SNOW CH4
Chapter 4: Iceberg Savior
“First, although the two parties have a marital relationship in the legal sense, there is no de facto marriage. They must maintain distance in private and shall not engage in any form of sexual harassment or assault.”
“Second, during the 6-month cooperation period, both parties must cooperate with each other to maintain a good partner relationship in front of anyone other than each other, and shall not disclose the contents of this contract to any third party in any form…”
Reading this, Liang Yi’en raised an eyebrow at Zhu Zhixi and reminded him, “Hey, you’re already in breach of contract.”
Zhu Zhixi said righteously, “What’s there to be afraid of? He doesn’t know, unless you go and tattle. Then my family’s side would really have no one left!”
Liang Yi’en smiled, flipped through the contract, and found the signature line at the bottom was still blank. “You haven’t signed yet?”
“Yeah, he said to let me look at it first, see if there’s anything to add, and then sign after confirming.”
It had been three days. If they didn’t sign soon, he was really afraid the whole thing would fall through.
Zhu Zhixi sighed whenever he saw the countdown. He had tried wrapping it with bandages or tape, but the thing just couldn’t be covered up. He also couldn’t stop himself from looking at it, just like someone addicted to their phone late at night can’t help but glance at the time in the top right corner—4:30? Just a little longer.
He didn’t have that much time left to play.
After a few days of observation, Zhu Zhixi had summarized some rules about the countdown:
- Most of the time, the countdown proceeds at a steady pace.
- If he is in the same space as Fu Rangyi, the passage of time slows down. The closer they are, the slower it gets.
- When physical contact occurs, the countdown will pause. The longer the physical contact, the longer the pause.
- Currently, no one else has the same effect.
Zhu Zhixi lowered his head and sent another text message to the number that didn’t even have a contact name, saying he had made up his mind.
“Marriage is no small matter. He’s an Alpha, and the only S-class in his family. In terms of physical fitness, you can’t compete at all. Aren’t you afraid at all?” As a long-time friend, Liang Yi’en knew his temperament well. When he got an idea, he would do anything, completely regardless of the consequences, like a child.
“What’s there to be afraid of? I’m a Beta. He has no reason to go for me when there are plenty of Omegas to choose from.” After speaking, he looked at Liang Yi’en. “You’re an Alpha, who would know better than you? Even during a susceptible period, a Beta is useless. Only an Omega with pheromones can provide comfort. What could he possibly want from me?”
As an adult Beta with rich life experience, Zhu Zhixi was not worried at all. “Besides, when I was wandering around the world, what remote place haven’t I stayed in? What kind of people haven’t I met? Would I be afraid of him?”
“What if he’s not a good person?” Liang Yi’en still found it strange. Top-A’s were rare. Even with no emotional experience, their families would start looking for a suitable partner for them based on pheromone compatibility from the age of 20. Yet Fu Rangyi had been single all these years and was now suddenly getting married through a blind date, and in such a hurry. There was clearly something wrong with this.
“Isn’t he a professor at your school?” Zhu Zhixi was impervious. “Didn’t you say the students all like him?”
Liang Yi’en sneered, “With his looks, how could the students not like him? Would they prefer that group of pot-bellied, balding old professors?”
“So I’m not losing out either,” Zhu Zhixi started to act. “At least no one will poke me in the back and say, ‘Oh my god, how could you be so blind as to find such an ugly husband! Don’t your eyes go black every morning when you wake up?'”
As he spoke, he snatched a carrot stick that Liang Yi’en had cut for the dog food and chewed on it. “When I take him out, I don’t need a long explanation for why I married him. That face is the most convincing reason.”
“That’s true.” Liang Yi’en couldn’t deny that. “You have no idea. When he was doing his PhD, he attended a top conference, and it happened to be during his susceptible period. He wore a bite guard during his presentation. I remember his hair was a bit longer then, he wore a black coat and rimless glasses. After it was over, photos of him were everywhere. The S University forum practically praised him as a celestial being…”
Zhu Zhixi’s mind drifted. He didn’t know about celestial, but he was his life-saving elixir, his miracle medicine.
