Chapter 5: Announcing the Marriage

He’s already acting? Zhu Zhixi almost wanted to give him a thumbs up. With those looks and that acting ability, it was a waste for him to be in academia. He should join the entertainment industry and single-handedly raise the average education level of showbiz.

“Oh my, you two are so in love, and such a good match,” the staff member said, unknowingly consuming the fake sugar. “I work here, and it’s rare to see an Alpha and a Beta register for marriage. Most are AO couples. You must be deeply in love to have come together.”

Not at all. Zhu Zhixi wanted to hold back his laughter but couldn’t quite manage it. He had to turn his face to stare at Fu Rangyi’s icy expression, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing out loud.

Fu Rangyi clearly couldn’t listen anymore either and asked with a smile, “Are the formalities about done?”

“Yes, next up is the photo. The room is this way, I’ll take you.”

The two followed behind, walking side by side at a distance. After a couple of steps, Zhu Zhixi moved closer. He had a bad habit when walking, always liking to crowd the person next to him. No matter which friend it was, he would inevitably end up pressed against them as they walked.

It was the same now. Facing this unfamiliar “fiancé,” he had no sense of propriety or personal space. He stuck very close and asked in a low voice, “Your name, Rangyi, is it from the saying about yielding to the sick and infirm, right?”

The wise yield to the sick and infirm. To take on difficulties oneself and give convenience to others. His parents’ moral standards were too high, setting such a lofty bar for their newborn child.

Getting no answer, Zhu Zhixi glanced at him and noticed his expression was very ugly. What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?

“It’s none of your business.”

Zhu Zhixi almost rolled his eyes. This personality was the complete opposite of his parents’ expectations. He slowed his steps, silently mouthing behind Fu Rangyi’s back, “None of your business~”

“Here, the two newlyweds, please stand here.”

Following the instructions, the two walked into the studio one after the other. The photographer took a test shot and noticed the atmosphere was a bit strange. They were clearly a well-matched pair, but standing together, they gave off an air of reluctance, as if they were being forced together.

“Could you two stand a little closer? This is the photo for your marriage certificate, you know. Right, the tall, handsome one, a little more to the right.”

Fu Rangyi was still in his previous mood and didn’t want to cooperate.

“Oh my, smile a little sweeter, don’t be shy!”

Fu Rangyi stared silently at the photographer. Do you have to be so passionate about your job?

But he soon realized that this person wasn’t the most enthusiastic one in the room.

Upon hearing the instruction, Zhu Zhixi suddenly stuck to his arm like a little magnet, turned around, reached out, and helped pull at the corners of his mouth. “Smile a little.”

Then, he muttered under his breath, through gritted teeth, “Come on, brother, just smile. Let’s just get it over with, otherwise this will never end. There are real couples waiting in line behind us. Delaying their good fortune will bring bad karma…”

So Fu Rangyi curled his lips and stared back at him, speaking in a similar volume. “There were real couples waiting in line at the registration desk too. Someone who can’t even remember their own partner’s name has no right to judge me.”

Zhu Zhixi replied with a whispered smile, “I remember, I remember. I’ll never forget your honorable name for the rest of my life. Can we smile now?”

So Fu Rangyi curled his lips.

Zhu Zhixi took a deep breath, turned his face, and winked at the camera. “Sorry, my husband is like this. He just doesn’t like to smile. His facial nerves aren’t very developed.”

Hearing this title, Fu Rangyi almost choked. Zhu Zhixi was quite satisfied. Who doesn’t know how to use the enemy’s own tactics against them? And it was even the ‘Yi’ from Fu Rangyi.¹

“Haha, that’s the way! You look so much better when you smile. Come on! Three, two…”

Previously, hearing such a countdown meant nothing to Zhu Zhixi, but now he was inexplicably moved. But in the final “one,” he still managed a smile, even tilting his head slightly towards Fu Rangyi’s shoulder and cheerfully calling out “Cheese!”

The light flashed. For a fleeting moment, Fu Rangyi had the illusion that they weren’t at the marriage registration office, but at Disneyland. It all felt like they were just playing a game. After all, just a few minutes ago, this person couldn’t even write his name correctly.

Inexplicably, they had bumped into each other in this crowded amusement park, happened to be seated in the same row on the same roller coaster, and after it was over, were insistently awarded two warrior badges by the staff to celebrate their brave entry into the tomb of marriage.

Holding these two bright red “badges,” Fu Rangyi was completely unfazed. Zhu Zhixi clearly was too. He was now sitting at a table outside a convenience store, his mind completely occupied by the oden he had just ordered.

