Chapter 5: Unless I Marry Her
1518 Words
“You think I’m what? I—”
Before Catherine could finish her sentence, Ryan’s face suddenly turned pale, and he bent over in pain.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, but you forced me!” Catherine Shang kicked him hard between the legs, twisted open the door, and ran out as fast as she could.
Taking a few deep breaths, Ryan Long finally managed to straighten up. But by the time he reached the door, she was already long gone.
Standing in front of Rose's apartment, Catherine pressed the doorbell repeatedly until someone finally opened the door. She was so relieved she almost cried.
“Rose, can you lend me some money?” she pointed to the taxi driver behind her.
It seemed like tonight’s bad luck wasn’t just limited to one thing. After leaving that man’s place, she realized her wallet was missing.
Had she lost it while running away, or had she left it at his place?
Either way, the wallet was gone. Luckily, her ID wasn’t inside. If that man came looking for her, things would get even worse.
“My wallet’s gone,” Catherine clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.
Rose retreated inside, returning shortly after with some cash. “How much?” she asked the driver behind Catherine.
After paying for the taxi, Rose waited for Catherine to come inside, then locked the door.
“How did you lose your wallet?” Rose asked, puzzled, since Catherine wasn’t the type to be careless.
Catherine dared not explain what had just happened, so she deflected. “I don’t know. After leaving the pub, I wandered around some nearby shops. Maybe I ran into a pickpocket.”
“Wandering around until you lost track of time?” Rose sighed, pointing at the clock on the wall.
1:30 AM.
If Catherine hadn’t shown up or called soon, Rose would’ve gone to the pub to look for her.
“Oh, well, I also took the wrong bus in the middle of everything,” Catherine quickly made up a reason, then changed the subject. “That celebrity you were hiding from at the pub?”
At the mention of him, Rose’s face stiffened. “He left. Said he’s going to mainland China to shoot a movie, might be gone for a year or more!”
Catherine walked closer, looking her up and down with curiosity. “Are you in love?” Her expression was like she had just discovered something big.
“Who’s in love?” Rose pushed her away and flopped back onto the couch. “There’s no way I’d fall for a playboy like that!”
After writing about so many celebrity scandals, Rose had no interest in getting involved in one herself.
Catherine followed her, pressing on with interest. “Then why’d you run away when you saw him?”
From the moment Catherine had seen him at the pub, she’d felt something was off.
“You’re really nosy, aren’t you?” Rose pouted and glared at her.
Catherine plopped down on the couch next to her. “Don’t be stingy! Just tell me, think of it as a love story!”
Rose rolled her eyes. “You’re still worried about me? What about you? What are you going to do?”
“Me?” Catherine pointed to herself, her good mood quickly fading. “What can I do? I have to go to that blind date, and if the guy likes me, I’ll probably have to marry him.”
“Are you really okay with that?” Rose shook her head.
“What choice do I have?” Catherine spread her hands in resignation.
“If only you weren’t so soft-hearted, those awful women in your family wouldn’t be able to use you like this,” Rose said, getting more worked up. Then something else occurred to her. “Who is your mom setting you up with this time?”
“Have you heard of Long Group?” Catherine’s voice was weak.
“Someone from Long Group’s management?” Rose’s eyes lit up at the mention of Long Group.
Catherine blinked and shook her head. “No, I think he’s the heir. He’s probably the boss by now.”
“What?” Rose’s jaw nearly hit the floor. After a moment, she asked in a trembling voice, “Is it Ryan Long?”
Catherine didn’t understand why Rose was so shocked. “I think so. I didn’t really bother to remember his name.”
“What do you mean, ‘I think so’?” Rose glared at her, jumping up and pacing around the living room.
“You know him?” Catherine felt her eyes blurring from following Rose’s movements.
Rose finally stopped and shook her head. “It’s not just me. Almost no one in the business world has seen him. They say he’s ruthless, never accepts interviews, and doesn’t allow photos. Probably only a few senior executives in Long Group have ever met him.”
Before writing entertainment news, Rose had spent six months covering business, which is how she knew about the rumors surrounding Long Group.
“So mysterious?” Catherine was taken aback.
But why would such a big figure agree to a blind date with her? Could the development project for the resort really be that important to him?
“I don’t get it. What’s the Long family after?” Rose voiced Catherine’s own doubts.
“Not that I think you’re not good enough,” Rose quickly added.
Catherine smiled, indicating she didn’t mind. “According to my mom, it’s about the land deal for the resort.”
“I knew it!” Rose exclaimed, fuming. “Your mom’s definitely after their money and power.”
Catherine lowered her head and didn’t deny it, because it was true.
“But if Ryan Long is such a good catch, why is your mom making you marry him and not Sophia?”
“Good catch?” Rose snorted, looking at her. “Of course she wants you to marry him, not Sophia! Your mom’s not stupid.”
“Why?” Catherine had assumed Ryan Long might be some old man, but now it didn’t seem that way.
“Maybe it’s the mystery. Anyway, there are all kinds of rumors about him.”
“Like what?” Catherine hugged a pillow, leaning forward.
“Like…” Rose thought for a moment before sitting back down. “They say he changes women as often as he changes shirts.”
“Oh.” That didn’t really bother Catherine. Rich men rarely had sincere hearts.
“They say he’s less than 170 cm tall.”
“Huh?” Catherine raised an eyebrow, that part did seem to match her imagination.
“And they say he’s really strict, both in his personal life and at work.”
“What?” Now Catherine was starting to worry.
If she really married someone like that, wouldn’t the rest of her life feel like being in a prison?
Rose didn’t say anything more, because the deep frown on Catherine’s face said it all.
“Catherine, have you thought about just leaving home and moving to Taipei?” Rose suggested. Leaving that house would definitely do Catherine a world of good.
“Taipei?” Catherine considered it, but… Could she really just walk away? Even though this was about her lifelong happiness.
“Yes! You can live with me for now, and once you find a job, you can decide what to do next.”
“That…” It wasn’t a bad idea.
“Do you remember Kevin?” Rose suddenly remembered someone.
“Kevin?” Catherine racked her brain.
“He was two years ahead of us at school,” Rose reminded her.
“Oh, right. What about him?” Catherine didn’t understand why Rose was bringing him up.
“I ran into him last week. He’s working in business news now, and I hear he’s about to get promoted.”
Catherine remembered Kevin’s interest in her during school. He had been quite attentive back then.
“Oh.” Catherine didn’t seem very interested.
“What do you mean, ‘Oh’?” Rose glared at her.
Catherine’s expression said, “What else should I say?”
“I’ll look up his number and set up a lunch date.” Rose had already figured out a plan for Catherine.
“Why?” Catherine didn’t think there was any need to meet up. She still remembered turning him down in school, and meeting him again would just be awkward.
“Do you want to keep hiding at home forever?” Rose gave her a look, then added, “He’s practically a supervisor now. He could easily help you get a job. And if you didn’t want to be a journalist, why did you go all the way to the UK to study mass communication?”
“Is that really a good idea?” Catherine was hesitant.
“Why not? You’d be crazy not to use your connections!” Rose immediately picked up the phone to call Kevin.
- Writer
