Chapter 17 Newcomer in Wheelchair

Oliver Jiang sipped his lips and said nothing. He took the contract and signed his name on it.

He had signed countless contracts, but he didn’t expect to sign a marriage on a paper one day.

After he signed the contract, Victoria Tan handed the document along with a check to him. She smiled and said, “You haven’t even looked at the content. If I made any unreasonable terms, wouldn’t you suffer?”

Oliver Jiang lowered his head and stared at her face. He felt that she was incredibly stupid. Why would a man suffer when he married a woman?

Moreover, she took the contract seriously. Marriage was so sacred that it was protected by law. Contractual marriage, however, was not. The law would only protect the property division agreement which was not good for her.

He only made profit but didn’t pay for the deal.

The same applied for different man on this deal.

He took the check and stared at the zeros on it. He had an impulse to tear it up, but he suppressed his feelings and saved both the check and the contract.

“I urgently need the money, I have no choice. It doesn’t matter if I suffer some losses.” he replied while facing her.

“Very well.” Let’s go in.” she nodded.

Tomorrow was Chinese Valentine’s Day, but there were quite a few people who came to get the certificate today. When Victoria Tan and Oliver Jiang lined up, the queue was already very long.

The faces of the couples were full of joy and a sort of uneasiness. In front of them was a pair of man and woman who looked like college students. The woman nervously held the man’s arm and whispered, “Baby, I’m so scared. Are we really going to get the certificate? I’m nervous!”

The man touched the woman’s hand. His face was tangled, “Do you want to come back tomorrow?”

Victoria Tan stared at the scene and felt like losing her mind. Suddenly, someone patted her on the shoulder. When Victoria Tan looked back, she saw a woman standing behind her with a slightly big belly. She said, “Excuse me, I’m a little uncomfortable. Can you let me and my husband cut the line? I need to go to the hospital after I get the certificate.”

“Please.” the man begged.

Victoria Tan looked up at Oliver Jiang’s eyes and said, “Sure. You can go first.”

The pregnant woman smiled at Victoria Tan and said, “Thank you. Your husband is so handsome.”

“Thank you.” Victoria Tan was slightly embarrassed. She always thought that she would get the certificate with Frank Lu. She never expected that she would get it with the man next to her.

She looked up at him. His mind was somewhere else. He didn’t seem to hear the noise around him.

“Make way! Make way! Thank you. Please, make way!” suddenly, accompanied by noisy footsteps, a group of people collided with the tail of the line.

“Don’t push!”

People standing on the line was pushed forward and Victoria Tan was hit hard by people behind her. Oliver Jiang reached out and put his arm around her preventing her from falling down.

There was no time for awkward reaction. She only found herself falling in his arms while seeing a couple she least wanted to see coming forward.

“She’s sitting on a wheelchair while getting a certificate? She’s accompanied by guards too. She must hail from some wealthy families!”

“The groom is really handsome and the bride is on a wheelchair. Is that possible? It’s either she’s rich or it’s true love!”

A bride-to-be on a wheelchair and a handsome groom-to-be was a once in century kind of scene.

It was only natural for people around them to look and start gossiping.

There were not only onlookers but also media and reporters. The shutter sound of camera kept coming and the reporters started interviewing, “Miss Ashley Tan, you’re getting a certificate a day before Valentine’s Day. Do you have anything to say to your husband-to-be? He will be your husband after getting the certificate.”

Ashley Tan looked different from Victoria Tan. All the years she spent on a wheelchair made her temperament gentle and quiet. She could calm down and finish all the fashion design processes without making a noise. Even though she was not as beautiful as Victoria Tan, she had her own temperament and charm. Her fashion design works were impeccable and she was regarded as a talented female designer.

Today, Ashley Tan wore a white dress. She looked back at Frank Lu who was pushing her wheelchair and smiled, “I just want to say, thank you for being with me in this life.”

Frank Lu looked particularly handsome and his aura was neat and proud. He had indifferent and unproblematic eyes that once fascinated Victoria Tan. Even in a distance, Victoria Tan felt like she could smell the ethanol off his body.

At that moment, Frank Lu stood in front of the media, bowed his head, and smiled at his future wife without showing off, without sweet words, but with pity, “I hope the media can forgive us, but we are just trying to get the certificate. We don’t want to make thing sounds big and please, give Ashley some space. Tomorrow’s wedding will be open for the media. You can contact Ashley’s manager for specific matters. Thank you.”

