You Must Marry Me! - Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Sitting in Yan Yiyun’s car, Qi Zhen felt a little awkward.
She had no idea how things had escalated to this point.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she thought, Yan Yiyun invited me in front of all our coworkers—could I really have refused and embarrassed her?
Yan Yiyun, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be thinking about any of that. Sitting beside her, she held up her phone and said, “Send me your address.”
Qi Zhen complied and sent her home address, then quietly sat beside her, watching the scenery outside the window.
After receiving the address, Yan Yiyun passed it to the driver. The Mercedes pulled out of the parking lot, turned onto the road toward the old city district, and headed to drop Qi Zhen off.
They used to live in the same compound, but when the housing there became uninhabitable, Qi Zhen’s family moved into a high-end residential community in the city center. The apartment was the only valuable asset the Qi family managed to keep after a serious illness struck the family.
Qi Zhen had considered moving—selling the apartment and buying a smaller one in a less upscale neighborhood. That way, life would be more financially manageable. But her parents and grandparents were used to big houses, and with so many family members, downsizing wasn’t easy. So Qi Zhen gave up the idea and focused instead on earning more money.
Sitting in Yan Yiyun’s car, she felt a small sense of relief that she hadn’t sold the apartment back then.
At least this small twist of fate wouldn’t allow Yan Yiyun to see the hardship she lived in. Her fragile pride found some comfort in that.
When the car stopped at the entrance of Jianghe Residence, Yan Yiyun glanced at the golden letters at the gate and said with excitement, “Oh, I know this complex. My family owns property here too—it’s great for both investment and living.”
Qi Zhen nodded. “The environment is really nice.”
Jianghe Residence had tight security. Qi Zhen rolled down the window, and once the guard recognized her face, he allowed them through.
The car stopped in front of her building. Qi Zhen grabbed her bag and, seeing Yan Yiyun looking at her with eager eyes, softened a little. Her tone also became gentler.
“I’m heading up now. I’ll bring you some stir-fried beef with chili peppers tomorrow for lunch.”
Yan Yiyun immediately lit up and waved happily. “Yay! Great! What do you want to eat tomorrow? I’ll tell Aunt Li.”
“Anything’s fine,” Qi Zhen said with a warmer smile, touched by her sincerity. “Don’t go to too much trouble.”
As soon as Qi Zhen opened the door, her mother came to greet her, visibly nervous. “You’re back? Was work busy today?”
Seeing the anticipation in her mother’s eyes, Qi Zhen felt a familiar wave of helplessness. It was a feeling she’d been having often lately—after all these years of hard work, she still couldn’t give her mother the life she wanted. It was crushing.
“It was fine,” Qi Zhen said after a brief pause. “Everything’s been going well lately.”
She hesitated but ultimately didn’t tell her mother about the internal promotion opportunity.
What if she mentioned it and then didn’t get the job? Her mom would just be disappointed again.
Qi Zhen glanced at the dinner table. There were three dishes: stir-fried dried tofu, sautéed Chinese lettuce, and crispy fried yellow croaker.
The dried tofu had gone cold, its surface a dull brown, looking quite dry. The lettuce sauce had started to congeal and lost its fresh, glistening appearance. Only the yellow croaker was still hot and fragrant, crispy on the outside and rich with umami flavor.
…Just like always.
Noticing her gaze, her mother looked a little guilty and said, “I made pork bone soup… and some pork chops. But your dad said he was starving, so he ate first.”
Qi Zhen nodded. Of course she wouldn’t complain—her father had been ill for years and had a fiery temper. If he said he was hungry, of course he’d eat first.
Sitting at the table, she picked up her chopsticks and asked, “Did you eat yet?”
“No,” her mother replied, sitting beside her and chewing on a piece of dried tofu that was now tough and dry, hard to swallow. “How was lunch with your colleague today?”
Qi Zhen hadn’t expected that question. But thinking about it, it was a normal thing for her mother to ask. She paused for a moment, then replied slowly, “It was nice.”
In fact… it had been too nice.
Yan Yiyun was cheerful and outgoing, and even someone as cold as herself didn’t feel awkward eating with her.
At first, Qi Zhen thought she’d only been invited to peel shrimp for her. But it turned out Yan Yiyun peeled them herself, quickly and skillfully—she didn’t need any help at all.
She really just didn’t want her to eat cold leftovers from a broken microwave.
Yan Yiyun’s smile was like sunshine.
Whenever she looked at Qi Zhen, there was a strange gentleness in her eyes, like they’d known each other for a long time. There was a rare kind of patience in the way she treated her.
But Qi Zhen knew exactly what kind of person Yan Yiyun was.
Since arriving at the company, she’d stirred up waves of change, shaking up the comfortable status quo. The senior executives all kept their heads down, afraid she’d catch any of their mistakes.
Even so, Yan Yiyun never seemed satisfied.
Her meetings were intense and packed with substance—she demanded real solutions, not empty talk. No one could get by just coasting anymore.
She was ruthlessly efficient at work and didn’t go out of her way to be friendly with coworkers either—she was usually aloof.
