substitute marriage favor

Chapter 6：Pushed into the Fire

"Qinru, over here!"

Lin Xiaoya sat in the corner, waving as soon as she spotted Ye Qinru.

"I'm so thirsty."

Ye Qinru poured a glass of lemon water and drank it all in one gulp.

"Qinru, why did you take two days off? Is this practical course so important?"

Lin Xiaoya looked at Ye Qinru. "Did something happen?"

"Well..." Ye Qinru tapped her fingers on the table. "I got married, to Gu Shenyan."

"What? You're married?" Lin Xiaoya's voice raised in disbelief. "Isn't your boyfriend He Shengming? How did you end up marrying Gu Shenyan?"

"Keep your voice down." Ye Qinru looked at Lin Xiaoya helplessly, expecting this reaction.

"Explain properly, what happened?" Lin Xiaoya was curious. Ye Qinru briefly summarized the situation, leaving out the part where she was framed by He Shengming.

"That scumbag He Shengming is with Chen Keyi now. I've broken up with him."

"They're just a pair of scoundrels. I knew from the start that He Shengming and Chen Keyi were no good. But you didn't believe me." Lin Xiaoya cursed, sympathizing with Ye Qinru. "There are rumors about problems with Gu Shenyan. Marrying him, aren't you just setting yourself up for misery? You're barely twenty, with your whole life ahead of you. How can you endure this?"

"I don't mind. When the time is right, I'll divorce him."

"Qinru, the more you say, the more confused I get."

Lin Xiaoya felt things weren't so simple. Ye Qinru summarized the situation, omitting the part where she was framed by He Shengming.

"That b***h Ye Xinyu is really something, not marrying herself but pushing you into the fire pit."

Lin Xiaoya was indignant. "Let me see her. I'll give her a piece of my mind."

"Forget it, it's done. Let's leave it at that."

Ye Qinru comforted Lin Xiaoya and patted her shoulder. "Actually, Gu Shenyan is a decent person. I haven't suffered much from marrying him."

"Well, when you divorce, you can still get half of his property."

Lin Xiaoya's focus made Ye Qinru speechless. "I don't want his property. If it weren't for my mom, I wouldn't have compromised and married into the Gu family."

"Qinru, if there's anything I can help with, just tell me."

Lin Xiaoya knew that Ye Qinru was caught in a dilemma in the Ye family, as Ye Guoqiang could force her to compromise by holding onto Yang Limei.

"Okay."

Ye Qinru glanced at the time and stood up. "I have to go."

"Why the rush? We haven't hung out together in days."

Lin Xiaoya grabbed Ye Qinru, who shook her head. "Gu Shenyan is waiting for me to go home together. I can't break my promise. Let's make plans for tomorrow."

"Okay."

Lin Xiaoya let go, watching Ye Qinru rush off like a gust of wind.

Gu Shenyan parked the car in an inconspicuous corner, lazily leaning against the hood smoking a cigarette.

It was the first time he had the patience to wait for a woman, just to see if Ye Qinru was punctual.

He glanced at his watch; there were still two minutes left until an hour passed.

Footsteps approached from nearby, and he smirked, his narrow eyes fixed on Ye Qinru as she ran towards him, breathless.

"Why are you here? You made me look for you everywhere."

Ye Qinru ran up to Gu Shenyan, her breath a little erratic.

She thought Gu Shenyan would be waiting for her in the original spot, but he had hidden here, making her spend a few extra minutes. Fortunately, she wasn't late.

Gu Shenyan deliberately blew smoke towards Ye Qinru, squinting his eyes. "No one told you to run so fast."

"I don't like breaking promises. Since we're in a cooperative relationship now, we should accommodate each other."

Ye Qinru waved away the smoke with some disgust. "You smoke?"

"Why? Don't you like it?"

Gu Shenyan still had a cigarette between his fingers. He took another drag in front of Ye Qinru, then slowly exhaled the smoke, looking intoxicated.

"I don't like the smell of smoke."

Ye Qinru said truthfully. "Especially secondhand smoke, it's harmful to health."

"Okay!"

Gu Shenyan flicked the cigarette butt accurately into the nearby trash can. "When you're bored waiting, I'll smoke one, but I'm not a heavy smoker."

Ye Qinru glanced at him, opened the back door of the car, and bent down to get in.

"What? You're treating me like a chauffeur?"

Gu Shenyan raised his eyebrows, looking at Ye Qinru with a half-smile.

She hesitated for a moment, then closed the back door and opened the passenger door to sit in.

"Remember, we're newlyweds. Even if we're acting, we should make it believable."

Gu Shenyan chuckled and got into the driver's seat, noticing Ye Qinru struggling with the seatbelt. He leaned over to fasten it for her.

They were very close, and Ye Qinru could clearly smell the tobacco on Gu Shenyan's lips. She stiffened and moved back, deliberately putting some distance between them.

He glanced at her, then fastened her seatbelt.

"Thank you."

Ye Qinru's cheeks reddened. She cursed herself inwardly. Gu Shenyan didn't like women, so why was she feeling so awkward?

Her current identity was supposed to be his wife, but in fact, she was covering up his gay identity.

If Gu Shenyan knew what she was thinking now, he would surely be furious.

"My parents are back from overseas. You'll meet them when we get back."

Gu Shenyan's words made Ye Qinru suddenly nervous. "Will they accept me as a marriage of convenience?"

"My grandmother will accept you, and they won't have any objections."

Gu Shenyan glanced at Ye Qinru with a sidelong gaze. "Are you nervous?"

"Of course, after all, I've entered into this marriage under questionable circumstances," Qinru replied truthfully, knowing well that the Gu family had their eyes set on Ye Xinyu.

Gu Shenyan chuckled softly. "Your name is on the marriage certificate, making you the rightful Mrs. Gu."

"Oh."

Qinru hesitated for a moment, recalling Lin Xiaoya's words. "Gu Shenyan, should we draw up a contract between us?"

"Hmm?" Gu Shenyan raised an eyebrow. "Is that necessary?"

"I'm considering your interests."

Qinru nodded. "Let's draft a contract stating that in the event of divorce, I'll leave with nothing, relinquishing any claim to your assets."

"You're not greedy," Gu Shenyan remarked, his gaze deep and probing as he observed Qinru. Her simplicity, devoid of any ulterior motives, caught him off guard.

"I've only married into the Gu family out of necessity. Anything that doesn't belong to me naturally holds no appeal," Qinru sighed, mindful of her unresolved issues with Yang Limei. She couldn't afford to confront Ye Guoqiang just yet.

A trace of displeasure flickered across Gu Shenyan's mind. Given the power and influence of the Gu family, countless women would vie to marry into it, yet Qinru seemed so reluctant.

"As you wish," Gu Shenyan replied curtly, his lips pressed tightly together as he focused on driving.

To him, whatever contract Qinru proposed would be as insignificant as a scrap of paper.

The atmosphere inside the cramped car became palpably tense. Qinru could keenly sense Gu Shenyan's displeasure, though she couldn't fathom the reason behind it.

Feeling the awkwardness, she simply turned her head to gaze out of the window, longing to return to the Gu residence as soon as possible.

Gu Shenyan's solemn demeanor left her feeling inexplicably jittery.