AFM Ch 9

Jing Mian’s footsteps paused.

His figure obviously paused for half a step. It was fine in the past, but now Jing Mian couldn’t help but be unusually sensitive to the name Ren Congmian.

However, Song Yuhang raised his chin and pointed at the promotional poster not far away.

Students were already gathered there, queuing up to take pictures, and people were coming and going during the lunch break. It was extremely lively: “Ren Congmian is coming to our school?”

“Yeah, look at the forums, it’s gone viral.”

Jiang Chen said, “I heard it’s a charity event? It just so happens to be during our school’s centennial celebration. It’s been a few days since the news came out, so it looks like it’s true.”

“A University is really hiding something.”

Jing Mian understood now.

Ren Congmian… was coming to their school?

Jing Mian had been busy training with the club these past few days and hadn’t had time to check the forums. As soon as he opened it, he saw that it had already been a hot topic for a while. The front page was bright red: [Ren Congmian is really coming to A University! ?]

1L: [WOC, this kind of celebrity is coming to our school? Is this news confirmed?!]

2L: [One hundred percent confirmed, his schedule has been exposed. The fan groups and celebrity forums are all going crazy.]

3L: [The day after tomorrow! I’m gonna end my vacation and return to school. My legs are broken.]

4L: [Brother above you’re really going all out…]

5L: [I’m from another high school, can I ask the seniors and juniors from A University if students without student IDs can enter the campus now? QAQ]

……

The itinerary shouldn’t have been planned within the last two days.

Jing Mian thought for a moment. Since Mr. Ren had never mentioned it to him, this event probably had nothing to do with him.

After all, the event would be attended by a sea of people. It was a large-scale event under the eyes of the public.

They probably…wouldn’t even get to meet?

Jing Mian accepted the food tray and asked the auntie for three dishes and one soup, then added two more servings of rice.

In the evening, Jing Mian had a live broadcast.

During the few hours in between, Jing Mian was torn about whether or not to go to the club to practice.

According to his captain, the cross-server tournament was equivalent to a ticket to the provincial tournament. If they were to pass through all the rounds, it would only be considered the first round. The next match wouldn’t be too far off.

He heard that Greek’s team had also successfully passed through the other two teams and successfully qualified.

Greek still hadn’t personally stepped into the match, proving that he didn’t really care about this level of competition.

If everything went smoothly, they would likely meet again in a higher-level tournament.

Jing Mian had just joined the club not long ago, and he still needed to get used to the team’s combat strategies and personal habits, so he ran to the club when he had nothing to do.

Xuan Cheng also said that if they won the provincial tournament, their sponsors and partners would host a celebration banquet and post-match interviews for the team!

Jing Mian felt like he had gained a lot of knowledge.

He asked, “What about the international competition?”

Xuan Cheng was silent for a moment. “Our best record is making it to the first round of the national competition, and… that’s it.”

Jing Mian: “…”

It turned out that this question was too much for the captain.

Therefore, Jing Mian searched for highlights from last year’s national competition on Bilibili in the evening. He opened a can of soda and drank it with his pizza.

He looked down at the time. If he went to the club at this time, he would likely miss the dormitory curfew on his way back.

Before he could make a decision, Jing Mian’s phone rang.

He clicked on it and found it was an unfamiliar number.

Without thinking, he answered the call. The voice on the other end of the phone sounded familiar: “Hello, Jing Mian…Mr. Jing, right?”

Jing Mian was a little surprised: “I am.”

“Oh, Mr. Jing, I’m Yang Fan. We met downstairs in the restaurant last time. I’m Brother Ren’s agent.”

Jing Mian remembered: “Brother Yang?”

“Yes, hi, hello~” Yang Fan’s side was a little noisy, with sounds of horns and traffic. His clear and steady voice rang out over the phone: “Is it convenient now, Mr. Jing? Can you leave the campus?”

“Our car is parked at your campus entrance. The guard said this is the east gate, and there’s a burger shop next to it.”

……

?!

Mr. Ren’s agent came to the campus?

Had Ren Xingwan also come?

The situation was sudden, and the other party hadn’t said what it was about.

Jing Mian agreed and while lifting up his sleeves to put on his clothes, he wondered if it was related to the campus anniversary event the day after tomorrow.

It was most likely a reminder. Although they were married, their relationship hadn’t been exposed yet, so they had to be discreet. Mr. Ren was coming to the school, so Jing Mian would have to pretend he didn’t know him and not go backstage to look for him?

Jing Mian fell into deep thought.

Actually, he really didn’t need to be reminded of this sort of thing.

After all, he’d long since realized this before they got married.

