To say Xie Shuo had a life of “the proud son of heaven*” was an understatement.

He was born into the Xie family and was naturally gifted. Growing up with a dazzling halo, he lived a smooth-sailing life. In his early twenties, he graduated from an Ivy League university and then returned home to take over the family business from his father. Within a few years, Xie Shuo secured the position of the Xie Group’s successor with his own strength. 

It was as if he lived life in easy mode.

Ye An had seen his interviews and reports more than once in various financial magazines and online, nearly all of which praised him endlessly. There were also many girls starry-eyed over him, shouting to marry him and even Ye An was no exception.

However, his perfect life ended abruptly when he was 26.

During this year, the halo surrounding Xie Shuo dissolved, and he underwent the worst year of his life.

First, his mother unfortunately passed away in a shipwreck while on a cruise. Not long after, Xie Shuo lost his eyesight after a car accident and was left with darkness being his only companion.

Henceforth, the star lost its luster and God’s favored one fell from heaven.

Although the Xie family did their utmost best to stop the news from spreading, all kinds of rumors about Xie Shuo spread from “dying in a car accident” to “becoming a vegetable”… The internal strife within the family business intensified, and the major shareholders began to get restless.

When she first heard the rumors, Ye An didn’t believe them and thought it was another gimmick that unscrupulous media outlets exaggerated. How could Xie Shuo, a person who was born with a protagonist’s halo, meet such an end? Until–she heard the exact same news from Ye Yuan Nian. 

Only then did she believe that something had happened to Xie Shuo.

Due to the car accident, Xie Shuo suffered from grave injuries and went into a coma. He laid unconscious in the hospital for two months, and when he finally woke up, he was blind. Xie Baiyan spent a lot of money to invite renowned specialists from abroad and domestically for consultations, nevertheless, it was to no avail. 

It was very likely that Xie Shuo was going to spend the rest of his life enveloped within the darkness.

Of course, if it weren’t for this, Ye An would not have been able to take advantage of him with this marriage alliance.

Prior to his accident, the heiresses that wanted to marry Xie Shuo and align themselves with the Xie family all squeezed their heads and dauntlessly threw themself at him. For Ye An, “the Elder Miss of the Ye family” whose existence was practically nonexistent, she wouldn’t have even been considered.

Looking at the incomparably attractive man in the room, that tiny regret in Ye An’s heart completely disappeared.

Such a high-quality man, even if he was blind, marrying him would still be worth it!

Definitely worth it!

As she was lost in her own thoughts, an indifferent deep voice suddenly disrupted the silence like the night rain echoing through the ear–.

“What is it?”

The man slightly frowned as he spoke, a hint of impatience appearing in his tone.

Ye An returned to her senses and just when she was about to say something, she suddenly changed her mind.

She cleared her throat, adjusted her tone, and said respectfully, “Greetings, Eldest Young Master, I am the new caretaker that Mr. Xie hired, and in the future, I will be responsible for your meals and daily necessities.”

On the surface, the reason why Xie Baiyan was so anxious in setting a marriage for his son was so that it would help settle the internal strife that was going on within the Xie Group. In reality, the major reason was so there would be someone that could take care of Xie Shuo. Hence, what Ye An said wasn’t baseless.

As expected, Xie Shuo didn’t doubt her words, but he frowned even more.

“Eldest Young Master, would you like me to pour a cup of tea for you?” Ye An walked inside.

Xie Shuo rejected icily, “No.”

Ye An approached him until she was only two steps away and stared into his eyes. They held the same depth and serenity of a pool of water but did indeed lack the luster they held in the past.

After confirming that he really could not see, Ye An became more uninhibited and looked toward outside of the window before saying, “Eldest Young Master, today’s weather is pretty great. How about I draw open the curtains for you?”

This time she didn’t wait for Xie Shuo to answer before beelining straight to the French window and yanked the heavy curtains open.

The bright sunlight instantly poured in brilliantly, dispelling the darkness.

Xie Shuo had been cooped within his room for a while now and was caught off guard by the warmth of the sunlight. His fingers moved subconsciously, and he pursed his lips tightly.

Ye An turned around and caught a glimpse of his hands resting on the sofa. They were pale, slender, and his nails were well groomed as if they were like a carefully crafted work of art.

A random thought popped into her head: he couldn’t see, but he was still able to take care of his nails?

Xie Shuo seemed angry at her actions, and with a strained face, he spat two words, “Get out!”

Tsk tsk, it seemed like this Eldest Young Master had a bad temper.

Ye An pretended not to hear him and instead crossed her arms, leaned against the glass window, and continued on, “The weather outside is so nice; Eldest Young Master should go outside for a walk. It’ll be better for your body than staying inside a stuffy room all day. Even if you’re not sick now, you might get sick from staying inside all day.”

Ye An paused and then asked tentatively, “Is Eldest Young Master refusing to go downstairs because of that Miss Ye?”

Xie Shuo’s face sank, and he didn’t reply.

