chapter 2 :A marriage contract

Shengshi Corporation.
In the prime CBD financial district of S City, the towering Shengshi Corporation, with its impressive thirty-three stories, stood there like a colossal pillar, its magnificent exterior befitting its name, exuding an air of grandeur at every corner.
Every year during graduation season, numerous highly educated graduates competed fiercely to secure a well-paying, prestigious job within this building.
Although it wasn't graduation season at the moment, the building was still bustling with people coming and going. Everyone was busy, working tirelessly and trying to make every minute count.
Top floor, CEO's office.
Ethan Ye, the CEO of Shengshi Corporation, who was usually busier than all the employees, was unusually free at this moment.
On his expensive desk were not contracts worth hundreds of millions or billions sent by business partners, nor were there urgent and crucial files from any department. It was, however, this document, utterly devoid of commercial value, that he had been reading attentively, word by word, line by line.
Across from him, Ava An sat with her back straight, the spacious chair making her appear particularly slender. The folded hands on her lap betrayed her nervousness, although she tried hard to restrain herself, preventing the man from seeing through her.
The man was tall, and even as he sat in the chair, his upper body's height was enough to overshadow Ava An. The afternoon sunlight cast a shadow from behind him, enveloping Ava An as if a great mountain was pressing down on her, making it hard for her to breathe.
Ava An thought that in the fifteen years she hadn't seen Ethan Ye, he had become even more formidable than when they were children. At the same time, he had become even more attractive. She occasionally stole glances at him, his resolute features, sharp angles, and cold contours exuded an aura of 'stay away' from strangers. Even his once soft eyelashes no longer looked gentle due to the presence of a pair of indifferent eyes.
He was truly a man who could charm the whole universe. If only he could be a bit gentler, Ava An thought, she might have turned into his fangirl.
"Do you want to get engaged with me?" Ava An, lost in thought, finally spoke to the man across from her.
What Ava An had brought was an engagement agreement, a thick one that she had Emily Song prepare for her in advance.
"Yes," Ava An answered, lifting her head to meet the man's indifferent gaze with determination.
"Or is it fake?" Ethan Ye's voice sounded again, revealing a clear note of surprise.
"Yes," Ava An responded even more firmly.
Snap!
Ethan Ye closed the engagement agreement and tossed out two words, "The reason?"
Ethan Ye was now somewhat puzzled. If he remembered correctly, he hadn't seen this woman for about fifteen years. After attending her mother's funeral when she was ten, they had no contact whatsoever. If it weren't for that jade pendant, he might not have even recognized her.
"Didn't you say that as long as I came to find you with this jade pendant, you would repay me for saving your life?" Ava An steadied her mind and pointed to the jade pendant placed beside him on the table.
Ethan Ye nodded; he admitted that he had made her that promise, but he hadn't expected that her idea of repayment would be this.
A fake engagement?
Ethan Ye's curiosity was unusually piqued. He pursed his thin lips and said, "I need to know the reason behind your decision before I can consider whether or not to agree."
"Honestly?" Ava An asked.
Ethan Ye nodded.
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