Chapter 9
At 11:30 p.m., the hospital was still brightly lit.
The test results for Xie Zhi and Tang Xuan came out—Xie Zhi was perfectly fine, while Tang Xuan had a fractured ankle.
Xie Zhi’s mother loved baijiu, dipping chopsticks in it for Xie Zhi to taste since he was young, gradually building up his tolerance. Coupled with his disciplined lifestyle and consistent physical training, aside from feeling a bit dizzy and unsteady from the wind at the entrance, he had no other issues.
Fang Xianxing, still worried, asked the doctor to prescribe a honey-like ointment to sober him up and soothe his stomach. She mixed it with boiled water and watched him drink it.
The place where they were sitting now was the infusion area. Xie Zhi sat there, sipping the medicated hot water in small mouthfuls, his eyes occasionally stealing glances at Fang Xianxing’s expression.

Tang Xuan’s foot was badly twisted, swollen high when he was brought in. After the doctor’s examination, they applied medicine and put his leg in a cast, suspending it high.
Fang Xianxing arranged for someone to take him to a premium ward. Tang Xuan’s manager and assistant, upon receiving the news, rushed over to tend to him.
Chaos ensued.
Xie Zhi sipped the slightly sweet medicated water, feeling a bitter taste in his heart.
He wanted to explain to Fang Xianxing that it wasn’t his doing, but the situation back then—he knew he was messing with Tang Xuan, Fang Xianxing knew he was messing with Tang Xuan, and Tang Xuan knew it too. With Tang Xuan injured, who else could be blamed?
Xie Zhi secretly ground his teeth against the cup’s rim, utterly frustrated.
That Tang Xuan had overreacted. Even if Fang Xianxing found out he was faking the injury, what was there to fear? He could just make an excuse to brush it off. Yet, Tang Xuan had gritted his teeth and turned it into a real ankle fracture.
How much force had he used?
Xie Zhi naturally couldn’t understand why Tang Xuan would do this. The circle he lived in was relatively simple—bullies there mostly picked on the weak and feared the strong, caring about their reputation. Making them back off wasn’t hard.
But Tang Xuan was different.
Xie Zhi had hinted that Fang Xianxing would deal with liars, and Tang Xuan couldn’t possibly not be afraid.
In the entertainment industry, the power of the wealthy was like an invisible hand looming overhead. If Fang Xianxing truly targeted him, constantly making things difficult while others curried favor with her and kicked him when he was down, his career as a star might end before it even began.
So Tang Xuan would rather turn a fake injury into a real one—at least a fracture could heal.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Fang Xianxing sat beside him, noticing that since entering the hospital, he’d kept his lips pursed without speaking. Now, biting the cup’s rim, she worried he might be enduring pain.
Xie Zhi loosened his teeth, shook his head with it lowered, and said weakly, “Sorry… I didn’t mean to…”
Fang Xianxing paused for a moment, then gave a knowing smile. She raised her hand, placed it on Xie Zhi’s head, and smoothed his slightly messy hair. “It’s fine. His responsibility is greater.”
Xie Zhi tilted his head, dodging her hand, his brows drooping as he stayed silent.
In the end, part of the blame still fell on him.
Fang Xianxing withdrew her dodged hand, propped her chin, and looked at Xie Zhi with amusement.
She had originally planned to marry Xie Zhi and bring him home to fend off those clingy suitors buzzing around her.
Though most of the time, she’d handle it herself under the guise of doting on her husband and fearing her own temper, her husband couldn’t afford to appear weak. Even if he didn’t act, he needed the commanding presence of a proper husband sitting steady at the helm.
The Xie Zhi she met during their blind date—dignified, composed, gentle yet principled—fit the bill.
Later, when he showed his claws, revealing his cunning and means, unwilling to take a loss, he still fit.
Who could’ve thought that when faced with someone reckless, he’d feel guilty and his fire would be completely doused? That didn’t quite fit.
But somehow, it was inexplicably endearing.
Fang Xianxing stared at Xie Zhi with a smile in her eyes, looking utterly indulgent to onlookers.
Xie Zhi glanced at the teasing looks from nearby, turned to glare at Fang Xianxing, then shifted his body, facing her with the back of his head.
Fang Xianxing chuckled softly, slightly reining in the amusement in her eyes. She reached out, gripped his shoulders, and turned him back around. “Actually, you did pretty well tonight. Tang Xuan won’t be able to pester me anymore with that leg.”
“The husband I want to marry is someone like this. Though we failed to get the certificate once, may I ask, Mr. Xie Zhi, are you still willing to be my husband?”
“I definitely won’t sign the agreement you wanted, but aren’t you facing another problem now? No matter what it is, as long as you agree, I’ll find a way to solve it for you. How about that?”
In the bustling infusion hall of the hospital, Fang Xianxing proposed to him with a smile.
Xie Zhi only felt the drunken haze in his mind hadn’t fully cleared.
“Why? Tang Xuan could work too. He’s impressive, more suitable than me,” Xie Zhi said, pursing his lips.
Fang Xianxing let out a light laugh. She wanted to marry Xie Zhi now because he easily drew her attention, making her care without realizing it. Xie Zhi himself seemed cold and fierce, yet his heart was simple and even a little cute.
Even if it wasn’t a fake marriage and she truly took him as her husband, she could accept it.
But Tang Xuan? She wouldn’t even pick him as a business partner.
She might seem gentle and easygoing, but that was a habit formed for convenience. Deep down, she was a domineering, proud woman who disliked those who schemed against her and preferred to take the initiative herself.
There was no need to tell Xie Zhi all this.
Fang Xianxing didn’t speak, just kept looking at him with a slight curve to her brows and eyes, an unreadable meaning in her gaze.
