Sweetie, don't look at him, kiss me.

Lin Qingmian stood in front of the sofa, her fingers slowly clenching and unclenching at her sides. Something was piecing together in her mind, details she had never noticed before beginning to surface—Old Madam Ji's inexplicable hostility towards her, Su Tingwan's perfectly timed cooperation after returning to the country, and Lin Qingqing's unusual concern before her marriage to Ji Linzhou.

"My parents..." Her voice was a little tight, "Were they also involved in pushing me to that so-called old man and making me sign a loan agreement with exorbitant interest rates?"

Ji Linzhou looked at her, neither saying yes nor no. "I've already had someone investigate."

She sat down in the chair opposite him and remained silent for a long time. "So from the very beginning, I wasn't just 'someone who just happened to need help.' I was chosen."

He didn't deny it. He leaned back on the sofa, looking at her, his eyes holding something she couldn't understand, like some unspoken guilt brought to the surface by his words. His voice was lower than before when he spoke: "I approached you because you happened to need help. I investigated your situation; I knew you were being pressured by the Lin family, had signed a loan shark's agreement, and desperately needed money; I knew you broke up with Ji Xingye and severed ties with your family—you were the most suitable candidate."

He paused for a moment. "But at that time I didn't know your predicament was orchestrated. I thought it was just a coincidence."

Lin Qingmian sat in the chair, the morning light from the window falling warmly on her knees, yet her fingertips felt a little cold. "So now?" she looked up at him, "You know my predicament was orchestrated, what are your plans?"

"Find out who's behind this," he said. "Whoever it is, investigate them one by one. Those who deserve to be punished will be punished."

He looked at her, his gaze more serious than before. "As for you—you can leave anytime. If you feel this marriage was a scam from the start and you want to end it, I won't stop you."

Lin Qingmian stared at him for several seconds. She could see the weariness in his eyes, and sense the suppressed tension in his voice when he said, "I won't stop you." She didn't answer whether to go or not, but simply stood up, walked to him, and looked down at him: "You'll find out the truth, right?"

"meeting."

"Tell me when you've found out," she said. "I don't like being kept in the dark."

He tilted his head slightly to look at her, and a slight movement finally appeared on his usually expressionless face. The corners of his lips curved slightly, a fleeting, subtle smile. "Okay."

That noon, they checked out of their hotel and checked into a quieter, less conspicuous boutique hotel. Ji Linzhou said that the original hotel might have spies planted by their partners, so it was better to change. The new hotel was in a narrow alley, with a small storefront and only nine rooms. The receptionist was an elderly French lady with gray hair who greeted them in French with a southern accent and handed them two keys.

After settling in, Ji Linzhou received a phone call and stood on the balcony for almost half an hour. She sat in her room scrolling through her phone and saw more than a dozen unread messages from Lin Qingqing, ranging from "Mianmian, have you arrived yet?" to "Have you seen the news?" to "It seems something happened at the Ji family's place, do you know?", each message more anxious than the last. She didn't reply after reading them, but marked them as read.

When Ji Linzhou walked in from the balcony, his expression was more somber than before. "We found out. The brokerage firm that got you to sign the loan agreement with them was actually a shell company. And the registered owner of that shell company is connected to the Ji family matriarch's family."

Lin Qingmian's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped her phone. "Why would she do that?"

"So that I can get married," Ji Linzhou said calmly. "That investment involves her family's interests. If the contract can't be fulfilled, her family's assets will be affected. She needs me to sign the contract as soon as possible, she needs a married status—and you, Ji Xingye's ex-girlfriend, the Lin family's daughter, are the easiest person to control."

"So she first made my parents sign up for high-interest loans to drive me to the brink, and then you came to save me—that way I would have no choice but to marry you."

"Yes," he said, "but after you married me, she never imagined we'd actually end up together."

Lin Qingmian stood by the window, looking at the narrow alley outside. A man in a trench coat rode by on a bicycle, the sound of the chain turning coming up from downstairs, crisp and short. She didn't turn around: "And you? Did you find all this before deciding to tell me, or did you only start looking after I asked you last night, 'Do you still need this marriage after the contract is settled?'"

He walked over and stood beside her, also looking out at the alleyway. "When you asked me last night, I really hadn't thought of how to answer."

He turned his head to look at her: "I've made up my mind now. It has nothing to do with the contract."

She didn't turn to look at him, but the fingers hanging at her sides curled slightly before relaxing again.

Ji Linzhou picked up his phone, dialed a number, said a few words in French, hung up, and turned to walk towards the entrance.

"I'm going out for a bit. There are people watching the hotel. Don't wander around the room."

Lin Qingmian watched him pick up his coat. "Where are you going?"

"They contacted me and said they want to talk in person." He put on his coat. "There's someone in the business hall at the airport who's willing to come out and discuss the contract."

"I'll go with you."

"Need not."

"Since he contacted you first, it means he has something to hide. If you go alone, and he turns around and accuses you, you won't even have anyone to vouch for what you said."

Ji Linzhou stood in the doorway, watching her, seemingly weighing his options. Lin Qingmian had already picked up her coat from the sofa and draped it over her arm, standing there waiting. A few seconds later, he opened the door, stepped aside to let her go first.

When the two arrived at the airport's business hall, their opponent was already waiting there. A middle-aged man in a gray suit, his hair neatly combed, sat before them, a cup of coffee that had gone cold. His fingers trembled slightly as he stood up to shake their hands, as if he had made a decision but then regretted it.

"Mr. Ji, Mrs. Ji." He sat down again and pushed a document onto the table. "This is the original. I've had it for over a year, but I haven't dared to take it out."

Ji Linzhou didn't touch the document, only glancing at the date on the cover. "Who gave it to you?"

"Madam Ji," the middle-aged man said, "the night we signed the contract, she sent my assistant away and replaced the last page. I didn't know at the time, and only found out months later. She promised to give me hush money, but I never dared to accept it."

Lin Qingmian looked at the document: "Then why are you willing to hand it over now?"

The middle-aged man looked up at her, then looked down again: "Her overseas accounts have recently been targeted. If I don't hand them over voluntarily, they'll become worthless when she gets investigated herself. It's better to find another bargaining chip sooner rather than later."