhang Qingyu's statement. She wanted to say something but nothing came out of her mouth.
When she finally realized what Zhang Qingyu was trying to say, only then did she finally find her voice. "So you're thinking that I would be the one your brother will marry, right? What's his name again? Zhang Yixing?"
Zhang Qingyu nodded, as if Zhou Yuexi could see that through call. "Yeah. Well, it's not a bad thing either because I believe Bro Yixing is rather good looking, technically we're from the same mold." Zhou Yuexi shook her head when she heard her friend's narcissism. "According to my research, he's the most sought after bachelor here in Imperial. And I tell you, you'll never worry of your finances because he's filthy rich. I think you would actually make a pretty great pair, an ice cold CEO and a temperamental wife. It's quite cute, just like those novels I read on Qidian."
"Qingqing, do you think I care about physical appearance? And as if I'm lacking financially. I'm an independent woman and I don't need a man to survive this lifetime." Zhou Yuexi said as she stared at her reflection in the mirror looking proud of herself.
Zhang Qingyu was helpless to her friend's reasoning. "Fine, whatever you say. But the main point why I made this call, aside from confirming if you're really the girl they were talking about, is I want you to agree to their arrangement. I really want you to be a part of our family. It makes me assured that you would always be safe. Who dares to bully a Zhang?"
Zhou Yuexi is a prideful person that never accepts the help of others but considering the concern that Zhang Qingyu has shown, she doesn't have the heart to reject her proposition. She didn't plan to disagree in the first place.
"I don't really care if we look good together as long as he doesn't do anything that's disrespectful to me or steps on my bottom line, we're good. Because if he does, it's either you forget I'm your friend or you forget that he's your brother. Besides, I'm only agreeing to this marriage because of my grandfather, it's not like I really want to latch to your brother for the benefits."