Chapter 7
The civil affairs bureau worker was also pleased. Every time she signed a contract, she would receive a performance bonus. She carefully filed away the consent letter for accepting the state-assigned partner, and then recited the words she knew by heart to each official partner couple:
“Miss Ye, Mr. Ye, congratulations on becoming state-protected official partners. Here are your official partner certificates, please keep them safe.”
“The official partner certificate is not a marriage certificate, it only means that you are now engaged. To avoid any obsessive men and resentful women, you two will be given a year of living together for adaptation. During this time, you can come to the civil affairs bureau at any time to replace your official partner certificate with a marriage certificate.”
“If during this time, the woman becomes pregnant, contributing to the nation’s population, both of you will receive generous welfare benefits.”
“Of course, if during this time, you discover that the other person is not fit for yourself, you can apply to dissolve the official partner status after a year, however, you will need to pay a ten-million penalty. There won’t be any other punishments and it won’t affect your political rights and so on…”
“Additionally, during this time, you two cannot develop any other romantic relationships. If found out, you will be prosecuted for infidelity. If the evidence is solid, you will be jailed. Please be cautious.”
“If there are no other questions, Mr. Ye, you can take Miss Ye home now. For the upcoming year, Miss Ye should live with you. The civil affairs department may visit at any time.”
Ye Xingguang was still so shocked that Ye Junqing had actually signed, she hadn’t come back to herself and hadn’t heard clearly what the staff member had said.
She took the official partner certificate, her head completely empty and unable to think, she couldn’t believe it. She had actually become Ye Junqing’s official partner?
Was this a stroke of incredible luck, or was it total misfortune?
*
Roar… roar…
Thunder accompanied by lightning, roared and raged, soon unleashing a citywide downpour.
At the gate of University C, eleven Rolls-Royces patiently waited in the pouring rain for Ye Xingguang, who was returning to school to deal with paperwork.
Ye Junqing stared at the heavy rain outside the window, thinking that a certain woman can’t go outside in rainy days, his brows couldn’t help but furrow.
His phone’s video call was on, and the voice of his older brother, Ye Shiting, came from across the line:
“Are you sure you want to accept the civil affairs bureau’s distribution for me? I heard from our father and Xia’s father that they intend to arrange a marriage between you and Xia Yanyan. This matter will soon be on the agenda. Don’t you really like Xia Yanyan? Didn’t you even have a designer build a mermaid swimming pool in your house half a year ago?”
Who said the mermaid swimming pool was built for Xia Yanyan?
Ye Junqing did not explain, only responding, “The family alliance is just the icing on the cake, it’s not necessary. But, in my big brother’s election for President, absolutely no mistakes can be made. I have decided on this, big brother, you don’t need to persuade me anymore.”
“So you chose Ye Xingguang just for my presidential election? I heard from Fu Zhuo that you carried her out of the civil affairs bureau. You’ve never carried a woman before, I thought it was love at first sight…”
“How could that be possible? How could I possibly be interested in that kind of woman?”
Ye Junqing clearly denied it and leaned lazily against the seat, replying casually, “It was just a performance at the civil affairs bureau, to let people know how cooperative I am with national duties. I don’t want people to say that the presidential candidate’s brother is a staunch bachelor, dragging you down.”