Chapter 34 – Buying Rings

The truth was, the boss had a potential love interest, so what was he, the third wheel, doing here?

Unexpectedly, Yan Shengping strode forward, closing the distance between himself and Lin Ganzhi to zero. “If it’s heavy, why did you buy so much?”

Although his words were disdainful, Yan Shengping still took the food from Lin Ganzhi’s hands. It was just one meal of thin air, yet you bought enough food for three days in return.

Xiao Lu stood there, watching the entire exchange. This man, who had been expressionless when facing her, had become so animated the moment Lin Ganzhi appeared.

Just then, the boy who had been obscured by the man popped his head out and glanced at her furtively. His tone was polite and modest. “Excuse me, did you need him for something?”

The boy’s features were extremely captivating; even a mask couldn’t hide his charm.

Xiao Lu forced a smile. “It’s nothing, I was disturbing you!” With that, she grabbed her friend and quickly left the area, feeling like she wanted to take the next train back to her hometown overnight!

Seeing the girl run away so quickly, Lin Ganzhi felt even more guilty. He hadn’t even managed to create an opportunity for the boss to be alone. What a damn third wheel he was!

Yan Shengping looked down at the chocolate-filled strawberry cookie before him, a strange feeling of discomfort rising in his heart. “Lin Ganzhi, what is our relationship right now?”

“Uh, an old married couple?” Lin Ganzhi answered subconsciously.

Suddenly, his pupils quaked. Oh no! My persona is supposed to be head-over-heels in love with Yan Shengping. Someone was hitting on him, so why was I acting as indifferent as a salted fish?

“Then how do you interpret that girl’s actions of approaching me just now?” Yan Shengping’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Lin Ganzhi’s heart skipped a beat. His acting skills instantly crawled back from the depths of his mind.

Lin Ganzhi pouted and turned his head away, letting out a heavy snort through his nose. “Unfaithful!”

Yan Shengping let out a chuckle. “You didn’t seem particularly upset.”

That was true.

“I already declared my sovereignty just now, didn’t you see?” Lin Ganzhi put his hands on his hips.

Yan Shengping recalled for a moment. “Alright, a polite declaration of sovereignty.”

Lin Ganzhi puffed out his small chest, brimming with a strange pride. “My nine years of compulsory education weren’t for nothing!”

The two locked eyes, seeing an unyielding will in each other’s gazes. At this moment, Lin Ganzhi was the very epitome of a die-hard trying to argue his point.

Yan Shengping wasn’t a fool. If he couldn’t figure something out by now, the problem would be with him.

“Lin Ganzhi, let’s go do something to prove our marriage is real.” Yan Shengping’s eyes curved up at the corners, like a blooming spider lily. If Lin Ganzhi was a newly-furred little fox, then Yan Shengping was the thousand-year-old alpha fox.

The tips of Lin Ganzhi’s ears instantly turned red. His eyes darted around frantically. How do you prove a marriage? We already have the certificate.

Can Yan Shengping’s body even handle it?

He had only dared to be so bold and reckless with his flirting because he was counting on him not being able to perform. It would be a huge loss if he ended up sacrificing himself!

“Th-th-this isn’t a good idea right now. Neither of us has any experience,” Lin Ganzhi said, nearly biting his tongue.

“It’s fine, as long as other people have experience.” Yan Shengping gave a faint smile. It was so beautiful that Lin Ganzhi was in no mood to appreciate it. He was, to put it mildly, panicking!

By the time they got back in the car, Lin Ganzhi had lost his appetite. He was in a daze the whole time, completely deaf to the conversation between Uncle Yan and Yan Shengping. Did I get carried away and get myself into trouble?!

For the rest of the ride, Lin Ganzhi secretly buried his head in his phone, looking every bit the part of someone with a guilty conscience.

Search: Does it hurt for the bottom the first time?

The search yielded a flood of information.

[Damn! It hurts so much. My partner is just average-sized, and I couldn’t get out of bed for a week after doing it once!]

Ugh!

[What’s that? I ended up in the hospital. Eighteen centimeters is no joke.]

Hiss—

[I swear I’ll never be a bottom again. It’s pure torture. Imagine a mallet being shoved up your nostril, that’s about how much it hurts!]

Wuwu!