Celebrities were different from ordinary people; their marriages and relationships would affect their careers or even be crucial turning points. Mr. Ren wanted to keep a low profile and not expose their relationship, so even if they’d been married for more than ten years, Jing Mian wouldn’t have any thoughts on the matter.

After all, they had originally been married for the sake of their families.

The wind at night in the school carried a refreshing chill. The temperature difference between day and night was large, and Jing Mian discovered that he had dressed too lightly.

He followed Yang Fan’s directions to the burger shop by the east gate. As soon as he turned the corner, he saw that black nanny car was parked next to a tree.

It was beautiful and smooth, but the model seemed to be different from the one last time. Jing Mian guessed that this one wasn’t for picking up Ren Congmian but rather a business vehicle for the manager.

They hadn’t seen each other for a few days. In his daze, Jing Mian almost felt like he was having an illusion:

If not for this phone call, the sudden appearance of this car at the campus entrance, and Ren Xingwan’s already washed coat in his hand…

He wouldn’t have felt like he had already gotten married and engaged to Mr. Ren.

Before the family marriage, they were two parallel lines without any intersection.

After a brief flash marriage, they returned to being parallel again. Mr. Ren was busy with work and his career, while Jing Mian continued to be a small-time streamer.

They were both busy with their own work and didn’t bother each other.

Their lives still had zero intersections.

It was as if…two strangers had gotten married.

Jing Mian hadn’t even walked near the black car when the door behind him opened and the man inside waved at him. “Mr. Jing! Over here.”

It was Yang Fan, who had just called him.

As soon as Jing Mian got in, Yang Fan handed him a hand warmer and placed it in Jing Mian’s arms. Another assistant handed him a cup of hot milk tea to hold in his hands.

“Must be freezing out there.”

Yang Fan said, “I forgot to tell you to wear more layers. Lincheng’s weather has been cooling down these past two days, and it’s already cold enough to wear a down jacket.”

The tips of Jing Mian’s fingers slowly warmed up as the heat inside the car was turned up. He felt much better now. Despite being in a strange environment, he felt incomparably comfortable.

Jing Mian noticed that Ren Xingwan hadn’t come.

In addition to the driver, there was only Yang Fan, the manager he’d met that day, and an unfamiliar man.

“This is Brother Ren’s travel assistant, Yu Nian. Brother Ren is usually busy and often doesn’t have time to take care of everything himself. Now that we’re all on the same team, you can just ask Yu Nian for any small requests. If he can’t handle it, then ask me.”

Jing Mian nodded and shook hands with Yu Nian.

“Can I call you Jing Mian?”

“Of course,” Jing Mian said.

“All right.” Yang Fan took out a few sheets of paper from the front seat and organized them. He said to Jing Mian, “We invited you here today mainly to discuss the engagement party, wedding, and Brother Ren cohabitation accommodation issues.”

In one sentence, three short sentences,

Jing Mian’s CPU was burning up.

……

???

Jing Mian was stunned. He knew about the engagement party, as Jing Guozhen and his stepmother Li Qiao had already told him about it after the family meeting, but… what about the wedding and living together?

Jing Mian’s heart skipped a beat.

Not to mention that with Ren Xingwan’s identity, they would actually hold a wedding… And if they live together, in Jing Mian’s subconscious, after receiving the certificate, he will still follow the three-point-one-line college life, while Mr. Ren will be busy with work.

As for staying overnight or even living together with a man… Jing Mian thought that their marriage would not go that far, considering it was only a superficial arrangement.

Therefore, not only had he never thought about it, he was also surprised and confused as the person involved.

Jing Mian couldn’t help but ask, “The wedding… Is it convenient for Mr. Ren?”

“Of course, it’s convenient for Brother Ren. It’s always convenient for Brother Ren.”

Yang Fan nodded: “Of course, anyone who can be invited to the wedding is trustworthy. Jing Mian, you don’t have to worry.”

“The engagement party was mainly decided by the parents. It’s at an event hall near Sui River in Lincheng on the fifth of next month. The Jing family said you don’t have any school obligations, but they still wanted to ask… Jing Mian, it’s fine if you want to change the date. Do you have class or important exams?”

Jing Mian shook his head. “No, that’s fine.”

“That’s good.”

Yu Nian put the little notebook he had prepared back and said, “Brother Ren said that Mr. Jing is the main priority in everything.”

Jing Mian was slightly surprised.

“The wedding will be after the engagement party. The date hasn’t been set yet, so we’ll need to measure you at that time, but there’s no rush. If you have any requests for the wedding, you can tell us or discuss it with Brother Ren.”

Jing Mian swallowed. “Mn, okay.”

