After the Cannon Fodder A Accidentally Marked the Paranoid Female Lead - Chapter 28

By the time Ming Sian received the contract, three days had already passed. What she received was an electronic document. As for the content… how should one put it? It was probably the high-end level of “sugar baby” arrangements, right?

One hundred thousand in cash every month. For any He family event she attended, her entire outfit and equipment would be provided by He Yining.

One hundred thousand—that was more than she made working her tail off. It seemed He Yining really wanted to give her money.

Ming Sian silently highlighted this section in red and added a few words in parentheses: (I don’t want the money; the rest is fine.)

There were some other sections below that they had discussed before, specifically regarding her need to soothe the heat period. Since she had completely marked He Yining, she had to take on this responsibility.

As for the other parts, she could understand them. But at the final clause, Ming Sian froze.

During the existence of the marriage, both parties must guarantee absolute loyalty, otherwise, they will leave with nothing. The Alpha would be required to pay 60% of their earnings to the Omega.

Well, isn’t this clearly targeted at her? So she noted—(What if you aren’t loyal?)

In truth, she agreed with this point, but with He Yining, she always wanted to pick a fight; she couldn’t appear too obedient.

He Yining quickly replied to her notes.

[The hundred thousand is your “hardship fee.” After marriage, you will have to face all sorts of He family members.]

Understood. It was “mental damages” pay, then. That was relatable.

The He family had hundreds of members; even He Yining herself was exhausted from dealing with them. In the novel, the original host was triggered to the point of “creeping in the shadows” (becoming mentally unstable). One could only imagine the He family’s combat effectiveness.

Ming Sian thought for a bit and replied—【Then let’s do it per instance. Mental damage fees for every time I meet a He family member.】

He Yining—【…】

If He Yining didn’t lack a “Get Lost” emoji, Ming Sian would have probably received a big one.

How did it become mental damage fees? Fine, it actually was mental damage fees.

Then He Yining sent another message—【If I am not loyal, the marriage ends.】

Having gotten the answer she wanted, Ming Sian replied with a single “Okay.”

The two scheduled a time to sign the contract. Ming Sian happened to be working today, and the location was He Yining’s office at Anning Law Firm.

As Ming Sian sat across from He Yining, she suddenly remembered something. “Boss, I don’t think I’ve reached the legal marriage age yet.”

He Yining: “?”

Ming Sian had subconsciously assumed her age from her previous life, so she hadn’t noticed. Once the copy of her ID was pulled out, she was dazed. No—she was only nineteen, and wouldn’t be twenty until after the New Year.

According to Hong Kong law, for men or women under 21 but over 18, marriage requires the guardian’s permission. Only after 21 can one decide for themselves.

He Yining was silent for a moment. “Who is your guardian?”

“Ms. Chen, my mom. But my suggestion is not to let her know, otherwise I’m not sure what the consequences will be.”

Given the original host’s knowledge of Ms. Chen, the woman had always wanted her to snag a rich lady. If she knew she actually had, she’d probably buy a plane ticket immediately.

Ms. Chen was someone with a constant sense of superiority. In their small hometown, the average salary was two or three thousand; her salary was six or seven thousand. Combined with benefits and a hundred-thousand-yuan year-end bonus, she was considered the most successful in the family.

Consequently, Ms. Chen always looked down on friends and relatives, including the original host’s father—though the father wasn’t any good either.

In the novel, the original host got Ms. Chen to sign. As a result, Ms. Chen flew to Hong Kong and brought back bags of luxury goods. The host felt humiliated, but Ms. Chen felt that since her daughter had married into money, what was wrong with spending the daughter’s money? The He family had used this repeatedly to shame the original host.

Thinking of that scene, Ming Sian dared not let Ms. Chen find out.

She couldn’t bring herself to crazily take advantage of others like that. Even if she didn’t care for Ms. Chen, people would always associate those actions with her.

He Yining watched her steadily for a while. “If we marry, the elders cannot be absent.”

“There’s going to be a wedding too?”

Ming Sian thought they would just sign a contract and then go register.

“You don’t want to?”

“It’s not that.”

