So we ended up visiting the civil bureau office the next day to get our marriage registered. Honestly, I wasn't sure how to feel about this because this was more of a pretend thing to get people off Lily Ling's back…but somehow we ended up getting married for real.
Well, we weren't holding the ceremony, so there was that.
"So we just need our ID, photographs, and stuff?" I was still puzzled over how the damned process worked.
"Yes, but if you want, we can have someone take your photos here. We have professional photographers." The receptionist smiled politely as she took charge of our case.
In the end, there were people in the office who were willing to help us take a photograph for the marriage registration ID or certificate, so that was helpful at least.
"With this, we are officially married." Lily seemed pleased. Not happy in the sense that a girl would after getting married, but delighted at a scheme going the way she wanted to. Apparently she viewed this marriage more of a tool to help with her agenda than an actual cause for celebration. I wasn't sure, but yeah.
Why did I even agree to this in the first place? I had no idea. I think I got caught up in the moment and went with the flow. Now that I thought about it, this was actually pretty stupid. I was getting married to a girl I was faking a relationship with.
But could the past few months of our relationship be fake? Admittedly, we enjoyed each other's company and she spent a lot of time staying over at my house. Ordinary friends didn't do that. Our relationship had progressed far beyond simple friendship.
Huh…I honestly didn't know. Well, I would figure it out as we went along, I supposed.
"Now that it's done, we should do something to celebrate!" Lily was in a good mood. I raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything. She did have a point, though. This sort of event was pretty major. You couldn't just laugh it off and pretend it never happened.
"How do you want to celebrate?" I asked. "Go on a holiday?"
I had the impression that Lily might want a honeymoon or at least something close to that. Taking her out to a place overseas and enjoying a vacation for about a week or two. I could use a break too. But before that, I should visit my parents…
"No, silly." Lily laughed. "We don't need to go that far. And we're both too busy with work anyway. I don't think I can free up my schedule for an extended break overseas. I have a few films to act in over the next few months."
"Oh…then what do you want to do?"
"I was just thinking about a dinner. We should reserve a table at Hao Chi Restaurant tonight. Just the two of us. Order the most expensive buffet set for two."
"Sounds good to me." Hao Chi Restaurant, if I remembered correctly, was a premier restaurant that was awarded Michelin stars or something. I wasn't a connoisseur of food so I didn't pay much attention to such things. As long as I could eat it, it was more than enough for me. I wasn't that fond of restaurants anyway. I wasn't very fussy with food.
Honestly, food cooked at street side stalls were more delicious than the ones cooked in restaurants. At least to me anyway. But I understood the appeal in indulging in luxury once in a while.
However, there was one more thing…
"I'll still need you to meet my parents, though." I sighed. We had to settle this sooner or later and I would rather get it done. "I've already met your parents, so you have to meet mine."
"What if I say I don't want to?"
"What?!" My eyes widened. Now this would be a problem. "You do realize that they are legally your in-laws, right? It's…a bit too much to not want to meet them. If you want to keep up the show, the least you could do is greet them, otherwise it'll seem suspicious."
"How troublesome…"
"And asking me to visit your parents isn't troublesome?" I couldn't believe how self-centered she was. Perhaps this was a terrible mistake. While I wasn't very fussy, the one thing I couldn't stand was people disrespecting my family. My parents had brought me up and raised me despite all difficulties. I could never abandon them.
If I had to choose between Lily and my parents, I would obviously choose my parents. Yeah, Lily helped me a little with her Ling Electronics thing at the beginning, but that was about it. Compare that to my parents who had raised me since I was a baby, paying for my education, giving me a home and making sure I had everything I needed. Let's be honest, I would never have gotten this far in life without the help of my parents.
"I was just joking, relax. I'm not such an unfilial daughter-in-law." Lily laughed. I sighed in relief, but still kept my guard up. I had heard of the stories about conflict between wife and in-laws and it made me wary. That was one of the reasons why I never bothered with romantic relationships or marriage. I honestly wouldn't have bothered with this marriage either, except that I was helping Lily out.
We were both aware of the implications of our relationship, that it was something beneficial and more akin to a business deal, where we could protect each other from unwanted advances or family pressure.
Honestly, I never had to worry about unwanted advances. No woman would want to marry me anyway. None of them found me attractive. Apparently I wasn't overbearing, aggressive or assertive enough. I was too plain and boring, spending too much time working in my lab. Also, I was simply not handsome enough. I also didn't work out, so I didn't have muscles and was actually quite skinny. No hot bod like most CEOs seem to have.
