Chapter 745: Discharged (4)

Su Chen smiled as he extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray. Then, he pointed to the seat across him and gestured. "Have a seat. Let's have a chat about it."

He then walked towards the cupboard beside the table. "Do you want anything to drink? Coffee or tea?"

Ji Zitong glanced at Su Chen before sitting down. "Nope."

Su Chen did not look at her and made two cups of Pu Er tea. "I got this from your Chairman Mu. Give it a try."

Su Chen was not really a fan of Pu Er. He preferred teas like Mao Jian or Tie Guan Yin, but Mu Yuchen got someone to bring him and Zhou Zimo these tea leaves.

Ji Zitong took a sip. "So, what will make you come out and clarify this whole thing?"

"Do you believe in love and marriage, Ji Zitong?" Su Chen asked instead of responding to her question.

Ji Zitong was stunned, and she gave Su Chen a confused look. He was not showing any particular emotions, but he seemed interested to know her answer. Moments later, she replied confidently, "I don't know about others, but I don't really believe it myself."

Su Chen laughed and then nodded. "Great. It seems that we agree on at least one thing. We can continue this discussion. I pretty much understand your situation here. Your parents are worried about you and have been arranging a lot of blind dates for you. That's why you decided to open a flower store and have a stable career in order to use it as an excuse if your parents find you any blind dates again."

Ji Zitong's expression turned stormy.

"You don't have to look at me like that. I didn't investigate you. I just know the drill. Moreover, I remember that you don't particularly like flowers. That's why I made those guesses." Su Chen sipped some tea, and then continued, "I don't want to get married. I doubt I'd be able to find the love of my life. However, I do need a marriage. Since we share the same goal, why don't we make a deal with each other?

"What deal?" Ji Zitong rolled her eyes.

Su Chen smiled as he leaned forward and lowered his voice, "It's simple. Since things have come to this stage, why don't we just go with the flow and get married? This way, all the problems will get solved. I know you don't like me, and I don't really like you either. With this, we can make a deal with each other."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean since this is what's happening, we share the same need, and that's why we can get married. After we get married, your life will still be peaceful as before because we won't interfere with each other, and we'll respect each other as tactical partners," Su Chen said.

Ji Zitong widened her eyes and stared at the man before her. "You mean, a conditional marriage?"

Su Chen laughed again before sipping his tea. "I guess you can put it that way. I'm 33 this year and I'm getting tired of the endless blind dates I'm getting. I'm comfortable being single, and I guess you're like me too, aren't you?"

"Both of us will continue living our own lives after we get married. We won't get involved with each other. I'll be a gentleman and go with you as long as it's not anything that violates my principles in life. I'll also pay you an amount of money every month. In addition to that, I'll play the role of a good husband to you. This deal will go on for three years. If you're willing, we can even extend it after three years. Otherwise, I'll pay you another amount of reward after three years. In short, I'm hiring you to be my wife."

"Hire? Chief Su, I don't need money."

"But you need a stable marriage. I'm sure you don't have to take on all the pressure from your parents and attend the endless blind dates. I feel the same too. I'm sure by now you understand what my situation is like at home. My grandfather is a military veteran, my father works in the city hall, and my mother operates a steel business. Plus, I have a sister, Su Yu, who's pretty easygoing."

"I'm sorry. I won't use my marriage to make a deal. You've really opened up my eyes, Chief Su!" Ji Zitong gave Su Chen a cold stare before she stood up. "Now, you can give me back my promised letter, and pretend as if I never came today!"

"You never came? Then, you're not getting the letter. You don't have to outright reject me. I think we'll meet again very soon, and I'm sure you'll agree with my suggestion. I'll draft up our contract."

Su Chen gave Ji Zitong an odd smile as Ji Zitong scoffed. "Really? We'll wait and see then!"

Bam!

Su Chen took a deep breath as the door closed shut. He closed his eyes and lay down on the sofa.

Was it that hard of a choice? I'm not that bad!

Soldiers needed to make snap judgments on the warzone, and come to the quickest decision that gave the best advantage. Women were so troublesome!

Master Su was pretty troubled right before he fell asleep.

...

The Yuan Xiao festival was over, and Xi Xiaye could finally be discharged after being hospitalized for over 20 days. Mu Zicheng's condition was fine as well, so the two of them went home together.

Mu Yuchen worked tirelessly for several days and finally cleared the work piled up during the holidays. He had Maple Residence refurbished a few days before Xi Xiaye was discharged. Now, their bedroom and the baby room were linked. Their room was decorated with warm colors while the floor mats were changed into thick and soft rugs. He also got a short table in the living room to encourage the little thing to use it as a support to crawl and walk in the future.

Xi Xiaye quickly packed up on the day she was discharged. Although her body was slowly recovering, she did not really gain much weight during her pregnancy, and with the help of Zhuang Shurong, Mu Yuchen, and the nutritionist, she did not gain too much weight after she gave birth as well