Ming Sian spoke hesitantly, “I just don’t want things to become too troublesome.”

If their marriage was just a formality, she hoped a wedding would still retain its own sacredness, romance, and solemnity.

He Yining suddenly smiled. “Then we won’t have a wedding. We’ll just make a supplemental treaty. We’ll register once you’re 21. Only I have the right to regret it.”

After saying this, she added another sentence, “Since the contract changes are due to your side’s reasons, you will bear the consequences.”

Very well. It really felt like a negotiation.

Ming Sian sat up straight as well. “Fine. But I want to add one more clause to the contract.”

“Speak.”

“If a technology appears that can wash away a mark painlessly and without harm, I can also propose to end the marriage.”

In the later stages of the novel, such technology seemed to have appeared.

He Yining looked at her deeply. Without a word, she typed the newly discussed content into the computer, printed it out, picked up a pen, and signed her name.

Ming Sian took the contract and signed her name as well.

The contract officially took effect. A pair of contract-marriage partners was born just like that.

“Pack your things. Prepare to move.”

He Yining sent her the code for an apartment near Hong Kong University and told her to move in early.

Ming Sian didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t give up her dormitory; she’d rather keep paying to keep it until her studies at HKU ended.

“Okay.”

She didn’t intend to mention this. Lowering her eyes, she thought for a moment and said slowly, “I don’t have many things. I’ll go tomorrow.”

He Yining rose, crossing her arms. “I’ll wait for you.”

The matter was decided. Ming Sian felt dazed, her emotions complex. She and He Yining were truly fated to be entangled.

However, the situation was different from the novel. Surely He Yining wouldn’t treat her the way she did in the book.

As Ming Sian walked out of the office with the contract, Huo Qi came toward her and patted her shoulder. “I didn’t expect her to actually marry you.”

“I didn’t expect it either.” She thought they would just sign an agreement at most.

Although they couldn’t marry yet because of her age, they had only postponed the date, not canceled it.

Huo Qi gave her a complex look, still feeling her friend was playing too big of a game.

“Treat her well.”

This was a word from a friend to a friend’s partner.

Ming Sian nodded, not knowing what to say.

Huo Qi watched her retreating back for a while before turning into the office. Seeing her friend leaning by the floor-to-ceiling window looking lonely, she couldn’t help but feel bad.

“Why bother?”

She didn’t understand why her friend would marry Ming Sian. Just playing around would have been fine, or even just dating. But for her to choose marriage—the He family side was terrifying just thinking about it.

He Yining smiled, walked to the wine cabinet, poured a glass of cherry rum, and handed it to Huo Qi.

Huo Qi was speechless. “I don’t drink while working.”

“It’s an enchanting scent.” He Yining raised the glass to her lips and took a smiling sip.

“Is it because something happened with Grandma He?”

If not for that, Huo Qi couldn’t think of any reason why her friend would marry Ming Sian. What else could it be?

He Yining nodded. “Grandma needs surgery, but she might not wake up. She’s unwilling. The doctor said if she doesn’t do the surgery, she has a year at most.”

“A year!” Huo Qi was shocked. “Did Grandma have someone write up an agreement?”

“Yes, but no one knows what she wrote.”

He Yining’s voice grew a bit raspy. Her grandmother was an old lady used to absolute control over everyone. Compared to other people’s grandmothers, hers might not have been “good” to her, but compared to the other grandchildren, she was definitely the one the grandmother valued most.

Because of this, she was envied by her cousins, who bullied her often.

Thinking that her grandmother’s life was nearing its end made her sad, of course, but who the future of the He family would be handed to was the matter she needed to care about.

The grandmother didn’t like He Yining’s mother or other uncles because they were all Alphas. The grandmother was an Omega who had emerged from a crowd of competitors; she was biased toward Omegas. And as the eldest girl in the family and an Omega, He Yining was clearly favored.

That bias wasn’t much, but it was enough to make the others wary.

Some time ago, Grandma said the property might be distributed per person, and married partners would get preferential treatment. Most importantly, Grandma wanted to realize the maximum family interest through the marriages of the third generation.