“But speaking of which, you two do look quite good together. I heard his family background is good too, his parents are both in business. At first, I thought you were in an arranged marriage.”
No wonder Lao Zhu was pushing for it. So he wasn’t looking for a live-in son-in-law after all.
“What arranged marriage? I have no intention of working for the family. He’s already a professor, so he probably has no intention of inheriting the family business either.”
“That doesn’t prevent resource sharing. Marriage is no different from doing business these days. You’re so carefree now, but don’t let the act become real.”
Zhu Zhixi really didn’t want to hear anymore and tried to change the subject. “Sigh, I’m reminded of the little white dog I found at the police station entrance again. Hey, didn’t you say you found one too? Where’s the dog you found? Where is it, let me see?”
Unexpectedly, Liang Yi’en didn’t answer the question. “You’re changing the subject now. Do you think you could actually fall for him?”
Zhu Zhixi immediately declared, “Rest assured, absolutely impossible. His personality is my least favorite type.”
“What’s his personality like? I heard he’s very responsible towards his students, polite, not arrogant, and never uses his position as a professor to order people around.”
Speaking of personality, Zhu Zhixi laughed in exasperation. “Polite? He didn’t even bother to tell me I was at the wrong table during our blind date, and he was even sarcastic. And, I found that this person has very strong gender stereotypes. He just assumed I was an Omega right away. All that aside, the most important thing is, he looks super boring. You know I hate boring people the most.”
Listening to his barrage of complaints, Liang Yi’en’s frown deepened. He couldn’t understand. A celibate who didn’t even date was suddenly getting flash-married, and it was a fake marriage. The marriage partner was even a type he wouldn’t even choose as a friend. What on earth was he thinking?
These two both have something to hide.
“So why do you want to marry him?”
Hearing this question, Fu Rangyi suddenly fell silent. A moment ago, he had seemed very casual, indifferent, as if this contract concerning a major life event was just a few pieces of waste paper, less important than the bar menu in front of him.
“Hey, I’m asking you a question.” Li Qiao swirled his wrist, the pale gold martini sloshing in the glass. He smiled and stared at Fu Rangyi, repeating his earlier evaluation one by one: “Didn’t you say he looked unreliable at first glance, careless, with a strange personality, frivolous behavior, and a worrying mental state?”
Fu Rangyi was at a loss for words, not knowing how to answer. Should he say it was because he was momentarily stunned by the way Zhu Zhixi treated the waiter? Or because of the bracelet he was wearing?
Someone who adopts wild animals can’t be that bad, right?
These reasons were all a bit ridiculous.
When he didn’t get an answer, Li Qiao suddenly asked again, “Could it be because he’s good-looking?”
Fu Rangyi lazily raised his eyes and glanced at him but said nothing.
Li Qiao was delighted. “Did I hit the mark? What does he look like? Let me see.”
Like a snowman.
“It has nothing to do with looks. I told you, it’s because he’s a Beta.” Fu Rangyi put down his glass, and the suppressor bracelet made a crisp sound against the stone bar.
This was also the truth. The moment he saw that face, he had subconsciously assumed the other person was an Omega and had refused without a second thought. He didn’t want to get entangled with any Omega. A Beta was good, not affected by pheromones, wouldn’t cause unnecessary trouble, and it would be easy to cut ties.
“Ha,” Li Qiao laughed. “Fu Rangyi, there are too many Betas in the world. The correlation is too weak. Is that how you rationalize it? Then I’ll have to question your academic level.”
“Think whatever you want.” Fu Rangyi was too lazy to reply. It would only get him tangled up, which was stupid.
Li Qiao was a perceptive person and didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, he sighed and teased, “Sigh, a few days ago, a new Omega at our research institute was asking about you. I flatly refused her at the time, saying you were devoted to archaeology and had no time for love. And what’s the result? You promised to be a golden bachelor with me, and in a blink of an eye, you’ve abandoned me to get married. So disloyal.”
“You don’t know why I have to get married?” Fu Rangyi said, his brow furrowed again, the annoyance on his face impossible to hide.
