Honeyed Marriage - Chapter 1
Translated and edited by CutieBinkie
In the midsummer night, the sound of cicadas is gradually weakened by the sultry air and a few muffled flashes of lightning appear in the small clouds in the distant sky.
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In the Ruan family’s villa, the lights were brightly lit and the voices were noisy.
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“Flowers transported by air should be placed here first.”
“The second lady doesn’t like the aroma of the promenade. Change it.”
“These dresses have to be ironed tonight and tomorrow let the second lady choose.”
“You and you, go to the wine cellar…”
In a bedroom on the second floor, Ruan Yan sat quietly by the bed, listening to the conversation going on from time to time outside the door, all about the birthday party of her sister, Ruan Ling, tomorrow night.
The maid on the side zipped the suitcase, stood up and looked at her.
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The girl was slightly curled up, her long black hair slightly covered half of her cheek and her amber apricot eyes were beautiful but dull.
The maid sighed inwardly and walked in front of her: “Miss, the luggage has been packed.”
The girl returned to her senses, “En. Thank you…”
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“It seems like it is going to rain, I will help you get a coat and then we’ll go.” The maid left. The wall clock on the wall ticked and the sound became more obvious in the darkness in front of her. Ruan Yan hugged her knees and buried her face in between them.
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After a while, the room door was opened again and someone walked in.
She guessed that the maid was back, sat up straight, licked her dry lips, and whispered, “Lily, can you help me pour a glass of water?”
There was no response. In doubt, she heard the sound of pouring water. Ruan Yan stretched out her hand, waiting for the other person to hand over a glass of water, who knew that a hot glass would be stuffed into her hand in the next moment.
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“Ah— ” It was so hot that she had to let go and the glass fell on the carpet, splashing hot water everywhere.
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“Sister, you are blind but why can’t you even hold a glass of water?”
Ruan Yan was startled when she heard the words. Ruan Ling stood in front of her, looking at her frightened appearance and smiled, “I’m sorry, maybe the water I just poured was too hot, are you okay?”
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“What’s the matter with you?” The girl’s voice was astringent.
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“I’m just here to see if you have packed. After all, my sister is a disabled person and has limited mobility. Is there anything you need help with?”
Seeing Ruan Yan pursing her lips, Ruan Ling said with a smile, “You’ve already packed. Go downstairs with your luggage and don’t waste other people’s time.”
She was about to leave when she thought of something. She leaned over Ruan Yan’s ear and said, “Sister, my 21st birthday wish this year is just to hope that you never show up in front of me anymore. Thank you for helping me realize it in advance.” With that, Ruan Ling left the room.
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Ruan Yan slowly raised her head, turned around and fumbled for the blind cane at the bedside, then stood up and waved her hand in the air a few times before she finally touched the lever of the suitcase. She leaned on the wall and walked out slowly.
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Today was the thirtieth day after she suddenly lost her sight in a car accident, at least she won’t be at a loss as she was before. There was a rumbling outside the window and the rainstorm finally came. And she has no reason to stay.
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Ruan Yan went to the bedroom door, she had not yet opened the door when she heard some of her servants chatting outside.
“I heard that there will be a distinguished guest coming in the evening. Is it related to the second lady? Who is that person?”
“Don’t you know? It’s the man that the second lady has liked for a long time. He’s rich and powerful and it seems like he’d be coming tomorrow night to talk about marriage with the second lady.”
“Marriage? No wonder the family attached so much importance to this birthday banquet.”
“Yes, I heard that the man returned to China specifically to marry the second lady. He said it was a marriage but in fact it was a match.”
“This is too enviable… “
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Ruan Yan opened the door, the servants saw her and the conversation ended. Lily ran up to her carrying a clean dry coat which she draped over Ruan Yan’s body,” Miss, I’m sorry. I got called to do other things. “
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“It’s okay.”
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“I’ll help you downstairs.” The other servants winked and told Lily not to help but the latter shook her head and took the luggage from Ruan Yan.
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Several other people murmured, “What are you doing waiting on people who are going to leave? When the second lady sees, she might get angry.”
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Ruan Yan walked down the stairs. In the living room, her stepmother Feng Zhuang and several relatives were chatting while she(^Feng Zhuang) picked a dress with Ruan Ling.
