Finally, a legitimate excuse to move in and play house with Jiang Yu’an!

I stood grinning like a fool outside his tiny rental room, gazing up at him with expectant eyes. The poor guy let out a helpless sigh, stepping aside to make way. “Come in.”

My personal savings were more than enough to support the two of us, but Jiang Yu’an was stubborn to a fault and refused to touch a single cent of my money. From big gestures like buying me a necklace to tiny daily expenses like groceries, he worked his butt off at his part-time jobs to pay for everything himself.

On days without classes, he’d head out to work while I curled up at home in front of a small electric fan, trying my hand at cooking while waiting for my husband to return. On class days, we were attached at the hip, heading to campus together.

A few classmates who knew us ran over to scoop the tea:

“Zhizhi, how come we haven’t seen you with Zheng Xian lately? He’s been looking utterly miserable and in the absolute worst mood these past few days.”

I grinned broadly, staking my claim on the spot. “Because Jiang Yu’an and I are dating now!”

“Huh? A catch like you… and a guy like him…?”

My expression instantly hardened, switching straight into protective wife mode. “Watch your mouth. He is my official boyfriend.”

I glanced back. Not far away, Jiang Yu’an was standing with his eyes cast down, looking completely crushed. Oh, great. His chronic insecurity was flaring up again.

Even though we were in the same department, we had different majors. Whenever Jiang Yu’an had a lecture, I’d sneak in to sit beside him and audit the class. Calling it “auditing” was a stretch, though—mostly I just sprawled across the desk, doodling and messing around.

“Look at this!” I proudly showed off my masterpiece.

Jiang Yu’an paused, his gaze fixing on a chubby, round-cheeked little girl in the drawing. “This is…?”

“Jiang Ning.”

“Who?”

Leaning into his good ear, I whispered, “Our precious future daughter.”

He froze so hard he nearly tumbled off his chair, his entire face flushing bright red.

That evening, resting my head on his lap while playing on my tablet, I could clearly feel his restless anxiety.

“What’s wrong?” I rolled over, the old wooden bed creaking cheerfully beneath us.

“Zhizhi.” He looked down at me, his slightly cool fingertips gently pushing away stray hairs from my cheek, tucking them meticulously behind my ear. “No matter how hard I work right now, it’s still not enough. When we get married in the future, and when we have a daughter… I have to give you the best life possible. At the very least, it can’t be a downgrade from the life of luxury you’re used to.”

Staring up at him, I instinctively asked an airheaded question: “Wait, so you do finally believe I transmigrated from the future?”

For a guy who smiled about once a century, he actually let out a soft laugh. “Yeah,” he whispered softly. “I believe you.”

The very next day, a fleet of sleek black luxury cars and a swarm of men in tailored suits descended upon the poor, narrow alley. Jiang Yu’an had been reclaimed by the Jiang family—much earlier than in my past life.

I didn’t feel like going back to the Jiang estate with him to face all that family drama, and he wasn’t comfortable leaving me alone in that tiny rental room either. So, I packed my bags and headed straight back to the Xu family home.

“So you finally broke up with that dirt-poor boy?” My mother sat elegantly sipping her tea, her face practically screaming: Told you so.

I pretended to wipe away tears, playing along to stall for time. “Yes, Mom. We broke up.”

She nodded in satisfaction. After a relentless barrage of my sweetest whining and pouting, she finally agreed to restore her precious daughter’s financial freedom.

I immediately moved back into my condo. Zheng Xian, having the sniffer of a bloodhound, showed up at my door the very night I moved back. Standing there with his arms crossed, he oozed arrogant gloating:

“Poverty ruins love every time. See? I told you this is exactly how it would end.”

I shrugged indifferently. “Thanks for the input, but we haven’t even registered our marriage yet, so we aren’t husband and wife.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Zheng Xian choked out.

Seeing me about to slam the door in his face, he quickly jammed his foot in the doorway, frantically trying to explain himself:

“Look, Xu Zhizhi, I’ve been thinking things over lately. Someone like Lin Xi isn’t worth hanging out with—I mean as a friend. The other day she broke her leg and called me to pick her up. But when I got there, turns out she had called five other guys too, and she called every single one of them her ‘good bro.’ Two of them were actually her official boyfriends! Her private life is… well, an absolute mess. I cut ties with her. Look, we’ve known each other for so many years. Can’t we just make up? You don’t have to be so heartless, do you?”

“What if I like being heartless?” I replied coldly.

Seeing my deadly serious tone, he went speechless for a few seconds before coughing awkwardly to cover his embarrassment and switching topics:

“There’s a big business gala tomorrow night. Are you going?”

At nineteen or twenty, we second-generation rich kids were already expected to start learning the ropes of the family business. I was still hesitating when he added another line:

“I heard the Jiang family is sending a representative this time. It’s supposed to be a massive event.”

Hearing my firm response, Zheng Xian raised his eyebrows with a smug smirk, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

The next evening, dressed to the nines in a stunning gown, I headed out for the gala as planned.

The second I stepped out my front door, I spotted Zheng Xian posing casually against his luxury sports car. Seeing me, he waved me over.

My face went blank, and I stared at him with sheer disgust. “What on earth are you doing here?”

Zheng Xian froze. “Didn’t you agree to be my date to the gala?”

“Um, excuse me? Who said that? I’m taken, in case you forgot.”

“Didn’t you say you two broke up?! Xu Zhizhi, are you messing with me?!”

Ignoring his selective hearing, I let out a soft scoff and stepped straight into my family chauffeur’s car, leaving the scumbag fuming all by himself.

But I had underestimated Zheng Xian’s lightning-fast snitching speed. The second I set foot in the ballroom, my mother appeared with an icy-cold expression—looking like she wanted nothing more than to twist my ear right off.

“You clever little thing, actually daring to lie to me?” My mother hissed under her breath, gripping my arm tightly. “What kind of spell did that poor loser put on you? Everyone else is trying to climb the social ladder, yet you’re obsessed with picking wild weeds! When you’re crying your eyes out in misery later, don’t come blaming me!”

Suppressing her rage, her eyes scanned the hall like radar. “Look around! So many talented young heirs from suitable families. You better pick one out tonight.”

Right on cue, Zheng Xian squeezed his way over, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Auntie… actually, there’s still me.”

“Oh, Little Xian.” My mother gave him a side-eye. “You should also look around and see if there’s a young heiress to your liking.”

Zheng Xian turned red. “Auntie, that’s not what I meant…”

My mother let out a long sigh. “Well, that’s what I mean. You two are only good for being drinking buddies—dating is out of the question.”

Back when I was chasing Zheng Xian like a pathetic puppy, my mother had seen every painful second of it. Shut down so smoothly by an elder, Zheng Xian shut his mouth and didn’t dare say another word.

The gala officially kicked off in a buzzing atmosphere of clinking glasses and networking chatter. My mother was like a battle-hardened warrior on a mission, dragging me around by the hand to blind date candidates left and right.

I whimpered helplessly, “Mom, please tone it down. I’m practically a married woman!”

“I heard the newly found crown prince of the Jiang family is attending tonight too,” my mother whispered into my ear. “Make sure you put on your best behavior later. Who knows—maybe love at first sight will strike!”

Still refusing to give up, Zheng Xian tagged along like an annoying third wheel, letting out a sarcastic scoff. “Auntie, with Xu Zhizhi’s… single-celled brain, there’s no way a guy like the Jiang heir would ever spare her a second glance.”