But Grandma gave her a privilege: she could choose her own marriage. If she could marry before Grandma passed away, that would be good. However, her mother and “mama” hoped she would marry the person they chose.

He Yining didn’t understand Grandma. Since she wouldn’t force her marriage, why did she want her to marry at all? Grandma had said a sentence that she thought of from time to time: “You are the most perfect heir to the family, but I don’t want you to become a machine that only knows how to be the Head. Whether being the Head or dealing with the law, reason and sentiment are both important. Ning Ning, Grandma wants you to soften up.”

She understood the literal meaning; it likely meant she was too cold and hard, possessing no feelings for anyone. Once she became the Head, family members would no longer be relatives, just tools for the family’s contribution. While one couldn’t have only family affection for members, one couldn’t have none at all.

Just like Grandma. Everyone said Grandma was impartial and selfless, but in reality, she had done too much for the family. Family members followed her not just because she was capable and fair, but because she would judge things on their merits—yet outside of the matter, there was family love.

For example, if someone made a mistake and needed to pay ten million, but the person only had eight million, Grandma would quietly make up the remaining two million.

In fact, when He Yining raised this example, Grandma was silent for a long time, hesitating to speak. Finally, she only said one thing: “You should try having feelings.”

Regardless, Grandma believed a “machine Head” was the most unsuitable to lead the family, so she hoped to see a change in her.

He Yining turned to Huo Qi. “Tell me, what’s wrong with being a perfect Head?”

“It makes people afraid,” Huo Qi replied.

Afraid? But shouldn’t a Head be high and mighty and make people afraid?

Seeing her confusion, Huo Qi thought for a bit and then gave up. “I don’t know how to explain it either, but I can roughly understand Grandma now.”

After all, whether it was He Yining’s uncles or cousins, these people were all Grandma’s descendants. The blood relation was there. She couldn’t hand the He family to a loser or someone who couldn’t control the family, but she also couldn’t hand it to someone absolutely heartless—otherwise, the lives of her children would be too miserable in the future.

Furthermore, if one was too heartless, the He family would become a heap of loose sand, each fighting for themselves. A He family that couldn’t unite would be dragged to death by internal friction.

Grandma’s considerations made sense, but whether it was really as she thought was hard to say.

Huo Qi voiced her understanding. He Yining listened and took a big sip of cherry rum. “If it were really as you said, then the He family would have already been fighting for themselves long ago.”

An elite education is relatively lacking in human touch. She grew up in competition with her cousins; their relationship was far from good, and with some, it was even terrible.

He Yining wasn’t refuting Grandma’s words, nor was she supporting them. Some things aren’t simply right or wrong. She felt some people should be cut off, or they would be like blood-sucking leeches on the He family.

The older generation valued feelings. Even a careerist with such ambition like Grandma valued feelings more as she got older.

Huo Qi nodded. Regarding He family matters, she would just support He Yining’s decisions. She had supported her for so long since they were children. What she was worried about was Ming Sian. “I’m not worried about your ability. I’m worried that you’ll fall in love with Ming Sian.”

“I won’t.” He Yining was very certain. How could she fall in love with Ming Sian?

“But, you don’t need to marry her.”

Huo Qi still didn’t approve of them marrying. Marriage isn’t just a piece of paper; it’s two people, even two families, forming one. It’s hard to reconcile.

He Yining was puzzled. “Don’t you ship us?”

“That’s two different things. Dating is dating, and marriage is marriage.”

Huo Qi made no secret of her lack of support. In her view, Ming Sian was excellent, but their family backgrounds were too far apart; they simply didn’t match. “Ming Sian should also be quite resistant, right?”

Perhaps she was a bit angry at her friend’s irresponsibility toward herself, as her volume increased.

He Yining was silent. Of course Ming Sian was unwilling, but so what? “Who told you we got married?”

A big question mark appeared over Huo Qi’s head. “You didn’t?”

“Mm, she’s only 19.” He Yining’s mood improved as she saw her friend experience the same speechlessness she had just felt.

Huo Qi’s face was dark, speechless and too tired to be angry. “Then what did you two sign?”

He Yining tasted the flavor of the cherry rum and slowly closed her eyes. “Don’t you think cherry rum tastes very good?”

