C10 Cooperation with That Matter

Upon hearing those words, Tang Yan's eyes instantly welled up with tears, and she couldn't stop them from falling. Seeing this, Xi Pei wrapped an arm around her shoulders and solemnly promised, "Mom, don't worry. Even if there are disagreements, I'll always give in to Yan."

Tang's mother nodded with relief and waved them off. "Alright, I need to rest now. You two should head back."

Tang Yan was crying so much that she couldn't see the path clearly, but with Xi Pei's support, she managed to get back to the car. Fortunately, Tang Yan quickly composed herself and, feeling a bit embarrassed, glanced at Xi Pei. "Sorry, I lost my composure earlier."

Xi Pei handed her a pack of tissues. "It's okay."

Looking at his calm and composed demeanor, Tang Yan found it hard to believe how he had managed to reassure her mother. Still, she was grateful to Xi Pei; without him, her mother wouldn't have been at ease.

"Thank you for comforting my mom. She's always worried about how I'll be after getting married."

Xi Pei shook his head, a hint of sadness flashing in his eyes as if recalling something. "It's nothing. You helped me earlier today, so let's call it even."

With the reassurance that her mother was fine, Tang Yan felt much more at ease and returned to the villa with Xi Pei.

"...So that's the situation. In short, I'm not marrying the terrifying Xi Yan from the rumors, but Xi Pei. We've both revealed our identities and decided to get along peacefully from now on."

In her room, Tang Yan sat on the bed in oversized pajamas, video chatting with her best friend, Gu Sirann.

After a brief silence, Gu Sirann suddenly jumped up, her piercing voice coming through the phone—

"So, Tang Yan, you're just getting married like that? And to a wealthy family?"

Tang Yan felt exasperated. Was that the main point here?

"From what I've observed, Xi Pei isn't really favored in the Xi family, so it's not like I'm marrying into wealth. Besides, I didn't want to marry him in the first place!"

Unfortunately, Gu Sirann's thoughts were already off in another world.

Tang Yan hadn't told anyone about standing in for Tang Li in the marriage, not even her best friend Gu Sirann, who only found out today.

"What!"

Gu Sirann suddenly turned to stare at the screen intently. "Since you both know it's fake, did you and he—"

Before she could finish, Tang Yan's face froze.

Seeing her expression, Gu Sirann understood immediately.

"Wow, you two already did it, didn't you? Oh my gosh, Tang Yan! You slept with a guy you only met once. Is he handsome? Does he have abs?"

Tang Yan didn't have time to answer her questions. Hearing a noise at the door, she quickly ended the video call.

Xi Pei walked in.

Seeing him now, the events of last night played vividly in her mind, making Tang Yan's cheeks flush instantly. As Xi Pei approached, he heard her quietly suggest, "Well, since we've cleared things up, maybe we should sleep in separate rooms from now on?"

He paused, raising an eyebrow, not missing the blush on her face. The next moment, he refused without hesitation. "No."

Before Tang Yan could respond, he lowered his voice, "Mrs. Zhang is someone Xi Yan sent."

In other words, anything that happened in this villa could potentially be known to Xi Yan. Tang Yan felt a wave of despair; did this mean she had to keep up the charade?

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