“I think I have found the one I really want to marry.”

 

The words reverberated in his ears even a few seconds after she said it. ‘How? What? Why? Didn’t I insult her?’ Yifan asked himself and he gaped at her in disbelief.

 

“Oh my god,” his mother squealed. Yifan could already hear fireworks going off in his mother's head. “Did you hear what she just said?” Mrs.Zhou nodded. “Fanfan also said she looked pretty cute, too. This must be what the heavens wanted.” Yifan flinched internally in disgust at his mother's words. This was not the what he had expected. His eyes fell on Eden, who remained seated in her seat, resembling a tomato.

 

‘Is this girl okay?’ he asked, knowing very well that he had clearly offended the girl during their meeting and yet the girl just said something that he did not expect. His mother, sitting beside him, was now grinning from ear to ear, like Mrs.Zhou . Mr.Zhou sat at his seat without moving an inch, his face didn’t show much emotion - as contrary to the two women. His face was impassive but as far as Yifan was concerned, he was also pleased with the idea.

 

“Mama, I-” Yifan started, which was cut off by Eden, “Mama, would you mind if Kris and I speak to each other in person? He sounded very surprised.”

 

“Of course not. Go ahead,” Mrs.Zhou dismissed the two to be let out from the dining room with a wave of her hand.

 

Eden stood up and asked Yifan if he would be happy to join her at the balcony of the hotel restaurant. Yifan nodded and followed her. As she walked in front of him to lead him to the balcony, Yifan realized that she was wearing really high platforms. He thought she was tall during the first meeting but he was under the illusion of high heels.

 

“Mr.Wu Yifan,” she her heels to face him when they had reached the balcony of the hotel lounge, “are you surprised by what I just said?”

 

He put his hands in his pocket and leaned on the handrail, “There must be a reason behind it.”

 

She smiled, “You are not that dense,” The corner of her lips were lifted in amusement and her eyes changed into mysterious and unknowing; a drastic change from how she looked earlier. “There is.”

 

“You see,” Eden started to walk with her hands on the back of her hips, “If there is something you do not know about me, I am quite a stubborn person,” her smile was cocky, “however, when it comes to my own marriage. I leave that to my parents because I know that they respect my decision and that my word is law in the family.”

 

“Her word is law,” Luhan’s voice repeated in Yifan’s head.

 

She breathed in with her eyes closed before they opened to look at him straight in the eyes, “I always make sure I turn all of the man down after meeting them for the first time because I have no interest in marriage. I don’t feel the need to keep them in my life further and I only attended all the meetings to please my parents. However,” she suddenly her heels to face him, her eyes narrow, “you, Kris Wu, are different.”

 

Then, she turned away and looked at the twinkling city lights of Beijing, “I do not like it. It is not that reaction I received from other men.”

 

“Your ego does not concern with me, Eden,” he replied coolly in an attempt to make her despise him further.

 

She laughed in a twinkling voice with her head loosely hanging backward, “It doesn’t but I need the ego. I couldn’t sleep that night. It is uncommon that a man speaks to me like that. It reminded me of the business deal that I need to pitch in and win,” Her smile was twisted, “I need to win this,” she pointed at him, “you.”

 

Yifan laughed, “Try and make me enter a relationship with you, Eden," he taunted.

 

“Oh no,” she exclaimed, “I am not going to make you enter a relationship with me. I am going to make you marry me.”

 

“Really now, Eden?” Yifan questioned, “get out of your high school mentality. This is not a weekend drama.”

 

“This is how my world works,” she spoke, her voice ice cold, “Everything is about power and wealth, the hierarchy. I know you love your mother so much and as you may know, your mother has taken quite a liking in me,” she smirked. Yifan was the one who was now boiling in frustration at how Bai Xue was behaving. She was not done yet, “My mother likes you. Your mother likes me. I hold the power to say yes. And surprisingly, you told your mother that I look pretty cute, too. Thank you for that.” She sniggered sarcastically. Yifan now wanted to punch her in the face.

