In the height of August, the Civil Affairs Bureau in the north of city was hardly populated.
The signs at the entrance were quite eye-catching — "Marrying doesn't equate happiness, and being single doesn't mean unhappiness. If they don't love you, even the law can’t protect you".
Right under this rolling screen sign was Jiang Man, standing under the blazing sun, yet with a heart as still as water, showing no signs of impatience.
Her fair skin glowed luminously under the sun's rays, the daunting radiance surrounding her effervescent beauty made it hard for people to look away.
Ding, ding, ding—
During her wait, her phone kept alerting her to new messages.
[Miss, are you really going to get a shotgun wedding? Forget about your gold-digging birth parents!]
[Miss, you are the sole heir of Mr. King, with a net worth of trillions, why do you need to bear this hardship?]
...
Jiang Man glanced at the group messages, her calm face untouched by any ripple.
Typing swiftly with one hand, she replied uniformly: [Consider it a repayment of their kindness in bringing me to this world. Don’t worry, I won't be at a disadvantage. Don’t let my dear father know about this!]
Just as she hit the return key, sending the message out, a low-profile black Maybach slowly pulled over in front of her.
The front passenger door opened first, and a man in a suit got out quickly and hurriedly opened the rear door.
Following that, another man, dressed similarly in a suit but with a more distinguished bearing, got out of the car.
The man appeared to be around thirty, both his physique and skin were incredibly well-maintained, his tall and long body looked like a walking riffle, more like the most top-tiered model on a runway.
He was wearing sunglasses, obscuring the details of his facial features. However, his distinct jawline and the stern expression around his mouth served as a silent warning—he was not to be trifled with.
"Are you Jiang Man?" The man's voice was low and gloomy, carrying an awe-inspiring authority that allowed no defiance.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Man furrowed her brows as she scrutinized the man, a moment of doubt crossing her mind.
Hadn't her biological parents said she was to marry a forty-year-old toy factory boss?
This man standing before her—whether in age or demeanor—hardly resemble the said boss.
"Who are you?" She raised an eyebrow and asked hesitantly.
Without patience, Lu Xingzhou adjusted his shirt cuffs and interrupted her, stating, "I've only got fifteen minutes."
Jiang Man looked up in surprise.
The man called Lu Xingzhou, however, took great strides, passing her.
After a few steps, he turned around, removing his sunglasses perched on his nose, "For the certificate of marriage, I can only give you fifteen minutes."
He repeated, adding noticeable impatience to his tone.
Jiang Man turned dizzy and rushed to catch up, "Are you... that toy factory boss?"
She didn't remember the boss's name.
Her original plan was to marry and then divorce a month later.
The words 'toy factory boss' made Lu Xingzhou's eyebrows furrow. His deep-set and stern features paused for a moment before he curtly responded, "Something like that."
Their company's biggest project right now is 'Artificial Intelligence,' and various intelligent devices, which people in the industry jokingly refer to as 'toys,' are also available.
"You..." Jiang Man is still hesitant.
But Lu Xingzhou has already walked into the Civil Affairs Bureau, and his assistant keeps urging, “Miss Jiang, Mr. Lu has to rush to the airport later, so you'd better not delay."
Jiang Man glared at him: "It's your Mr. Lu who is late, he's the one causing the delay!"
With that, she strode off with determination.
Zhao Huai stood in astonishment. What a big talker Miss Jiang is, sort of intimidating, isn’t she?
...
Ten minutes later, Jiang Man walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau shoulder to shoulder with Lu Xingzhou.
Before getting into the Maybach, Lu Xingzhou seemed to remember something and turned around: "Our wedding house is at No.8, Xicheng Rongfu. The access code for the gate is my birthday."
After dropping this sentence, he spoke thriftily, not saying a word more, and got into the car.
Zhao Huai followed him into the car, which started quickly and spewed a long string of exhaust fumes.
Jiang Man frowned, opened the marriage certificate, and glanced at the man's ID number.
When she saw his date of birth, her frown deepened even more.
19930617.
So, he's really only thirty years old?
Jiang Man had just collected her marriage certificate when her birth mother's call came in.
