"It's best not to," Fang Zidu said softly, concealing the adult's sinister intentions. "Since we've used their money, we should at least be polite. Let's just leave it at that. We'll cooperate with them on the wedding now, and then we can discuss ways to save money later."
After finishing a round of juice, the two were incredibly bored and had no idea that a heated argument had taken place inside the private room regarding pre- and post-wedding gifts, attire, jewelry, and the wedding banquet. Finally, after much compromise, they reached an agreement on all the terms, setting the wedding for June. Then, Xiang Yuan tossed out a prenuptial agreement, demanding that Fang Zi sign it. Fang Haoping accepted the agreement calmly, showing neither anger nor embarrassment. He then tossed out a similar agreement himself, clearly indicating that both had made ample preparations beforehand.
Xiang Lan herself was not very clear about what premarital property she had, but the agreement listed shares in two hotels, a villa on a mountain, and an apartment in the city. Fang Zidu was also not very clear about what property his family had, only having heard his mother mention a few times that his father had bought him an apartment and a villa in Haicheng.
After both parties reviewed the terms with normal expressions, they carefully checked them and found that, almost unanimously, they both agreed that the spouse had no right to inherit the other's property under any circumstances, and that the dividends or profits generated by the property each year would be directly inherited by the couple's children (if any); if there were no children, the property would be inherited by the other's parents and relatives.
Xiang Yuan and Fang Haoping exchanged a glance; neither of them were pushovers. They nodded slightly and went off separately to negotiate with their own little brats. Fang Haoping carried a thick stack of papers out to find Fang Zidu, but after he left, Xiang Yuan quickly signed the two copies belonging to Xiang Lan, giving her no chance to choose.
"You signed this on my behalf without Lanlan's knowledge," Liu Zewen, the mother, said worriedly. "If she finds out, she'll make a huge fuss about it."
"What's there to argue about? Our family can give her far more than the Fang family can. She'll thank me later." Xiang Yuan took full responsibility, signing off on both his own and the Fang family's gifts and storing them in his briefcase. "I don't want her to know how much our family is giving her, nor do I want her to know how wary the Fang family is of her. It's a way of protecting her. You all know she's emotionally fragile, and she's pregnant now. She can't afford to overthink things."
“If the two of you can’t get along in the next year or two, it’s best to get a divorce sooner rather than later,” Xiang Yuan said indignantly. “Mom, I’ll keep an eye on you. You’d better not secretly give Xiang Lan money.”
"Okay—" Liu Zewen reluctantly agreed.
"What do you mean, 'okay'? It's a definite yes!" Xiang Yuan was furious. "I'll have my secretary keep an eye on your expenses every month. If I find out, what will I say to Dad?"
Xiang Zongnan, with a good-natured demeanor, said, "I'll just look after your mother."
Liu Zewen said with dissatisfaction, "Can't I even bring her some food and drink?"
“Then Hu Li must accompany her.” Xiang Yuan said to Hu Li without any mercy, “Hu Li, you must not protect her.”
Hu Li rolled her eyes at him, "What are you talking about?" and said, "Things are almost settled. I'll go call Lanlan in and ask the waiter to bring the food."
She opened the door and saw Xiang Lan sitting blankly on the sofa by the door. She asked, "Where's Zidu?"
"His dad called him to another place to talk business." Xiang Lan stood up. "Strange, it seemed like he was carrying a stack of documents and said he wanted to show them to him."
"Don't worry about it, come in. The food will be served soon."
Xiang Lan breathed a sigh of relief; this was really too much trouble.
Fang Haoping placed two prenuptial agreements in front of Fang Zidu, saying, "Son, take a look."
He skimmed through the prescription, finished reading it quickly, and asked, "Dad, where's the pen?"
"Look carefully," Fang Haoping reminded him. "The Xiang family hired a professional lawyer to draft these terms. If you marry Xiang Lan, you won't get a single penny from her family, and you'll have to support her yourself. Similarly, if your relationship doesn't get my approval, I won't spend a single penny on you."
"Dad, you're all great!" Fang Zidu smiled.
Fang Haoping said awkwardly, "Well, these are all for my grandson—"
"Since everyone thinks that way, it doesn't matter, just sign it."
Fang Haoping sighed as he watched his son put down his pen. Seeing his calm expression, he knew that his son had been mentally prepared. He felt that he had made a bad move and that he would probably be unable to control his son at all in the future.
Xiang Lan entered the private room, threw herself into her mother Liu Zewen's arms and acted coquettishly, then clung to her father Xiang Zongnan's arm. Liu Zewen looked at Xiang Lan with teary eyes, heartbroken, but Xiang Zongnan said, "Why did you find a bookworm?"