“The last thing is…” Yang Fan paused and whispered: “Actually, these are all procedures and are external. We actually know internally that you and Brother Ren have already received the certificate, so you are free to live together anytime.”

“Brother Ren has three houses in Lincheng. One is in the city center, another is a flat by the river, and the last is a beach villa.” Yang Fan explained:

“Brother Ren usually lives in the city center, but the first two apartments are not far from your campus, and the remaining one is about forty minutes’ drive… However, the residences are relatively new, and they are cleaned regularly, so you can move in at any time.”

Jing Mian felt a little tightness in his throat. He nodded. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

Yu Nian couldn’t help but snicker from the side.

This Brother Yang really had no self-awareness. 

His mouth was running like a freight train, and the continuous barrage of news had clearly scared the poor kid.

Yu Nian silently handed a bag of snacks that he had already prepared in his arms to Jing Mian. Through the outer packaging, the boxes inside were all very fancy, with many foreign brands and common snacks like jellies, chips, and chocolates. He had bought a variety in case Jing Mian didn’t like some of them.

Jing Mian accepted it in shock. “Thank you.”

“Oh right, one more thing, the most important.”

Yang Fan seemed to have remembered something and pulled out a small briefcase. After rummaging through it for a while, he pulled out a stack of credit cards and something that looked like a check.

Yang Fan unfolded it slightly in front of Jing Mian and pushed it over. “The passwords are all Mr. Jing’s birthday.”

Jing Mian froze little by little.

Yang Fan added, “Of course, the check has been signed, and there’s an amount and date on it, so it’s effective immediately.”

Jing Mian finally understood. In other words, after marriage—

Mr. Ren’s credit card could be used however he wanted…

Having received benefits without doing anything in return, Jing Mian swallowed his saliva.

Should he be polite?

Seeming to have noticed the young man’s confusion and shock, Yang Fan immediately realized what was going on. He patted the young man’s shoulder to comfort him, but then seemed to recall something and pulled his hand back.

“Jing Mian, don’t feel pressured. You can spend whatever amount on whatever you want. There isn’t much money in there.”

“Just over five million yuan,” Yang Fan added.

Jing Mian: “…”

The few cards in front of him suddenly shone with a heavy and dazzling light.

Jing Mian’s pupils quivered.

Perhaps he knew that Mr. Ren was rich, but he hadn’t expected it to be this kind of rich. Was this…a dowry? Should he also give something back?

But right now…

Would anyone say no to five million?

Perhaps there would be someone who would, but Jing Mian wasn’t that kind of person.

However, the young man still thought it was too much.

But then again, they were a married couple now. These funds could also be used for household expenses, so it wasn’t unreasonable.

So when he accepted the cards, Jing Mian not only thanked Yang Fan sincerely but also obediently answered the question Yang Fan had been asking about moving into Mr. Ren’s residence.

Yang Fan praised, “The one by the river is nice. It’s a large, flat floor unit. You can not only enjoy the view of the river at night but also the cityscape. The atmosphere is very good and romantic.”

Jing Mian asked, “Will it only be Mr. Ren and I living there?”

As soon as the question left his mouth, Jing Mian felt that he had asked a meaningless question. After marriage, the husband and wife would live together, so of course it would only be two people.

However, Jing Mian felt inexplicably nervous.

Come to think of it, he and Mr. Ren had basically met in public places before: restaurants, the Civil Affairs Bureau, or even at the banquet for both families… Even though they didn’t talk much, there were always other people around to make conversation.

But living together was a completely different concept.

However, Yang Fan didn’t seem to have caught on to his meaning and nodded. “That’s right, but there will be a nanny or housekeeper. They’ll leave after doing their job and won’t disturb you and Brother Ren’s lives.”

Jing Mian: “…” That’s it.

So, in the future, he would be living with Mr. Ren every day, a cohabitation life with only the two of them.

However, Jing Mian was in a daze while gently stroking the small ring on his ring finger.

It seemed…he wasn’t quite ready yet.

Jing Mian returned to the dormitory and hung the freshly washed black coat that smelled of fresh laundry on a hanger and placed it back in its original spot.

He didn’t return the clothes.

Because the temperature had dropped too much, his manager had told him to wear Ren Xingwan’s clothes back to the dormitory building. If they were warm enough, he wouldn’t have to return them next time. Brother Ren wouldn’t mind.

Jing Mian was wearing Mr. Ren’s coat, holding Mr. Ren’s card, carrying the snacks bought by Mr. Ren, and wearing the ring that Mr. Ren put on, and returned to the dormitory in a daze.

Jing Mian: “…”

What else does he have that is not Mr. Ren’s?