Flustered by her stare, Xie Zhi pressed his lips together, avoided her eyes, and said, “The problem I’m facing, you can’t solve.”
As Xie Zhi turned his head, Fang Xianxing caught sight of his slightly red earlobes. She felt even more certain that marrying him was a good idea. But the next second, hearing him doubt her ability, she bristled. “Tell me about it. I don’t believe I can’t solve it. But if I do, you’ll marry me—no conditions attached.”
Xie Zhi turned back, biting his lip, looking at Fang Xianxing. Beneath his messy bangs, his beautiful brows and eyes flickered with conflicted emotions.
Fang Xianxing waited quietly. She’d already estimated that it had been less than a week since they parted at the Civil Affairs Bureau. Nine times out of ten, it was about the archaeological trip to Fenjie Sea.
What could be so impossibly difficult about that?
Over there, Xie Zhi finally made up his mind.
What if Fang Xianxing really could solve it?
“I got rejected from the Fenjie Sea archaeology project. They don’t want male team members.”
Xie Zhi blinked slowly and said in a low voice.
He might not have meant it, but the matter was so frustrating that when he spoke to Fang Xianxing, his tone unconsciously carried a hint of grievance.
To Fang Xianxing’s ears, it sounded soft, almost like a whine, and she couldn’t resist lifting her hand again to pat his head.

“Really want to go?”
Xie Zhi glanced at the hand on his hair, resisting the urge to dodge, and just nodded lightly in response.
Fang Xianxing’s eyes lit up slightly. So, if he needed her help, he’d obediently let her pat him.
Her hand moved more boldly, smoothing out his messy hair strand by strand.
“Archaeology and cultural relics fall under government control. I can’t interfere,” Fang Xianxing teased deliberately.
Xie Zhi’s expression froze instantly. He shook his head, brushing her hand off.
Fang Xianxing laughed again. “But that Fenjie Sea project, from what you’ve said, sounds pretty big. It’ll need funding and technical support. I can get involved. Even if I can’t directly meddle, I can at least offer some suggestions. What do you think?”
Xie Zhi reached out, grabbed Fang Xianxing’s retreating hand, and pressed it back onto his hair.
“You’re right!”
How was he so adorable?
Fang Xianxing went along with it, patting his head, the amusement in her eyes nearly overflowing.
“So don’t be upset anymore, and no more drinking alone at night, got it?”
“Funding national archaeology isn’t simple. It’ll take some time, so be patient, keep working, and once I’ve sorted it out, you’ll get your wish.”
Xie Zhi looked at Fang Xianxing expectantly. “You can definitely solve it?”
“Definitely!” Fang Xianxing promised.
Xie Zhi studied underwater archaeology, and according to him, he was only rejected due to his gender. She could just make a suggestion later.
Worst case, if Xie Zhi didn’t meet other standards for underwater archaeology beyond his gender, she could find a way to get him a different role.
If he couldn’t dive, he could still handle logistics on the ship.
There’d be a solution either way.
But was that site really tied to the Yuan Shun dynasty, to Wen Ru?
Xie Zhi cared so much about an ancient woman, agreeing to her proposals twice just to join that dig. Thinking about it felt a little off.
With that in mind, Fang Xianxing shamelessly made a request. “Before we settle this, let’s not get the certificate yet, but first, change your phone wallpaper.”
Xie Zhi froze, tilting his head with a frown, looking at Fang Xianxing in confusion. “I won’t. Why should I?”
“Since we’re getting married, shouldn’t you use my photo as your wallpaper?” Fang Xianxing said confidently. She insisted on the change.
“Even fans chasing stars don’t use their girlfriends as wallpapers,” Xie Zhi retorted, pressing his hand over the pocket where his phone was, lifting his chin defiantly.
Fang Xianxing wouldn’t hear it. No other woman could be on Xie Zhi’s phone. “You change it when I say, and I’ll start working on your problem. Think about it!”
Xie Zhi bit his lip, reluctantly pulled out his phone, and glanced at Wen Ru’s familiar portrait on the screen. He tried another excuse. “I don’t have your photo. Next time…”
Fang Xianxing didn’t believe in “next time” when she wanted something done.
She took out her own phone, flipped through her gallery, and felt a brief pang of embarrassment—she might not have one either.
“Do you have my photo?” Fang Xianxing messaged her younger sister, Song Longsha.
Song Longsha replied with a string of question marks. Seeing no follow-up, she sent four photos a few minutes later.
From their university days.
Fang Xianxing looked at the unfamiliar pictures and frowned. “Where’d you get these?”
Song Longsha replied cheerfully, “Found them on the school forum. I picked the best ones. Aren’t they great? The second one even looks a bit like me. Sis, we’re so good-looking.”
Fang Xianxing glanced at the second photo—a side profile, taken from a distance. If you didn’t look closely, it did resemble Song Longsha. Skipping it, she forwarded the third to Xie Zhi.
“Now you do.” Fang Xianxing set her phone down, raised an eyebrow, and looked at Xie Zhi.
Xie Zhi puffed out his cheeks, grudgingly opened the photo, and set it step by step, his peripheral vision constantly gauging Fang Xianxing, hoping she’d relent.
But Fang Xianxing just gazed back silently.
Xie Zhi ground his teeth, pressed “apply,” and in an instant, Wen Ru on his wallpaper was replaced by Fang Xianxing.
Xie Zhi looked up with a hint of resentment, turned his body away, and faced her with his back, sulking.
Fang Xianxing remained unfazed, even pleased. Even the obviously candid shot now gracing Xie Zhi’s wallpaper looked good to her.