A whirlwind marriage: The real heiress marries a warlord.

Qin Yan glanced at Cheng Tianxun.

She thought to herself, innocence is innocence, why do you have to say "your innocence"? What does it have to do with her?

If it's related to her, can she still claim innocence?

"He didn't flirt with Lin Zi, so you can rest assured; Lin Zi isn't just curious about him, it's just that her friends love to gossip. She's asking about Qin Yao's marriage," Qin Yan explained.

Xiang Linzi is highly respected among her friends, and everyone loves to ask her for information; she also enjoys the lively atmosphere of being surrounded by people and wants to know everything.

"She's really boring," Cheng Tianxun said.

He got a new car, bigger than his old one.

Qin Yan had never seen such a large and impressive car before.

The back seat is spacious, and Cheng Tianxun's long legs can finally be stretched out normally without having to be cramped up all the time.

As she pondered this, Cheng Tianxun spoke up: "Aren't you going to ask me why I suddenly came back?"

Qin Yan turned her head to look at him again.

She gazed intently, lost in thought, before asking after a few moments, "Has something happened?"

"It's nothing."

Qin Yan: "..."

The answer "It's nothing" is strange: does it really mean nothing's wrong, or is it that he can't tell her?

If it's the latter, why would he ask? Qin Yan never pries into his official business; if he doesn't tell her, she pretends to be deaf.

She doesn't talk much.

"I already told you, I won't be back until the end of the year. There's still more than a month until the end of the year, I was afraid you'd be surprised," Cheng Tianxun added.

That means nothing's wrong.

"...We've been married for over a year, and every time you go out or come back, it's 'sudden' for me. I'm used to it," Qin Yan said.

He had left before, and the villa hadn't seen him until a day later when his adjutant told Qin Yan. When he returned, he appeared at the villa in person and met Qin Yan, which is how she found out.

On one occasion when he returned, Ling Manyun said that a reporter had photographed him at Du Zhuojun's private residence the day before, and Qin Yan was unaware of it.

Qin Yan didn't ask why; he probably didn't know he'd been photographed and didn't say anything.

This time, he surprisingly told her before leaving; and when he returned, it seemed that nothing bothered Qin Yan.

After Qin Yan finished speaking, Cheng Tianxun did not say anything more.

The carriage was unusually quiet for a moment.

The sudden silence might be a little awkward, but as long as neither of them felt it was a problem, it was fine—Qin Yan and Cheng Tianxun were very calm in the face of this situation.

Back at the villa, Cheng Tianxun didn't get out of the car: "I'll go to the Governor's Mansion first. You go back first."

Qin Yan said, "Okay."

As usual, she instructed the maid to change the bedding, buy the dishes that Cheng Tianxun liked, and prohibit unimportant people from going up to the third floor.

She sat downstairs reading a book by herself.

As evening fell, Cheng Tianxun had not yet arrived at the villa, but his trusted confidants arrived one after another, including Xiang Cenyan.

Xiang Cenyan was the first to arrive.

Seeing that not everyone had arrived yet, and that Cheng Tianxun himself hadn't gone home, he chatted with Qin Yan for a few minutes.

Cen Yan said, "Tianxun should move to a different place. At least it should have a front and back yard."

The villa is compact and has many rooms, but it consists of only one building.

Life and work are intertwined.

Qin Yan might find it inconvenient or uncomfortable.

"It's alright," Qin Yan said.

For her, there was no essential difference between marriage and work.

It was dark when Cheng Tianxun arrived at the villa. He walked quickly, his steps carrying the cold winter wind into the courtyard.

However, he seemed quite pleased.

Seeing Qin Yan and Xiang Cenyan chatting, he asked them what they were talking about, and Xiang Cenyan told him.

"Let's discuss it later," Cheng Tianxun said.

He went upstairs.

He didn't have time to shower or eat before starting a meeting.

Qin Yan didn't say much.

