Free Web NovelChapter 3: Chapter 1: Strongest Tycoon Husband Rebate System
Thinking about how they were once classmates, and now husband and wife, Jiang Li broke the silence. "So, when did you get back to the country? I hadn’t heard a thing."
Shen Yanzhi answered succinctly, "Yesterday."
Jiang Li raised her eyebrows in surprise. ’What a coincidence.’
She got married today, and Shen Yanzhi had returned yesterday.
If he’d been just one day later, he might have missed the wedding entirely.
However, she was more curious about something else now. "So, are you planning to build your career in the country, or are you going back abroad?"
Shen Yanzhi didn’t hide anything. "I was originally planning to go back abroad after I finished my business here. But since we’re married now, I’ll definitely be staying to build my career in the country."
Jiang Li scratched her head, feeling a bit flattered. "So... did you come back because your family was pushing you to get married?"
"Yes and no."
Jiang Li pouted. ’What kind of answer is that?’
Knowing Shen Yanzhi’s personality, she didn’t press the issue and changed the subject. "So, what were you doing abroad all these years?"
Shen Yanzhi lifted his gaze. "I opened an investment firm. Made a little money."
Jiang Li gave him a thumbs-up. "That’s you, all right! Amazing at everything you do!"
The driver had been observing them the whole ride and finally couldn’t hold back any longer. "I saw you two come out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, and you’re in a wedding dress, so you must be newlyweds, right? How come you seem like complete strangers who just happen to know each other?"
Jiang Li’s gaze darted around awkwardly. She gave a sheepish laugh. "We lost touch for five years. Calling us ’familiar strangers’ isn’t too far off."
After Shen Yanzhi went abroad, he never updated his social media, and their chat history was frozen in time from five years ago.
The driver spoke like someone who’d seen it all. "Getting married after five years with no contact? That just means you’ve always had a place for each other in your hearts. Why be so formal?"
Hearing this, Jiang Li looked toward Shen Yanzhi, as if searching his face for an answer.
Their gazes met, and Jiang Li saw her own reflection in his eyes.
The distance between them closed, and she could even feel his breath on her face.
With a SCREECH, the car came to a steady stop at the hotel entrance. "Here we are, you two. That’ll be 18."
Blushing, Jiang Li leaned back and scanned the payment code with her phone.
As she entered the amount, she almost typed in 1888.
[Host detected spending 18 yuan on a taxi for a loved one. Triggering 199x cashback. 3,582 yuan has been deposited into your bank account. Please check for receipt.]
Zhong Mufeng was already waiting at the hotel entrance. The moment she saw Jiang Li get out of the car, she rushed over and whispered in her ear, "The second you left, Zhao Sinian started a huge fight with your parents. He’s demanding one million."
Jiang Li couldn’t help but frown. "Why is he so damn persistent!"
Shen Yanzhi walked up to Jiang Li’s side. "What’s so persistent?"
Jiang Li pressed her lips together. "Shen Yanzhi, I don’t want to lie to you."
All of her old university classmates knew she was supposed to get married today. It was impossible to hide, not that she intended to.
"I was originally supposed to marry Zhao Sinian today. But right before the wedding, he demanded I add another 500,000 to the dowry. I refused, slapped him across the face, and we broke things off right then and there."
As she spoke, Jiang Li watched Shen Yanzhi’s expression.
She noticed that when she mentioned the slap, Shen Yanzhi seemed to be secretly enjoying it.
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "In the end, I had no other choice, so I called you to help me clean up this whole mess."
Shen Yanzhi’s hands, hanging by his sides, clenched into fists. His voice held a barely perceptible trace of anxiety. "So, if I hadn’t come, would you have called someone else?"
Jiang Li wanted to lie, but meeting his clear, honest eyes, she bit her lip. "Probably."
But she was in no mood to worry about whether Shen Yanzhi was angry. With a worried expression, she said, "Right now, Zhao Sinian is hassling my parents again, trying to get one million out of them. We need to get inside, quickly."
The three of them entered the main hall together. Inside, Zhao Sinian and his family were haggling with Jiang Li’s parents.
Liu Mei was shouting at the top of her lungs, "Your Jiang Li and my Sinian were together for five years. They did everything they should have—and everything they shouldn’t have! Who else do you think would marry her now, besides Sinian?"
Jiang Li trembled with rage, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at Zhao Sinian, who stood off to the side without saying a word.
’Everything we should have, and everything we shouldn’t have?’
’How come I, the person involved, had no idea?’