“Eldest Young Master, I caught a glimpse of her for you. She’s extremely pretty, as pretty as the actresses in movies…”

“Not only is she beautiful, but her voice is also nice. Eldest Young Master, if you don’t believe me, you can go downstairs and check for yourself…”

Ye An continued to toot her own horn leisurely as she bathed in the sunlight, completely unaware of the subtle changes in the man opposite of her.

“Come here,” Xie Shuo said suddenly.

Ye An stopped talking and thought that she must’ve misheard him. “Does Eldest Young Master want to go downstairs?”

With a pep in her step, Ye An practically skipped to his side and bent down to help him up. Once she touched his arm, Ye An found herself being clasped down.

The man looked up and the eyes that were unable to see directly faced her. His lips parted slightly, but the words he uttered did not contain a hint of warmth.

“Ye An?”

    “……”

She was caught off guard.

Ye An froze, and his cold expression appeared within her line of sight.

“How’d you know it was me?”

In the darkness, the fragrance from the woman’s body was particularly distinct. Becoming certain after her answer, Xie Shuo let go of her arm and moved slightly away from her.

He didn’t speak, but his mocking expression was obvious.

This man’s eyes didn’t work, but his brain did.

Ye An rubbed her red wrist and grumbled under her breath.

Unfortunately, Xie Shuo couldn’t see any of it as he asked coldly, “Who let you up here?”

Ye An irately said, “Uncle Xie. Since you didn’t want to come downstairs, he let me come upstairs to see you.”

Xie Shuo paused for two seconds and then continued, “Well, you’ve seen me. You can leave now.”

???

What?

After hearing him say this, Ye An felt a fire light in her heart–-he really took her as a caretaker? How was he this discourteous?

Ye An was so angry that she collapsed on the sofa next to him.

“I haven’t seen enough yet, let me look for a little longer.”

Xie Shuo: “…..”

Xie Shuo was taken aback by her shamelessness, and he held an indescribable expression on his face.

Ye An saw the expression on his face and was secretly delighted. She propped her chin with her hands and stared at him unscrupulously.

Xie Shuo had dark eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and a beautiful clean-shaven jaw. His torso was hidden underneath a knitted sweater, rendering one unable to see further. This man, even with his current gloominess and antisocial behavior, still carried himself with elegance and nobility.

With such seductive looks, Ye An was more and more satisfied the more she looked. Her heart began to sway.

En, agreeing to this marriage would not be a loss on her part.

She would curse less at Ye Yuan Nian in the future.

Although Xie Shuo couldn’t see, he could still feel her penetrating gaze on him, with no concealment whatsoever. It felt as if she wanted to eat him clean.

After a while, he couldn’t bear it any longer. “Are you done?”

Ye An: “Nope.”

Xie Shuo: “……..”

Ye An tilted her head. “Besides, how do you know that I’m looking at you? I’m clearly looking at the scenery outside.”

Xie Shuo: “…….”

Ye An continued to provoke him, “The scenery looks much better than the person.”

The veins on Xie Shuo’s forehead bulged, and he appeared to be nearing the brink of exploding.

Ye An felt that he was on the verge of flying into a rage at any moment now and would directly throw her out.

For the sake of her own safety, she did not dare to tease him any further. Changing her tone, Ye An said, “Fine, I won’t stare at you anymore. Let’s talk about the marriage situation.”

“Let me ask you, did you agree to this marriage?”

Xie Shuo frowned but didn’t answer, and she took his silence as tacit approval.

Ye An continued, “You already agreed, which means that you’ve already weighed the pros and cons. In that case, why do you seem so reluctant now?”

Xie Shuo’s jaw tightened as he remained silent. His fingers clenched slightly, and no one could tell what he was thinking.

The temperature in the room dropped several degrees. Ye An looked at him and inexplicably felt that he was a little pitiful, and her sarcastic comments were blocked in her throat.

After all, he was once a proud son of heaven, but he had fallen to the point of having an arranged marriage. It was indeed quite a miserable situation.

Ye An sighed and as she remembered what she had promised to Ye Yuan Nian before, she began to persuade him, “Honestly, what I said before is true. I am quite pretty, and my personality isn’t bad either; how about we try it out first?”

Xie Shuo bit his lower lip. “You have quite a bit of confidence in yourself.”

Ye An happily took it as a compliment. “A girl with confidence always has good luck.”

Xie Shuo: “…..”

Was marrying a blind man considered good luck? Xie Shuo restrained himself and did not ask this question.

Ye An suddenly leaned forward and asked with a probing tone, “Have you seen me from somewhere before and got a really bad impression of me? Do you hate me, and is that why you’re so unwilling?”

The faint fragrance of a woman neared Xie Shuo again. Ever since he lost his sight, Xie Shuo’s senses became much more sensitive afterward. With Ye An being in such close proximity to him, he noticed the subtle breaths that slid across his neck, like gossamer boring through his skin, carrying along an itch.

Xie Shuo turned slightly away, his brows furrowing and causing deep lines to appear.

Ye An stared at him intently, anxiously anticipating his answer. After a while, however, she still did not receive a response.

A hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes as she withdrew her gaze. “Since you didn’t respond, I’m going to take it as you haven’t met me before. If that’s the case, then you shouldn’t hate me either. Now that we’ve decided that you don’t hate me, then let’s get along peacefully in the future; isn’t this great?”

