Two days passed quickly.
Xuan Yang finalized her job and accommodation and drafted a marital agreement and a marital pact to send to Zhou Dang.
Xuan Yang: [Take a look at these two agreements. Let me know if there are any issues.]
Xuan Yang: [If there's no problem, set a time for us to meet and sign them. That way, I can come clean with my family sooner.]
Actually, in the past two days, she and Zhou Dang hadn't exchanged a single message, and Xuan Yang was a little worried.
What if Zhou Dang backed out?
This matter needed to be settled quickly for her peace of mind.
Xuan Yang sent the message at 4 p.m. She had just signed the rental contract, gotten the keys, and was in her rented apartment.
The apartment she rented was near the South Second Ring commercial area, just two intersections away from Junda Law Firm, about a ten-minute walk.
The complex was called Jinse Tianlan, an older but well-established neighborhood. Its advantages were its excellent location and reasonable rent.
Xuan Yang rented a two-bedroom unit, planning to use one room as the master bedroom and the other as a study.
Now that the apartment was set, she came to see what she needed to add or if any simple renovations were needed.
Zhou Dang replied ten minutes later.
[Where are you?]
Xuan Yang was a bit puzzled but answered truthfully: [Outside.]
The marital agreement mainly dealt with property matters.
Xuan Yang had no intention of coveting Zhou Dang's wealth, so she was very clear.
She didn't think Zhou Dang would object to this marital agreement.
As for the marital pact, she had included everything she could think of, but she wasn't sure if Zhou Dang would accept it.
Xuan Yang asked him: [Have you looked at the agreements? Any changes needed?]
Zhou Dang replied: [Not yet.]
Then he asked her: [Are you free? Bring your documents. Meet at the civil affairs bureau?]
Xuan Yang was stunned, her palms inexplicably heating up. She couldn't believe it: [Now?]
Zhou Dang: [Now.]
Through her phone, Xuan Yang could feel his determination.
Her heart trembled fiercely.
She hadn't expected that in two days, Zhou Dang would give her such a simple and direct answer.
Was his solution to act first and ask for forgiveness later?!
...
Twenty minutes later, at the Civil Affairs Bureau.
The gloomy sky began to drizzle, quietly wetting the black Maybach parked on the street.
Zhou Dang, sitting in the back seat, gently pulled up his sleeve and glanced at his watch.
In another half hour, the bureau would be closing.
Shen Li, his assistant in the driver's seat, kept an eye on the entrance. When he saw a slender figure getting out of a taxi, he hesitated for a moment before gently reminding him, "President Zhou, it seems to be Miss Xuan."
Shen Li had seen photos of Xuan Yang but hadn't met her in person, so he wasn't entirely sure.
Zhou Dang followed his gaze and saw the familiar silhouette. "Give me the documents and wait here."
Shen Li handed over the document folder on the passenger seat, then got out to open Zhou Dang's door and hold an umbrella for him.
Xuan Yang had come in a hurry and didn't bring an umbrella.
After getting out of the car, she ran up the steps holding her bag over her head and waited under the eaves of the bureau.
As soon as she stopped, she shook the water droplets off her bag's surface, and a familiar figure appeared in her peripheral vision.
Zhou Dang, in a suit and leather shoes, walked through the rain holding a black umbrella. As he stepped onto the platform, he lifted the umbrella and met Xuan Yang's gaze from a distance.
Xuan Yang unexpectedly met his light-colored deep eyes, and for a moment, the man's slender figure overlapped with the teenage boy in the blue-and-white school uniform from her memory.
The only difference was that 28-year-old Zhou Dang looked at her with a gentle, unfathomable gaze.
This time, Zhou Dang didn't look away. His eyes were fixed on her as he walked step by step.
...
Finally, they met.
Zhou Dang closed his umbrella, gently shook off the water droplets, and broke the silence with a playful smile. "Thought you'd changed your mind."
Xuan Yang snapped back to reality, shifting her gaze from his clear, handsome face. "...It takes me a while to get here."
Zhou Dang nodded, looking at her deeply, then suddenly turned serious. "Xuan Yang, it's not too late to back out now."
Xuan Yang looked back at him, stunned for a moment, then smiled. "I should be saying that."