They met at a private Chinese-style club.
Meng Chu still remembered her surprise upon entering at the sight of the small bridge and flowing water within.
After all, finding such a place in Shanghai was truly rare.
Cheng Jinyu had arrived slightly earlier and was already waiting in the private room.
“We have both coffee and tea here. What would you like to drink?”
After Meng Chu sat down, Cheng Jinyu looked up at her.
She glanced at the teacup before him and said softly, “I’ll have tea, then.”
The host follows the guest’s preference.
Cheng Jinyu personally poured her tea.
Meng Chu took a sip, finding the flavor rich.
After drinking, she smiled lightly.
“Actually, I don’t usually drink tea, so I can’t tell good from bad. If this is fine tea, my drinking it would be like a cow chewing peonies-a waste.”
Cheng Jinyu, who had been cool and composed, curled his lips slightly at her words.
Few women would willingly compare themselves to cows.
Setting down her cup, Meng Chu looked at Cheng Jinyu and pursed her lips slightly.
“You asked to meet me…”
Before she could finish, Cheng Jinyu suddenly interrupted, “I’m probably only a few years older than you. No need for formalities—just call me by my name.”
Cheng Jinyu. His name.
That day when she opened the door and saw him, that’s what she had called him.
Meng Chu felt it was too abrupt and didn’t comply.
It was Cheng Jinyu who saw through her thoughts and didn’t beat around the bush.
He looked at her and said, “I asked to meet you regarding what you mentioned last time. I said I’d consider it carefully.”
Meng Chu nodded.
She found it somewhat amusing, thinking he was being overly polite.
Even if he intended to reject her, he insisted on saying it to her face in person.
In truth, after returning home, she had reflected on her own words and realized how unrealistic they had been.
After all, normal blind dates were meant for building conventional families-marriage and children.
What she wanted, however, was to treat her blind date as nothing more than a tool—a means to reassure her mother.
Who in the world would ever agree to that?
“Let’s get married.”
Meng Chu had been lost in thought, mostly berating herself for her earlier recklessness.
She had only met him once, yet she had already spilled all her family affairs.
Now he was about to reject her…
Huh? Wait-what?!
Meng Chu widened her eyes at the man across from her, momentarily wondering if she had misheard.
But when Cheng Jinyu’s gaze met hers, his cool, sharp black eyes showed no hint of jest.
His tone was matter-of-fact as he continued, “I’ve given it careful thought. If this were a typical blind date, I truly wouldn’t have the time to nurture a relationship. But if your goal is marriage to ease your mother’s worries, then I believe we each have something the other needs.”
“I also need a marriage to put an end to my family’s arrangements.”
Cheng Jinyu kept his eyes on her.
“I know you’re a co-founder of Star Origin. Your company has already entered Series A funding and is in a phase of rapid growth. You likely don’t have time to waste on endless blind dates either.”
“Wait a second,” Meng Chu suddenly raised her hand.
The proposal felt like a bolt from the blue, sending her thoughts into complete disarray.
Marriage? Her and Cheng Jinyu??
She took a deep breath.
“Mr. Cheng, do you realize how many times we’ve met?”
“Twice,” Cheng Jinyu replied calmly.
Good, at least he remembered.
“And you’re proposing marriage?”
Meng Chu had thought her own suggestion last time was outrageous enough.
But apparently, there was always something more absurd waiting just around the corner.
Cheng Jinyu’s expression remained indifferent, as if discussing something trivial.
“If you marry me, the most important thing is that you can protect the company you’ve built.”
Meng Chu froze.
“Do you know what investors fear the most?”
Meng Chu: “Do enlighten me.”
“Two things,” Cheng Jinyu said with a faint smile.
“First, the founder dying. Second, the founder getting divorced. Because either could completely derail the investment.”
“If you marry me, you can rest assured—I have absolutely no interest in your shares in Star Origin. If you’re still considering other blind dates, I doubt anyone could offer you a better deal than I can.”
He might as well have said outright: I’m wealthy, so I won’t covet your stake.
Meng Chu quickly clarified, “Just to be clear, you’re the only person I’ve ever been set up with. There are no other candidates.”
Much less any comparisons to be made.
This time, Cheng Jinyu gave a slight chuckle. “Even better. That saves you time.”
Meng Chu: “…”
This was absurd. Fucking absurd.
