In the heat of August, the civil affairs bureau in the north city was sparsely populated.
The slogan at the entrance was eye-catching—'Marriage does not equate to happiness, and being single does not equate to unhappiness. If that person does not love you, not even the law can protect you.'
Jiang Man stood beneath this rolling slogan, enduring the blazing sun, yet her heart was as still as water, not the least bit agitated.
Her fair skin grew even more translucent under the sunlight, her entire being appeared to glow, her beautiful features radiant, so mesmerizing it was hard to look away.
Drip, drip, drip—
As she waited, her phone kept buzzing with new messages.
[Miss, are you really going for a shotgun marriage? Those parents of yours, trading their daughter for glory—forget them!]
[Miss, you are the sole heir to King, with a net worth in the trillions, why would you put yourself through this hardship?]
...
Jiang Man glanced at the group messages, her calm face undisturbed by any ripples.
She quickly typed a response with one hand, replying to everyone: [I'm just repaying them for the gift of life, don't worry, I won't suffer any loss. Let's keep this from my old man!]
Just as she hit the enter key to send the message, a low-profile black Maybach slowly came to a stop in front of her.
The passenger door opened first, and a man in a suit and leather shoes got out quickly, hurrying to pull open the rear door.
Following that, another man in a suit, but with a more distinguished air, stepped out of the car.
This man looked to be around thirty, and whether it was his physique or skin, he was incredibly well-maintained. His lean and tall frame resembled a walking clothes hanger, akin to the top models on fashion runways.
He wore sunglasses, obscuring his specific features, but the well-defined jawline and his non-smiling lips served as a silent warning—he was not someone to be trifled with.
"Are you Jiang Man?" His voice was low, chilly, and authoritative, brooking no intervention.
Jiang Man furrowed her brows, sizing up the man, a flicker of doubt crossing her mind.
Hadn't her birth parents told her she was to marry a forty-year-old toy factory owner?
The man before her, both in age and temperament, did not seem to fit the description of that owner.
"Who are you?" Jiang Man raised her eyebrows, puzzled.
Lu Xingzhou, seemingly impatient, adjusted his cuffs and cut her off: "I only have fifteen minutes."
Surprised, Jiang Man lifted her eyelids.
Yet, Lu Xingzhou strode past her with large steps.
After a few paces, he suddenly turned back, removing the sunglasses from the bridge of his nose: "Marriage registration, I'm giving you fifteen minutes."
He repeated, his impatience more evident in his tone.
Jiang Man was momentarily stunned, quickly followed after him: "Are you... the toy factory owner?"
She couldn't remember the owner's name at all.
She had planned to register for marriage with the man and then divorce him after a month.
The moment Lu Xingzhou heard 'toy factory owner,' his brows furrowed deeply, his handsome features turned cold, and after a brief pause, he replied without a smile: "You could say that."
The largest project of their company at the moment was 'artificial intelligence', and all sorts of smart devices were sometimes jokingly called 'toys' in the industry.
"You..." Jiang Man was still hesitant.
But Lu Xingzhou had already entered the civil affairs bureau, and his assistant urged her nonstop: "Miss Jiang, Mr. Lu has a flight to catch soon; it's best not to delay any further."
Jiang Man glared at him: "It's your Mr. Lu who's late; he's the one causing the delay, not me!"
With that, she left with bold strides, a fierce aura about her.
Zhao Huai stood rooted to the spot, taken aback. Miss Jiang sure had a big presence, and she seemed like a tough nut to crack.
...
Ten minutes later, Jiang Man walked shoulder to shoulder with Lu Xingzhou out of the civil affairs bureau.
Before stepping into the Maybach, Lu Xingzhou seemed to recall something, turned back, and said, "Our marital home is at no. 8 Rong Mansion in the western city; the entrance code is my birthday."
After dropping that sentence, he spared no further words, entered the car, and was gone.
Zhao Huai followed him into the car, and soon the vehicle started, trailing a long exhaust.
Jiang Man furrowed her brows and opened the marriage certificate to glimpse at the man's identification number.
When she saw his birth date, her frown deepened even further.
19930617.
