Chapter 3: and

As Yuan Xi drove to the residence of Huo Shiyan, the largest shareholder of Michen, she was completely distracted.

Being the daughter of the richest man was something she never even dared to dream of.

Yuan Xi had attended the same university as Chu Yan.

Chu Yan was a prominent figure at Jiangcheng University; as a freshman, she already drove an arrogant red Bugatti Veyron around campus.

At that time, Yuan Xi’s adoptive parents had passed away, and the compensation money left behind had been snatched away by her uncle. Furthermore, because she had been trafficked, she had no adoption papers.

Even if she had gone to court, she wouldn't have been able to claim much of the inheritance.

To continue her studies, Yuan Xi had no choice but to work day and night to earn money for tuition and living expenses.

Yuan Xi would always remember that June in her sophomore year. After a heavy rain, she was on her way back to the dormitory after a part-time shift at a milk tea shop.

Chu Yan had stepped on the gas in her Bugatti Veyron, accelerating past her, and the muddy water from a puddle splashed Yuan Xi, soaking her completely.

The small snack the shop manager had kindly given her—her dinner—was also contaminated by the muddy water and became completely inedible.

In the distance, the sounds of Chu Yan and her friends laughing reached her ears.

Back then, Yuan Xi had been both furious and helpless.

Looking back now, Yuan Xi only found it ridiculous.

The arrogant and domineering Chu Yan, who was the envy of the entire school, turned out to be a fake heiress, while she, who had been splashed with mud, was the real daughter of the richest man?

Yuan Xi drove all the way to Ruohu. There were no cars on the road by the lake, and the scenery was beautiful.

Yuan Xi’s car passed through a forest by the lake before reaching a small villa nestled within. After her car arrived at the gate, the butler inside saw the license plate and hurriedly opened the iron gate.

Yuan Xi drove in, parked in the space next to the main entrance, and walked into the house.

The living room of the villa was spacious, with a high ceiling and a hanging crystal chandelier.

After entering, Yuan Xi saw a handsome, dashing young man sitting on the sofa beneath the chandelier.

The man looked to be twenty-seven years old, wearing a casual black silk shirt. Seeing Yuan Xi enter, he closed the laptop in his hands.

"Secretary Yuan."

Yuan Xi looked at the incredibly handsome man before her, recalling that absurd, drunken night over a month ago, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.

Yuan Xi took the documents out of her bag and handed them to Huo Shiyan, saying with a professional, faint smile, "President Huo, I have already sent the electronic version of the first-quarter financial report to your email. This is the hard copy."

Huo Shiyan opened the paper documents. Upon flipping to the first page, he saw an ultrasound report. He raised his eyes to look at Yuan Xi. "Mine?"

Yuan Xi couldn't guess what Huo Shiyan was feeling, so she nodded. "President Huo, I want to keep these two children. If you don't want to acknowledge them, my children will never know who their father is."

Huo Shiyan gripped the report tightly. "Did you bring your household registration book?"

"Huh?" Yuan Xi looked at Huo Shiyan.

Huo Shiyan said, "Since there are children, Secretary Yuan, can you let me take responsibility? Let's get married."

Perhaps it was because of the string of major events today, but upon learning that Huo Shiyan wanted to marry her, Yuan Xi didn't show any shock, though she was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Secretary Yuan, I hope our children can grow up in a family with both parents."

Although Yuan Xi wanted her children to grow up in a complete family, she had heard from Gu Hanchen that Huo Shiyan had a childhood sweetheart he had grown up with, his "white moonlight."

Huo Shiyan had been determined since childhood to marry that sweetheart, yet now he was saying he wanted to marry her. What about his white moonlight?

Huo Shiyan took out his phone and checked the calendar. "May 13th, a good day for marriage. Let's go."

Yuan Xi asked Huo Shiyan, "Don't you need to find a lawyer to sign some kind of prenuptial agreement?"

Although Huo Shiyan was young, as the only heir of the Huo family, his net worth was in the hundreds of billions, and he sat on tens of billions in cash alone...

Huo Shiyan didn't even know yet that she was the daughter of the Chu family.

Huo Shiyan said, "No need."

Yuan Xi looked at Huo Shiyan. "President Huo, can we keep our marriage a secret from Gu Hanchen for now? Let's just not let anyone know for the time being."

Huo Shiyan was stunned. "Why?"

"I’ve submitted my resignation. I’ve served Gu Hanchen for five years, and I don't want to deal with his temper while I'm pregnant. If he finds out we're married, I'm afraid he'll dump all of Michen's affairs onto me."

After all, Huo Shiyan was Michen's largest shareholder, holding nearly 49% of the shares.

After Michen went public, Huo Shiyan would be the one to benefit the most. If Gu Hanchen knew she had married Huo Shiyan, he would definitely become an absentee boss and throw all of Michen's business onto her.

Huo Shiyan agreed. "Fine, then we'll keep it from Gu Hanchen for now."

The afternoon sun in May was bright, and there weren't many people at the marriage registration office.

When she held the two red marriage certificates, Yuan Xi looked at the photo on them and had to admit that she had come out on top by marrying Huo Shiyan.

Huo Shiyan was twenty-seven this year, exactly the prime of a man's life, and his face was top-tier even by entertainment industry standards.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have lost her senses after that drinking party over a month ago...

Huo Shiyan looked at Yuan Xi. "Should we go to your place to pack your things and move to the Ruohu mansion, or should we just go to the mall and buy new ones?"

Yuan Xi was slightly stunned at his words.

Huo Shiyan pointed at the marriage certificate. "Yuan Xi, we are married. I have no intention of living apart after marriage."

Yuan Xi gripped the marriage certificate and looked at Huo Shiyan. "President Huo, there is one thing I haven't told you. I have found my biological parents. I need to go back to my biological parents' home today, so I can't move today."

Huo Shiyan raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this. "Congratulations on finding your biological parents."

Yuan Xi put the marriage certificate into her bag.

In truth, she didn't feel much joy.

Because all of this was too much like a novel, and she was now the vicious real heiress in that novel...

If she said she didn't hate Chu Yan, she would feel like she was being too fake.

Even if she knew Chu Yan was innocent and was just a child adopted by her biological parents.

But that day, when she was splashed with muddy water, what she heard was Chu Yan laughing in the car with her friends, completely devoid of guilt, watching her get soaked.

And it should have been her in that Bugatti...

Yuan Xi didn't know how she had made it through her four years of university; she worked from morning till night, doing everything she could just to have enough to eat.

And in those four years, she never saw Chu Yan wear the same outfit twice, with each piece costing tens of thousands.

Yuan Xi finally understood why the vicious real heiress in novels would be so jealous of the fake heiress after returning, even if the fake heiress was innocent.

Some "vicious" real heiresses would take it for granted that the innocent fake heiress had stolen everything from her and would force the fake heiress to leave her home.

The resentment brought about by this stark contrast between poverty and wealth was something Yuan Xi, who had been grinding in the workplace for five years, couldn't calm down from for a moment.

Yuan Xi pulled herself together, raised her eyes, and looked at Huo Shiyan. "President Huo, I have to go back to my biological parents' home now. Be careful on your way back to the Ruohu mansion."

Huo Shiyan’s sword-like brows lifted slightly. "Yuan Xi, since we are already married, don't you intend to take me with you to meet your biological parents?"