What does that even mean? This is a mess.

“He Yining, you better know what you’re doing.” Huo Qi left huffily; she couldn’t stop her friend’s decision.

He Yining certainly knew what she was doing. Reminiscing about the cherry rum taste in her mouth, the image of Ming Sian’s surging possessiveness appeared in her mind—that bastard actually couldn’t remember it at all.

She immediately sent a message out—【Follow me after work.】

Ming Sian, receiving the message, hesitated for a moment and replied with a question mark.

However, He Yining didn’t give her a chance to object—【Come get the car keys. Wait for me in the car.】

The moment their names were signed on the contract, the agreement had taken effect.

Fine. It was already like this. Whatever requirements the other party had, she still had to cooperate. Completely marking the person was her fault to begin with.

Ming Sian resignedly went to get the car keys. He Yining was working and didn’t give her a single look.

Waiting until the end of the afternoon shift, Ming Sian found He Yining’s car first and sat inside. Before getting in, she looked left and right, afraid of being seen.

About twenty minutes later, she saw He Yining walking over in high heels. The God of High Heels—one had to say, when He Yining walked in heels, her aura was perfectly handled.

He Yining sat directly in the passenger seat. “Drive.”

Ming Sian obediently started the car. Just as she pulled out of the parking space, a figure stood by the road waving. It was Huo Qi.

“Stopping?”

“Mm.”

Though she didn’t know why Huo Qi was stopping them, Ming Sian steadily stopped the car in front of her.

Huo Qi opened the passenger door first, saw that the person sitting there was He Yining while Ming Sian was driving, paused her hand, gave them both a side-eye, and turned to sit in the back.

“Take me home first,” Huo Qi commanded unceremoniously.

“Where does Team Leader Huo live?” Ming Sian asked through the rearview mirror.

“Lanting.”

The highest-end residential area nearby, focusing on large floor plans from 200 to 600 square meters. Those who could afford to live there were either rich or noble. It was a few minutes from the company and a few minutes from HKU—an excellent location. The price was also absurdly high. One must know this was Hong Kong; the unit price for a house in Lanting was as high as 500,000 per square meter.

The address He Yining gave her was right here. They would be living in this complex from now on.

Ming Sian knew they were rich, but she didn’t expect them to be this rich. One should know He Yining had only graduated for two years; even if she made money from two big cases, it was at most tens of millions.

The car soon reached the entrance of the complex. He Yining suddenly spoke, “Let’s go. Check out the new home.”

Since they were already here, it was better to go up and take a look.

Huo Qi huffed, “When we both bought upstairs and downstairs, you wouldn’t come even when I asked you to. You insisted on living in your villa. Now you’re moving here for another woman.”

While Ming Sian was parking, she said angrily, “He Yining, you are a bad woman.”

He Yining: “…” The villa was more comfortable to live in. The commute was a bit far, but it was very quiet, the air was great, and there was greenery.

One should know, in the city of Hong Kong, greenery is hard to find except in specific places.

Huo Qi was about to say more, but seeing Ming Sian walking over, she chose to shut her mouth.

The three of them came to the 12th floor. In a place like Hong Kong where every inch of land is gold, houses built this low are rare. Most apartment buildings are at least 20 stories. No wonder it was expensive here.

He Yining lived on the 12th floor; the entire floor was hers. Huo Qi lived on the 11th, but the 11th was split into two units. Even for two units, it would cost over a hundred million. Both of these sisters were very wealthy.

Ming Sian silently followed behind. Only after He Yining gave her a look did she silently go to enter the code. The moment the elevator opened, she saw a luxurious wall. A massive 680-square-meter luxury flat. Next to the entry elevator was a shoe closet—no, it was a room used for shoes, and it wasn’t even inside the house yet.

After entering, there was the dining room and living room. The dining room had a large round table that could seat twelve. It was a “double living room,” meaning an area large enough for two sets of sofas, nearly 30 meters long. The balcony was also that long. The kitchen was said to be the same model as a Michelin one, capable of accommodating ten or even twenty people cooking at once. There were two maid’s rooms, and two guest rooms—both were suites with their own bathrooms. The master bedroom was different; it even had its own living room. The bathroom inside was larger than the dormitory apartment she lived in. There was also a separate walk-in closet.