The more Lin Ganzhi searched, the colder his heart became. The villain definitely isn’t small, right? I’m going to die! Is this the punishment for lying to him?!

When the car stopped, Lin Ganzhi followed him out, looking like he was ready to face his doom.

Seeing his reddened eyes, Yan Shengping suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Did I really scare him that badly?

Lin Ganzhi followed behind Yan Shengping like a warrior bravely marching to his execution.

“Have you decided what style of ring you want?”

Style? This thing had styles? Wait, rings?! Lin Ganzhi abruptly looked up, just in time to meet Yan Shengping’s amused gaze. “What were you thinking about? Didn’t you hear us talking in the car?”

…

For the first time, Lin Ganzhi felt Yan Shengping’s malice. Deep malice!

The kind that made him want to pounce and bite him.

But as a professional actor who had read countless scripts, getting angry and embarrassed now would be playing right into Yan Shengping’s hands.

“N-nothing, I wasn’t thinking about anything,” Lin Ganzhi blushed and turned his head away, stealing a glance at Yan Shengping. “And I wasn’t disappointed either.” The drama king was back online.

That one word, “disappointed,” left the previously composed Yan Shengping speechless. He nervously curled his fingers, feeling as if his heart had been counter-flirted with, a tingling sensation that lingered for a long time.

“Ahem, let’s go look at rings.”

In the end, it was Yan Shengping who broke the pink bubble between them. Seeing Yan Shengping’s obviously quickened pace, Lin Ganzhi knew his gamble had paid off. He knew it—how could a workaholic like Yan Shengping be so skilled at this? He was clearly just taking advantage of his guilty conscience.

The heart that had been hanging in Lin Ganzhi’s throat finally settled back into his stomach, and he followed along happily.

The saleswoman at the ring counter tirelessly explained the value and meaning of each ring. Wherever Yan Shengping’s gaze landed, she would immediately take out that particular ring.

In this marriage that existed in name only, Lin Ganzhi was completely indifferent to things like rings. Something that would be locked away in a box after the divorce should naturally be as cheap as possible.

“How about this one?” Yan Shengping pointed to a blue diamond ring.

The saleswoman’s eyes widened. This ring had never been sold since she started at the store. Her colleagues jokingly called it the store’s greatest treasure. The treasure was beautiful to look at, and its price was even more beautiful—eight figures.

“Sir, this ring…” The saleswoman was about to introduce it, her voice trembling.

“Would I get mugged wearing that out? Or is it a form of robbing the rich to give to the poor?” Lin Ganzhi pouted.

Yan Shengping pondered for a moment, then pointed to a pink diamond ring nearby. “What about this one? It’s not as conspicuous. Muggers probably won’t notice it.”

The price was also beautiful—six figures.

The saleswoman’s feelings were now somewhat complicated. It was the first time she had seen a couple choose a diamond ring based on whether they would be mugged.

Lin Ganzhi looked around and finally pointed to a plain band in the corner. “I think this one better reflects our pure love~”

Yan Shengping looked over. Three thousand for one, five thousand for a pair.

It wasn’t so much pure as it was cheap.

“It doesn’t have to be that pure,” Yan Shengping retorted, his smile not reaching his eyes.

Lin Ganzhi considered his boss’s status. Being too obviously cheap wasn’t good either. He winced internally and scanned the display again, finally settling on a pair of men’s rings in the center, inlaid with small diamonds.

The pair cost fifty thousand, which was a mid-range price.

“Then how about this one?” Lin Ganzhi pointed at the ring through the glass, his eyes eager.

It would be impolite to buy a more expensive ring for their marriage, really!

Yan Shengping still felt a bit conflicted. Based on his investigation of Lin Ganzhi, given his pre-marital extravagance, he would have bought the biggest diamond he could find. He had just given him a hundred million, so why was he still so insecure?

“The pair of diamond rings you’ve chosen is also very nice, sir. It’s our designer’s main work this year. There’s a line of French engraved in the middle of the rings, meaning ‘eternal love.’ It’s a pair of diamond rings specifically designed for male couples,” the saleswoman introduced passionately. The key was that it was low-key luxury, guaranteed not to attract muggers, really.

Lin Ganzhi fell silent. Was the meaning of this ring meant to jinx him?

In contrast, Yan Shengping examined the diamond ring carefully. “Alright, this one it is.”