"What bookworm? Not at all!"
"Why did you stop staying? If you hadn't stayed, how could you have gotten a PhD at such a young age?"
"A doctor?" Xiang Lan was a little surprised. "Is he a doctor?"
Everyone at the table fell silent, staring at her. She seemed to realize what was happening and quickly tried to salvage the situation, saying, "Right? It's the Doctor. Everyone's very surprised!"
She forced a laugh, feeling so embarrassed because she didn't know anything about her husband's situation.
Xiang Yuan glared at her fiercely, his face grim and silent. She just grinned foolishly, then turned to Zong Nan and asked, "Dad, how is it?"
"I didn't get a clear look when she came in, but she has a somewhat feminine appearance, judging from her facial features—"
"Dad, don't you know? A boy with feminine features is destined for extraordinary fortune," Xiang Lan said, making things up, then turned to Liu Nanyang and said, "Uncle, don't you think so?"
"Huh? What?" Liu Nanyang, who was just passing by, didn't hear clearly.
“I was talking about my son’s appearance. Didn’t I specifically take you to see him? You said that a man with feminine features is incredibly noble, and you strongly support me being with him, right?” Xiang Lan winked at him.
"Ah, um, that's a saying." Liu Nanyang turned around after a while and said perfunctorily, "He's not too bad, he's good-looking, doesn't seem stupid, and his father isn't difficult to get along with."
"Moreover, his zodiac sign and the baby's zodiac sign are auspicious for you and Mom, isn't that wonderful?"
“There are plenty of people whose zodiac signs are compatible,” Xiang Yuan said coldly.
Xiang Lan glared at him and said, "What exactly did you talk about while you were locked in the room for so long?"
"We'll talk about it together when they get back."
"Still all mysterious?" Xiang Lan said, displeased.
"You're going to suffer later, his dad's incredibly shrewd," Xiang Yuan complained, annoyed at not getting any advantage.
A moment later, Fang Haoping led Fang Zidu in. The two sides politely introduced themselves to each other, and Fang Zidu and Xiang Lan unceremoniously addressed each other's parents as "Dad" and "Mom." Fang Haoping then handed a thick stack of documents to Xiang Yuan for him to handle.
Fang Zidu and Xiang Lan were seated together. She was curious and wanted to see what the document was, but he pulled her back. She was now facing the gazes of five elders, some worried, some sad, some cold, and some gloating.
Xiang Lan had no choice but to sit down obediently, still staring at the bag behind Xiang Yuan with unwavering determination.
Xiang Zongnan and Fang Haoping exchanged a glance, and Xiang Zongnan said, "In-law, why don't you speak first?"
Xiang Lan was overjoyed. She squeezed Fang Zidu's hand and whispered, "My dad acknowledges you."
Fang Zi squeezed her hand back, saying, "My dad acknowledges you too."
Fang Haoping said politely, "You go first, I have no objection."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony?"
"We're all family, no need to be polite."
"Okay!" Xiang Zongnan looked at the two young people, but instead of feeling the same anger as Xiang Yuan, he chuckled and said, "Last night, your brother called me and Mom and talked for three hours. It was mainly about Lanlan and Zidu's pregnancy and their marriage registration. He was very excited and also very sad. Your mother and I were also shocked and couldn't accept it for a while. We couldn't sleep all night. Your mother insisted on coming to the city to make sure you explained everything to her. She also wanted to call you, but I persuaded her that since they were already married, there was no rush. However, Dad has to criticize you two for this. You two really didn't handle it well."
"I'm sorry," Xiang Lan and Fang Zi both apologized quickly at the same time.
"That's so insincere," Xiang Yuan said disdainfully.
"That's enough, that's enough." Xiang Zongnan didn't insist. He said, "Since the marriage and pregnancy are already a fait accompli, we won't pursue it further. But we still need to give an explanation to our relatives and friends, so the wedding will still be held."
"I discussed it with my in-laws, and we'll hold the wedding in both this city and Haicheng. Considering that one of you has to go back to the United States to arrange the handover, and the other has health issues, we elders will help with the wedding arrangements one last time and take care of everything for you. All you need to do is attend, and in return, you can't express any opinions about the wedding; just showing up is enough."
"But, the wedding dress—"
"Have you considered a wedding dress?" Xiang Yuan looked at her stomach with disdain.
"Fine!" Xiang Lan said, feeling wronged. A moment of passion had deprived her of even the right to choose her own wedding dress.
Fang Zi squeezed her hand again to comfort her.
