MAPF Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Post-Marriage Rules – What’s the Big Deal with Seven Times a Week?

The banquet concluded.

A cold wind whistled at the hotel entrance. Ladies in evening gowns donned heavy furs, while the gentlemen had to maintain their composure as they waited for the valet to bring their cars.

As the guests gradually departed, a black, extended limousine pulled up in front of Xie Shiwei and his group. The driver was there to take Xie Shiwei and He Qin to their new residence.

Xie Tian’an had arranged for a family doctor to come for a consultation. Chen Ning offered to accompany Xie Shiwei back to see the doctor, saying she wouldn’t feel at ease otherwise.

No one objected, and the three of them got into the car. The Lincoln made a turn and drove out of the hotel garden.

Once Xie Tian’an was also picked up, He Qin’s adoptive mother’s forced smile immediately faded. She turned to her husband, exasperated. “Old He, our son is sacrificing so much for the family, and you have to bring up Bai An and say inappropriate things. You don’t consider our son’s feelings at all! You’re so dense!”

He Qin’s adoptive father looked bewildered.

He Qin’s adoptive mother sighed. “Bai An is close to He Qin; they have a good relationship. It’s always been a thorn in Xie Shiwei’s side. It’s fine if you remind our son privately to be mindful, but bringing it up in public will only embarrass Xie Shiwei. If you offend the Xie family, won’t our son be the one who suffers in the end?”

He Qin’s adoptive father was clueless about social graces. He had thought that saying that would put the Xie family at ease. Hearing his wife’s words, he realized he had said the wrong thing again. Frustrated, he smacked his palm. “Ah, I messed up again. I need to be more careful with my words in the future.”

He Qin’s adoptive mother said helplessly, “What’s done is done. We can only pray that He Qin can get by smoothly in the Xie family.”

Xie Shiwei was a penniless wretch who had never sat in a luxury car. The moment his butt touched the Lincoln’s leather seat, he did his best to resist the urge to pull out his phone and take a picture.

The driver in the front row warmly inquired about Xie Shiwei’s health and then started asking him questions.

Whether the floor in the city center duplex apartment should be made of wood or marble, which tony in which hair salon he wanted to go to for his next dye job… things like that.

This imposter Xie Shiwei didn’t know the original’s preferences. To avoid being exposed, he was vague, saying “Whatever, it’s all good” and “I’ll leave it up to you.”

The driver was surprised. “Shiwei, when did you become so easygoing?”

Xie Shiwei paused.

Maybe it was just him being sensitive, but he felt like the driver’s words were sarcastic.

“It’s fine to not be picky about the wedding, but don’t wrong yourself in the future. The Liu family boy who confessed to you last time found me crying yesterday. He burned the wedding invitation in front of me, saying you were too heartless.”

Indeed…

Worthy of being the number one wealthy family in Jiangcheng, even the driver didn’t need to give He Qin any face.

Xie Shiwei, feeling exhausted, tried to salvage the situation. “What are you talking about! I am picky. I chose carefully.”

Meaning, He Qin was definitely the husband he had chosen after careful consideration.

The driver didn’t want to offend the young master. He hummed and didn’t say anything more. Chen Ning also felt that the driver’s words were inappropriate and steered the conversation elsewhere.

He Qin, humiliated by the driver, acted as if he hadn’t heard any of it, silently gazing at the traffic outside the window. His facial contours were cold and lonely in the dim light.

Xie Shiwei quietly looked at him, feeling that He Qin seemed very lonely at that moment.

After about twenty minutes, the car left the bustling city center and drove to the mid-levels.

Trees swayed along the mountain road, and the lights on the ridge formed a line, winding up the road. A hidden intersection led to their destination.

The marital home was located on the back mountain of the scenic area, a three-story villa with a garden, swimming pool, and golf course. Behind it were layered mountains, and in front, the blue waves of the coast gently reflected the crescent moon.

Stepping out of the garage, Xie Shiwei stood at the door of his home, his legs weak, and completely understood what was meant by “shock and awe.”