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“Mom, do you think that Zhou Mengyan would like me to dress this way? Will it be too mature?”
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Ruan Ling gestured in front of herself while holding a black suspender dress, with brilliance in her eyes.
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Feng Zhuang pointed to the sofa, “If you are afraid of maturity, change into this one.”
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“But isn’t this one too cute? Maybe he doesn’t like naïve girls…”
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“Feng Zhuang, look at Lingling, she’s like a young girl who has just started to fall in love.”
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Ruan Ling blushed, holding her mother’s arm with shame while the latter smiled, “You became shy when you heard your aunt? Don’t worry, you look good in everything you wear. People like you. He would like you too.”
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“But how do you know that he likes me?”
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“The Zhou family is already okay with the marriage and Zhou Mengyan returned to China today, isn’t it to come to your birthday banquet tomorrow?”
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“The company’s problem would be okay? It would be resolved?” Ruan Ling asked.
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“If you get married, the Zhou family will extend a helping hand to Europe.”
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Then Ruan Ling will become a major contributor to the rescue of the company.
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Feng Zhuang touched her daughter’s hair, “I can rest assured if I leave you to him.” After all, the Zhou family’s status in the business world can be described as covering the sky with one hand. Zhou Mengyan is rich and calm and there are many women who want to cling to him.
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Feng Zhuang: “You can see him tomorrow and then we will have a good chat.”
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Ruan Ling recalled the photo of the man she had seen on the phone. Her heart was rippling and she couldn’t restrain herself, then she saw the figure on the stairs.
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When Ruan Yan went downstairs, the people in the living room smiled and looked at her with indifferent eyes.
“Will you leave at night?”
Feng Zhuang took the words of her younger siblings and leaned back on the sofa, “You have lived in Ruan family”s house for more than 20 years, and now you should move out.”
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A girl on the side curled her lips, “Yes. Cousin has hands and feet, but she is blind and if no one takes care of her, she can’t live.”
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“Kids don’t talk…”
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Feng Zhuang said, “Sisi is right. Some people have been spoiled. Aren’t the spoiled days of being spoiled enough? The Ruan family has been raising you for so long.”
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Ruan Yan listened to her stepmother’s disgust that she no longer hid, her fingertips tightened. “Ms. Feng Zhuang, it doesn’t matter how I am… But please take care of Dad.”
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Feng Zhuang sneered, “You don’t need to remind me.”
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Ruan Yan went to the hallway to change her shoes, then she opened the door and felt a gust of wind coming in. The sound of rain was loud, especially to her now sensitive ears.
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Ruan Ling walked behind her, looked outside, put a blue umbrella in her hand, and smiled slightly.
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“The rain is a bit heavy, hold on and be careful on the road.”
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The door behind her closed. She opened the umbrella and walked into the rain but felt the pouring rain directly hit the top of her head. She reached out to touch the umbrella and found that several of the umbrella bones had been broken and a small half was drooping.
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Unable to stop, Ruan Yan could only hold the luggage and blind cane in one hand, and the umbrella handle in the other as she walked forward with difficulty.
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The taxi driver waiting at the door saw the girl, realized something, got out of the car immediately, ran to pick up the luggage then helped her open the co-pilot’s door.
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After getting in the car, the driver asked: “Little girl, can’t you… can’t you see?”
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“Um…” She pinched her skirt tightly, “Can you give me some tissue?”
The driver looked at this girl who was about the same age as his daughter. He felt distressed and put the tissue in her hand, “Hurry up and wipe yourself so that you don’t catch a cold. It’s dangerous for you to go out alone like this under such heavy rain.”
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Ruan Yan held the tissue and heard the kind words of a stranger. Suddenly, her nose was sour and she shook his head lightly, “It’s okay, thank you, Mister.”
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“Shall I go to Silitian City?”
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“Yes.” The driver stepped on the accelerator while talking to her.
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-On the other side, in the underground garage of Lincheng International Airport, a black Rolls Royce Phantom slowly drove out.
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The man on the leather sofa in the back seat had his legs crossed. His laptop was resting on his leg and his clean and slender knuckles were tapping on the keyboard from time to time.
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The cuffs of his white shirt were rolled up, his wrists were slightly convex, and the neon night lights outside illuminated his face with sharp edges and corners. The whole person looked cold and expensive.
