Su Jingyi's whole body froze as she stood at the doorway with wide eyes, staring at Yun Zhen. She felt like he had just dropped a bomb on her, sending her sanity out of the window. Her mind short-circuited from what she heard from him. The keys on her hand dropped on the floor as she stared at him.

  Did she hear him right? Did this stupid blockhead just say she should marry him instead?

  The rage that followed shortly tempted Su Jingyi to hit Yun Zhen for his audacity to ask her for a marriage like that. How stupid!

  Couldn't he understand that she was willing to marry a stranger because she could not marry out of love? Although they had been with each other as comrades for years, Yun Zhen should know by now that it was impossible for the two of them to become husband and wife, given the kind of relationship they shared with each other.

  Su Jingyi bent lowly and picked up her keys on the floor, taking the chance to hide the emotions that spiraled out of her eyes. She then looked at him with a straight face.

  "No," she said with defiance, her eyes glaring furiously at Yun Zhen who didn't expect this kind of reaction from her. He thought she would understand at once, why he was suggesting it.

  Yun Zhen had given it a good thought and assumed that it would solve the problem, allowing Su Jingyi to stay with him while fulfilling her wish to become a wife and have a family she could call her own. However, why was she looking at him like a cat that had been stepped on its tail?

  "You don't want to? I thought you would be pleased with the idea of being married to me. I don't mind being your husband at all," he said in defense, which only infuriated Su Jingyi further.

  Su Jingyi so wanted to pounce on him and shake him hard, hoping this airhead's senses would come back to him, but she stopped herself. Yun Zhen had been oblivious to what she felt for him, and she shouldn't blame him for it.

  "It's not that I don't want to, Yun Zhen, but don't you hear yourself?" She questioned him. "For years, you already set your mind to marry Tang Moyu, and now, you want to marry me? What do you take me for, huh?"

  "What does Tang Moyu have to do with this?" he said with a grin, tossing another question in return. "Miss Tang is already married. Am I supposed to sulk in the corner just because she married another man?"

  "Shouldn't you?" Su Jingyi crossed her arms and leaned her back against the doorframe with a mocking smile on her face. "After all, the empress was your childhood sweetheart. It's only been three days since they announced their marriage, and now, you want to jump into marriage, too?"

  Yun Zhen couldn't understand why Su Jingyi was bringing up this issue about Tang Moyu. While it's true that he was surprised that the empress had secretly married Feng Tianyi, he wasn't stupid to force himself on a person who didn't like him.

  "Do you really despise the idea of being married to me, Su Jingyi?" he asked in return.

  Su Jingyi fell silent, her lips pressed into a thin line as she tried to rein in her emotions. Would she really despise the idea of being his wife? Of course not! If she could marry him, she would… but not like this.

  When Su Jingyi said nothing, Yun Zhen continued.

  "You rather marry a stranger than to marry me, the person you knew for years? I don't get you at all, Su Jingyi!"

  He didn't understand what's going on with her. It had been easy for him to get along with Su Jingyi because she wasn't a person who liked to beat around the bush and was a straightforward person so why…?

  Why would she rather marry a man whom she knew nothing about than to be with him?

  He didn't mind marrying her for the sole reason that, except for Tang Moyu, Su Jingyi was the only woman that he could get along with. His family was already acquainted with her so it wouldn't be hard for her to be accepted by the Yun family.

  Su Jingyi should have felt happy receiving a marriage proposal from the man she loved, but why was her heart weeping at the moment? Why was the urge to break down and cry so strong that it made her eyes stung with tears? All she wanted to do was to fall on her knees and cry.

  "That's exactly the reason why I cannot marry you, Yun Zhen. You don't understand, do you?" She said in such a tone that made Yun Zhen think that he was bullying her. "You aren't just a stranger to me. You should know this."

  Was she crying? He wondered. Why?

  While it's true that he'd been disappointed when he found out that Tang Moyu had gotten married, Yun Zhen didn't understand why he was conflicted. The idea of Su Jingyi being someone's wife had disturbed him for some reason.

  As her good friend, he should be supportive of her choices, right?

  "Please leave. I want to rest now." Su Jingyi turned to leave and intended to close the door behind her, but Yun Zhen held her wrist, stopping her.

  "Won't you consider it?" he asked again. This was the only plausible answer he could think of to fix their problem. By marrying Su Jingyi, they would be able to placate her parents' wishes for her to marry while he would be able to keep her by his side.

  "If you could tell me why I should marry you, I would consider it."