She ate dinner alone, then went upstairs to shower and wash her hair. The guest room had a fireplace, which was only used in winter. Qin Yan sat on the carpet in front of the fireplace reading a book and drying her hair.

She was wearing a small jacket.

The clock struck ten, and Qin Yan stood up and stretched.

There was a knock on the door.

Immediately afterwards, Cheng Tianxun pushed open the door and came in.

He was only wearing pajama bottoms, his upper body bare, and he was drying his short hair with a towel in his hand: "Are you done with your work?"

Qin Yan: "I'm done with my work."

Then she asked him, "Aren't you cold?"

Although the winter months in the southern city don't freeze instantly, the nights are still quite cold, and Qin Yan even added an extra quilt the day before yesterday.

Cheng Tianxun approached, casually tossing aside the towel, and pulled her hand to cover his chest: "What do you think?"

His chest was strong, as if a ball of fire was burning inside.

Perhaps Qin Yan's hands were cold.

He bent down and kissed her.

Qin Yan let him kiss her, but wanted to put her jacket on the sofa next to her.

She turned slightly to the side to reach him, as if deliberately avoiding him.

Cheng Tianxun hugged her tighter: "I remember your name, Qin Yan."

Qin Yan: "..."

She gave up and let the jacket fall onto the carpet.

Her pajamas were Western-style, made of silk, with pretty buttons. They looked nice, but were troublesome to undo.

Cheng Tianxun exerted force, and the button broke, falling to the floor with a tinkling sound, like a jade bead rolling down.

"Back to the room?"

"I can't wait," he murmured.

Afterwards, the couple lay on the carpet next to the fireplace, with only Qin Yan's scarf under them and her jacket covering them.

Very tired, very satisfied, no one moved.

Cheng Tianxun ran his fingers along her leg: "Does it still hurt?"

Qin Yan: "While you were away, I lived too comfortably and didn't exercise at all."

He added, "Next time, it'll still be in bed."

She was holding onto the sofa just now.

My legs are strained and I'm getting some cramps.

It wasn't serious. She exclaimed in surprise, and Cheng Tianxun thought he had hurt her.

"Okay." Cheng Tianxun kissed her cheek.

Qin Yan asked him, "When are we going to Suzhou again?"

"I just got back." He tightened his grip on me. "Did my being home interfere with your hanging out with those playboys like Lin Chuan?"

He added, "You can go even if I'm at home. I'm an open-minded husband who respects freedom and won't restrict my wife's fun."

Qin Yan didn't even notice how many spoiled brats there were during the day.

There are quite a few anyway.

Xiang Linchuan himself was the most dissolute playboy in Nancheng.

"If Lin Zi invites me again next time, why don't you come along if you're free? Since she doesn't restrict my fun, let's have some fun together," Qin Yan said.

Cheng Tianxun: "If she wants me to go, she should come and ask me herself."

Qin Yan: "Why do you have such a big problem with her?"

"I've always been strict with my children, but it's not specifically targeting her," Cheng Tien-hsun said. "I'm just gentle with my wife."

Qin Yan: "..."

Where is the gentleness?

Were the two broken beds in the bedroom spoiled by being too gentle?

She remained silent.

Cheng Tianxun then asked, "When did that innocent man leave? Why is he still staying in Nancheng?"

Qin Yan couldn't hold back any longer: "You said 'that innocent one' yourself. If I knew exactly when he left and why he was still lingering in Nancheng, and knew everything about him, you should give him a new nickname."

"It's still under maintenance?"

Qin Yan: "That's impossible."

"You don't dislike him, even though he let Miss Ling down. Why do you think so highly of him?"

Qin Yan stated objectively, "I don't dislike anyone."

"So magnanimous?"

Qin Yan nodded.

This is not her boasting.

She had little emotion towards the world. Likes or dislikes held a small weight in her heart. Qin Yan's heart was too small to accommodate others.

Almost no one in this world is relevant to her.