“Do you want some? The daikon is especially good. I can split it in half for you with my chopsticks.”

“No thanks, it’s all additives.”

“A little won’t kill you,” Zhu Zhixi muttered under his breath.

“You’ll die earlier.”

He had expected him to retort with his sharp tongue, but unexpectedly, he just bit into the daikon, shrugged, and said vaguely, “Oh, minor issue.”

Fu Rangyi didn’t interfere with his unhealthy diet any further. He opened the marriage certificate and looked at the photo.

“We’ll get divorced here too, right?” Zhu Zhixi suddenly asked.

Hearing this, Fu Rangyi looked at him. Zhu Zhixi’s expression was somewhat naive, confirming his earlier thought. This person really didn’t care at all.

When he had proposed a fake marriage, he thought he would be rejected. After all, it was definitely not a normal thing to do. But he had agreed in a heartbeat, nodding like a chick pecking at rice, as if he also desperately needed this fake marital status. To fend off family pressure? Or, like him, to escape something?

He couldn’t be bothered to delve deeper. After all, he had no intention of having any relationship with this young master beyond that of a business partner.

“Yes. On the divorce certificate, it will just be you, and no one will care if you’re grinning like a fool.”

“Don’t you worry.” Zhu Zhixi held up the marriage certificate, placing the couple photo next to his face. “I’ll definitely be smiling even happier than in this one.”

Fu Rangyi stared quietly. He found that Zhu Zhixi had a particularly striking face. Over the years, he had seen many people, many faces, each with their own plainness, like shallow marks drawn with a finger on a snow-covered car window, disappearing with a wipe of warm breath.

But this person was different. Every detail on his face was alive.

“Why are you staring at me?” Zhu Zhixi wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Did I get something on my face?”

“No, just zoning out.” After speaking, Fu Rangyi took the certificate from his hand, placed it with his own, and then took out his phone, intending to take a picture.

“Are you going to post it on Moments?” Zhu Zhixi leaned over to look. This person seems to really need a married status. He can’t wait to announce it to the world. Is he that desperate to get married?

Fu Rangyi didn’t answer, casually took a picture, and without even checking it, directly opened WeChat to edit his post.

“No, this photo looks too fake. No one announces it like this.” Zhu Zhixi took the certificate and also reached out to ask for the phone.

Fu Rangyi wanted to see what mischief he could get up to, so he simply handed it to him. “Then how should it be announced?”

“If you don’t want to show your face, you should at least show both hands.” Zhu Zhixi put aside his oden, laid the two marriage certificates flat on the table, and said, “I’ve seen others post it before. They stack their hands here, and sometimes they even add their cat’s or dog’s little paws. It’s super cute. But we don’t need to do that, I won’t be getting a pet with you…”

“Don’t you get tired talking so much every day?” Fu Rangyi couldn’t help but interrupt.

“Not at all. I have plenty of qi and blood,” Zhu Zhixi said, blinking at him, wanting to ask, Are you very weak?

Fu Rangyi was speechless.

“Um… anyway, you need two hands.” After speaking, Zhu Zhixi immediately added, “I know you don’t want to hold hands, don’t worry. I can stack my left hand on my right. I’ll roll up the sleeve of my right hand first, and then like this… see, it looks like two people, right? Hurry and take the picture. Hold the phone up a bit so you don’t get my arm in the shot.”

Fu Rangyi stared at his contorted, somewhat amusing posture, and glanced at the phone screen’s viewfinder. Zhu Zhixi was trying very hard to create a visual illusion to make his two hands look different, to the point of getting a little tired.

“Are you done taking it?” If not, I might have to change my posture.

Just as he was pondering, the next second, he heard Fu Rangyi ask softly, “Can I hold your hand?”

“Huh?” Zhu Zhixi looked up at him, stunned. Why are you being so polite all of a sudden…

“Your hands are too small. It looks fake.”

“Really?” Zhu Zhixi craned his neck to look at the phone’s viewfinder, then looked up at him. “So what do you want to do?”

The next second, his wrist was gently held. The hand that had been faking it on top was moved away. Fu Rangyi then extended his right hand and hovered it over the back of the remaining hand, with a small distance between them. A position that was very close, but not actually touching. After setting up the pose, he very quickly took the picture.

“Done.”

“Ah, okay.” Zhu Zhixi came to his senses and glanced at the hand that had been deemed too small, rubbing his fingers. Please, I can grab two emu eggs with one hand, catch a small crocodile with my bare hands, pitch a tent, start a fire, and rock climb… this is a very strong pair of hands!