“Relax, I know that this is a political marriage, completely void of love. I won’t have any unrealistic delusions toward you. After we get married, we can live our own lives and not interfere with the other’s.”

Hearing those last two sentences, Eldest Young Master Xie finally spoke, “Will you stay true to your word?”

Ye An immediately said, “Is that hard to do? I want to live my own life as well.”

She glanced at him and then questioned hesitantly, “Are we in agreement then?”

Xie Shuo did not refute.

Ye An let out a sigh of relief, sat back happily, and then mentally gave herself a pat on the back. Mission accomplished!

However, as she just started to celebrate, the man spoke again, coldly, “You can leave now.”

Ye An: “…..”

Before Ye An could say anything, Xie Shuo stood up evasively, as if he was afraid that she would once again say, “No, I haven’t seen enough; let me look at you a little longer.”

    “……”

So infuriating!

Ye An stared at his back and couldn’t help wanting to trip him.

Ye An angrily sat for a while, and the more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. If she went downstairs like this, Xie Baiyan would definitely ask why Xie Shuo didn’t come down with her.

After fussing all day and still could not get him downstairs, it’s simply too embarrassing.

This wouldn’t do. She had to make him go downstairs with her.

With this thought in mind, Ye An got up from the sofa and walked into the bedroom that Xie Shuo entered.

“You–”

As soon as she opened her mouth, her whole body froze.

So it turned out that this was the closet.

And Xie Shuo… was in the midst of changing his clothes.

He had just put on a shirt and had no time to button it.

A buff chest and abs greeted her eyes with the undulating defined lines extending downwards through his trousers.

Ye An stared blankly and instantly blushed.

When Xie Shuo heard the noise, he quickly closed his shirt, his face dark.

“Get out!”

This time, Ye An didn’t dare talk back and turned around in a panic, but still thought–-good thing he didn’t take off his pants.

Her face was burning hot, and she used the back of her hands to cool her cheeks down. The thumping of her heart didn’t subside for a long time.

After a moment, Xie Shuo finished putting on his clothes and walked out of the closet, his entire body exuding an ice-cold aura.

Ye An felt a little apprehensive and glanced at him. The man changed into a black shirt, his temperament appearing even colder than before.

As she was just about to ask whether he got changed was to go downstairs with her when a knock suddenly sounded outside the door.

“A’Shuo.”

Xie Baiyan’s voice transmitted from outside.

Startled by the sound, Ye An hurriedly fixed her hair and then walked to the door to open it.

“An An.” After seeing her open the door, Xie Baiyan smiled.

“Uncle Xie.” Ye An instantly reverted back to her image as a well-bred young lady, smiling gently and delicately.

Xie Baiyan entered the room and looked back and forth between the two of them. He smiled and asked, “What were you two chatting about, not coming down even after so long?”

Ye An glanced at Xie Shuo, but he stayed stony-faced; of course, she couldn’t count on him to speak up.

Ye An summoned her courage and smiled, “Nothing, really… just casually chatting.”

The fact that the two were able to talk together for so long made Xie Baiyan very happy. “That’s great, it’s good to talk more.” Turning to face Xie Shuo, he said, “Uncle Ye has been sitting downstairs for a whole day now, aren’t you going to go downstairs and say hello to him?”

Xie Baiyan personally came to invite them downstairs. Xie Shuo finally agreed and slowly walked out of the bedroom relying on his senses.

Ye An stood on the side and received Xie Baiyan’s suggestive look. She immediately grasped his meaning and helped support Xie Shuo downstairs. 

Xie Shuo frowned again, trying to free himself from her. 

Ye An held onto his arm firmly and muttered in a voice only the two of them could hear, “We just discussed this.”

Xie Shuo’s expression was dark and his gaze was hostile, but he chose not to say anything back in the end.

—–

After going downstairs, Xie Shuo greeted Ye Yuan Nian and sat on the side. Then, he continued to display a cold demeanor and acted like a statue.

Ye An sat next to him, being docile and pleasing to the eye whilst staying quiet.

The two sat together and looked like a perfect match.

Xie Baiyan was extremely satisfied the more he looked at the sight in front of him. He joked with Ye Yuan Nian and then turned to ask Xie Shuo, “I just discussed your wedding date with your Uncle Ye, what do you think about the beginning of next month?”

Hearing this, Ye An immediately looked up. “Next month… isn’t that too hasty?”

Xie Shuo’s reaction was rather indifferent. “Whatever you decide is fine by me.”

His tone sounded like he was discussing what was for lunch tomorrow. 

“……”

Who was the one really getting married here?

There were thousands of comments flying across a bullet screen inside Ye An’s heart, but she endured, barely maintaining her polite smile.2

Whatever, there was no difference in marrying earlier or later. At this point, there was no point in being unreasonable.

She wasn’t like him, being difficult on herself. 

……

Author’s note: they’ll be entering the married life soon~

1. the proud son of heaven – this means God’s favored one, referring to how Emperors of China were the son of heaven and chosen to be Emperor 

2. In chinese apps like bilibili, comments fly across the screen as users watch the video.

Previous | Index | Next