How the hell did they maintain their figure anyway? Even though they spent most of their time running multibillionaire companies, they still had time to work out and keep in shape. It was as if they didn't need to work overtime like the rest of us mortals (which simply wasn't true…most CEOs were supposed to work longer hours than their employees, which was why they held the position in the first place).
Well, whatever.
"I'll have them visit us in the next few weeks." I sighed, wondering what they would say if I told them there would be no wedding ceremony. They would go nuts. Well, I would tell them that the marriage would be kept a secret for now because of Lily's career. As an actress, she couldn't afford to get into scandals and the like.
Hopefully they would understand. On the other hand, I looked forward to seeing my parents after a long time.
"All right, it's settled then. I'll keep you posted."
"Understood. And you should relax." Lily placed a hand on my arm, smiling. "Don't worry, I won't ill-treat your parents. I'll treat them like they are my own…"
She then stopped and flinched. Clearing her throat, she corrected herself.
"I'll treat them better than my parents, I mean."
Oh, right. Given her family circumstances, I understood the problem. I nodded sympathetically.
"Don't worry about it. My parents are normal people. They brought me up and I love them. They are good people, if I may say so myself."
"Most parents are. Unless you're the female lead of a CEO novel." Lily rolled her eyes. "Then for some reason your family is out to get you…because they are jealous or view you as a threat. It's like female leads in CEO stories can't have normal families."
"Uh, well…I guess the authors need a contrived excuse to create drama."
"Yeah, and then the female lead turns out to be adopted or have a grandparent from some ancient family or something, thus justifying her status to be with the male lead, which also helps to slap the faces of her in-laws who always considered her unworthy to be the male lead's wife."
Lily was rambling now. I wondered if I should just shut her off and nod occasionally. I had no idea what else to do or say.
We then split up to go to work. Lily had to visit the studio to continue acting while I dropped by the lab to oversee my antimatter project. Despite Riley Rong's threats, none of his attempts to buy out the stock of my fledging company had worked. The shares were owned entirely by me and William Wang, and neither of us gave in to his demands to sell them.
I had requested the military to keep an eye on my parents in Country S, and they had contacted the military there to help out. There were a few reports that thugs and criminals tried to harass my family, but the local military drove them away. Fucking bastards.
There were a few enquiries here and there, and even though I was sure Riley Rong or someone from his Rong Group was the one who hired them to attack my parents to blackmail me into selling my company shares and forcing me to stay away from Lily, we had no solid evidence. As expected from a rich and powerful CEO, he knew how to cover his tracks when committing illegal activities.
One day…just like Justin Han before him, I would take him down.
"You can't do that!" A fangirl shouted. "He's the male lead of this CEO story! He must end up with the female lead!"
"Yeah! You're too plain and ugly! You don't deserve to be the male lead!" Another fangirl added angrily. "Get out of the story! We don't want you!"
…say what?
I gaped at them as they surrounded my Toyota, throwing fruits and vegetables at my car. I had just left the lab and was driving to pick Lily from the studio when I found myself suddenly swarmed by a crowd of angry readers.
"Leave the female lead! Leave her!"
"Yeah! You're pathetic! Get lost! You don't deserve to be the male lead!"
"You don't even love her! How dare you get in the way of their love?! You're just a third wheel! Divorce her immediately and hand her over to Riley Rong!"
"You can't even drive a proper car! You and your stupid Toyota! And you think you deserve to be with the female lead? You're pathetic and poor!"
…what the fuck?
I wasn't even sure what to say. Shaking my head, I watched through my window, past the crowd of furious fangirls. Riley Rong had arrived, having departed his limousine and was waiting for Lily. She had stopped at the entrance of the building of her studio, frowning.
"You…" she began, annoyed. But Riley Rong simply knelt before her and presented her with a thousand carat diamond ring (or whatever, I was not familiar with diamonds so I was probably bullshitting about the carat value).
"Please marry me."
"I'm already married, President Rong," Lily told him sternly. "And I would like you to stop harassing me like this."
"I won't stop until you agree to marry me."
"I literally just told you that I'm already married…" Lily rolled her eyes, but Riley Rong remained unconvinced. Gritting her teeth, Lily took out the marriage certificate and showed it to him. "See? This is proof of my marriage. Now go pursue some other more gullible woman."
However, Riley Rong remained undaunted.
"Just divorce him. I swear, I will treat you better. You belong to me alone. And Little Treasure…I mean Roland needs you. He can't live without you. I can't live without you. You are the only one for me."
"Marry him!" The crowd of fangirls and female readers began chanting. "Marry him! Divorce that loser! He doesn't deserve you! Marry the real male lead instead!"
…seriously? Perhaps I was the last person who should be saying this, but these people were so out of touch with reality that it was downright hilarious.