 

Eden stepped closer to him and looked up at him, her nose a few inches away from his and he could clearly see her intense, tiger-like eyes rimmed with fluttery lashes, “You are stuck with your lies, Kris Wu. I will make sure you own up to those lies and I’m going to make you marry me whether you like it or not. So, shall we head back to the dining room and pretend that we shared a kind of intimate moment?” She stepped back and walked away, towards the entrance door of the balcony.

 

“If you think things are going to go just as you planned, you’re so wrong, Eden Zhou,” he spoke through gritted teeth as he remained standing on the spot, clearly infuriated.

 

She let out another twinkling, yet aggravating, laughter, as she looked back at him “I don’t think, Kris Wu, because I know it will happen. Think about it. An heiress marrying a top actor through parents’ introduction. It would make lovely, heartwarming headlines, don’t you think?” she paused, “At least your mother would be happy.”

 

Eden left him alone at the balcony as her heels clicked along the hallway after she said what she wanted to say. Yifan stood there for a couple of minutes, pondering on what she had said earlier.

 

“So….?” his mother looked at him questioningly when he re-entered the dining room, “what did you two talked about?”

 

They were both back in the dining room. Bai Xue had reverted back to her blushing little girl mode as she sat on her seat, with her eyes glancing downwards. The three elders’ eyes were on him, as if they were expecting an answer that they had already speculated.

 

Yifan smiled, “Oh, just stuff,” he answered vaguely. He was not sure what he wanted to do. The words ‘mother’ ‘career’ ‘conglomerate’ ‘headlines’ ‘marriage’ ‘happiness’ all flew around in his head as they hit all the nerve endings in the brain. He took a deep breath. He might be making the worst mistake of his life.

 

“I would also like to date her seriously with a marriage goal in mind.”

 

He looked at Eden, who just lifted her head to lock gaze with him, and then his eyes fell onto his mother, who was still grinning from ear and ear and toasting her wine with . Eden’s lips lifted at the corners into a coy smile before she gave him an approving nod.

 

He really, really dislikes this over-confident girl. Just what does she think she is?

 

~~~

 

A stack of papers was waiting for him as he went into the office to meet Angela. “What are these?” he asked as he flipped through the pages at the edges.

 

“The plan that came from Miss Zhou’s office this morning,” she replied casually, “read through it and get back to me if you see something you don’t like.”

 

He gaped at her, “Director Cheung, you are not even going to condense it for me?” She shrugged. He sighed and leaned on the backrest of his chair while rolling his eyes, “Director Cheung, what is there to have plans about?”

 

Angela looked at him over her reading glasses, “She’s an heiress. You’re a top actor. You should know better.” Yifan rolled his eyes again and picked up the paper stack to start reading while mumbling how heiresses are self-obsessed, pompous brats. The pages were filled with schedules of public appearances together, announcement of dating news, more public appearances, announcement of engagement news through social media, engagement party, wedding announcement, wedding photoshoot timeline-

 

“Woah woah woah woah woah!” Yifan bellowed at top of his voice, dramatically, as he pushed the papers away from him on the desk, “Director Cheung,” he looked at his director, “don’t you think you’re getting too far ahead with this? Marriage? I just agreed to date her a few nights ago.”

 

She frowned, “Didn’t you say you want to date her with the thoughts of marriage?”

 

‘Oh ,’ he cursed in his head. His lies caught up to him, “I did but I didn’t-”

 

“Think that she’d be this quick to compile everything?” Angela laughed, “Fanfan, if I were her, I would be too. You are a trophy that nobody will let go.”

 

“I will read this thoroughly,” Yifan felt defeated. He needed a break from the mention of Eden, aka Zhou Bai Xue, from people around him, “Can you send them to my e-mail? Thank you for the hard work,” Yifan thanked her unwillingly as he bowed and left the office in quick steps without talking further.

 

He needed a getaway.

 

~~~

 

“Out of all the eligible male in whole of China, Zhou Bai Xue chose you, huh?” Luhan asked, his voice amused at Yifan who was sitting still on the recliner with his eyes staring up at the ceiling pointlessly. “For me to think she would eventually end up choosing some presidential candidate…”

 

“Shut up, Luhan,” Yifan stopped his friend. They were, once again, in the VIP room of the cafe that the four men usually meet up. He didn’t want to listen to Luhan’s endless mumbling; he was already stressed enough. "I thought she wouldn't choose me but I was wrong."