The flattering tone was evident, yet a hint of reluctance was clearly heard, "Manman, your brother Yang suddenly has acute gastroenteritis and couldn’t go with you to collect the certificate today. Your mom checked the lunar calendar and next Wednesday is a good day. Brother Yang suggested to do it next Wednesday."
"Eh?" Upon hearing this, Jiang Man finally reacted.
No wonder she felt something was wrong; as it turns out, she married the wrong man!
"So, you're saying that the owner of the toy factory did not come to the Civil Affairs Bureau?" Jiang Man confirmed.
The voice on the other end of the phone responded hastily, "Yes, he got food poisoning at noon and was taken away by ambulance. You should hurry to the central hospital now. Brother Yang is going to be hospitalized for a few days, so you should take care of him."
Jiang Man looked at the red book in her hand and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.
Here she was, a top student from Harvard, how could she have mistakenly married like this?
Whatever! Since she married the wrong person, she would wait for Lu Xingzhou to come back, explain everything, and then hurry to get a divorce.
As for this Mr. Yang, after such turmoil, she no longer had the desire to marry him, even if they had only planned a one-month marriage period, she did not want to deal with it now.
"I'll talk about it when I get home." Jiang Man replied, her voice cold as ice.
The person on the other end of the line was taken aback and responded after a long pause, "Okay."
...
Jiang Man hailed a taxi and went home.
Her biological parents were ordinary folks residing in a common residential community.
When she got home, she explained to her family the mishap of mistaken wedding partner.
As expected, her biological father, Jiang Yueping, was livid, "Was this done deliberately? You messed up on who's to marry? Who could believe this, if word gets out!?"
"Oh dear!" Her biological mother, Hu Fangqin, was an immediate panic, "Mannie didn't marry, doesn’t that mean Rou Rou will have to marry now?”
Overhearing these words, Jiang Rou, who was sitting quietly on one side, teared up, "Mom, Dad, I don't want to marry that sleazy old man! He's sixty this year! I can't stand that old-person smell. Wuu wuu wuu..."
"Sixty?" Jiang Man remained calm, picking up the crucial information, "Didn't you say he was just forty?"
"Oh dear, Brother Yang looks young. Even though he is sixty, he looks like forty!" Hu Fangqin tried her best to explain.
But that only made Jiang Rou cry even harder, tugging at Jiang Yueping’s sleeve, "Dad… You must stand up for me..."
Jiang Yueping's eyes were ghastly, wide like bell, looking like a maddened leopard, "Regardless if he's sixty or forty, whoever we instruct you to marry, you should marry!"
"Do you think this is some old-timey arranged marriage?" Jiang Man felt relieved about her mistaken marital partner.
Seeing her biological parents' attitude, she even regretted searching for her family.
Had it not been for her biological parents seeking media and announcing the mistaken child swap twenty years ago, hoping to find their lost child...
And had she not been abroad, upon viewing such a sensational search for a lost child video, moved by the tearful appearance of her biological parents, she wouldn’t have returned!
Her adoptive father told her she was born with a heart condition, probably abandoned by her parents.
Her adoptive father paid a hefty price to cure her heart disease.
In fact, for these twenty years, she always harbored this slight hope, believing that her biological parents might not be so cruel.
It was only after she finally returned to her homeland to recognize her family that she realized she was naive.
Her parents were eagerly looking for their biological daughter, not out of fervent parental love, but because a lecherous old man had taken a liking to their adopted daughter. They were tempted by the 880,000 dowry offered by the lascivious elder, but reluctant to sacrifice their foster child. Hence, they sought their biological daughter for a replacement marriage.
After being separated for twenty years, would a biological daughter feel closer than an adopted one?
Jiang Man had thought, she was not someone to be trifled with. By going through with the marriage, it would repay her parents for their act of giving birth to her. From then on, she would sever all ties and have no more entanglement with them, at least that would be a clear closure.
But now, realizing she's been deceived, she didn't want to be the scapegoat anymore and substitute for Jiang Rou.
She cherished kinship, but her biological parents didn't!
"Anyway, I've already registered to marry someone else. Do what you please!"