Of course, Li Qiao knew. In Fu Rangyi’s current situation, staying single was indeed very tricky. He didn’t want to upset his friend any further, so he smiled and said, “Alright, I hope the status of a married man can really save you from this sea of suffering.” At the end, he added in a low voice, “I’m just afraid it will be like adding fuel to the fire…”
“Li Qiao.”
“Just kidding.” Li Qiao grinned cheekily, picked up his own glass, and clinked it against Fu Rangyi’s, deliberately trying to annoy him. “Then let’s celebrate our Professor Xiao Fu’s happy marriage? As your bro, I’ll definitely throw you a grand bachelor party. How about tonight? You see…”
“No, I’m busy today.” Fu Rangyi glanced at his watch and gestured to the waiter.
“What’s so important?”
After paying the bill, Fu Rangyi picked up his coat, ready to leave. “Signing the contract, registering, getting the certificate. Important enough?”
Pushing open the heavy door of the bar, the sound of clinking glasses and the festive melody dissolved into the cold wind. The world once again turned back into a folded Christmas card—gray and white, with no annoying surprises, something you just want to throw into a drawer immediately.
It wasn’t until his car window was tapped—thump, thump, thump—and the glass rolled down, a bright smiling face appearing in his field of vision, that Fu Rangyi felt this discarded greeting card had been forcibly opened once again.
So this person’s hair isn’t naturally curly. This time, he hadn’t dressed himself in a riot of colors. A short white down jacket and white trousers, a fluffy white beanie. The only bits of color on him were the red and green plaid cashmere scarf around his neck and the red mole on his eyelid.
His eyelashes were damp from the cold wind, and his pupils were as bright as last time, almost too bright. Is he wearing the same colored contacts as during the blind date?
Zhu Zhixi pulled open the car door and sat down, bringing a gust of cold air with him. He turned his head, suddenly grabbed Fu Rangyi’s arm, and pulled it. “Have you been waiting long?” he asked with a smile, not forgetting to peek at the countdown.
It stopped! It’s so effective! Brother Iceberg is truly my savior.
“Just under 17 minutes.” The sudden physical contact made Fu Rangyi feel strange. He pulled his arm away and subconsciously touched the suppressor bracelet on his wrist, wanting to raise the threshold, but then he froze. This was a Beta, with no pheromones. Neither of them would have any effect on the other.
“I didn’t get it wrong this time! I looked for the license plate number for a long time,” Zhu Zhixi said with a smile.
Fu Rangyi grunted. “Congratulations on making some progress in your number recognition abilities.”
He gave a dry laugh. “Actually, last time was really an accident.”
Who knew this person would say, “I see. It’s because my license plate number doesn’t have a 6 or a 9, so there were no distracting factors.”
Zhu Zhixi: “…”
What a harsh mouth. Who was it that said he had a good personality? Their filter must be too thick.
Zhu Zhixi mentally pinched himself and clenched his left palm. Forget it, forget it. Staying alive is more important.
He took out the contract. “I don’t think there are any problems, so I’ve already signed it. It’s just…”
“Just what?” Fu Rangyi took it and glanced at the signature. The handwriting was better than he had imagined. When he saw his ID card last time, he had memorized this person’s name. Zhixi. Those who know me are few. A name that one could tell was born of parental love.
Another spoiled young master.
“Regarding the sexual harassment part, I have a small…”
It was normal to be wary of an Alpha. Fu Rangyi spoke directly, “Rest assured, I won’t touch a single finger of yours.”
“We don’t even need to live together. Just appearing at the same time occasionally, showing our faces, to let others know I’m married is enough.”
“No, I’m not worried about you doing anything to me.” Zhu Zhixi squeezed out a smile. “I mean, we should have some physical contact occasionally, right?”
Fu Rangyi looked up and stared at him. “Why?”
Because I need to extend my life, brother. If you don’t even touch a finger of mine, how am I supposed to live?
“Because…” Zhu Zhixi’s mind raced, and then he smiled piously at him. “Because we can’t blow our cover. Didn’t you say so yourself? We need to act the part, look like we have a good relationship, so we don’t get exposed. But what kind of good person doesn’t want to be close to their partner after marriage? That would obviously be a problem, great professor.”
