It was not until Su Yang sat in the passenger seat of Xu Lize's Jeep Grand Cherokee with her backpack in her arms that she truly began to feel nervous.
She was soaking wet all over. As soon as she faced the car's air - conditioning vent, she started to shiver slightly. Even so, she still obediently pulled over the seat belt and fastened it carefully.
"Where to?" Xu Lize quietly turned up the temperature of the air - conditioner and asked her.
"Ren'ai Hospital. Thank you." Su Yang swallowed hard, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
"You're welcome." Xu Lize stared straight ahead. His well - defined fingers loosely held the steering wheel with ease.
The front space of the Jeep Grand Cherokee was actually quite roomy, but Su Yang still felt cramped, as if most of the oxygen was restricted.
In the confined car compartment, she could clearly feel the tension emanating from Xu Lize, like an invisible net floating in the air, silently waiting for willing prey.
Su Yang nervously shifted towards the car window. Suddenly, the phone in her pocket vibrated again.
Su Yang carefully answered the call. This time, it was the on - duty nurse calling her.
"Miss Su, the director has conducted a consultation on your aunt and advocates changing the medicine."
"Change it. We must change it!" Even though she knew the nurse couldn't see her, Su Yang still kept nodding, "How is my mother now?"
"Auntie is not out of danger yet, but after changing to a new medicine, two of the over - the - limit indicators have started to decline." The nurse paused for a moment, "Miss Su, the head nurse asked me to call you to say... the cost of the new medicine may..."
No matter how large the car space was, it was still limited. However, Su Yang's voice on the phone was soft and deep, not affecting Xu Lize at all. It was not a deliberate avoidance but rather a courtesy to the driver.
Xu Lize couldn't help but turn his head and take a look at her. Just this one glance caught Su Yang's flustered expression as she was also looking at him.
"Do you have something to say?"
Xu Lize was never a passive person. Moreover, Su Yang's hesitant expression after hanging up the phone was really easy to understand.
"Mr. Xu, you said you wanted to marry me just now. You weren't joking, were you?"
Su Yang's voice was very soft, with a hint of the gentle and delicate accent of the southern water towns. It was soft and pleasant to hear.
Xu Lize held the steering wheel and calmly replied to her, "I don't joke about marriage."
The man's cold voice hit her face, making Su Yang suddenly feel a sense of helplessness as if hitting a rock with an egg.
For a few seconds, she actually hesitated.
But thinking of Su Qian's outspoken words in the private room just now and the two calls from the hospital, Su Yang steeled herself, turned her head and asked Xu Lize, "If I marry you, what benefits will I get?"
"What benefits do you want?" Xu Lize was not at all surprised. On the contrary, Su Yang's answer seemed to be exactly what he had expected.
"I want money." Su Yang tightened her hands on her knees, looking solemn and upright as if taking on a crucial mission.
"How much does Miss Su want?"
"About 850,000..."
Seeing Xu Lize glance at her while waiting for the red light, Su Yang quickly explained, "Because the hospital's charging is on a stepped basis. My mother has just started chemotherapy. I don't know which medicines will cause rejection and need to be changed, so I calculated it according to..."
Xu Lize interrupted her, "One million. At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the Civil Affairs Bureau on Fenglin Road. Is that okay?"
Su Yang thought Xu Lize thought she was asking for too much, while Xu Lize was surprised that she could even be so precise with the amount down to the ten - thousand digit.
"O - okay." Su Yang nodded absent - mindedly.
She didn't expect the whole process to be so smooth. She almost forgot that this one million was the price she paid for her "single freedom".
"Okay, then I have a few things to note. Miss Su, listen?" Although Xu Lize's words were a question, his tone was unrefutable.
"Please tell me." Su Yang instinctively leaned back into the leather seat.
"First of all, our marriage is a real one. The marriage certificate is real, and the husband - wife relationship is also real. Of course, after you move in, we will sleep in separate rooms. You can rest assured about this."
