Li Mingyu looked at her with undisguised admiration.

“Susu, you’re amazing.”

Su Fu sat down beside her and took several gulps of soda.

“No big deal. Were those girls your old friends?”

Li Mingyu nodded.

“Yeah. She moved into the compound about five or six years ago and stayed with her uncle’s family.

I ran into her all the time, and eventually we became friends.

I’d treat her to good food and give her pretty dresses.

Then, a couple of years ago, I overheard her talking behind my back.

After that, I stopped associating with her.

A few months later, her uncle got reported for having overseas connections.”

Su Fu clicked her tongue.

“Wow. That’s one ruthless woman.”

Li Mingyu sighed.

“Anyway, I don’t like her.”

The projectionist entered the theater and drew all the curtains.

The white screen at the front flickered to life.

When the movie ended, Li Mingyu was crying her eyes out.

“How can there be people that horrible…?”

Su Fu patted her back.

“It’s fake, it’s fake. Movies are all fake.”

She spent the entire walk home comforting her.

Once they got back, Li Mingyu stopped her before she went upstairs.

“I only know my fiancé’s cousin. After I arrange a meeting tomorrow, is there anything specific I need to do?”

Su Fu waved her hand dismissively.

“You just take one look from a distance and confirm you still don’t like him. Leave everything else to me.”

Li Mingyu immediately scampered off to make arrangements.

That evening, Su Fu was unusually considerate and didn’t monopolize anyone’s attention.

After dinner, seeing there was nothing else to do, she headed upstairs.

The next morning, Li Mingyu handed her another outfit.

“Susu, I’ve never worn this one before. You’ll definitely like it.”

And Su Fu did.

A sky-blue blouse paired with a cream-colored long skirt.

The red dress from yesterday had already been washed and was hanging outside on the terrace to dry.

“You’ve got great taste, Lili.”

As a child, Su Fu had loved bright, colorful clothes.

As she’d grown older, she’d come to prefer simpler colors.

Li Mingyu looked smug.

“Of course I do. Hurry up and change. We’re heading out.”

They met at a teahouse, one of the few places available for leisure and entertainment.

Chen Jingyuan leisurely sipped his tea while listening to the storyteller perform dramatically on stage.

Outside the teahouse entrance, Li Mingyu peeked around the corner like a spy.

She identified her fiancé immediately.

He was simply too beautiful.

Everything around him seemed dull by comparison.

“Susu, it’s the prettiest one inside. Help me deal with him.”

Su Fu almost laughed.

Who described a man as pretty?

Then she looked inside.

And silently retracted the thought.

There really wasn’t a better word.

Pretty fit him perfectly.

Jet-black hair.

Pale skin.

Bright yet languid eyes.

A small mole perched on his high nose bridge.

Beautiful lips tinged with a faint pink that gave him a slightly sickly charm.

And those hands—

Long, slender fingers with blue-green veins standing out beneath the skin.

Honestly, it was the first time Su Fu had ever seen someone so attractive and so impeccably clean-looking.

“Lili, I think he’s pretty great. Are you sure you don’t want to honor the engagement?”

Li Mingyu looked like she was about to cry.

“I don’t like men who are prettier than me!”

Su Fu sighed.

Looks like all her original schemes were useless now.

After all, everyone appreciated beauty.

“Find somewhere to wait for me. I’ll go talk to him.”

Li Mingyu immediately sneaked upstairs to a private seating area on the second floor.

Su Fu walked in and sat directly across from the beautiful man.

He was handsome from afar.

Even more handsome up close.

This man was practically supernatural.

Chen Jingyuan maintained his lazy expression.

“This seat is taken.”

Su Fu nodded.

“I know. I’m Li Mingyu’s friend.”

He lifted his gaze.

“So?”

Su Fu got straight to the point.

“Lili doesn’t like men who are prettier than she is. Can you take the initiative and break off the engagement?”

Chen Jingyuan tilted his head.

“And what if I say no?”

Su Fu didn’t bother asking why.

Li Mingyu came from an excellent family.

Anyone in his position would be reluctant to give up an opportunity to improve their life.

She’d never expected this conversation to succeed anyway.

But formalities had to be observed.

“Then sorry for bothering you.”

She stood up.

“Wait.”

Su Fu turned around.

“Is there something else?”

Chen Jingyuan lightly tapped the tabletop with those beautiful fingers.

“Breaking off the engagement isn’t impossible.”

Su Fu immediately sat back down.

Her eyes lit up.

“Go on.”

Resting his chin on one hand, Chen Jingyuan studied the girl who had caught his attention at the movie theater yesterday.

“Breaking off the engagement is fine.

But you’ll have to compensate me with another fiancée.

Her family background doesn’t need to be any better.

Just roughly equivalent to Li Mingyu’s.”

Su Fu: …

Where exactly was she supposed to find another girl with a family background like Li Mingyu’s?

If she had access to people like that, she wouldn’t have traveled all this way for paid work.

“Are there any other options?”

“There are.”

His fingers continued tapping the table.

Then he changed the subject.

“Are you doing this for money?”

Naturally, Su Fu wasn’t about to admit that.

“I simply can’t bear to see a young woman forced into a marriage she doesn’t want.”

Chen Jingyuan took a sip of tea.

“She certainly knows how to talk.”

Then he smiled faintly.

“You’re such a good person.”

Su Fu nodded seriously.

“I know. Now can you tell me the other option?”

City people were really long-winded.

One sentence had to be divided into three parts.

Chen Jingyuan said,

“There is a simpler solution. Though it may sound a bit presumptuous.”

“What?”

“We get married.”

The tea Su Fu had just swallowed sprayed straight out.

“What did you just say?!”

Calmly, Chen Jingyuan pulled out a handkerchief.

He wiped his face and then cleaned the tea from the table.

“I don’t mean a real marriage.

If you don’t mind, we can discuss it somewhere more private.”

Su Fu was genuinely shocked.

They’d only just met.

They didn’t even know each other’s names.

And now he was talking about marriage?

Sure, his face was ridiculously attractive.

But Su Fu wasn’t the kind of person who only cared about looks.

Still…

Talking didn’t hurt.

“You lead the way.”

Chen Jingyuan stood and led her into a semi-private booth on the first floor.

Not as secluded as a private room, but private enough.

He got straight to the point.

“A fake marriage means exactly what it sounds like.

One year.

We can sign an agreement.”

What he needed right now was a spouse.

Someone who wouldn’t be devastated when he died.

The girl sitting across from him had ambition.

She wanted money.

She had energy and vitality.

But she didn’t seem capable of falling in love.

That was perfect.

She was also the only woman who had ever made his heart skip a beat.

For Chen Jingyuan, life had long felt like stagnant water.

Introducing a little fresh blood into it sounded interesting.

Su Fu didn’t reject the idea outright.

“What do I get out of it?

And don’t give me some nonsense about gaining a handsome husband.”

Sure, she appreciated good looks.

But she wasn’t the type to throw herself at a pretty face.

Before coming to Shanghai, she might have believed that as long as someone was pleasant to look at, the rest didn’t matter.

But after seeing the city for herself, her goal had become crystal clear.

She wanted to establish herself in the city.

She wanted a good life.

Hot water without needing to boil it.

Lights that turned on with the flick of a switch.

Beautiful clothes.

Delicious food.

A soft bed.

Chen Jingyuan narrowed his eyes.

“What do you want?”

Su Fu answered without hesitation.

“A house.

A job.

And money.”