Chapter 73: Chapter 72: If Breached, the Contract Is Null and Void 1
"Yin Family."
Su Xiaomeng moved her lips, and after two seconds of silence, she agreed, "Okay, once the child is with you, you must sever all ties with me. Can you guarantee that?"
Yin Shixiu’s eyes fell deep.
Su Xiaomeng took a shallow breath, "We have to clarify the purpose of marriage. If, Uncle, your goals and mine don’t align, then I’d rather drop out to resolve this issue."
"...I can guarantee that."
Yin Shixiu’s mood worsened again, his voice dropping several tones.
"But I won’t be twenty until my birthday in February..."
"The registration will be on your birthday, I’ll tell the school the same."
"...Oh."
Su Xiaomeng acknowledged that and then continued, "Until I give birth and we divorce, you’ll reimburse all my expenses, right?"
"When have I ever made you spend money?"
Yin Shixiu was a bit speechless, wondering if this woman could focus on something a bit more refined?
"Yes, you did!"
Su Xiaomeng quickly responded confidently, which made Yin Shixiu pause, "When?"
"On our second meeting, you asked me to treat you to a meal... East, East Street... there..."
"Even though it wasn’t much, it was still my money!"
Yin Shixiu now regretted asking you to open your wallet back then.
"What are you doing?"
Seeing her lying on the coffee table writing something on A4 paper, he couldn’t help but ask.
"Even though it’s a fake marriage, we do need to get an actual certificate. Some things are better written clearly so everyone understands!"
Yin Shixiu squinted his eyes, "You’re... drafting a contract?"
"Yes! You’re the big boss, you should actually be better at this. But considering how busy you are, I’ll handle it."
Su Xiaomeng’s tone was evidently sarcastic, which made Yin Shixiu feel a bit like laughing.
He watched her graceful handwriting line by line on the paper.
"Alright, these are the few items we discussed just now, including my expenses, the start and end of the fake marriage, the custody of the child, take a look, is there any issue?"
Yin Shixiu glanced over it, though some of the wording was full of loopholes, however...
"No problem, is that all?"
Su Xiaomeng quickly took back the paper, and said with flair, "These are the basic terms!"
"Basic terms... are there special terms?"
Yin Shixiu raised an eyebrow, looking at her so earnest appearance, as if this contract would really work.
"Yes!" Then Su Xiaomeng was seen counting on her fingers, mumbling something under her breath and said, "I have a total of five special terms, you must agree to all of them, otherwise there’s nothing to discuss."
"And me? How many terms do I get to propose?"
Yin Shixiu leaned back, interlocking his fingers across his chest, and asked softly.
Su Xiaomeng was copying the terms she had just drafted onto another sheet of paper, and upon hearing Yin Shixiu’s question, she thought to herself: As expected of a shrewd businessman, unwilling to take a loss at all.
"Surely not none?"
"At most three, otherwise there’s still nothing to talk about!"
"Three... and I must agree to them, right?"
Su Xiaomeng looked up, quickly glancing at Yin Shixiu, "If your terms conflict with mine, mine must take precedence!"
"...Alright."
He readily agreed.
"I’ll start with my first term!" Su Xiaomeng squinted her eyes, "We’re only in a fake marriage, which means fake couple, Yin Shixiu must not have any inappropriate thoughts about Su Xiaomeng!"
"What counts as inappropriate thoughts?"
"Just... just can’t do that to me!"
"Can’t... do that to you..."
Yin Shixiu looked meaningfully at Su Xiaomeng whose ears turned red, "Okay."
"Now let’s hear your first term."
Yin Shixiu picked up the pen and wrote on the contract while saying aloud, "During the contract period, Su Xiaomeng must sleep in the same bed with Yin Shixiu."
"I just said you can’t do that to me!"
Su Xiaomeng instantly exploded and jumped up!
Yin Shixiu unhurriedly raised his head, and said with a calm face, "I only said sleep in the same bed, not sleep with you."
"You..."
Su Xiaomeng looked at him with a blush, this old man really is full of lust, but fortunately, she was prepared! The first clause already smothered all his wicked thoughts in the cradle!
Sleep then, as long as he can’t do anything!
She angrily added this term, and then said, "My second clause is that I don’t have to clean!"
"Why?"
"This is pretty much all you aspire for."
Yin Shixiu sighed lightly and wrote it down.
Although Su Xiaomeng sensed some disdain directed at her, she didn’t dwell on it. After all, between them was a very deep, very long, very wide generation gap!
"What’s your second term?"
Yin Shixiu paused for a moment and glanced at that most eye-catching line on the paper: Yin Shixiu cannot have inappropriate thoughts or intentions towards Su Xiaomeng, in short, Yin Shixiu cannot "do that" to Su Xiaomeng!
He paused his pen, then began to write: "Su Xiaomeng can have inappropriate thoughts or intentions towards Yin Shixiu, in short, Su Xiaomeng can ’do that’ to Yin Shixiu."
Su Xiaomeng froze, quickly snatching the paper from Yin Shixiu’s hand, staring at the characteristically bold calligraphy on the paper.
He... really wrote it.
"What’s the matter?"