And yet that didn’t stop the staff from being obsessed with her.
As they said: the heiress, with jet-black hair, red lips, and a cold beauty—wasn’t that exactly what people loved?
To be fair, it wasn’t wrong.
Her long black hair flowed down past her chest in natural waves. She had great fashion sense, always dressed sharply, with flawless makeup that gave her a strong, commanding presence—she was the kind of person you couldn’t look away from.
Qi Zhen certainly couldn’t look away.
She’d seen her from a distance on her very first day at the company and thought: What a stunning woman.
But she’d only dared look once.
Qi Zhen knew her life didn’t allow for dreams or distractions, especially not about someone like that. Soon, the office buzzed with gossip that the beautiful newcomer was the company heiress.
So, naturally, she assumed they had nothing to do with each other.
Qi Zhen refocused on work and doubled her efforts, hoping to climb out of her current hardship.
After finishing dinner in silence, she washed the dishes and said to her mom, who was on the couch scrolling through her phone, “I’m going to my room.”
Her mom looked up and asked, “Working overtime again?”
Qi Zhen nodded. She met her mother’s eyes, which were filled with unspoken disappointment and hope. Her mom probably wanted to just sit and chat after dinner—something so simple. But even that, Qi Zhen couldn’t give her.
If she didn’t do this freelance work, her income would drop too much.
Qi Zhen returned to her room, opened her laptop, and began editing a video. The deadline was tight, but the pay was good. She hesitated at first but accepted the job anyway.
These side gigs were all about connections—if she turned this one down, who knew when the next would come? And the client was being very generous.
She worked into the early hours of the morning before finally finishing.
The client had already been pleased with the rough cut; hopefully, the final version would be approved just as easily.
Letting out a long breath, Qi Zhen lay down—and fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.
Qi Zhen had said not to go to too much trouble, but Yan Yiyun was still nervous.
After dinner, she went straight to the kitchen and caught Aunt Li, who was preparing the next day’s menu. She eagerly asked, “Aunt Li, what’s for lunch tomorrow?”
Aunt Li had worked in the Yan household for many years and had never seen the young lady this excited about food. “We just finished eating, and you’re already thinking about tomorrow?”
“Your cooking is too delicious—I think about it every day,” Yan Yiyun said as she leaned over to massage Aunt Li’s shoulders and whined playfully. “I’m bringing lunch again tomorrow!”
“Is the company cafeteria that bad?” Aunt Li instantly grew serious and put down her notepad. “I’ll tell your dad—we need to fix this.”
“No, no, the cafeteria’s fine!” Yan Yiyun waved her hands. “But it’s nothing compared to your food!”
Aunt Li chuckled, clearly pleased, and teased, “You’re such a sweet-talker! What do you want tomorrow?”
“Stir-fried beef with chili peppers!” Yan Yiyun said without hesitation. “And Shanghai bok choy, shrimp balls with golden ham, and abalone chicken soup!”
“Having abalone chicken soup at work… thank goodness this is your own company,” Aunt Li said with a laugh as she wrote everything down. “Don’t worry, you’ll have it all by lunch.”
Although she called it “bringing lunch,” Yan Yiyun never packed it herself. Aunt Li would prepare everything at home, and a driver would deliver it just in time—still warm, at the perfect temperature.
But yesterday, Qi Zhen had been late by over ten minutes, and they had chatted in the break room, so the food had cooled down.
At exactly 10:55 a.m. the next day, the driver brought her lunch as usual.
Seeing that the food had arrived, Yan Yiyun decided to take an early break. She pushed aside her folders, picked up the lunchbox, and walked into the lounge. She carefully laid out the food on the table and kept a close eye on the doorbell, waiting for Qi Zhen to arrive.
Qi Zhen was punctual today. A few minutes past noon, she appeared at Yan Yiyun’s office door.
When Yan Yiyun opened the door, Qi Zhen gave her a warm smile and lifted her own lunchbox. “I’m here for lunch.”
Looking at her smile—which was the same as yesterday’s—Yan Yiyun still felt it had a different warmth.
They seemed to be just a little bit… closer today.
Trying to keep her excitement in check, Yan Yiyun calmly stepped aside and let Qi Zhen into the office.
Qi Zhen had clearly come right after her lunch break today—she wasn’t holding her usual coffee cup. Yan Yiyun turned and opened the mini fridge, pulling out two bottles of Coca-Cola. She set one in front of Qi Zhen and asked, “Do you drink Coke? I only have hand-ground coffee, and that takes a while to make.”
Already crashing the meal, Qi Zhen didn’t dare ask for a fresh cup of coffee.
She shook her head and smiled. “No need. Coke’s perfect.”
Yan Yiyun let out a quiet sigh of relief. Normally, her assistant made her coffee—and she had specifically hired a certified barista for that. If she had to make coffee for Qi Zhen herself, she was really worried she’d embarrass herself.
Qi Zhen, after years of hardship, had learned to read people well.
Seeing the subtle relief in Yan Yiyun’s eyes, she thought, I must have caused her some trouble.