Besides those, there was a tea room and two studies. The decoration was very good, and the furniture was all there; it was move-in ready.

Entering the room, Ming Sian could smell the fresh scent on the quilt. Clearly, it had all been cleaned. Over these three days, could He Yining have had people preparing this?

Just as it was ready, she asked her to sign the agreement and formally determine their relationship.

To be honest, Ming Sian thought about her own things—if she threw them in a doghouse, even the dog might complain there was too little to use.

He Yining letting her live in such a big apartment—her things would probably only take up a corner of a closet.

For this one flat, she wouldn’t necessarily be able to buy it even after ten years of struggle, yet He Yining was born with it. The two really didn’t match.

Ming Sian’s heart grew dark for a moment. Regardless, she couldn’t live here long-term. No matter how good someone else’s thing is, it’s not as good as your own.

She was wondering if she should tell He Yining that she’d just come on weekends.

After a tour, Huo Qi, sitting tiredly on the sofa, said enviously, “A large flat. The large flat I had my eye on.”

Back then she wanted this unit, but her family wouldn’t give her that much money. She could only encourage He Yining to buy it together with her.

He Yining was very wealthy and bought it directly. Initially, it was 300,000 per square meter; now it was 500,000. As an investment project, it was actually quite good.

He Yining opened the fridge and took out three bottles of water. “Alright, you should go home.”

Huo Qi: “? I just got here.”

“So?”

He Yining gave her friend an unmistakable look. Huo Qi took the water and muttered, “Bros before hoes… or in this case, the opposite.”

Huo Qi got up to leave, then glanced at Ming Sian. “My home is right downstairs. Student Xiao Ming can come visit when you have time.”

Ming Sian, who had been silent, nodded. “Okay.”

After Huo Qi left, only the two of them were left in the house. Ming Sian, seeing it was getting dark, spoke up to remind her, “Lawyer He, are you still going home?”

“This is my home.” Clearly, He Yining had made a temporary decision to stay here.

Ming Sian pursed her lips. “Then I’ll head back to the dorm.”

“Does today count as our first day of marriage?” Although they hadn’t registered, they had signed the agreement. It could roughly count as such.

“Uhm… it can count as such.”

“Then we should celebrate.”

He Yining walked to the wine cabinet. “A drink?”

Ming Sian shook her head. “I don’t dare drink anymore.”

Thinking of how drinking almost caused trouble—no, it had caused trouble—she didn’t want to drink anymore unless necessary.

He Yining thought of that too. She didn’t force her. “Going home for the New Year?”

The spring semester at HKU had started, different from the holiday model in the Mainland. Winter break comes first, and after the spring semester starts, the Spring Festival comes shortly after. The Spring Festival holiday was approaching, and the company would be on break too. So Ming Sian didn’t have to go to school or class.

Ming Sian shook her head. “I don’t have that plan for now.”

A seven-day holiday—travel costs plus various expenses would likely be ten or twenty thousand. After receiving two months of salary, she had a little spare money, but she didn’t want to go home. That was the original host’s home, not hers, and she didn’t want to go back and deal with Ms. Chen.

He Yining smiled with a rare tenderness. “Then accompany me back to the He family.”

It was gentle, but gave Ming Sian no room to refuse.

During Ming Sian’s slight hesitation, He Yining had already walked to her side. The red wine glass in her hand swayed, and then she placed the glass by Ming Sian’s lips, letting her smell the fragrance of the wine.

He Yining’s voice carried a hint of ambiguity. With her tone intentionally lowered, it made one’s heart itch. “We can’t marry yet, but we must have an engagement. The He family needs to know of your existence.”

Reasonable. Ming Sian nodded. “Okay. You arrange the time.”

Seeing her obediently agree, He Yining became even gentler. Her tone carried a lingering trailing note, stirring Ming Sian’s heartstrings. “Such a good girl.”

“Then stay the night.”

Wait, sister? So sudden. She wasn’t prepared yet, and she was being told to stay the night. God knows what would happen after staying the night.