Su Xiaomeng’s face turned from pale to flushed, "What kind of clause is this?"
"Otherwise... should I change the word ’can’ to ’must’? Would that make it more like a clause?"
Su Xiaomeng tossed the paper back to him, "No need! Who would have inappropriate thoughts about you!"
Yin Shixiu feigned seriousness and continued, "Come on, your third term."
"Yin Shixiu cannot interfere with Su Xiaomeng’s private life!"
"Su Xiaomeng must report to Yin Shixiu when she goes out."
"I said you can’t interfere with my private life!"
"I just want you to report, not interfere."
"..." Xiao Meng found herself speechless, angrily writing a reminder at the end, "You don’t have any conditions left to propose!"
"These three are enough. Tell me what other two requirements you have."
"During the pregnancy, Yin Shixiu must treat Su Xiaomeng kindly, be gentle, be patient, and cannot bully Su Xiaomeng."
"The last condition..."
Su Xiaomeng suddenly hesitated, seeming a little awkward...
Yin Shixiu looked up, "What’s wrong?"
"Well, um..."
Yin Shixiu looked up, waiting for her to continue.
Su Xiaomeng cleared her throat, "It’s... you cannot... cannot... cannot cheat!"
Yin Shixiu raised his eyebrows slightly, squinting his eyes.
"It’s not that I want to interfere in your private life, nor is it... nor is it because of jealousy or anything!"
"Would you be jealous?"
"...Of course not!" Su Xiaomeng’s face turned red, quickly protesting loudly.
"Someone said... the louder you shout, the more unsure you are inside..."
"Uncle! Can you stop being so vain?" Su Xiaomeng didn’t care for Yin Shixiu’s response and quickly wrote that down!
"I just want to prevent situations like that ugly aunt coming over to bully me before."
Yin Shixiu saw her head was almost buried into that thin A4 paper, her ear tips were bright red...
This contract, Yin Shixiu naturally wouldn’t take it to heart, but the conditions she proposed indeed made his chest feel a little suffocated.
It’s just...
With the addition of the last condition, Yin Shixiu surprisingly didn’t find the so-called contract so offensive anymore.
"Alright, all the conditions have been listed!"
Su Xiaomeng glanced at Yin Shixiu.
Even though the last condition was quite logical, saying it in front of Yin Shixiu made her feel so... unsure?
"If Yin Shixiu violates the terms, he must compensate Su Xiaomeng with ten million!"
"Ten million?"
Yin Shixiu chuckled, "Quite a big appetite you have?"
"Just don’t violate them then?"
Su Xiaomeng obviously wasn’t aiming for that ten million, it was purely for intimidation, just in case.
Besides money, she couldn’t think of anything else Yin Shixiu could compensate her with.
"Alright."
After Yin Shixiu agreed, he raised his eyebrows again, "And you?"
"What?"
"If you violate the contract, what could you compensate me with?"
Su Xiaomeng swallowed, her eyes shifting, of course she didn’t dare to mention ten million, in case she really violated it, wouldn’t she end up bankrupt?
Seeing she hesitated for a long time without speaking.
Yin Shixiu picked up his pen and began writing on the paper.
Su Xiaomeng quickly leaned over with caution, "What are you writing?"
Yin Shixiu didn’t speak, Su Xiaomeng tilted her head at different angles, trying to see clearly.
His hand paused, he put down the pen, raised his eyes, and faced the face that was close at hand...
Su Xiaomeng blinked, watching his thin lips lightly move, that magnetic voice wrapping from in front of her eyes into her ears, then flowing into her heart...
"If violated, the contract will be void."
Su Xiaomeng’s heart suddenly tightened.
Yin Shixiu stuffed the signed "contract" into her hand, curling his lips, "Scared?"
She swallowed, watching Yin Shixiu walk past her, entering the kitchen, his back to her, and casually said, "Let’s have noodles for dinner."
If violated, the contract will be void...
That means...
Su Xiaomeng stared blankly at the two signed pieces of thin paper in her hand—
No! Divorce?!
"Uncle! What does this mean?"
She hurriedly followed inside, "What do you mean by void? Do you mean no divorce after the baby is born?"
"Yes, this contract may be void, but the marriage certificate cannot be void." Yin Shixiu gave her a slight smile, "It means whether or not to divorce is up to me."
"What? Did you sign this agreement with the mindset that you’ll definitely violate the terms?"
Su Xiaomeng took a deep breath, her nostrils contracting twice, "Uncle! I absolutely absolutely won’t violate them!"
"That’s best."
Su Xiaomeng angrily walked out of the kitchen.
This old man is indeed an old demon!
Hmph! Want to truly marry her? No way, she wouldn’t marry such a cunning fox!
The contract was signed, in duplicate.
Su Xiaomeng carefully hid the contract, and when she emerged, Yin Shixiu had already finished cooking dinner.
Mmm... smells good!
"Let’s have noodles today and I’ll take you to have something delicious tomorrow."
Su Xiaomeng pouted, blowing on the noodles, stuffing them into her mouth, and muttered, "Even if you deliberately try to please me, I won’t forget how you took advantage of me today."
Yin Shixiu placed a fried egg in her bowl.
"I can serve myself..."