Marriage First, True Love Later Novel

When Anran came out of her bedroom the next morning, Lin Xiaofen had already made breakfast. When she saw her walking out, she looked at her and said, “Come over and eat breakfast.” Her tone was the same as usual as if the incident from the last night had not happened.

Anran walked toward the dining room with her lips pursed. She pulled out a seat and sat in front of Lin Xiaofen. Lin Xiaofen poured a bowl of porridge and gave it to her.

Anran lowered her head and ate the porridge, her expression unreadable.

Although the Gu family was not a family with a literary reputation, they still had to follow Mr. Gu’s “rigid rule”: No speaking while eating!

After drinking the last bit of the porridge, Anran placed down the bowl and lifted her head to look at Lin Xiaofen. “Mom, give Aunty Zhang a call. I agree to try it out with Lin Anjie.”

Lin Xiaofen was shocked. Even Gu Hengwen, who was on the side, was shocked. The two shared a glance and then simultaneously looked at Anran. Lin Xiaofen opened her mouth and said, “Ranran, I’m not trying to force you. If you don’t like the man, then we can just keep looking. I was just anxious last night.”

“No, I’ve thought about it. You’re right. A person must face forward and cannot live in the past. I’m no longer young, and I will have to marry sooner or later. Also, Lin Anjie is not a bad partner. Therefore, I can give it a try,” Anran calmly said.

Lin Xiaofen didn’t say anything, and she looked at her with a worried gaze. Although she wanted Anran to date and get married, however, at the end of the day, she didn’t want her to be careless.

After a moment of silence, the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. At this time, Gu Hengwen opened his mouth and said, “Just know that your mom and I won’t oppose anyone you date.”

Anran nodded. “I know. I have a meeting to attend in the morning, so I’ll be heading to work.” After she was done speaking, she immediately stood up, grabbed her bag, and left for work.

In the house, Lin Xiaofen looked at the door that was once again shut. She placed down the utensils in her hand and helplessly sighed. Her hand, which was on the table, was engulfed by a large hand. She lifted her head and saw her husband looking at her warmly, his eyes smiling, and he said, “Don’t worry. Ranran knows what she’s doing.”

Recently, Anran had been very busy. The Green Lake Garden case kept being returned to her, and she had altered it multiple times. However, she was unable to meet the Director’s request. For many days, she had been running back and forth between the company and the construction site. She would stay at the company until 10 PM every night. However, luckily, the Director had said this afternoon that the design finally passed. This meant that she would be able to return home on time tonight.

She hadn’t seen Lin Anjie since the last time. However, they had exchanged text messages. Lin Anjie was someone who took care of others well and would often give his respects to her. This made Anran feel that perhaps getting along with him wasn’t so bad.

Today, Anran invited Lin Anjie to have dinner with her. She had decided that she would give a new relationship a try–a relationship that would have marriage as a precondition.

Anran was a serious person. Once she decided to do something, she would go at it with 100 percent of her efforts. For example, she did not drive her car but had called a cab. She was prepared for Lin Anjie to send her home.

They were having dinner at a middle-quality Western restaurant. Because there was traffic, by the time Anran arrived, Lin Anjie was already there and was looking over the menu with his forehead furrowed.

“I apologize for being late,” Anran apologized. She did not explain the reason. Late was late. She would not find an excuse to absolve her mistake.

Lin Anjie placed down the menu, smiled gentlemanly, and said to Anran, “It’s fine. I also just arrived.”

“Have you ordered?” Anran placed down her bag and asked.

“You can order.” Lin Anjie handed the menu to Anran.

Anran didn’t think too much. She picked up the menu and called over the server. She often came to eat at this Western restaurant with her colleagues. The T-bone steak here was pretty good, and the salad was good. Most importantly, the price was reasonable, and, therefore, wouldn’t be overly expensive.

“Is there anything you don’t eat?” Before ordering, Anran specifically asked him again if there was anything he avoided. Lin Anjie shook his head and said that he was fine with whatever she ordered.

Upon hearing this, Anran didn’t say anything else and directly ordered foie gras, T-bone steak, mushroom soup, and a green salad from the server. She also ordered a cheesecake for dessert. Because she was taking into consideration that he needed to drive, she did not order any wine and directly ordered coffee.

The two had a pleasant meal, and they each talked about their jobs, as well as their interests and hobbies. They didn’t talk a lot, but at least it wasn’t an awkward silence.

When it was time to foot the bill, Anjie suddenly had an upset stomach and went to the restroom. Anran knew that, in reality, he was avoiding the bill. She had not intended for him to treat him to tonight’s meal. Even if he paid at the restaurant, she would still return the money to him outside. However, his actions at this moment were repulsive and loathsome.

Anran directly paid the bill and waited for ten minutes. However, Lin Anjie still did not come out. In the end, she called him. Lin Anjie did not answer, but in less than a minute, he came out of the restroom, returned to his seat, and said to Anran, “My apologies. Did you wait long?”

Anran shook her head and asked, “Did you get an upset stomach? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Lin Anjie quickly explained, “No, no, there’s no need. When I went to the restroom, a phone call came. It was from the leader, so we chatted for a while.”

Anran nodded, picked up her bag, and said to him, “Let’s go, then.”

“Okay, I’ll go get the bill.” Lin Anjie nodded. As he spoke, he walked in the direction of the cashier.

“There’s no need. I already paid.” Anran stopped him.

“Oh.” Lin Anjie pretended to be shocked and then said, “How can I let a woman pay? How much was it? I’ll give you the money.” As he spoke, he reached for his wallet to give her the money.

“Next time. You can treat me next time. I treat once and you treat once,” Anran smiled and said.

Lin Anjie did not insist. He nodded and said okay.

The two left the restaurant, and Lin Anjie suggested that they take a walk together. What he didn’t say was that, because parking costs money, he had parked his car outside on the street. It was around a 10-minute walk from there.

Lin Anjie nodded. She had eaten quite a bit for dinner. She figured she could take it as a post-dinner exercise.

The two walked beside each other and didn’t say anything. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Anran was someone who was rather passive with emotions and had a hard time finding things to talk about when she was alone. Just as Anran was wrecking her brain, trying to find something to talk about, the two walked down a rather dark street. Suddenly, she felt a heavy force on her hand.

“Oh…” Anran lifted her head in shock, unable to respond. She saw Lin Anjie looking at her with determination and a strange expression.

“L-Lin… Lin Anjie?” Anran pulled her hand away from him as she called his name.

Lin Anjie looked at her and did not say anything. He swallowed and he fiercely tried to kiss Anran.

Anran was scared, and she tried hard to push him away. However, she was unable to fight against his strength. In the end, she avoided his head, and Lin Anjie’s kiss landed on Anran’s cheek. The touch of his lips made Anran feel disgusting.

“L-Let go of me!” Anran was so scared that she wanted to cry as she hit Lin Anjie with her hand. Since she wore high heels, Anran was similar in height to Lin Anjie. However, she was helpless, because a woman’s strength was naturally less than that of a man’s, and she couldn’t throw him off.

“Let go of her.” A man’s cold voice suddenly came from behind, unexpectedly on this dim street.