His voice was pleasant, clean, clear, and gentle like his bearing.

All along, Victoria Tan had only heard a lot of people said that Ashley Tan and Frank Lu were together, they were going to get married soon, the wedding was tomorrow, and that the certificate was going to be fetched today, but she had never seen the scene where they were together with her own eyes. She couldn’t imagine them together.

Now, her imaginations were real and her dream were shattered. Now, she had seen them together, Ashley Tan’s dependence and Frank Lu’s tolerance. Even a stranger could tell that they were so well matched.

She always hoped that her sister Ashley Tan would settle down happily and that she would have a man who pushed her wheelchair and accompanied her all her life.

But, she became selfish and resentful when she learned that Ashley Tan’s man was her lover. She hoped that she would be separated, lived an unhappy life. She even hoped that all these news were false.

“Mr. Lu, I wish you and Miss Tan happiness.” the reporter didn’t want to spoil the fun in the bureau. So, he generously let them go after the interview.

“Thank you.” Ashley Tan and Frank Lu thanked them.

Frank Lu pushed the wheelchair through the queue. Because of Ashley Tan’s condition, they were given priority care and could go through all formalities before others. All the people present understood that even if they were dissatisfied, no one would really make a fuss.

The wheelchair was getting closer and closer. Victoria Tan’s feel weakened like they had no strength. She was nervous and distracted. She somehow recalled the day when Frank Lu asked her to break up.

Just as Frank Lu pushed the wheelchair past her, she suddenly felt like crumbling. The young girl in front of her saw it and shouted. Oliver Jiang was quick. He reached out and caught her in his arms.

Many people saw it including Frank Lu. Victoria Tan’s face was facing Oliver Jiang’s chest. People could only see her tall and slender back.

People thought that she fainted because she was flirting. Their attention gradually dispersed for it was normal for couple to be touchy and kissy.

The sound of the rolling wheelchair also faded away passing Victoria Tan.

The clueless Oliver Jiang didn’t know the reason for her instability. He lowered his head and asked, “What’s the matter? You skipped breakfast, didn’t you?”

Her mind was chaotic. Although she thought that this embrace was strange, but this embrace was her only shield now. Like a coward, she dared not look up.

She wanted to catch up with Frank Lu and asked, “The girl you once loved is going to get a marriage certificate with a stranger. What do you think? Would you be distressed and unwilling?”

She was heartbroken knowing that he was marrying another girl, but he was indifferent to her self-banishment.

Slowly, Victoria Tan tried to hold back her trembling body and straightened up her back. Even if she lost, she would lost gracefully. She would stop asking and begging. She would respect herself as she should be.

Oliver Jiang’s eyes were sharp. How could he not know that she knew them?

Just now, the woman in the wheelchair gave her a look back. Those eyes looked a little surprised like she was meeting an old acquaintance.

However, they acted like they didn’t know each other. One shrunk to avoid and the other one continued to be pushed away by her future husband.

When the couple walked away, Oliver Jiang patted Victoria Tan on the back, “Okay. We’re so close to stirring up rumors. Let’s move on.”

The couple at the back were middle-aged. They should have had a marriage history. When they heard Oliver Jiang’s words, the bald middle-aged man smiled and said, “Is your wife afraid of marriage? It’s normal for young people to feel so. Just comfort her and all shall be fine.”

Victoria Tan came out of Oliver Jiang’s arms. She blushed. She pulled Oliver Jiang aside and said a little unnaturally, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

Oliver Jiang interrupted her. She didn’t need to continue talking, he was being understanding, “It doesn’t matter. Now that I have taken your money, you can ask if you need anything. I will do my best to fulfill your wish. I will follow your order this whole year. After we get the certificate, if you want to hug me, go on, but if you don’t want to, it’s okay too. I don’t mind.”

Victoria Tan blinked. Apart from his hoarse voice, he was so considerate that he regarded her as his employer. He even said that she could do whatever she wanted.

“Okay. Cool.” she didn’t know to answer, but still she had to explain clearly, “But I really didn’t mean to trouble you. I will try my best to hold my temper in the future. I will not trouble you again.”

He listened carefully and nodded, “Very well.”

When entering the studio to take photos, the photographer suggested, “The groom may take off the Band-Aid. It doesn’t matter if you have a scar. I can edit it for you. If the scar’s too bad, there is no way out, but yours is fine. I think it will heal just fine later.”

“Bride, please fix your hair. It’s a little messy.”