So, he was indeed only thirty years old?
Jiang Man had just gotten the certificate when her birth mother's call came through.
The ingratiating tone was evident, yet tinged with reluctance, "Manman, your Brother Yang has suddenly come down with acute gastroenteritis and couldn't make it to pick up the certificate with you today. Mom checked the almanac, and next Wednesday is an auspicious day. Brother Yang said, let's do it next Wednesday."
"Huh?" Hearing this, Jiang Man finally realized what was happening.
No wonder she felt something was off; she had married the wrong man!
"Do you mean to say that the toy factory owner didn't come to the civil affairs office?" Jiang Man sought confirmation.
On the other end of the phone, the voice hurriedly confirmed, "Yes, he got a bad stomach at lunch and was taken away by the ambulance. You should hurry to the central hospital now. Brother Yang has to be hospitalized for a few days, and you need to take care of him!"
Jiang Man looked at the red booklet in her hand, finding herself at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
How could she, a high achiever from Harvard of all places, get involved in such a muddled situation?
Oh well, since the marriage partner was mistaken, she'd just wait for Lu Xingzhou to come back, explain the whole situation to him, and then divorce as soon as possible.
As for this Boss Yang, after such a mess, she no longer wanted to marry him, even if it had been planned for only a month—she didn't feel like dealing with it anymore.
"We'll talk when I get home," Jiang Man said very calmly, her voice colder than ever.
There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end before a reply came, "…Okay."
…
Jiang Man hailed a taxi to go home.
Her birth parents were just ordinary common folk living in the most ordinary community.
Once at home, she explained the mix-up with her marriage partner to her family.
As expected, her birth father, Jiang Yueping, was furious, "Are you doing this on purpose? Even the marriage partner can be mistaken? Who would believe such a story?"
"Oh no!" her mother, Hu Fangqin, became anxious, "If Manman hasn't married over, then does Rou have to marry?"
Jiang Rou, who sat quietly to one side, burst into tears at these words, "Dad, Mom, I don't want to marry that old codger! He's already sixty this year! I can't stand the smell of old age, wu wu wu..."
"Sixty?" Jiang Man, still composed, focused on the crucial information, "Didn't you tell me he was only forty?"
"Ay, Brother Yang looks young. Even though he's sixty, he looks like he's forty!" Hu Fangqin tried her best to explain.
But Jiang Rou wept even more bitterly, clutching at Jiang Yueping's sleeve, "Dad…you have to stand up for me..."
Jiang Yueping, his eyes bulging like brass bells and resembling an enraged leopard screamed, "It doesn't matter if he's sixty or forty, whoever your parents tell you to marry, that's who you have to marry!"
"You act as if this is some arranged marriage from the old society," Jiang Man suddenly felt fortunate that she had married the wrong person.
With her birth parents' attitude like this, she regretted even coming to acknowledge her kin.
If it hadn't been for her parents contacting the media, claiming that a child was switched at birth twenty years ago and they wanted to find their own daughter,
If she hadn't been overseas and seen the viral video of the search, if she hadn't been moved by the tears of her parents, she would never have come back!
Her adoptive father told her that she was born with a heart condition, probably abandoned by her parents.
Her adoptive father paid a steep price to cure her heart disease.
During these twenty years, she had always harbored a bit of hope that her birth parents couldn't be that cruel, right?
Only after she actually returned to her home country and acknowledged her kin did she realize just how naive she had been.
Her parents were eager to find their birth daughter because an old lecher had taken a fancy to their adopted daughter, and they coveted the 880,000 yuan dowry he offered but didn't want to sacrifice their adopted daughter, so they sought to replace her with their birth daughter.
After twenty years apart, how could their birth daughter be as close to them as the daughter they had raised?
Jiang Man originally thought she wasn't someone to be trifled with, that by going through with this marriage she would repay her parents' kindness in bearing her, and then sever ties completely, ending all future entanglements. It felt like a proper conclusion.
But now, having realized she was deceived, she no longer wanted to play the fool and marry in Jiang Rou's place.
She cared about family ties, but her birth parents didn't!
"In any case, I've already registered with someone else; do whatever you want!"