Lu Xinyi yawned and stretched her arms as she stepped out of the bed the next morning. Finding herself alone in the bed, she wondered where her husband could be. She couldn’t even remember what time and how did they able to come home last night. After going through her usual morning routine at a slower pace, she went to the living area and saw Shen Yi already ready for work.

“You don’t have to accompany me today.” Shen Yi said as he fixed his cufflinks. “But I need you to go shopping for tomorrow’s party.”

“Party?” Lu Xinyi blinked. She slumped down to the couch with a sigh. At least her feet will be spared from high heels for today.

“Yes, I want you to join me for a business gala tomorrow night.”

“What? Aren’t you afraid that our marriage will be revealed too soon? I thought you want to wait for a few weeks.”

“Xinyi, they don’t have to know we’re already married. You will be my date tomorrow.”

“Fine.” Lu Xinyi stuck her nose in the air, arms crossed over her chest. Just when she thought she could have a break, he was giving him some tasks to do. “Is that all?”

Shen Yi smoothed his suit and adjusted his collar. The hateful necktie was forgotten on the coffee table.

“Find proper outfits to wear for the two of us and buy some clothes and bags for yourself. I’m sure you can manage with it.” He gave her a card with the name of the shop printed on it. Lu Xinyi guessed that it was an exclusive shop for VIP clients like him. ” Can you also prepare for our dinner tonight? I want to stay here with you tonight.”

His wife blinked in confusion. What did he mean by that?

Turning away from her, Shen Yi was nearly out of the door when he stopped.

“Xinyi, about last night… You aren’t joking about what you said, right?”

Lu Xinyi’s mouth popped open and was about to ask what he was talking about. Then it dawned to her she confessed to him just before she fell asleep last night. Pulling back, she tried to control her feelings that she knew would be apparent on her face.

“Yes.”

And there was a moment of silence between them.

Shen Yi coughed on his hand and turned his back to his wife to hide the blush on his face.

“I’ll see you tonight.”

Lu Xinyi needed to calm herself down. Now that she’d finally admitted her feeling to her husband, the business proposition they had before will drastically change by now. It didn’t matter if she was in love with him.

Okay, that mattered but to be fair, love wasn’t part of their contractual marriage. Shen Yi didn’t deal with love and she was pretty sure he’d never considered it when he proposed to her a marriage of convenience.

Lu Xinyi grinned happily to herself. Her husband might not be vocal about it but she knew what she’d seen. A man who despite all the bad rumors about his reputation, trying his best to please her. He wanted her to be happy. If that wasn’t a type of love then she had no idea what it was.

There was something between them, something that they could work on. Who knew that maybe this marriage of convenience might turn out to be real soon.

—

She was drowning in shopping bags and Lu Xinyi felt that she was being tortured by the frequent suggestions she was receiving from the sales attendants of the shop she was on. Still, she hadn’t found the right dress for him and herself for the gala. Shen Yi had made a call earlier to the shop and told them to give everything that she may like.

Everything was so expensive and she was having a headache already. Why the hell did a simple white shirt cost almost the same amount as her previous salary? She was baffled with the way rich people spend their hard earned money. This kind of lifestyle will kill her.

‘Money is no object. If you reach your spending limit, give me a call and I’ll give you another card.’

If she hadn’t received this message from her husband, she swore she wouldn’t have an idea of how wealthy he was.

“Shen Yi, I swear you can never make me do another shopping like this.” Lu Xinyi muttered to herself but one of the sales clerks heard her.

The woman gasped and then took a good look at the VIP card that Lu Xinyi presented earlier. It was indeed under Shen Yi’s name.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Did you say Shen Yi? The president of Shen Group of Companies?”

“Yes, I did.” Lu Xinyi didn’t know what was the big deal about it. There couldn’t be another Shen Yi aside from him, right?

“Oh, I’m surprised. It was just because of the rumors circulating around that he isn’t interested in women.” When the sales clerk realized how boldly she spoke about one of their VIP customers, she covered her mouth in shame. “Oh, I’m sorry! I’m really sorry! I didn’t mean to overstep my boundaries.”

And then something came into Lu Xinyi’s mind, if their marriage will be revealed soon, she must at least start some rumors about them.

“Can you keep a secret?” she asked sweetly. The woman cleared her throat and leaned forward when Lu Xinyi ushered her to move closer.

“Of course, ma’am.” The woman nodded emphatically.

“You see, Shen Yi is a very private person. He doesn’t like people talking and minding about his private matters. The truth is I’ve been his lover for months and we recently got married.”

The sales clerk gasped in Lu Xinyi’s revelation. Lu Xinyi then presented her left hand with her wedding ring.

“See? He gave me this ring when we got married. Just this morning he told me to shop to my heart’s content. Can you believe how sweet he is to me?” Lu Xinyi easily played the role as a spoiled and pampered wife.