Chapter 003: You Are My Daughter-in-Law

"Also, my grandfather has already passed away, so there's no baby betrothal between us," Song Yuhan added, worried that this guy might ask for a lion's share.

"What? Grandfather Song has already passed away?" Ye Wudao scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, that's right, I still have this; take a look."

After speaking, Ye Wudao opened the wicker box he had brought and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper to hand to Song Yuhan.

Upon receiving it, Song Yuhan saw that it was her own grandfather's handwriting on the paper, and what's more, it contained a betrothal contract with both Ye Wudao and her names on it. She was very familiar with her grandfather's handwriting, so the contract could not possibly be forged.

"So what if it's true? Even if I really were betrothed to you, it doesn't mean that I, Song Yuhan, will marry you. What era are we living in now? It's a time that values freedom in marriage," she insisted vehemently.

Song Yuhan clenched her teeth, refusing to admit it.

"I see, then I have no choice but to take this contract back to your parents and break the engagement. After all, it was a rule set by the older generation, and I dare not break it," Ye Wudao said, seeing that Song Yuhan did not want to acknowledge him as her fiancé, which made him seem a bit heartbroken. He then put the betrothal contract back into the wicker box.

"No! You can't go."

When Song Yuhan heard Ye Wudao was going to see her parents to break the engagement, she panicked. Her grandfather's words were law for the Song Family, and even though her grandfather was no longer alive, if her parents found out, they would definitely make her keep her promise. She desperately needed to find a way to stall him.

Song Yuhan saw Ye Wudao looking at her in surprise and quickly explained, "I, Song Yuhan, am someone who keeps promises. Since it was my grandfather's decision, I won't go against his wishes, but we have no feelings for each other, and it's just not possible for us to be together. Besides, I'm three years older than you. Name your price, how much do you want to let go?"

For Song Yuhan, as a businesswoman, any problem that could be solved with money wasn't a problem at all.

Ye Wudao scratched his head and said innocently, "Being older is good, my old man used to say, 'an older woman is a treasure to be cherished, and she'll spare her husband from toil in the next life.' But since you refuse to marry me, I'll have to go to your family to break off the marriage and then return to the old man, where money isn't needed."

Ye Wudao was indeed not lying; the godforsaken place where the old man stayed was in the wilderness, where even birds wouldn't poop. Nestled in deep mountains and forests, money there could only be used for wiping one's butt.

Now it was Song Yuhan's turn to be troubled. Judging by this guy's dress and the way he had reacted to the elevator earlier, looking like a complete bumpkin, he probably wouldn't know how to spend money even if she gave it to him. It seemed that money would not solve this problem.

Could it be that she really had to marry him? No! Absolutely not! There was no room for negotiation in this matter. The husband Song Yuhan wanted didn't need to be anything extraordinary, but at the very least, he shouldn't be this laughable country bumpkin.

"How about this then, since there's no affection between us, a forced relationship would never be happy. Why don't you stay for a while so we can spend some time together and see? What do you think?"

Song Yuhan was out of options. To keep this guy from going to her family and breaking the engagement, she had to come up with a way to keep him around for now.

"Okay."

Ye Wudao immediately responded, his eyes shinning with mischief—nothing like the foolish appearance he had moments earlier.

"But I have no place to stay, wife, can I live at your house?" Ye Wudao said, looking pitiful.

"No way! We're not even married yet, how can you live at my place? I... I can give you money to stay at a hotel," Song Yuhan said right away.

"That won't work. The old man always said, 'A true man should stand tall and upright and never live off a woman's money.' But if you're my wife, then it doesn't matter..." Ye Wudao said with a look of difficulty.

Song Yuhan looked at Ye Wudao's detestable face and wished she could stomp it flat, this guy was absolutely incorrigible! She was close to going mad with the constant mention of what the old man said.

In the end, Song Yuhan chose to compromise and agreed to let Ye Wudao temporarily stay at her house. Wudao followed behind her, wearing a smug, triumphant smile on his face.

Ha! Silly girl, daring to play mind games with me. At ten, I tricked the old man into the latrine, making him chase me around with a stench for three days and nights.

By the age of twelve, I had conned a sixteen-year-old girl into stripping down to nothing for me to see. And Song Yuhan's little tricks—he didn't even consider them worthy of his attention.

Song Yuhan was in no mood to go to work today, her expression as cold as ice. She took Ye Wudao onto her luxurious Mercedes-Benz van, not even needing a driver as she drove to get him settled in, to keep him from wandering around in public.

"Wow, wife, this car is so luxurious! It must have cost a lot of money, right?" Ye Wudao marveled as if he was in an elevator, touching the Mercedes interior decor, smacking his lips with admiration shining in his eyes.

"Shut up! Don't call me wife again." Song Yuhan wished she could stuff a stinky sock into his big mouth.

"Okay, wife, then what should I call you?" While Ye Wudao agreed on one hand, he kept calling her 'wife' with every other word.

"You can call me by my name, or Xiao Han," Song Yuhan said, almost ready to throw him out of the car, her tone icy.

"Okay, wife...umm, I mean, Xiao Han." Ye Wudao looked serious, but inside he was laughing up his sleeve.

The car slowly drove into the upscale community of Xiangshe Lihua and stopped in front of a two-story villa, Song Yuhan's residence. She lived there alone; the only visitors were a regular housekeeper who cleaned and cooked for her. Other than that, she wasn't bothered by anyone.

Sure enough, once Ye Wudao entered, he started marveling like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time. Meanwhile, Song Yuhan was too tired to get angry and pulled out a paper to set some ground rules with him.

Ye Wudao could stay there temporarily until he found his own place, but he was not to go upstairs, bring any women home, and most importantly, he couldn't call her wife.

Ye Wudao cheerfully agreed to everything, aware of the saying that 'he who is near the veranda comes first to the moon' and 'haste makes waste.' With Ye Wudao's capabilities, he was confident that the pretend wife would eventually become a real one.

Ye Wudao stayed in a small guest room on the first floor with a tiny balcony. It was small, but manageable. After a long and dusty journey, he took a bath, and with wet hair and only in underwear, he walked out.