Even someone as unflappable as Meng Chu couldn’t help but swear internally.
It was after she finished venting that she suddenly realized.
This absurd situation actually held a trace of logic.
First, the other party was Cheng Jinyu.
She could completely rule out the possibility of him being a scammer.
Second, when he said he wouldn’t covet her Star Origin shares, she could fully believe him.
After all, he was the founder of Cloud Trace Capital, with a net worth that dwarfed hers countless times over.
If she proposed a prenuptial agreement, he would undoubtedly agree.
Because he’d be more worried about his own assets being divided.
* * * * * *
His looks and height were so outstanding they needed no elaboration.
If her mother saw that her future partner was someone this exceptional, she wouldn’t lose sleep from anxiety.
But as countless reasons flashed through her mind, she desperately tried to hit the brakes.
Something this absurd shouldn’t even be considered.
According to the criteria she’d set for blind dates, how could anyone in this world possibly agree?
Yet now!
Someone had actually appeared.
Like her, he was burdened by family expectations, equally consumed by work, unwilling to waste time on blind dates, and uninterested in what the other possessed.
They each had something to gain.
Someone please knock her out.
Otherwise, she was afraid she might actually open her mouth and agree.
And Cheng Jinyu across from her seemed to have noticed her hesitation. In the end, he said softly,
“We can sign a prenuptial agreement to protect everything that belongs to each of us.”
This was his reassurance.
“Alright, I’ll consider it carefully.”
This was Meng Chu’s final reply.
And this reply meant she was already hesitating, weighing the proposal Cheng Jinyu had put forward.
So by their third meeting, they had brought their respective lawyers to draft the prenuptial agreement.
During the preparation of the agreement, Meng Chu had countless opportunities to call it off.
But she never did.
On the day they signed the prenuptial agreement, she and Cheng Jinyu officially registered their marriage.
A marriage that skipped the time-wasting process of cultivating feelings―rational and swift to the point of being startling.
From then on, Meng Chu’s life took a sharp turn onto a track entirely unfamiliar to her.
Yet it wasn’t until today that she suddenly realized she had mistaken the person and boarded the wrong car from the very beginning.
“You analyzed the pros and cons of this matter for me, and I agreed to the marriage myself. So today, you’re saying—”
“I shouldn’t be questioning you?”
Meng Chu retorted.
Cheng Jinyu looked up at her.
“Is mistaking your blind date partner that important to you?”
Meng Chu was taken aback.
In the context of their marriage, it actually wasn’t important.
Even if she hadn’t mistaken her blind date that day, she still wouldn’t have married.
Because it wasn’t about the blind date-it was because the other person was Cheng Jinyu.
He had given her his promise and convinced her.
“What bothers you is that I deceived you, right?”
Cheng Jinyu voiced the thought in her heart directly.
Meng Chu met his gaze.
“I thought we could be honest with each other.”
Honest?
The word seemed to strike Cheng Jinyu.
The man, who had been standing several steps away, suddenly walked toward her.
Meng Chu remained by the window.
She expected him to stop, but as he drew closer, she instinctively took a step back.
Her waist pressed against the interior railing in front of the glass window, leaving her no room to retreat further.
But Cheng Jinyu didn’t stop until his hands rested on the railings on either side of her, effectively encircling her within his embrace.
This was the first time Cheng Jinyu had displayed such dominance and proximity in front of her.
So close that their breaths nearly tangled together.
“You…”
Meng Chu raised her head defiantly.
When his eyes lowered slightly, there was an inexplicable softness in his gaze, and even his voice softened along with it: “Meng Chu, I apologize for keeping this matter from you.”
His sudden, earnest apology caught Meng Chu off guard.
“But if I had been honest from the start, would you still have considered my proposal?”
Cheng Jinyu looked down at her.
Meng Chu hesitated.
The marriage proposal had already been abrupt to begin with.
If she had known back then that Cheng Jinyu wasn’t even her intended blind date, she felt she would have refused.
“You see, you hesitated. That’s exactly why I was worried.”
Meng Chu was surprised to hear him use the word “worried.”
This time, Cheng Jinyu didn’t avert his gaze.
He took half a step back, bringing his eyes nearly level with hers.
“I was worried about losing you,” he said, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly before he added, “this marriage partner.”