The top-notch private residence that he had only seen in pictures on his phone now stood before him like a behemoth.

The architecture was exquisite, the crystal chandelier in the window cast a soft light, and the garden was meticulously maintained. A team of butlers stood by the long, pebbled driveway to welcome them.

And this would be his home from now on.

Chen Ning saw Xie Shiwei standing at the door, not moving, and asked strangely, “Shiwei, what are you daydreaming about?”

“Oh, I…” Xie Shiwei put away his country-bumpkin smile. “I was just thinking that you won’t be living here in the future, and I’m going to miss you.”

Xie Shiwei knew that the original’s stepmother always maintained a delicate balance with the original, especially adept at playing the role of a gentle hostess in front of the stern Xie Tian’an.

She would agree to things Xie Tian’an didn’t approve of, secretly give him money for things Xie Tian’an wouldn’t let him buy, indulging and spoiling him to the point of being incorrigible. The goal was to turn the original into a useless bum, so that Xie Tian’an would look down on his biological son and have another child with her, shaking the original’s right to inheritance.

Unfortunately, Xie Tian’an had no intention of having more children, and Chen Ning’s plan failed. That was why she would later place her hopes on her biological son, Bai An, and He Qin.

The original didn’t know his stepmother’s ambition. He gradually let down his guard against Chen Ning’s sugar-coated bullets. Later, he became closer to this smiling but scheming stepmother than to his strict and critical biological father.

To deal with this woman, Xie Shiwei had too little information. For now, he had to maintain his persona, bide his time, and be sweet and ingratiating.

Hearing this, He Qin sneered silently, while Chen Ning was pleased. Her face shone with a maternal glow. “Auntie will miss you too. Then I’ll stay here tonight, close to you, so I can feel at ease.”

Xie Shiwei smiled. “Okay! Chen Ning, you’re the best!”

The butler led the three of them inside.

The villa was decorated in a modern style, with smart home features and art pieces everywhere, exuding money and luxury.

“Please wait a moment. Doctor Huang has just left the airport and is expected to arrive in twenty minutes.”

The speaker, Wang, was a middle-aged man nearing fifty, with a long face and triangular eyes, a tall, thin build, and a shiny forehead.

Chen Ning nodded, saying she understood, and said to Xie Shiwei and He Qin, “Shiwei, go upstairs and rest. I’ll call you down when Doctor Huang arrives. He Qin, stay and chat with Auntie for a while.”

Watching Xie Shiwei leave, Chen Ning played a video for He Qin. “He Qin, this is the surveillance footage from the Resort three days ago. Take a look.”

He Qin approached to watch the video.

In the surveillance footage, a man was carrying a basin of water with cold mist rising from it. He started pouring it from the steps of the villa’s back garden, all the way to the edge of the swimming pool.

In the winter, Jiangcheng’s water turned to ice easily. The water immediately formed an icy path leading to the pool.

A minute later, Xie Shiwei appeared. As he walked down the steps, he slipped and fell awkwardly, rolling down the icy path into the pool with a splash, falling into the deep end, and screaming in terror.

At this point, Chen Ning turned off the video, her expression serious. “He Qin, Shiwei was born prematurely. He had three heart surgeries when he was born, and since then, he’s been constantly ill. Sometimes a fever would keep him in the hospital for a month. He’s most afraid of the cold. Even though I’m just Shiwei’s stepmother, I know these things.”

“I asked the person in charge of the party area of the Resort. The water in the pool is usually heated in the winter, but the water was freezing when Shiwei fell in, which means someone tampered with it.”

“And the person behind these actions, the one who poured the water, has confessed that it was Bai An.”

Chen Ning showed He Qin all the evidence, including videos and written records. He Qin frowned deeply.

Chen Ning said bluntly, “Bai An doing something like this shows that he’s wicked. For your sake, I’ll let him off this time, but if he tries anything again, we won’t tolerate it.”

