A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Qin Yan stood behind the curtains.

At four in the morning, the darkest time of day, the two streetlights on the street were turned off, there was no moon or stars, and it was pitch black everywhere.

Even the car headlights couldn't penetrate the darkness.

Qin Yan watched them bustling about as Cheng Tianxun's car led the way, driving away from the street.

She lowered a corner of the curtain.

She was aware of Cheng Tianxun's every time he got up or left. But knowing she was safe, she was too lazy to wake up, and would only stir her consciousness briefly before continuing to sleep.

This time, she woke up fully because Cheng Tianxun stood by her bedside for a moment.

Qin Yan was still half asleep at the time, waiting for him to speak or to wake her up.

He just stood there silently.

He didn't speak or make any move. Because it was too dark, and Qin Yan didn't dare to open her eyes, she wasn't even sure if he was looking at her.

Then I remembered his hesitation yesterday.

Qin Yan couldn't figure out what he wanted to say, or what he hadn't told her before he woke up completely.

She didn't move.

After Cheng Tianxun gently closed the door and went downstairs, Qin Yan opened her eyes.

She observed him from behind the curtains for a moment, but found nothing unusual, just like when he left home before; and Qin Yan still didn't sense any danger.

She went back to bed.

She stood by the window for half an hour, feeling chilled to the bone; and the bed, unattended for so long, had also grown cold.

Qin Yan felt colder and colder as he slept, so he sat up and turned on the light switch.

She placed the official documents on the bedside table and leaned against it to read: she lived a carefree and relaxed life while Cheng Tianxun was away.

Just like now.

The entire room belonged to her; in an instant, she felt like she had found a vast and boundless world.

You can get up and do something productive whenever you wake up, or read books until late at night without restraint if you can't sleep.

Qin Yan was very efficient; he had already finished reading the documents from this morning before the maids had even finished preparing breakfast.

After breakfast, she calmly went to the office, where Ling Manyun told her, "The Mulan Literature Society is having a meeting today."

"Mulan Literary Society" is the Nancheng Newspaper Association. Although competitors are rivals, Qin Yan also benefited from it.

She never made it clear that she was an outcast.

"Alright, come with me," Qin Yan said.

Ling Manyun had prepared all the materials needed for the meeting for her and also discussed the main points of the day with her.

Qin Yan drove himself, while Ling Manyun kept rambling on about the day's events. The car soon arrived at the entrance of the Mulan Literary Society.

Qin Yan and Ling Manyun got out of the car and ran into Du Zhuojun.

I haven't seen her for quite some time.

It's getting a bit chilly, and Du Zhuojun is wearing a fur coat with a very thick fur collar, looking all warm and cozy.

Compared to her, Qin Yan and Ling Manyun's cloaks were slightly thinner.

Fashionable women wear sheer stockings with leather shoes, no matter how cold it is; Ling Manyun complained last year that her heels were about to get frostbite and she wished she could go back to Guangzhou.

Fortunately, ankle boots became fashionable in foreign trading companies last year, which saved their feet.

Even so, fashionable people rarely wear padded clothes and just endure the cold in winter.

"...Shall we get a fur coat to wear too?" Ling Manyun asked her.

She envied Du Zhuojun's warm and cozy demeanor.

Qin Yan remained silent.

Ling Manyun followed her gaze and saw a young man.

The last time I saw him was at the entrance of Qin Yan's newly purchased house.

The young man was handsome, with fair skin and light-colored eyes, his handsomeness bordering on aloofness; he wore a brown suit vest, a black cashmere overcoat, and a scarf.

His gaze passed through the crowd and landed on Qin Yan and Ling Manyun.

Then, he and Du Zhuojun went inside together.

Ling Manyun: "He is Luo Qisheng, right?"

"I don't think I've talked to you about Luo Qisheng."

"Others have told me about it," Ling Manyun said, "but you've always been unwilling to talk about it, and I didn't want to force you, so I didn't bring it up."

"Is the other person Qin Yao, or his second aunt?"

"Qin Yao," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan: "What he said might not be clear. Let's go have lunch later, and I'll tell you then. Don't ask now."

Ling Manyun said yes.

Luo Qisheng, standing next to Du Zhuojun, was indeed Qisheng, the rising star editor of the Nancheng Daily. He had made rapid progress and quickly gained a reputation.

Of course, Qin Yan also deserves credit for this: Qin Yan has been having the chief writer pay attention to Qi Sheng and compete with him, which has inadvertently elevated his status.

Not every eloquent writer can get a response from Qin Yan by criticizing the vernacular newspaper.

