“Sis-in-law, it’s table 11 at Huiyue Xuan, right? Got it.”

Evelyn Harrington ended the call, clearly a little fed up.

She was 21, heading into her final year of college, and knee-deep in grad school prep.

“Studying, studying, all she knows is studying. A college degree’s not enough? She wants more? We’re not made of money! Look at Michael Turner’s little sister from building 7, went to a trade school, started working, and bam—married by 20. And your sister? Still leeching off the family...”

That’s what her sister-in-law had said to her brother two nights ago. Evelyn overheard it—door wasn’t fully closed.

She’d been debating whether to move out, maybe get a place near campus, but before she could even bring it up, her sister-in-law signed her up for a blind date.

She knew it was a setup, but she still came. Not that she wasn’t ticked off about it.

“Help! Somebody help!”

She was just about to step into Huiyue Xuan when she heard a faint call for help.

An old man had fallen right by the curb. Lots of people walking by, but not a soul stopped.

These days, helping someone who fell isn’t so simple. One wrong move, and if you don’t have the money, it could ruin your whole life.

Evelyn pulled out her phone, snapped a picture and took a quick video before finally stepping up to help the old man.

“Are you okay, sir? Where does it hurt?”

“My...ouch, my hip,” the old man winced, rubbing the spot and grinning in pain.

“You saved me, young lady. Who knows how long I’d have been lying there. Thank you, really.”

Evelyn glanced at him. His clothes were worn, sure, but his face? No way he was homeless—not with that healthy, well-fed look.

As long as he was okay, she didn’t stay. She took off, hurrying inside Huiyue Xuan.

Didn’t see what all the fuss was about—helping someone shouldn’t need a thanks.

Huiyue Xuan was pretty big, two floors.

Her sister-in-law said table 11, and she checked all around the first floor but couldn’t find it.

So upstairs she went.

Second floor was fancier—private booths, soft lighting, flowers in vases on every table.

A light breeze came in from the lakeside windows. The air smelled sweet.

Real classy.

She walked along the aisle, and when she spotted table 11, she stopped dead in her tracks.

Sitting there was a ridiculously handsome guy.

Thick eyebrows, sharp features, lightly tanned skin...

Straight out of a Renaissance painting.

Calm and unbothered, he sat with a cup of coffee in front of him, scrolling through his tablet.

As she approached, his fingers froze, and his dark eyes lifted to meet hers.

Oh wow. Hot.

Then...oof, cold as ice.

This was her blind date? No way.

She checked the placard—table 11, alright.

Guess it really was him.

She let out a quiet breath and made her way over, sitting across from him.

The guy’s expression shifted from bored to confused, then a little frosty.

His gaze was kind of sharp.

So this woman...she was the Lin family girl his grandpa picked?

Evelyn didn’t bother analyzing his reaction. She’d shown up, she’d follow through. That was it.

“Hi, I’m Evelyn Harrington. I’m 21 and just about to start my senior year of college.”If it had been any other woman, she'd probably freeze up just trying to start a conversation with a guy that aloof.

But Evelyn Harrington? She was cool as ever.

That kind of calm composure in this kind of situation actually made Oliver Prescott take a second look at her.

He pressed his lips together, clearly caught off guard. "So you’re not Miss Lin?"

Then, seemingly hitting on an idea, he said, "My name’s Oliver. I'm 29, graduated from Tech University. I’m a programmer at Prescott Corp, make a little over 30K a month. Got a condo on mortgage, monthly payment’s twelve grand."

“Cool, got it. Let’s swap WeChat? At least we’ve met now.”

Oliver’s got it going on—not only was he easy on the eyes, but his pay’s above average. Fact that he owned a place at all before 30 in a city like Bincheng? Total jackpot in most women’s books.

But Evelyn couldn't care less. Her sister-in-law set this up, and that already rubbed her the wrong way. She just wanted to get it over with.

“Did you bring your ID today, Miss Harrington?”

She blinked, a bit thrown off. “...Yeah, I did.”

“I’m fine with you. You're still in school, I work full time—we’ve both got a lot on our plates. Might as well just do this now, you know? If you’re okay with me too, let’s go register the marriage today.”

“Today?” Her eyes widened in total disbelief.

Oliver frowned, clearly impatient. “What, not good enough for you? Gotta think it over?”

Evelyn chewed on that for a beat. “...Okay. I’ve got my ID with me, but the household register’s at home. Pretty sure we’ll need that too.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Your place far?”

“Not really, like three kilometers or so.”

“I’ll drive you. Right now it’s...” Oliver glanced at his watch, “half past ten. Civil office closes in an hour and a half. We should make it.”

“...Alright.”

Yeah, her sister-in-law had arranged the date, but Oliver’s stats were solid. She wasn’t looking for sparks, just someone to build a practical life with—and more importantly, get herself out of her brother’s apartment.

As they walked down from the second floor of Huixue Xuan, a well-dressed woman came rushing up the stairs and almost bumped into Evelyn.

Evelyn instinctively stepped aside. The woman didn’t even apologize, just kept dashing up. Then she turned back, catching a glimpse of Oliver going downstairs.

She paused, stunned for a moment. That guy... looked a hell of a lot like her blind date, Oliver Prescott.

Oblivious, Evelyn followed Oliver out the door. She didn’t notice the agitated man at table 11 in the lobby, talking heatedly into his phone.

Oliver drove straight to Evelyn’s apartment complex—a dated 90s building, three units per stairwell, no elevators.

She lived on the fifth floor.

Her brother was at work, and her sister-in-law wasn’t home. Evelyn ran into her room, grabbed the household register, and rushed back down.

Twenty minutes later, they got to the civil bureau just in time—11 a.m. on the dot.

There weren’t many people around. They filled out the marriage application, took ID photos, made copies of all necessary documents, then went to the window for final processing.

Everything moved super fast. When the staff asked if they were marrying willingly, both answered “yes” with blank faces.

They walked out of the office holding two little red booklets and a bag of wedding candy, both letting out a breath at the same time.

Oliver pulled out his phone, brought up his WeChat QR code, and held it out to her. “Add me. I’ll send you the address. Move in sometime in the next few days. Since you’re still in school, we’ll hold off on a wedding for now.”

“Got it.”

Evelyn didn’t hesitate. She scanned the code, added him, and that was that.