Out of the corner of his eye, seeing Su Yang staring at him intently, Xu Lize continued, "We'll do a property notarization before getting the marriage certificate. Then we'll just get the certificate without a wedding banquet, no wedding ceremony and no wedding photos. But in the future, I may need you to accompany me to attend some necessary events. Of course, if you need me to accompany you to visit relatives and elders during festivals, just set the time in advance, and I can arrange it."
"I don't need that." Su Yang murmured softly after listening.
"What?" Xu Lize was concentrating on driving and didn't hear what she said for a moment.
"I said I don't need it. Except for my mother, I have no other relatives. Or... do you want to spend festivals and have meals with my father and Su Qian?"
When mentioning the Su family, Su Yang's expression became a bit stiff.
Xu Lize didn't answer. He pointed to the center console armrest box beside him and said, "There are my business cards in it. Take one. Add my phone number later, and then give me a bank account number and the name of the bank where the account was opened. I'll transfer the money to you later."
Su Yang gently opened the armrest box as he said. She found the white business - card case in the neatly organized box and then took out a card.
By the time she closed the box lid, she had already adapted to the temperature in the car, and Xu Lize's gentle and polite attitude also made her relax a lot.
The quiet space made Su Yang's thoughts drift again. Suddenly, out of curiosity, she asked Xu Lize, "Mr. Xu, why do you have to marry me?"
The car just happened to stop at a red light. After gently stepping on the brake, Xu Lize turned his head and looked directly into Su Yang's bright star - like eyes without any concealment, "I need the marriage certificate to exchange for 10% of the company's shares."
"Must it be... a marriage with someone from the Su family?"
Su Yang was a bit surprised. In her impression, Su Quansheng's business was doing okay, but it was definitely not good enough to attract others to curry favor with him.
Although she didn't quite know Xu Lize's background yet, just from his previous conversations with Su Quansheng and Su Qian, she could tell that this man's status and family background were definitely above Su Quansheng's.
"Have you met your grandfather?" Seeing Su Yang shaking her head blankly, Xu Lize kindly explained, "Your grandfather and my grandfather were life - and - death friends. Your grandfather passed away early, and my grandfather died the year before last. When he passed away, he left 10% of the company's shares and a will. To get the shares, one must marry a daughter of the Su family and exchange a notarized marriage certificate for the shares."
Su Yang suddenly understood. She suddenly felt that compared with Xu Lize's 10% shares, the one million she asked for was simply insignificant.
"Then can I understand it as... your marriage with me is just a cooperation?" Su Yang tilted her head and asked.
"You can understand it that way." Xu Lize nodded calmly, as if the two of them were not discussing a major marriage matter but the weather outside the car window.
"Then... can we get divorced after getting the marriage certificate?" Su Yang asked again.
Xu Lize stared at her intently. His eyebrows were solemn, like a deep and calm pool with no ripples.
"My grandfather's will clearly states that if I get divorced within ten years, all the equity I currently hold will be invalidated."
Su Yang gently bit her lip and mumbled, "So it's a long - term cooperation."
This time, Xu Lize heard what she said clearly.
"That's right. It's a long - term cooperation." He hooked the corner of his mouth and thought that Su Quansheng's eldest daughter was much more reliable than the noisy and arrogant youngest daughter.
"Then... nice to cooperate, Mr. Xu."
Su Yang carefully stretched out her right hand. Her neatly trimmed fingernails were round and plump, with a natural pink tint at the fingertips.
Xu Lize didn't respond verbally but reached out his hand and shook hers briefly.
To his surprise, there were a few thin calluses on Su Yang's seemingly delicate palm.
The rough feeling made Xu Lize suddenly realize that this little woman he had brought into the car by himself was not a pampered canary.
A sudden sense of anxiety welled up in his heart. Could this little woman who had never been in the upper - class circle really bear the pressure of becoming Mrs. Xu?