“Also, don’t mention this to Shiwei. I’m afraid that he’ll do something rash if he knows the truth and cause trouble again. You’ve just gotten married, and everything should be stable. Just let him think it was an accident.”

He Qin’s face was divided into light and shadow by the light. “Understood.”

Their conversation was overheard by Xie Shiwei, who had secretly returned and was hiding behind the spiral staircase.

Chen Ning wanted to drive him away and play the role of a loving mother who feels sorry for her son in front of He Qin, so he would stay and see what he could find out. And he had indeed gained something.

The culprit behind the accidental fall into the water was Bai An. Xie Shiwei wasn’t surprised.

Before Chen Ning schemed for him, Bai An’s petty tricks were already several levels above the original. It was just that the author forced it so that He Qin chose to be blind to Bai An’s petty tricks.

But this time, with both witnesses and evidence, Xie Shiwei was curious about how He Qin would treat Bai An after discovering the truth.

At the same time, he also confirmed a key piece of information.

The current Chen Ning definitely didn’t know that Bai An was the biological son she had abandoned twenty years ago and who had become an orphan. Otherwise, she would never have sacrificed her biological son’s image in front of He Qin in order to play the part of a virtuous mother.

If he remembered correctly, Chen Ning accidentally recognized Bai An through a birthmark and acknowledged him as her son some time later. She used her biological son’s admiration for He Qin to incite him to become a third party, while she used her convenient position to steal Xie Shi Group’s most important business secrets and worked with He Qin from the inside out to destroy the foundation of the Xie family.

Recalling these plot points, Xie Shiwei’s mind became clear.

Now, in addition to finding ways to lower He Qin’s hostility towards him, he also had to prevent Chen Ning from interfering in the company’s affairs and expose her true colors as soon as possible, preferably getting her kicked out of the Xie family.

That way, no matter how she retaliated, it would at most lead to the predetermined ending of the main characters, Bai An and He Qin. The Xie family could definitely be saved.

After creating the persona of a loving mother, Chen Ning talked to He Qin about the cooperation between the two families.

Xie Shiwei was too lazy to listen. He tiptoed up the spiral staircase, pushed open the door to the room.

It was a large suite.

Facing him was a corridor with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the sea. Beyond that was the master bedroom, with a semi-open study on one side, also connected to the bathroom, a theater, and a game room, with all kinds of facilities.

Xie Shiwei quickly took a shower, changed into his home clothes, and went back to the room to wander around, seeing a corner of paper sticking out from the desk drawer.

He pulled it out to look. It was actually a “Post-Marriage Rules/Guidelines” written in the original’s own handwriting, with slightly ugly writing.

[He Qin is Xie Shiwei’s legal husband. He Qin must not avoid Xie Shiwei’s need for intimate contact. He needs to hug Xie Shiwei 5 times a day, kiss him 3 times, and have at least 7 sexual encounters per week (not to be perfunctory, and He Qin must satisfy Xie Shiwei’s various requests). If He Qin can’t do the above, Xie Shiwei has the right not to hand over the authorization for the use of the Crystalline Material to He Qin.]

The postscript included two handprints and signatures. Xie Shiwei’s name was written horribly, while He Qin’s was powerful, as if each stroke was filled with a hatred that wished to pierce the paper.

Xie Shiwei’s eyes twitched.

The original was such a limitless horndog…

But what’s the big deal with seven times a week? He Qin can’t do it!

The poor original was so silly that he didn’t even know this and treated He Qin like a great treasure, becoming cannon fodder for nothing.

Xie Shiwei glanced at the big bed covered with rose petals, slightly imagining the scene of him and He Qin doing that, and immediately got goosebumps all over his body.

No way, absolutely not!

Whoever wants that bed can have it. A strapping, handsome man like him can’t take that kind of abuse.

Xie Shiwei folded the paper back along the creases.

Anyway, He Qin also despised him. Since there was no intention on either side, he would find an excuse to invalidate this thing later.