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Zhou Mengyan looked at Euler’s annual financial report and risk assessment on the computer screen. After a while, he put the computer aside and took off his glasses.
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“It’s a mess.”
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The assistant in the front row turned around and smiled helplessly. “No one in Euler dared to take over. If you don’t plan to participate, it will be declared bankrupt soon.”
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Zhou Mengyan slowly wiped the lense of his glasses, “Others want to accept it but it depends on whether they have the strength to swallow it.”
With a certain technical foundation, Ruan family with its own technical barriers, had become an unshakable luxury watch manufacturer in the last century and a century-old company.
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However, because of its single product structure, it gradually lost its competitiveness and the aggressive policy of increasing leveraged loan expansion caused sudden cash flow problems. To make matters worse, the former chairman, Ruan Yunshan became a vegetative person because of a car accident.
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The former prosperity was about to collapse.
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Other companies were reluctant to lend a helping hand because they considered their actual capabilities or were not optimistic about Ruan family’s prospects.
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The Fan Muno luxury goods group, once a rival, is now a tens of billions worth of business empire under Zhou Mengyan. It had just opened up in Europe and its market value had soared. Now the Ruan family had been eyeing it for a long time, like predator would to prey.
“The Ruan family heard that you were back in China, so they called me this afternoon after getting on the plane. Tomorrow is… the birthday party of the Ruan family’s little daughter.” The man heard this suggestive sentence and did not respond.
He swiped the phone and saw a message had come in ten minutes ago. A few seconds later, he closed his eyes and looked faint: “Go to Silitian City first.”
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At ten o’clock in the evening, the taxi stopped in front of the main entrance of Silitian City.
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Inside is one of the most prosperous private villa areas in Lincheng, surrounded by mountains and sea, the land is more expensive than gold.
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Ruan Yan got out of the car and stood on the side of the road. The rain was only slightly smaller than before.
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She took out her mobile phone, used the voice screen reading function, pressed the call button, and then dialed the “little uncle” number.
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After learning that she had to leave Ruan family’s house, she had no choice but to call her uncle, Chen Rongyu, who was far away.
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The other party was the younger brother of Ruan Yan’s biological mother, who was only seven years older than her but he is an old man at heart and he cares about her very much. The latter learned that she had been kicked out and let her live in his house first.
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However, the phone rang a few times, “The call you dialed was unanswered, please dial later…” It was the same for several consecutive calls .
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Ruan Yan couldn’t see her surroundings. She didn’t know what the environment was like. She was even more flustered. She only heard the patter of rain. She was like a boat drifting in the sea, unable to find a harbor to dock.
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Still in the rain, she felt cold all over and her mind became more and more confused.
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Suddenly a greasy voice from a middle-aged man came from her side: “Little girl, why are you standing here this night?”
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She smelled an extremely heavy smell of alcohol. She stepped aside and whispered, “I’m waiting for someone.”
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“Who waits for someone in the heavy rain? My house is upfront, why don’t you come to my house and sit down?” The other party’s hand touched Ruan Yan’s arm.
She backed away in fright, clenching her blind stick, “Don’t come… “
He looked at her and suddenly laughed: “Even though you’re blind, it’s okay ah~”
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Afraid, Ruan Yan suddenly appeared in front of a very weak light, then is the sound of the brakes was heard. It seemed there was a car parked in front of her.
The next moment, she heard the sound of a car door closing.
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The drunkard beside her had originally planned to harass her but for some reason he suddenly stopped, muttered incoherently while drinking and continued to walk forward.
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Ruan Yan stood beside the tree blankly and the sound of leather shoes stepping on the ground with water came from behind her ears.
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Step by step, as if approaching her.
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The footsteps finally stopped when they were close to her. Suddenly it stopped raining on top of her head.
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The coldness of the rain on her body gradually dissipated and she smelled a light and unfamiliar cedar wood scent in her nose, as if she were on a snow-capped mountain, clear and cool.
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The man held the umbrella and walked in front of her. They were only one step away.
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Raindrops fell on it and the sound of banging rain was heard. Under the dim street lamp, it was like a small golden firework blooming on the umbrella and withering by their feet.
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The man looked down at the girl who was soaked in the rain, and slowly let out a sound–
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“Ruan Yan.”