After hearing this, Fu Rangyi also fell into deep thought. He paused, then said, “Then in front of outsiders, we can have some necessary contact.”
A moment later he added, “Except for hugs.”
“Why?”
“No reason. I just don’t like it. I hate it.”
Fine. Zhu Zhixi didn’t say any more. After all, hugging wasn’t necessary. First, get married, then find a way to get close, bump into him, accidentally touch him. It’s not impossible. Bumping heads also counts as physical contact, right?
I’ll try bumping into him next time.
With the countdown on his mind, Zhu Zhixi couldn’t concentrate at all. After signing the contract, he didn’t even glance at it and just stuffed it into his bag.
“Happy to cooperate.” He extended his hand to Fu Rangyi without any life-extending ulterior motives. “I hope these two months go smoothly.”
I hope I can live to see the day we get divorced.
Fu Rangyi glanced at him and finally extended his hand to shake it. “Happy to cooperate.”
On the way to the marriage registration office, Zhu Zhixi had no sense of embarking on a new journey in life. Perhaps it was because the person who was about to become his partner was a complete stranger, but he thought the bigger reason was that he had never been mentally prepared for or had any expectations of marriage.
His life was like a free little bird, able to fly wherever it wanted, to rest on any branch, and to leave at any time. Coincidentally, he was a Beta. This was a gift from heaven, giving him the capital for freedom. He was not dominated by pheromones, did not experience cyclical heats, and did not need to rely on bonding with someone to escape the control of animal instincts. He lived freely and unrestrainedly.
On a deeper level, due to his mother’s early death, Zhu Zhixi had accepted the education of death too early and had also seen too early how much his father suffered after losing his mother. In his eyes, marriage and death were almost bound together. Both were boring, and both were certain.
Unexpectedly, just as he was flapping his wings, smugly thinking he would never stay long for anyone or anything, a large net called “death” fell from the sky. Marriage, in turn, became his means of trying to escape this net.
This must be fate.
“Sir, sir?”
Hearing the voice, Zhu Zhixi was pulled from his thoughts. He looked at the smiling staff member at the counter and also smiled. “Yes, what is it?”
“Your fiancé has gone to handle the household registration-related procedures. There’s a registration form here that needs to be filled out. Just write down both parties’ names, phone numbers, and addresses.”
“Alright.” Zhu Zhixi didn’t think much of it and filled out his own information first. But when it came to the other side, starting from the name field, he froze.
Oh no. What were my future husband’s name characters again?
He had only heard him introduce himself, but he couldn’t match the specific characters. He was too excited just now and forgot to look at his signature… He hadn’t looked at the information Da Zhu sent, nor had he peeked at his ID card.
Seeing his troubled expression, the staff member asked, “Is there a problem? If you made a mistake, you can get a new blank form.”
“Huh? I didn’t write anything wrong…”
“Then is there anything I can help you with?”
Can you help me confirm my husband’s name?
Zhu Zhixi was quite embarrassed. Maybe… I should open my bag and sneak a peek at the last page of the contract?
But before he could act, a fair, well-defined hand suddenly appeared in his field of vision and naturally took the pen from his hand. At this extremely close distance, he signed his name in the other half of the form.
Fu. Rang. Yi.
Zhu Zhixi silently repeated these three characters in his mind. So those are the characters.
After filling it out, Fu Rangyi handed the pen back to the staff member, a faint smile on his lips, his tone warm and polite. “Thank you for the pen.”
He was like a completely different person from when he was alone with him.
“You’re welcome.” The staff member also smiled. “I was wondering, I thought something was wrong.”
“No, he’s just like this. Always forgets how to write characters when he picks up a pen.”
After speaking, he turned his face to look at Zhu Zhixi, raised an eyebrow slightly, and asked with a smile, “Right?”
Author’s Note:
The husbandly vibe is coming, isn’t it?
The things these two say in the early stages will all come back to bite them later. It’s my first time writing a young couple getting slapped in the face together, lol.