"The wedding and banquet arrangements are settled. The wedding company will contact you regarding the specific schedule. The following matters are truly related to you, so listen carefully." Xiang Zongnan looked at his young daughter, feeling a pang of pity, but also knowing that he couldn't let her go unpunished.
"Both of our parents are very dissatisfied with what you've done this time, so we've decided that we won't be involved in anything after the wedding banquet."
As expected, they arrived. Xiang Lan and Fang Zi exchanged a glance.
"Xiang Lan's graduation, job, pregnancy, childbirth, and raising the child afterward; and Zi Du's work, residence, and childcare after returning to China—all of these are your responsibility," Xiang Zongnan announced. Liu Zewen couldn't help but cry, saying, "Or perhaps we should give them some pocket money!"
"Mom, you never cared about me like this when I went abroad to study." Xiang Yuan glared at Xiang Lan, who seemed completely unfazed. "It's not like we're cutting ties with her. It's just about letting her support herself. What's so difficult about that?"
Why now of all times?
"At this point, she's completely out of control. Are we going to wait until she causes even more trouble before taking action? That would be too late."
“It’s not that we completely ignore him, but we let them start learning to manage their own lives and how to manage their money,” Fang Haoping hurriedly explained. “This is a necessary process in life, and I’ve always educated Zidu this way. Since he went abroad at fifteen, he’s handled his own affairs. I trust him completely, and I believe he will shoulder his responsibilities as a man.” It’s just that he’s too capable, which caught him off guard.
"But Lanlan has never left us—"
Seeing her mother crying so hard, Xiang Lan felt a pang of sadness and said, "Mom, why don't you take care of me?"
"Don't even think about it!" Xiang Yuan roared. "You're already married—"
Xiang Lan pouted. "Hmph, that's what they say, but if she wants to go home, who can stop her?"
“However, if you feel you can’t make ends meet, you can come back.” Xiang Yuan looked at Fang Zidu and said somewhat provocatively, “Your brother can still support you.”
Fang Zi ignored his brother-in-law's provocation and looked gently at Xiang Zongnan and Liu Zewen, "Please rest assured, Mom and Dad, I will take good care of Xiang Lan. And please rest assured, brother, I won't let you have a chance to hear Xiang Lan complain to you about her unhappy life—"
"And we will arrange our own lives from now on, and keep in touch by phone regularly. If it's not necessary, please don't disturb our lives." Fang Zidu said calmly, but his attitude was firm.
Xiang Lan turned her head to look at Fang Zidu, her eyes full of admiration, and couldn't help but kiss him on the cheek.
Fang Zi pulled Xiang Lan away, trying his best to remain calm, but his slightly shy expression betrayed him.
Xiang Yuan felt that the situation was hopeless. He also realized that the one clinging to the other person was his own sister. Looking at that pretty boy's gentle, shy, and beautiful smile, he disliked him even more.
On the contrary, the elders were completely oblivious and were quite pleased with the young couple's affectionate behavior. They were so old, yet they still smiled so innocently.
Author's Note: I currently have 1499 favorites, and it should reach 1500 by tonight. However, I have something to do, so I'm adding an extra chapter early. Please send me a flower to show your appreciation!
Chapter 30
After the group finished their discussion, they ate a not-so-delicious lunch and went home.
Xiang Lan was napping on Fang Zidu's large wooden bed, her body curled up, her usual fierce demeanor gone, like an adorable kitten. Fang Zidu covered her with a thin blanket, leaned down and kissed her forehead, watched her sleeping face for a while, then turned on his computer and re-entered her picture thread on the school's intranet.
Dealing with both sets of parents was a three-star difficulty level in Fang Zi's mind; dealing with potential rivals in love was a four-star difficulty level.
He remembered the name Li Xingda the first time he heard it.
He looked at the building for a while, then his phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was Lin Li's number. It was 3 p.m. in China, but midnight in the United States.
"Sister Lin, are you still in the lab?" Fang Zidu asked softly as he came out of the room, covering his phone.
"No, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep, so I wanted to talk to you." Lin Li's voice was muffled. "My teacher contacted me and confirmed that you're going back to China to work, right?"
"right?"
"Why? I'm so curious."
"For personal reasons."
"Can't I say?" Lin Li said with a grin. "You suddenly changed your mind. I don't know whether to be surprised or happy. You know, I enjoy working with you."
"You're planning to come back too?"
"Of course, this was decided long ago."
"The handover of the laboratory—"
“I’m already doing it, you don’t need to worry about it.” Lin Li seemed to be packing things up. “There’s nothing or no one here that I’d like to stay with, so going back to China is a good choice.”
Fang Zi thought for a while and said, "That's what I think too."