 

Luhan laughed, “Seriously, what is there to lose? You’re joining hands with a rich heiress.”

 

“ARRRRRGH!” Yifan bellowed at the older guy without intending to, “she clearly is not interested in me! And I’m not interested in her! This whole arranged marriage thing is-” he looked around furiously, trying to find words to continue, “It’s- it’s stupid!”

 

Luhan patted his shoulder comfortingly, “Dude, not a lot of people marry for love these days. It’s all about how your marriage can propel you onto a different level, a better social status.”

 

“You’re trying to say I’m being unrealistic?” Yifan asked his friend as he shrugged off his hand.

 

Luhan smiled, “Slightly. You don’t even know her that well. She might be a nice girl.”

 

‘I do know her. She’s an evil, scheming, two-faced hellcat,’ Yifan answered in his head. Luhan was oblivious to Yifan’s non-verbal answer, “So, my advice is get to know her better. There are a lot of men who would kill to be in your position. You’ll see.”

 

Yifan rolled his eyes, ‘yeah right. With a personality like that, I’m sure men cannot wait to get a piece of her!’

 

Luhan left him alone in the cafe after a few minutes, excusing himself, saying that he had an appointment. Yifan sat on the recliner, staring at the ceiling, with his brain swirling with all the thoughts. He didn’t know how long he was staring until his phone buzzed in his pocket, “Hello?” he picked up without looking at the caller ID.

 

“Can I speak to Kris Wu?” a stranger’s voice appeared. He took his phone away from him and looked at the number; it was an unknown one.

 

“Speaking,” he answered.

 

“Hello. It’s Miss Zhou’s secretary,” the caller confirmed her identity with a cheery voice, “Miss Zhou is in a very important meeting right now and she would like to have dinner with you tonight.”

 

He frowned at the unusual invite, “Oh, sure,” he agreed, “when is it?”

 

A few exchanges of words with her secretary left Yifan with the dinner venue; an award winning restaurant. He stitched his eyebrows slightly at how she chose very expensive restaurants and that she hardly ever asks about other people. ‘Such a spoilt brat,’ he muttered before he headed home to change into something dinner-appropriate.