After watching for a while, he suddenly remembered something. He turned over his palm. The countdown had stopped again. Strange. Does it stop even without skin contact? Is it that effective?

“Alright.” In a flash, Fu Rangyi had already posted to his Moments.

Zhu Zhixi didn’t have time to see it and leaned over to get a peek. “What? I haven’t even guided you on the caption. Let me see.”

“It’s already posted. Go look at it yourself.”

Zhu Zhixi paused for a second, then extended his index finger and poked him on the shoulder twice. “But we’re not even WeChat friends yet, husband.”

Fu Rangyi’s expression changed. “Can you not call me that?”

“What’s wrong? You don’t like it? I thought all you Alphas liked being called husband.” Zhu Zhixi was not afraid of death and even somewhat enjoyed teasing him. “Then you pick one. We’re married now, we should have a pet name, or it’ll be too fake. If not, you can call me husband and I’ll call you…”

“Not necessary.” Fu Rangyi frowned. “Please call me by my full name. Hearing inappropriate titles affects my mood.”

Professor Fu, have you ever been in a good mood? Did someone get jealous of how many papers you publish and secretly swap your happy pills for chocolate beans? How vicious.

But on the surface, he was extremely obedient. “Mmm, Fu Rangyi, could you please add Zhu Zhixi on WeChat and send over the marriage announcement photo of Fu Rangyi and Zhu Zhixi?”

How can there be such a person? The thought of having to cooperate with him for six months made Fu Rangyi’s already gray life seem a few shades dimmer.

However, Zhu Zhixi was rather pleased. After receiving the photo, he zoomed in and out, in and out, examining it carefully back and forth. His hand suddenly paused, and he looked up. “Ah, I found a bug.”

Fu Rangyi looked over. “What?”

“No wedding rings!” he said, holding up the photo. “Two bare hands. Whose wedding announcement photo doesn’t have wedding rings?”

In fact, he hadn’t noticed at first either, just looking at Fu Rangyi’s hand. His hands were very good-looking, long and slender, with well-defined knuckles. Soon, he noticed a scar on Fu Rangyi’s ring finger. The scar was actually very small and shallow, but against his fair skin, it was somewhat noticeable.

Only then did Zhu Zhixi realize what was wrong. Both their ring fingers were bare.

“Then let’s go buy them now,” Fu Rangyi said directly.

Oh my god, what a leap in social status for me. I’ve become the queen of the impatient king.

Zhu Zhixi waved his hands. “No need to be in such a hurry, right? It’s fine. It’s the first marriage for both of us. It’s normal to be inexperienced. We’ll know for next time.”

Fu Rangyi frowned again. He didn’t pick up the thread and instead lowered his head to search for nearby brand jewelry stores, quickly scanning them.

Rings, necklaces, and other jewelry—Fu Rangyi knew nothing about them. He was, however, very clear on which brands of suppressor bracelets and collars were good, had comprehensive functions, and high blocking performance.

After much thought, Fu Rangyi decided to ask the playboy Li Qiao for help. This person had a lot of dating experience and was keen on giving gifts. But before he could finish editing the WeChat message, a call came through. The caller ID said [Father].

He took a deep, silent breath, took off his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and answered with a grim face. “Hello?”

As expected, the other party would definitely contact him after seeing the Moments post. He just didn’t expect it to be so fast. A barrage of questions rained down on his ear.

Fu Rangyi leaned back against the chair, his hand on the table. There was still a little condensation on the tabletop from the oden paper cup. His fingertips gently swirled the water droplets. He remained silent until the other party finished asking, then he responded.

“It’s not ‘just found someone to marry’. This person is the marriage partner you hoped for, introduced by my advisor. Weren’t you very satisfied at the time? Have you forgotten already?”

He didn’t say the name, but his gaze unconsciously shifted in that person’s direction. At some point, Zhu Zhixi had left the table.

Without his glasses, his vision wasn’t as clear, and everything was blurry like a watercolor painting. The winter sun disappeared too quickly. At the end of the street, the sky was stained a purplish-blue, pink twilight sinking, and the warm, sweet smell of butter wafted from the corner bakery. On both sides of the road, the buildings gradually lit up. Outside the convenience store, the string of lights on the huge Christmas tree was also turned on, flashing in time with the Christmas carol melody.

