Chapter 4: It's a Deal

After the pair had eaten their meal, Zhao Yingyue had finally managed to gather her hectic thoughts.

Back when their food had arrived, she'd been pleasantly surprised. Everything he had ordered her had been her favorite dishes from the restaurant. On top of that, he didn't limit what he ordered, he made sure to get her more food than she could eat.

Typically, her parents and Gu Yan underfed her as to avoid having her put on any weight. It had been the first time she'd actually eaten until she was full in a very long time.

It was also the first time she was on a blind date and the other party didn't try to get her to indulge in a little alcohol. She felt great knowing that he wouldn't try to coerce her or manipulate a situation with alcohol.

That little bit of considerateness had, in her mind, actually given the man brownie points. It played to the fact that he had said he'd take care of her.

Realistically, this deal would benefit her greatly. She would be able to live a life free from the control of another person and take the first step toward her dream.

Still, she wouldn't let herself be taken advantage of in any way at any point in this deal.

"Liu Haoyu, I'll accept your proposal with a few conditions."

Liu Haoyu smiled.

"I'm listening."

Zhao Yingyue said, "First, there will be no intimate touching without my explicit consent. I don't believe that there should be anything like that when we have no true feelings for each other."

"Second, we shouldn't go public with our relationship just yet. I think it wouldn't look good if I'm announced as a new player on Q5 while also being announced as your wife. People will think bad things about me, you, and our ethics. I'll also probably be the one to get it the worst."

"Third, should you break any of the above rules or fail to be a proper husband in all other aspects, I want to be able to get a divorce. The consequences to that won't compare to me being humiliated otherwise."

Liu Haoyu didn't hesitate before saying, "I accept your conditions. I will like to say, however, that while our marriage will start off in name only, I reserve all rights to properly chase you down and win your heart later on. I don't intend to have a loveless marriage for my entire life."

Zhao Yingyue smiled and replied, "Neither do I, so go ahead and chase.

Liu Haoyu smiled.

"So it looks like we have a deal then."

In return, Zhao Yingyue smiled and nodded.

Liu Haoyu looked at the woman in front of him, happy with the turnout of tonight's blind date. Now, he had a load taken off of him knowing he wouldn't have to worry about Q5 disbanding or having to deal with a mediocre sharpshooter.

"Now, let's talk about timelines."

"Next season is about three and a half months away from its start. Right now, Q5 is on its break for this next half a month, then we dive into three full months of our usual training routine. Only this time, the training will be harder knowing that we have to adjust to a new sharpshooter and that there will be new pressures that come with knowledge of the International League. We must be prepared."

"Therefore, we need to have sorted out our marriage and all other formalities before then. That gives us about two weeks for that. After that, we both will need to move into the dorms that are based in Shenzhen."

Zhao Yingyue calmly nodded her head.

"Alright, I understand."

Liu Haoyu was satisfied with this. It seemed things would be easy on the communication spectrum at least. He didn't have to explain the urgency of their situation to her.

"Tomorrow, I'll come over to meet your parents and officially ask for their blessing. The day, I'll pick you up to meet my parents. Two days later, we'll bring our two families together over a nice dinner. We'll plan our engagement party within the next week after that and only extend it to close family and family friends. The day after the party, we'll head over to the Civil Affair Bureau and officially get married. Are you alright with that?"

Zhao Yingyue nodded her head.

"It makes sense to me. I'm still kind of shocked that I'll be officially married in less than two weeks after having dodged it for so long."

Liu Haoyu replied, "You'll be married, yes. But you'll also soon be able to be your own person, which seems to be what you crave the most, Zhao Yingyue."

Zhao Yingyue didn't know what came over her at that moment but she could feel her cheeks heating up with a light blush. Maybe it was the fact that no one had ever taken what she wanted into consideration and now someone had not only seen it, but also promised her it.

This time, her voice wasn't the same calm and almost emotionless one. It was soft and mixed with complex emotions as she looked the man sitting in front of her in the eye and said, "Thank you so much Liu Haoyu."

He smiled and asked, "Why don't I walk you out? The bill has already been settled."

Liu Haoyu got up and walked behind Zhao Yingyue, pulling her chair out as she got up. Now that they had decided they were going to do this, he'd do it right. He'd make sure to treat his wife the way that she should be treated and better.

The pair then walked out of the restaurant and then the hotel. As they passed, most people couldn't help but take notice of the two individuals as they were both famous in their own rights and extremely good looking.

"Do my eyes deceive me? Those are the daughter of the Zhao family and the son of the Liu family, right?"

"I'm pretty sure it is. Life sure is unfair. Why do some people just effortlessly look so good?"

"Are they dating?"

"Two good looking people sure would have some good looking babies."

Zhao Yingyue paused when she heard that comment. Babies? She hadn't thought about babies but it was only fair that she should expect that in the future, right? Now that the one child policy was gone, she could have up to three. But how many would he want?

She could feel her mind spiraling further and further away the more she thought about the topic. How could she forget about something so important.

While she was distracted, Liu Haoyu had noticed her stop and was able to guess why. He heard the same comment and agreed with it but he could tell from how red Zhao Yingyue's face was that she was utterly embarrassed and hadn't that about it.

Silly girl, did she forget that of course that would play a part in their marriage?

Liu Haoyu couldn't let this opportunity to tease her a little pass as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Our children will be quite good looking, won't they? But don't worry, you won't have to worry about that... yet."

By the time she registered what he said, she turned as red as a tomato before stammering out, "L-Liu Haoyu!"

However, Zhao Yingyue didn't know what to say and left it at that before continuing to take quick steps out of the building. She had never been so embarrassed by someone else's words before.

One day, she vowed, she was going to get him back for his teasing words.

As Zhao Yingyue stepped outside, she felt herself shiver a bit. Having changed her clothes, she forgot she didn't have her blazer anymore to protect her from the weather.

She looked around for Gu Yan in hopes that she'd call Yang Zimo soon to bring the car around. Just as she was pulling out her phone, she felt a slight pressure on her shoulders followed by warmth.

When Zhao Yingyue turned around, she was met with Liu Haoyu's brown eyes staring down at her.

"It's cold. You shouldn't be out here without a jacket."

Zhao Yingyue smiled softly.

"Thank you."

Was it her or did he seem to change immediately after she agreed to become his wife? They weren't even married yet and he was treating her extremely well.

Liu Haoyu then said, "I just realized that we forgot to exchange numbers. Let's do that now."

Zhao Yingyue nodded quickly and handed her phone over to Liu Haoyu. He put his number in under the title of 'Captain H' and texted himself through her phone.

When he handed it back to her, she looked up at him.

"Captain H?"

Liu Haoyu smirked, "It stands for Captain Hubby. Remember that I'll not only be your captain, but I will be your hubby, too."

Zhao Yingyue then turned back around to hide the embarrassment on her face and made eye contact with Gu Yan. She only muttered a quick goodbye before quickly walking toward Gu Yan.

What she didn't know was that Gu Yan witnessed the entire scene from the moment Liu Haoyu placed his jacket over her shoulders. She wouldn't tell Zhao Yingyue this but she made sure to text Zhao Yingyue's parents about this turn of events.

Zhao Yingyue was ushered to the car as soon as she reached Gu Yan and they were off back to the mansion in no time. But Zhao Yingyue's thoughts still remained on the man who she left at the hotel.