Qin Yan had a purpose.

The Mulan Literary Society meeting lasted two hours, with its main task being fundraising.

Du Zhuojun took the lead and pledged 1,000 silver dollars.

Their colleagues looked at each other in bewilderment.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

It wasn't until the editor-in-chief of the top-selling evening newspaper came out and pledged 100 silver dollars that others gradually spoke up.

Thirty or fifty.

Qin Yan's newspaper was the second best-selling newspaper, and she pledged eighty silver dollars.

When the meeting ended, everyone gathered together and began to complain about Du Zhuojun.

"The Du family is the richest family in Nancheng. President Du is wealthy, and Miss Du is certainly not short of money. But her behavior makes it awkward for her competitors to do anything."

"The Du family is indeed wealthy; we can't compare to them."

"This Miss Du is clueless about social etiquette. Dealing with her will only bring us trouble later."

The younger men and women were the chief writers and secretaries who had come along, and they privately discussed Du Zhuojun's generosity.

"The old folks are used to being stingy; Miss Du made them lose face."

"Is that her fiancé? He's really handsome; no wonder they're putting so much effort into promoting him."

"That woman from the Vernacular Times, young, earning money, and married well, actually didn't marry Miss Du and only pledged eighty. She's learned the old folks' shrewdness."

"The old folks like her more than Miss Du. And her background isn't simple either."

Qin Yan and Ling Manyun heard it from both sides, and upon hearing it, they were both amused and exasperated.

When I left the Mulan Literary Society, Du Zhuojun was actually waiting for me at the door.

"Young Madam Cheng," she called to Qin Yan.

Her tone was respectful.

In the workplace, calling Qin Yan that would erase her merits and achievements, and would only make her look like she was "climbing the social ladder."

Qin Yan stopped in his tracks: "Miss Du, is there something you need?"

"We've been exchanging barbs for a while now, are you going to continue?" Du Zhuojun asked.

As he spoke, his voice was filled with disdain and impatience, "Your newspaper, for the sake of sales, disregards the greater good and argues with me all day long, which is meaningless."

"Young Madam Cheng, you've already married above your station. Even if you don't consider yourself, you should at least consider the reputation of the Cheng family."

Ling Manyun stood to the side.

She looked at Qin Yan, her gaze gesturing for her to make a move.

Qin Yan remained calm: "Miss Du seems to care more about the Cheng family's reputation? Isn't that a bit too much concern?"

"That's all you can say," Du Zhuojun scoffed. "When others say something, you just repeat what they say."

Although he smiled, it was a forced smile, and his gaze was serious.

Qin Yan: "You're the one who judges others by your own standards, and every word you say is nonsensical. Don't deny it, not a single word you uttered is pleasing to the ear."

Du Zhuojun's face darkened: "I'm giving you a friendly warning. I could recruit forty more people to fight you in the ring all day long. I just don't want to waste my energy like that."

I just looked around, and in the entire newspaper industry, we're the only two women serving as editors-in-chief. We should unite.

"You mean by unity that I have to listen to you? And if I don't listen to you or follow your wishes, then I'm fighting against you?" Qin Yan said.

Du Zhuojun: "In a few years, you'll realize I was more farsighted."

Qin Yan: "A few more years? Can your newspaper even survive until next year?"

Du Zhuojun's expression changed drastically, and he couldn't help but get angry.

She took a deep breath.

Ling Manyun and Luo Qisheng watched from the side.

Du Zhuojun snapped out of her daze and noticed Qin Yan's sharp gaze, which reminded her of her marksmanship.

"Talking to you has wasted most of my day," Du Zhuojun said. "I'm leaving."

Luo Qisheng did not move.

"You go back first, I have something to do," he said.

Du Zhuojun frowned: "What do you want?"

"I'd like to say a few words to Mrs. Cheng," Luo Qisheng said.

Du Zhuojun was taken aback: "You...you know her?"

"I don't know him," Luo Qisheng said. "However, I've received a lot of guidance from him these past few days, so I must say thank you."

Du Zhuojun: "Don't cause me any trouble."

She left first.

Before leaving, she glanced curiously at Luo Qisheng and Qin Yan.

Luo Qisheng and Qin Yan looked at each other and remained silent.

Ling Manyun spoke up again: "Let's go back. There's a coffee shop on Hongxia Road where you two can sit down and chat, or you can come to our newspaper office to talk."

Standing at the entrance of the Mulan Literary Society, even with Ling Manyun by her side, people coming and going might still gossip.

Luo Qisheng spoke up: "I'll buy you coffee."

Qin Yan nodded.