Zhu Zhixi was squatting by the tree, a cat treat of unknown origin in his hand, teasing an orange cat. The starlight from the tree fell on his fluffy white down jacket, like scattered stars dancing on a snowy field.

Faced with his father’s slightly suspicious counter-question born of surprise, Fu Rangyi also answered with a counter-question. “Why would I get married if I don’t like him?”

A counter-question didn’t seem to be enough, so he added a casual lie. “I liked him from the first moment I saw him. He has a good personality, is good-looking, and we get along very well.”

When people lie, to increase their credibility, they always add a little bit of truth to the lie, like a quarter of a fresh strawberry on a slice of cake full of additives and vegetable cream.

As soon as he said it, he saw the big fat cat bite down on the already empty cat treat wrapper. Zhu Zhixi seemed to be afraid it would eat the plastic and pulled hard. He can’t even win a tug-of-war with a cat.

Fu Rangyi found it amusing and actually laughed out loud, his mind wandering. Therefore, when the person on the phone proposed a family dinner, he didn’t hear clearly and just vaguely agreed.

It was too late for regrets. Because his parents had already gone over his head and arranged it with the “in-laws.”

“You didn’t say we had to have dinner!”

Downstairs at the restaurant, Zhu Zhixi was still dazed, turning to look at Fu Rangyi. “So sudden? Do you have a fast-forward button in your palm that I can’t see?” Just like this countdown in my palm that you can’t see.

Fu Rangyi didn’t want to admit it was his mistake and said stubbornly, “Sudden? Which marriage doesn’t involve the parents meeting? Our order is already wrong.” We’re not some love-struck young couple stealing the family register to get married behind our parents’ backs.

Zhu Zhixi had nothing to say. The order has been wrong for a long time. Did it just start being wrong now?

He knew his dad was very satisfied with Fu Rangyi, but his brother was no pushover. Since childhood, not a single lie he had told had gone unexposed by this sharp-witted person. He didn’t want to be ridiculed by Zhu Zeran in front of so many people.

He couldn’t tell them about the countdown either. If there was no solution at all, he would have just told them, and everyone could have started preparing for his funeral early, throwing an earth-shattering farewell party. The key was that there was a turn of events now. If they knew, wouldn’t one of them laugh at him for being mentally ill, and the other secretly wipe away tears behind his back?

“I’m a bit unprepared… can we schedule it with uncle and auntie for next time?” He tried to slip away, but the collar of his jacket was suddenly grabbed from behind and he was pulled back.

Such strength! Zhu Zhixi straightened his jacket.

“My parents, my brother, your dad, and your brother are all here. Are you sure you want to stand them up at a time like this?”

With such a formidable enemy lineup, it seemed he could only die a heroic death.

Coming out of the elevator and arriving at the private room door, Zhu Zhixi took a deep breath. Through the door, he could hear the sound of chatting inside. The atmosphere was exceptionally warm, as if this wasn’t a brainless young couple who had decided to get married after meeting only once, but a pair of childhood sweethearts who had finally come together with their families’ encouragement.

Steeling himself, he was about to push the door open when Fu Rangyi stopped him. “Wait a second.”

“Hmm?”

Turning his head, Fu Rangyi gently held his elbow, lowered his head, leaned close to his ear, and said in a very low voice, “It’s not uncle and auntie. It’s Mom and Dad.”

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Author’s Note:

They’ve already met the parents. Cohabitation can’t be far off, right?

This book doesn’t have the common honest, ordinary Beta protagonist (reminding everyone of this in this chapter seems a bit late, lol, I’m sure everyone can see that Xiao Zhu is not honest at all, lol). Because in my view, Beta is a gender, not a personality. It’s also the most numerous gender, so they shouldn’t all be one type. There will definitely be quirky ones like Xiao Zhu. But the basic settings of an AB romance are still there: for example, Betas are not controlled by pheromones, have no heat periods, cannot be marked, etc., so a certain someone will go crazy in the later stages. After all, his partner is not only a Beta, but a very likable little Beta.

TL Note:

1. The phrase “use the enemy’s own tactics against them” is a translation of the Chinese idiom 以其人之道，还治其人之身 (yǐ qí rén zhī dào, huán zhì qí rén shēn). The first word of this idiom is 以, which is pronounced “yǐ”.Zhu Zhixi is pointing out that he is using a tactic (以, yǐ) against Fu Rangyi, whose name contains a character with the same pronunciation (“Yi”). He is satisfied because he is literally using “Yi” (the tactic) against “Yi” (the person), which is a form of giving someone a taste of their own medicine. ↩︎