We Married in a Flash After One-Night Stand

A good night's sleep.

Xia Zhi woke up on time to her alarm, and for a brief moment upon opening her eyes, she felt a bit bewildered, but she quickly remembered this was her new home. She hastily got out of bed, washed up, did her makeup, combed her hair, changed into her clothes, grabbed her bag, and left the room.

The tempting aroma of food wafted from the dining room, and she followed the scent there.

He Jinnan, dressed casually, was serving porridge. Seeing her come in, he greeted her with a smile, "Wife, good morning, did you sleep well last night?"

"Yeah, quite well."

Xia Zhi didn't know why it came so naturally for him to call her "wife" every time, as she definitely couldn't bring herself to call him "husband". In this regard, she felt she wasn't as quick as he was, so she would have to take her time.

"Come and eat, it's Monday, don't you have to go to work?" He Jinnan pulled out a chair and beckoned her to sit down.

Xia Zhi walked over, nodding in thanks, and took a seat, saying, "Yes, I have work today; we have a two-day weekend."

She then looked at the breakfast on the table and couldn't help asking, "Who made breakfast?"

"The hourly cleaner came to make it this morning. You were probably sleeping soundly and didn't hear anything." He Jinnan placed a meat bun on her plate, saying, "Try it and see if it suits your taste."

Xia Zhi smiled and replied, "I'm not a precious princess; I can accept common flavors."

She took a bite of the bun, swallowed, and smiled, "It's delicious!"

He Jinnan nodded in satisfaction, lowered his head to eat, and said while eating, "Once the injury on your face is healed, I'll take you to meet our parents and talk about marriage."

"Mm." Xia Zhi hesitated, asking, "But what if your parents ask about my family background? They will definitely be dissatisfied."

"If I'm satisfied, isn't that enough? Our life is for us both to live, and it has nothing to do with them." He Jinnan said indifferently, "You don't need to be afraid, I'm here for you, I won't let them trouble you."

"He Jinnan..." Xia Zhi was quite moved by his words, which gave her the sense of having someone to back her up.

"Thank you for thinking on my behalf."

He Jinnan stated, "I told you, we are now husband and wife, and with anything that comes up, I will consider things from your perspective."

Xia Zhi looked at him and suddenly felt a bit dazed. The way he treated her so well, was it just because of the responsibility of marriage, or did he like her?

If it were the former, he had already demonstrated a great sense of responsibility. If it were the latter... the latter was unlikely.

"What are you thinking about? Hurry up and eat." Seeing her space out, He Jinnan urged her, adding, "Let's go together later, I'll drive you to work."

Xia Zhi said, "It's okay for me to drive myself to work, no need for you to take me. It would be out of your way."

Feeling a little embarrassed, He Jinnan laughed and confessed, "Wife, I'm sorry. Your car was towed by traffic police last night; recently that area is not allowed for parking. The guard informed me this morning."

"Ah?" Xia Zhi was startled; that old car was her most valuable possession.

"But don't worry, after you go to work, I'll have someone take care of it, and your car will be retrieved. Give me your car keys later," He Jinnan hurriedly reassured her.

"Oh." Xia Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, "If there's a fine, take a picture of the bill and send it to me."

Without commenting on that, He Jinnan served her another bun, "Eat some more."

After finishing breakfast, they tidied up and went out.

Descending to the garage, Xia Zhi followed He Jinnan to a Maybach, watched the car lights flash, and he opened the car door for her.

"Thank you," said Xia Zhi as she sat in the passenger seat.

He Jinnan got into the car, saw that she had fastened her seatbelt, and then started the car. He turned to her and said, "In the future, you don't need to keep saying 'thank you' for things I should do. We don't need to be so formal with each other, understand?"

Xia Zhi obediently nodded her head, "I understand."

The car emerged from the underground garage and hit the road. Xia Zhi couldn't help glancing at the spot where she parked last night, and sure enough, it was empty. Silently, she sighed, her heart aching for her little old car.

She took out her phone and sent a WeChat message to Ruan Shishi, "Shishi, are you flush with cash right now? Can you lend me three to five thousand?"

She was at her wit's end; the last of her two thousand dollars had gone to He Jinnan the day before. If she had to pay a fine and keep up with the split-cost living, what would she use to pay?

After two years of working, her salary had gone from three thousand a month to now five thousand. After all kinds of expenses were accounted for, there was hardly anything left. Although her father owned a company, with her stepmother and stepsister around, her life wasn't even as good as the housekeeper's.

Less than a minute after sending the message, Ruan Shishi called her. Xia Zhi frowned; she didn't want to discuss this in front of He Jinnan and abruptly hung up.

She was just about to text her not to call when the phone rang again.

He Jinnan glanced at her, and she had no choice but to answer, steeling herself.

"Hello, driving?" Ruan Shishi asked. "I happen to have ten thousand on me right now, not in use, I'll transfer it all to you."

Her crisp voice came through the phone, and she asked with concern, "Xiaxia, did everything go okay when you got home yesterday?"

Xia Zhi replied, "It was fine. You go ahead and get busy."

"If you need anything, just let me know. Don't rush to pay the money back," Ruan Shishi said before hanging up.

Xia Zhi put the phone back in her bag, pretending nothing happened, and looked out the car window.

"What do you need the money for?" He Jinnan evidently wasn't going to let it go and asked directly.

Xia Zhi turned to look at him, saying somewhat awkwardly, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He Jinnan didn't press further, instead kindly said to her, "If you're out of money later, just tell me. I'm your husband, and it's only right for me to give you money to spend. Don't borrow from others. Do you hear me?"

"Shishi is my best friend, and we're really close," Xia Zhi didn't deny being out of money.

He Jinnan chuckled, raising his hand to rub the top of her head, "In the future, we must have the best relationship, okay?"

"Huh?" Xia Zhi's ears warmed at his touch, and she answered dumbly, "Understood."

As he dropped her off at the company's entrance, just before she got out of the car, He Jinnan said, "Today, when I got the car out, I just sent someone to take it home first. I'll come to pick you up after work."

"Okay. Then I'm off." Xia Zhi smiled at him and turned to get out of the car.

He Jinnan held her back again, "Wait a second."

Her heart skipped a beat. What now? He wouldn't ask for a kiss, would he?

"Give me your phone for a moment," he said.

"Huh?" Xia Zhi didn't ask any questions and handed it over after unlocking it.

She was overthinking it—ridiculous!

In the moment she was distracted, He Jinnan had already returned the phone.

"I've already transferred one hundred thousand dollars to you. Don't borrow from your best friend," he told her. "I know you have a strong sense of pride and don't want to take advantage, but after all, we are lawfully wed. If you really feel uneasy about this money, just keep a note of it and pay it back slowly in the future. For now, use this to get by. What do you think?"

After all his understanding and support, if Xia Zhi continued to resist and refuse, she would appear pretentious and immature.

"Alright then, I'll listen to you."