 

~~~

 

She wore her business suit to dinner. Yifan noticed that she usually wears a silk blouse and a pencil skirt since those were the only clothing items he had seen on her. “Hello, Kris,” she greeted politely as she sat onto the seat in front of him. He had been waiting for nearly half an hour.

 

“You do have a sense of time, don’t you?” Yifan scorned, slightly annoyed at her tardiness.

 

Eden smiled apologetically at him as she took her seat in front of him, “I am extremely sorry. I was caught up in a meeting and everything got pushed back,” her apology sounded sincere that it surprised him, “I’ll pick up the tabs for the dinner tonight as an apology.” She chuckled as she picked up the menu.

 

“Have you looked at what I sent?” she asked him so casually just as she cut into her steak once the food arrived.

 

He looked at her, “Nope. Would you like to condense it for me?”

 

 

Eden smiled and nodded, "Certainly. Essentially, it's a complete set of schedules that will proceed up to our wedding day."

 

 

Yifan's eyes widened as he drank his wine and spluttered, "We already have a wedding date?" he asked, completley bewildered, "who chose this?"

 

 

"Don't you know?" Eden tilted her head and looked at him, "our mothers went to a fortune teller and chose the date. I thought they would have told you."

 

 

Yifan groaned internally. His mother definitely had been keeping herself busy, "I didn't realize." He said but said nothing further.

 

 

"Eden," Yifan called for her name just as they stood up from the dinner table. She kept walking as if she didn't hear him. He called out for her name again, she turned around to face him. "Are you really sure you want to do this?" He asked. To him, the entire picture is starting to get real.

 

 

He had thought she would glare at him and stubbornly say something to offend him but to his surprise, she frowned, in sympathy, "Do you have someone in your mind that you dare not tell your mother about her?" He shook his head. He just wanted to be by himself and not end up in a marriage. "Do you have anything to lose by marrying me? Deals? Sponsorships?" He shook his head again. "Then, why not, Mr. Wu?" her tone picked up her usual business-like manner again. "If we are to split ways in future, I'm going to be the one who is going to be looked down by the society. You have nothing to lose."

 

 

"Split ways in future?" Yifan frowned. There is definitely something that he missed.

 

 

Eden smiled, "There's a reason I sent you the plans. Look through it and tell me what you think about it. I have to go somewhere Kris, will you please excuse me?"

 

 

That night, he couldn't sleep. His coffee table was sprawled with papers that she sent. He had looked through all of them. While letting out a sigh, he lie on his sofa and stared at the ceiling. Just as he picked up the phone to call Eden, his phone rang, the caller turned out to be Eden, coincidentally. "Eden," he greeted her, "I was just about to call you."

 

 

"Kris Wu," she called him calmly, as always. The way of how she manages to sound very calm all the time is an impressive feat. "what is your take on a secret, pre-nuptial?"

 

 

"A what?" he frowned. He knew what pre-nuptial meant. It's usually done in western celebrity world; an agreement that two parties must abide by once the couples have divorced in future. It does not always mean they will divorce but it is a counter measure taken to prevent their wealth unfairly taken away by law in events that a divorce was inevitable.

 

 

"A pre-nuptial," she replied slowly.

 

 

At that moment, Kris Wu realized that Eden will always manage to surprise him at every corner of his life, and he's not exactly sure whether it's a blessing or a curse that he had managed to meet her.

 

 

"Did you not say you're marrying me because you want to marry me?"

 

 

She let out a breathy laugh from other end, "It was said because I was in the heat of the moment," she continued to speak, "I don't want to marry you, Kris Wu. Not really. I prefer being by myself."

 

 

"Eden Zhou, you really are not making sense."

 

 

She chuckled. Her voice remained eerily calm, "Kris Wu, do you know why I turned down the marriages before?"

 

 

"I know," he replied, "we're like very close friends so we totally know what's up."

 

 

"It's because I can't really determine what other side is thinking," she replied. Kris could sense a smile in her voice. The kind of smile that looked contented but also manipulative at the same time. "I like the security of knowing how things would play up the way I want. That keeps me calm; knowing that the game is in my favour."

 

 

This girl is officially crazy, he thought to himself.

 

 

Eden was not done yet. "That's why I always turned down. With you, it's different." His heart sped up, in a way that he was anticipating something - one thing that will make him feel happy. "You made sure that I knew what you felt and it's great. You don't have feelings for me nor I do for you."

 

 

"Then we don't have to get married."

 

 

"I kinda want to avoid my parents though," she continued, which took him by a shock, "they've been telling me to select someone suitable and marry but none of them show same emotions like you. I know you like keeping your mother happy, and I kinda want to shut my parents up. It's a win-win for both of us."

 

 

Yifan took in a deep breath, "Okay, so let me get this straight," he breathed into the receiver, "we're getting married because we're told to and we're going to be like this. A pre-nup is a contract that we must abide by."

 

 

"We might have to co-habit under one roof but yes, essentially it's like this. We've both decided to take a guise of a relationship to escape from a reality that's pressing us. We'll get married to make the parents happy and then get a quickie divorce in a couple of years."

 

 

"Sounds cool."

 

 

"Are you up for it?"

 

 

"Hell yeah," Yifan replied. This turned out to be better than he thought. He will forever be free from his mother's hopeful voices of why he's not getting married, or at least a couple of years. "I'm down." He added to confirm that he really wanted to play the 'fool everyone' game.

 

 

"Let's meet tomorrow," she replied before bidding him goodnight to hang up. Yifan couldn't see her but from the tone of her voice, she sounded like she was relieved.

 

 

So was he.

 

~~~

 

 

[Author's monologue:] I hope you like it so far. It feels so odd to see the numbers of subscribers here. lol. Such a drastic difference from all the old fics I finished up. Nevertheless, I hope you liked it!