"Hmm," he didn't deny it. "The fewer people present for a proposal, the better."
Qin Yige didn't get into the car immediately. She asked expressionlessly, "The fewer people, the better? Mr. Shang, does marrying me embarrass you? Or rather, does proposing to me embarrass you?"
"You're overthinking it," he said, taking her arm and guiding her toward the car. "I just want to keep it low-key."
He didn't want any unnecessary complications, that was all.
Qin Yige got into the car with dissatisfaction and said sourly, "That's right. We don't have any feelings for each other anyway. If it weren't for our parents forcing us, Mr. Shang would definitely not marry me."
Closing the car door, Shang Sheng looked at her and retorted, "If it weren't for our parents forcing us, would you marry me?"
"Shang Sheng, stop throwing questions back at me! I'm the one asking you right now!"
As the car pulled away, Shang Sheng took out his laptop. "I have the right to refuse to answer hypothetical questions."
Qin Yige pouted. Seeing that he was busy with work, she decided not to chat with this uninteresting old man any further.
Upon returning to her residence, the two of them, with an unspoken understanding, retreated to their respective rooms.
Qin Yige was lying on the bed playing with her phone when Shang Sheng knocked on her door. "Hasn't the outdoor water pipe been fixed?"
"Oh, I forgot." She had truly forgotten.
"I'll use your bathroom," he said, pushing the door open and entering.
"Whatever you want!" It wasn't as if he hadn't used it before.
After Shang Sheng finished his shower, Qin Yige was on the phone when he came out. Seeing him, she looked excited, as if she had found a savior, and silently beckoned him over.
He walked closer.
Qin Yige covered the mouthpiece of her phone and whispered, "My aunt wants her rebellious daughter to stay with me. I can't refuse. Please help me."
Her place was in a school district, and the middle school was nearby.
Seeing Shang Sheng’s silence, Qin Yige mumbled a perfunctory response to her aunt and then whispered to him again, "It's not convenient for you if a girl stays here, right?"
Shang Sheng nodded. It wasn't convenient.
Qin Yige said, "Please, help me refuse her."
Her cousin was notoriously a problematic girl. However, her aunt had been very good to her and her mother in the past, so she found it difficult to refuse her aunt.
Shang Sheng didn't move.
Qin Yige shifted forward and suddenly hugged his arm, whispering sweetly, "Brother Shang Sheng, hurry up and help me. I really don't want her to come. If you help me, I'll treat you to a big meal, watch a movie, and I can even cook for you."
Shang Sheng raised an eyebrow and reached out to take the phone she was talking on.
Qin Yige didn't realize how much she trusted him. She felt that as long as he intervened, this matter would surely be resolved.
However, as soon as Shang Sheng spoke, "Hello, I'm Shang Sheng..."
A slightly questioning voice came from the other end, "What's inconvenient for you? I'll just sleep there for a night and leave in the morning."
"Your living habits are different from ours. You need to consider your cousin. She likes to sleep in..."
Qin Yige pinched his arm and silently asked him fiercely, "Who likes to sleep in!"
Wen Shuyao wasn't listening. "I'm not sharing a room with her. I'll have my own room. You two can share a room. Don't be so stingy, okay?"
Shang Sheng replied, "Okay."
Wen Shuyao was very pleased. "Brother-in-law, you're more sensible than my cousin. Thanks! See you tomorrow!"
"Mm."
The call ended. Qin Yige looked at Shang Sheng with eager anticipation. "Did you convince her?"
Meeting her shining eyes, he answered truthfully, "I convinced her. She's moving in tomorrow."
"..." The light in Qin Yige's eyes immediately extinguished, and she became furious. "How could you agree to it? Do you know how difficult she is now? She's a teenager, prone to dramatic outbursts and even threatening suicide. If something happens, you'll be responsible?"
"We can't let people say we're stingy."
Qin Yige stared at him. "So?"
"So, I agreed."
"!!!"
She was so angry she wanted to hit Shang Sheng on the spot.
If she had known, she wouldn't have let him answer the phone!
"May I ask what Miss Wen said that made you, the ever-so-difficult Mr. Shang, compromise after just a few words?"
"She didn't say anything."
Qin Yige spun around and blurted out without thinking, "Shang Sheng, it's true Wen Shuyao is a girl, but she's 13, not 23!"
Shang Sheng was only puzzled for a few seconds. Once he understood, his eyes instantly turned terrifyingly cold. The chill in his eyes told her, "Qin Yige, I'm not a beast!"
"...Alright, Qin Yige felt a little guilty. She had indeed been talking nonsense.
But.
"I don't like her sleeping with me. She has to get up early for morning study – waking up that early—"
Shang Sheng interrupted her, "I'll sleep with you. She'll sleep by herself."
Qin Yige: "!!!"
She stared at the man in shock. "What are you thinking?"
Since the topic had come up, Shang Sheng returned her phone and said seriously, "We are husband and wife now. It's natural for us to sleep together. In principle, the night we got our marriage certificate three days ago should have been our wedding night. If it weren't for your accident and my concern that your body couldn't handle it, we should have been sleeping together for three days already."
Qin Yige: "!!!"
What a ridiculous three days!
"Don't be shocked, Qin Yige. I'm not a pushover."
"So what if you're not a pushover!" Qin Yige shouted back angrily.
"We're married!" he reminded her.
"Married, so what..." Qin Yige's voice suddenly stopped. She suddenly remembered something.
Her expression quickly shifted from anger to a strange look. "Shang Sheng, are you saying your first kiss is still intact?"
"Mm." A fleeting emotion crossed the man's eyes, disappearing before she could even react.
Qin Yige grabbed her phone, looking incredibly smug. "Hahaha, let me tell you a secret: your first kiss is gone!"
His expression remained unchanged. "What do you mean?"
She pulled up a photo on her phone and shoved it in his face. "Here, your first kiss was stolen by me! You didn't expect that, did you? Hahaha."
Qin Yige was laughing so hard that tears were almost coming out.
Shang Sheng stared at the phone for a few seconds. Qin Yige thought he was angry and felt even more pleased.
However, the next moment, he took out his phone from his pocket, swiped a few times, and then suddenly smiled.
His smile made Qin Yige feel a shiver down her spine. She immediately stopped laughing and asked, "Shang Sheng, what are you looking at?"
He gave her a rare, faint smile. "Nothing."
Then he put away his phone.
The more mysterious he acted, the more uneasy Qin Yige became.
"Shang Sheng, I'm your wife. You can't hide anything from me!"
"Mm."
"Let me see your phone." She extended her hand towards him.
Shang Sheng didn't move. He lowered his eyelids, hiding the smile in his eyes, and said in a calm tone, "Is Madam checking up on me?"
"No, not exactly. I just want to take a quick look. I won't read your messages."
"It's not because of that. You can have my phone, but what benefit can you give me in return?"
Qin Yige gritted her teeth. As expected, no business without cunning. He even wanted benefits for letting her look at his phone.
"What benefit do you want?"
Shang Sheng seemed to think for a moment. "Since Madam has already taken my first kiss, why don't Madam... kiss me again?"