Chapter 89: Ye Zeqian
What Li Dong had just said was complete nonsense. Even he couldn’t stomach it himself.
Getting married purely for “personal qualities and family background”? That was treating oneself like a breeding stallion, marrying only to pass on one’s “superior” genes.
But that wasn’t the real point. The real point was that this man, who secretly disdained wealth, wore arrogance like armor, and had the heart of a quiet idealist, had actually agreed with that nonsense?
Li Dong rubbed his face to calm down.
Of course, he knew that wasn’t Ye Zeqian’s true opinion. The man was only echoing him out of politeness.
When someone who always insisted on his own views suddenly starts agreeing with you, it means one of two things: either he’s been possessed… or he’s fallen for you.
And who was the object of that affection?
Li Dong clicked his tongue inwardly. If Ye Zeqian really had fallen for him, that meant the day of “paying the grain tax” wasn’t far off.
If this man turned out to be as demanding as his past lovers, then he was doomed to another back-breaking love life.
But did he regret it? Did he want to refuse?
Impossible. A real man only fights harder.
Or rather, to put it more thoughtfully: after so many years of tempering, whether twenty and full of fire, thirty fierce as a tiger, or forty as a wolf, he feared nothing.
So he nodded. “Seems our thoughts coincide.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Ye Zeqian said, lifting the lids of two double-boiled soups. “You started worrying about marriage at 26. I’m 27, so I suppose I should start thinking about it too.”
His mother, Bai Xuan, certainly thought so. She’d been desperate, trying to set him up on three blind dates a week if possible, ideally married by the end of the year and producing a grandson by next spring.
As a seasoned, successful woman, her standards for a daughter-in-law were sky-high. She’d always said that anyone marrying into the Ye family had to be impeccable in every aspect.
In that regard, she could only slightly relax her expectations of family background.
After all, 80% of women with that kind of pedigree would never look twice at a man of equal footing.
The next tier up, someone like Xu Chaoyan, was a whole different world. Between ordinary wealth and true old money, there was a gulf that could never be crossed.
That was why Bai Xuan had said he’d be “marrying up.” That one-time blind date had been such a rare opportunity that she hadn’t dared expect anything.
“Thanks.” Li Dong accepted a bowl and took a sip.
His refined palate and vast experience made it easy to recognize flavors, and he blinked in surprise. “Seahorse?”
That particular ingredient was prized for its male tonic effects: energizing, strengthening, aphrodisiac.
“You can tell?” Ye Zeqian was surprised. He prided himself on his own culinary knowledge, but for rare ingredients like seahorse, he usually forgot after trying them once or twice.
If Manager Zheng hadn’t shown him the menu earlier, he wouldn’t have known either.
After all, seahorse was an unusual and expensive medicinal food.
“Mm.” Li Dong didn’t elaborate. Talking too much about that would only make him sigh, after centuries of living through world after world, nearly every little shou he met had made him tonic soups. And seahorse, the stamina booster, was a recurring star ingredient.
Ye Zeqian, not knowing this, was quietly impressed. At least he hadn’t realized what seahorse was for. If he had, he might’ve told Manager Zheng to double the dose.
“So what kind of personal and family background do you consider acceptable?” Ye Zeqian asked between sips. “Would you mind if your partner were older than you?”
“Not at all.” Li Dong tried another dish. “A year or two older makes no difference.” After having lived through age gaps of fifteen years, such differences were nothing to him. “As for background, I’m not expecting another Xu family, being in the top ten of A City would do.”
A statement so bluntly straight-man that it begged for a scolding. Anyone with feelings would want to hit him.
Ye Zeqian asked, “And where do you think the Ye family ranks?”
Did this man not know his own worth?
“Fifth or sixth, maybe?” Li Dong said, a bit sheepishly. His hand shook slightly as he lifted his bowl.
Right then, he very much wanted to buy himself an orange.
“You’re being polite. Honestly, probably more like seventh or eighth.” Ye Zeqian set out a clean pair of chopsticks and served him a dish. “You left quite an impression on me. That’s why I asked for your help the first time we met.”
That was true. He never showed vulnerability in front of others.
But that day, seeing this composed, elegant man, he’d suddenly felt his strength crumble. A strange desire to stop pretending and just lean on someone for once.
“Mm.” Li Dong responded softly.
After a few rounds of soup, Ye Zeqian set down his chopsticks and dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “Since you said marriage doesn’t need to be about feelings, only personal and family conditions, then why not consider me?”
“Director Ye, are you serious?” Li Dong asked, half amused.
“Do I look like I’m joking?” Ye Zeqian replied evenly.
“A strong alliance makes a good match,” Li Dong said, smiling. “The Ye family’s status is respectable, and what I said earlier wasn’t false. Saying seventh or eighth was just your modesty. But we’ve only known each other for, what, two weeks? And you’ve already made up your mind.”
That took both courage and discernment.
And Li Dong, of course, was confident he was a man worth choosing.
“You think I’m being rash? Or careless?” Ye Zeqian said. “They say a man stands firm at thirty. I’m not thirty yet, but I’ve thought this through.”
He was ready to take responsibility for his words.
“I understand.” Li Dong said. “But marriage isn’t a small thing. You really don’t mind that we have no emotional foundation?”
Ye Zeqian was quiet for three seconds before blurting out, “As long as you don’t have some white moonlight in your heart. I don’t, either.”
“Then when do you want to register the marriage?” Li Dong asked casually, turning the tables.
“…”
Caught completely off guard, Ye Zeqian went blank for several seconds. Register the marriage?
Wait! Register?!
His mind was a blizzard of chaos, worse than any wild grass-mud horse stampede.
“President Xu, are you serious?” he asked. “I just made a suggestion, and you’re already talking about getting the certificate?”
He’d thought Xu Chaoyan was calm and reliable. Now he wasn’t so sure.
“Why not now?” Li Dong’s tone lifted slightly, perfectly calm and serious.
Ye Zeqian’s ears burned. He gulped down a mouthful of water, but the cold liquid did nothing to cool the heat rising through him. “You brought your ID?”
“Yes.” Li Dong said.
“Then eat.” Ye Zeqian set his cup down with a snap. “Finish your meal, and whoever backs out is a puppy.”
“Alright.” Li Dong smiled. “Half a bowl left Director Ye, give me a minute.”
And so, he unhurriedly finished that last half bowl of rice.
What went on in Ye Zeqian’s heart during those few minutes, no one could know.
“I’m done, Director Ye.” Li Dong took the disinfectant wipe handed to him. “Thanks.”
Thinking back, he hadn’t noticed Ye Zeqian’s germaphobia flare up once during the meal. It seemed entirely within normal range until…
He finished one wipe, and the man promptly handed him another.
Then another.
By the time he’d used three, Ye Zeqian finally stopped “helping.”
“I’ll have my secretary take these.” Li Dong called toward the door. “Xiao Xie, come in.”
A young woman entered, slim figure, pretty face.
The moment she appeared, Director Ye’s calm cracked.
Xu Chaoyan uses a young female secretary?!
His entire worldview trembled.
Author’s Note:
【Sorry for the lock yesterday, my big precious readers! Two updates today at 5 p.m.! PS: can my big babies use river crabs?】
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