He got into his car and drove off toward Hongxia Road; Qin Yan followed.

Luo Qisheng taught her to drive.

Several years have passed in the blink of an eye, and it feels like half a lifetime has gone by; while Qin Yan has been back in Nancheng for the past two years, time has flown by, as if it were just yesterday.

She remained silent.

Ling Manyun asked, "You and he almost got engaged?"

"Um."

"Was it because his mother and sister died later?"

Qin Yan nodded again.

Ling Manyun added, "I heard that the Luo family was originally from Nancheng, but later moved to Gangcheng. The old man took over the Hongmen headquarters."

"When Luo Qisheng was ten years old, his family moved to Hong Kong."

"No wonder he speaks official fluently," Ling Manyun said.

Ling Manyun has a high aptitude for languages ​​and has spent a long time with Qin Yan, so she speaks Mandarin quite fluently with only a slight accent.

Luo Qisheng, on the other hand, spoke entirely in standard Mandarin.

"Were his mother and sister really killed by the royalists?" Ling Manyun asked again.

"The evidence we have so far is correct," Qin Yan said. "I was rescued by Madam Luo, who destroyed a royalist outpost."

"Although it started because of you, it wasn't because of you," Ling Manyun said.

Qin Yan surveyed the road conditions with a blank expression.

The car returned to Hongxia Road. In front of a coffee shop, Luo Qisheng stopped the car first; Qin Yan also stopped and told Ling Manyun to drive back.

The two went inside and sat down.

From the window seat, you can see the dance hall across the street, where huge photos of singers still hang.

Luo Qisheng said, "This singer is very beautiful."

Qin Yan glanced at it and said, "Yes."

"Your husband is her lover," he said.

Qin Yan didn't respond to that sentence.

She rarely discussed the military governor's office or Cheng Tianxun's private affairs.

Be careful what you say, lest you bring trouble upon yourself.

silence.

It took longer than Qin Yan had imagined.

Luo Qisheng remained silent, as did Qin Yan, and the piano music playing in the coffee shop changed twice.

When she finished her coffee and asked the waiter for another cup, Luo Qisheng spoke again.

He said, "I didn't expect you to come to Nancheng."

"Madam has always wanted to return to her homeland; she wants to start a vernacular newspaper," Qin Yan said.

She finished speaking, but then fell silent.

Luo Qisheng once warned her not to mention his mother again, saying that she had no right to.

"Your newspaper is very well done," he said. "Why get married?"

Qin Yan looked up.

His gaze fell on her face, not allowing her to remain silent: "Answer me, why do you want to get married?"

He was eager for her answer.

Before she could answer, he slammed his chair back, stood up, and left the coffee shop.

Only Qin Yan remained.

The waiter brought over the coffee again, looking at her somewhat helplessly.

Qin Yan gestured for him to put it down.

She sat alone for a long time, until night fell and the neon lights of the dance hall across the street lit up, flashing and dazzling.

Qin Yan paid the money and gave double the tip before leaving.

The newspaper office is closed for the day.

Ling Manyun was organizing documents, waiting for her.

"Have you been chatting for so long?" she asked.

"We just exchanged a few words," Qin Yan said. "Let's go back."

"Have you had dinner?" Ling Manyun asked her.

Qin Yan said no.

"Let's have dinner together."

After the meal, Qin Yan escorted Ling Manyun home before returning to his villa.

The maid told her, "Mrs. Lan called you. She asked when you would be available so she could visit you."

Qin Yan: "Next time she calls, please refuse her for me."

The maid should be.

Qin Yan went upstairs.

After taking a shower, she lay in bed alone reading, but couldn't concentrate on a single word; her thoughts seemed to drift back to when she was sixteen.

It seems like a long time ago, but it's actually only been seven years.

Looking back on his short life of just over twenty years, Qin Yan felt that he had been quite unfortunate all along; but when he was at his wit's end, there was always a turning point.

She eventually drifted off to sleep.

Even in her sleep, she could still hear Luo Qisheng's voice questioning her: "Why did you get married?"

The world was strange and bewildering; when she woke up, she had no idea where she was.

Qin Yan didn't have much of an appetite for breakfast.

She lay in bed, trying to calm herself down; she was exhausted from a night of chaotic dreams.

Qin Yan only drank two mouthfuls of porridge for breakfast before heading to the newspaper office.

Just then, the phone rang.

The maid went to answer the call and told her, "It's Mrs. Lan calling. She wants to say a few words to you."

"Just tell them I've already left," Qin Yan said.

The maid should be.

Qin Yan took the car keys and left. She didn't hear what they were saying over there.