“Alright, newlywed, come closer, be natural, smile, and relax.”

She could feel herself tensed up in front of the camera. Suddenly, she felt his arm lingered around her waist bringing her body closer to his. He also leaned his head slightly.

“Very well. The groom, you can keep this pose. Perfect.”

With the snap sound of the shutter, the wedding photo was finished.

After the photo was developed, Victoria Tan found the scar had been edited and his smiled looked surprisingly kind.

His body was leaning closer to her. It was obvious that he was trying to get closer while her pose was slightly outward. She looked embarrassed and tried to keep a distance.

Victoria Tan thought that this man really kept his promises. He did things well after he took the money. She still couldn’t let go. Now that she finally signed a contractual marriage, she was a little melodramatic.

Oliver Jiang took the wedding photos, looked at them again and again, and turned his head to Victoria Tan smilingly, “It’s interesting how the photographer can edit out the scar. Do you think it’s good enough? If you don’t like it, we can take another picture.”

“No. It’s fine.” she said.

He nodded and said, “Right. After all, it only takes one year. If you don’t like it, we can take another picture later.”

It was only a year of contractual marriage. This photo would only be used for a year. Who would take a look at it?

Before officially stamping the certificate, Oliver Jiang suddenly asked, “I still don’t know your name.”

She was surprised, “You didn’t read my signature on the contract?”

“Your signature was rather sloppy. I couldn’t read it.” he shrugged his shoulder.

He was desperate for money that he didn’t really pay attention to the contract terms nor the contracting party.

She smiled, “My name is Victoria Tan.”

“Come again?” Oliver Jiang raised his eyebrows and asked again.

Her name was uncommon and it seemed that she couldn’t find a suitable word to describe it. She took his hand and wrote it for him.

Oliver Jiang didn’t look at her fingers. He looked at her serious face. She didn’t know her name was carved on his heart all along. He read it in a low voice, “Victoria Tan.”

He repeated it three times as if it was that uncommon, “Victoria Tan. Victoria Tan. Victoria Tan.”

The hoarse voice grinded the two words out like it was a mumble in a fever dream.

She looked up. His face was calm as he smiled, “I remember now.”

The two men sat at the stamp issuing office and the staff asked those questions carefully. Oliver Jiang answered fluently while Victoria Tan felt ashamed and stumbled with her words.

After the red seal was stamped on, the certificates were handed over to Oliver Jiang and Victoria Tan.

The staff smiled, “Congratulation on your marriage. Wish you a hundred years of happy marriage.”

Victoria Tan didn’t know the date birth of Oliver Jiang until she saw the information on the certificate. He was four years older than her and also a native of Jincheng.

He stared at her ID and said, “Your birthday is after next month.”

“Yes.” she didn’t expect that he would pay attention to details.

He smiled, “Our birthdays are so close. We can celebrate it together.”

At this time, the couple whose wife was pregnant came over and heard their conversation. The pregnant woman smiled and said, “You guys are so cute. Why do you guys look like you meet for the first time? You are so polite to each other. Don’t you have to celebrate your marriage? Why do you have to wait for next month?”

They couldn’t relate. Even passerby could hear that something was off as soon as they heard them talking. The newlywed sounded like they had just met for three days and were nothing but a couple of strangers.

Victoria Tan was embarrassed. He grabbed her shoulder and smiled at the couple, “We’re just too nervous about our first marriage.”

The lady laughed, “How many time do you want to get married, huh? You guys should go home and enjoy the marriage life. Go, now. I wish you the best for both of you!”

The marriage registration office was full of blessings. Everyone was happy. When the couple walked away, Oliver Jiang suddenly said, “Miss Tan, it’s getting late. Why don’t we go and have a meal together? You don’t have to celebrate marriage if you don’t want to. Let’s celebrate a happy cooperation instead.”

He always addressed her formally and it somehow gave her the wrong impression. Since returning to Jincheng, since escaping for his kidnapper, she found that he talked rigorously and his speech was extremely decent. She had no reason to refuse his proposal.

“Okay.” She replied.

Unlike common couples who just received their certificates walking hand in hand or shoulder to shoulder, they didn’t discuss how the photo looked like, they didn’t kiss nor hug each other. They didn’t even hold hands to prepare for a better tomorrow.

They walked side by side with a distance. When they walked down the stairs, they were busy with their own worried and didn’t speak.

At the moment they walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, she suddenly heard a soft call behind her, “Victoria?”

Her back stiffened. She stuck as her steps stopped.