When Lin Ganzhi gets tired of wearing it later, I can just get him a new one, right?

At this moment, Yan Shengping selectively forgot about his agreement with Lin Ganzhi.

The two of them dawdled, not arriving at the Zhong Residence until half past eleven.

Lin Ganzhi sized up the mansion, thinking to himself that it was indeed a place fit for a protagonist. There was the main residence, a separate villa for the servants, and even a fountain. It was big enough to fit ten of his family’s villas.

Uncle Yan went to park the car first. Lin Ganzhi followed Yan Shengping along the marble floor to the entrance of the residence. Before they even pushed the door open, they could hear laughter from inside.

Yan Shengping’s expression turned gloomy. Lin Ganzhi tugged on Yan Shengping’s sleeve. “We don’t need to be envious of this. When we get back, I’ll laugh. I’ll laugh for as long as you want me to.”

Yan Shengping let out a humorless laugh. “And then when you laugh so hard you can’t breathe, I’ll have to call a doctor for you again?”

Look at you. I’m trying to comfort you, and you just have to say something to ruin the mood!

Lin Ganzhi snorted in dissatisfaction, only to have Yan Shengping pinch his chubby cheek. This was simply unforgivable!

After a minute of bickering, Yan Shengping pushed open the main door of the Zhong Residence.

The magnificent furnishings exuded an air of wealth. Their entrance caused the few people sitting on the sofa to turn their gazes towards them simultaneously.

Lin Ganzhi recognized a total of three people: Zhong Jingyi, Luan Yuanzhou, and Madam Zhong. There was also a middle-aged woman with a girl in her early twenties sitting beside her. As he was looking at them, the girl was also looking at him curiously. Another middle-aged man sat alone, looking naturally imposing.

“Mr. Zhong, Madam Zhong, and… Madam Qin.” Yan Shengping called out in a flat tone.

Lin Ganzhi followed behind Yan Shengping and also greeted everyone in turn.

Madam Zhong’s face was etched with displeasure; she didn’t even spare them a glance. Zhong Jingyi also managed only a forced smile.

The middle-aged woman called Madam Qin smiled. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Shengping. My girl’s birthday is in a couple of days, you should bring Ganzhi and come have some fun!”

Here it comes, the hypocritical greetings of high society.

Yan Shengping nodded and led Lin Ganzhi to the sofa, just as they were about to sit down.

Zhong Wenwei suddenly stood up. “Since you’re here, let’s eat first. After getting married, Shengping, you seem to have completely forgotten your virtue of punctuality.”

A show of intimidation right at the door? Good thing he had eaten his fill earlier.

“Brother, I should have notified you earlier. Auntie Qin and Taotao came over to play today, and they haven’t had breakfast yet.” Zhong Jingyi stood up, adding fuel to the fire.

Madam Qin’s expression turned ugly for a moment. “We’re fine. Since Shengping is here, let’s eat first.”

Yan Shengping acted like a natural filter, nodding at human words and pretending not to hear the ghostly ones.

When Lin Ganzhi followed Yan Shengping to the table, my goodness, the entire table was red. There wasn’t even a single clear soup.

“I’ve long heard that the Zhong family’s chef is an expert at making spicy dishes. Now I see it’s truly well-deserved.” Madam Qin’s hometown was known for its spicy food, and she rarely got to eat such authentic spicy dishes here. It was for this meal that she had come over.

“I’m glad you like it. You should bring Old Qin along next time,” Zhong Wenwei said with a chuckle, instantly starting to build connections.

Lin Ganzhi searched his brain for information on the Qin family. They were a top-tier wealthy family in the city, a presence that even the newly rich Zhong family had to look up to. He heard that Madam Zhong had pulled many strings in her social circle to invite this distinguished guest into their home. It was just that the day was poorly chosen, happening to be the day Yan Shengping came over.

Everyone was using their chopsticks, except for Yan Shengping, who slowly ate a mouthful of plain white rice.

“Shengping, why are you only eating rice? I remember when you were at home before, you used to eat the same dishes as us. Did you move out and now you’re not even willing to have a proper meal with your family?” Madam Zhong played the passive-aggressive family card.

Lin Ganzhi couldn’t stand it for another second! Had the boss been treated like this in this family before?!

“Auntie, can you bring me a glass of plain water? I’ll throw up if I eat spicy food!”