A Promising Youth

Chapter 15 Talking About Marriage

Looking at her unblinking eyes, I was embarrassed. My face flushed with a feeling of being guilty.

“Yes, I came to help you.”

I lowered my head and shyly tugged at the corner of my shirt.

“There's really nothing else?”

She asked, and her face pressed extra close to mine.

“No.”

I gave her a startled look.

“Ha, silly boy, I'm teasing you!

I'm surprised you're still as shy as you used to be, it's quite fun.”

She narrowed her eyes and smiled, reached up and pinched my face.

“So how can I repay you for helping me?”

After that she took another step forward. It was so close that she made me directly into the back of the

chair.

“How... how do you want to repay?”

I was flustered, with my heart pounding.

She gripped the arm of her chair, bent over to look at me, thought for a moment, then pursed her lips

and said very badly.

“I don’t have a boyfriend yet. How about I marry you?”

I swallowed hard. To be honest, I had never been intimate with a woman before I was 23, let alone

marriage. My mind was blank at the time.

“Haha! Look at you, you are not funny!”

She covered her mouth and laughed, waved her hand and said.

“I'm in debt and in trouble, how can I marry you and get you into trouble! Silly boy, I was joking!”

I was slightly relieved, but for some reason, I had slight loss in my heart. I really wanted to tell her that I

actually didn't care that she was in debt, let alone that she was in trouble, and that if she really wanted

to marry me, she could do it anytime.

But I was afraid to say that, because I knew that she was indeed joking.

Later we went to the south of the city for noodles, and she gave me extra beef. Because of her beauty,

many customers secretly looked at her while eating the noodles.

Maybe it was because she was generous and talkative, and gradually I wasn't nervous, but I was still

shy.

While eating noodles, I asked her,

“Sis, what's going on with your factory?”

She sprinkled some vinegar into the noodles. While stirring, she said that the factory had been running

well when her mother was alive, but in her senior year, her mother died, and the factory had to be

entrusted to the head of the company and relatives of the family.

But after four years of college, when she graduated and came back to take over the factory, it was long

in debt.

As we talked, she kept putting into my bowl with her beef.

“Do I let you down? I'm poor, will you still help me? Even if you helped me, I wouldn't have any money

to give you.”

I wanted to laugh at her serious look, and she then added.

“If only you were a rich man. I will manage to marry you so my mother's factory would be fine. You're

silly, so it would be nice to spend time together.”

I asked, “Sis, how much money does a man can be considered a rich man?”

She thought about it for a moment and said.

“Tens of millions, I think!”

At that time, I felt so stupid that we were both so poor and still talking about “tens of millions”.

I said to her in a serious way,

“Sis, if I really have a few tens of millions, you must...marry me!”

“Heh, I'm afraid that when the time comes, you will despise me!”

She grimaced, gave me a blank look and said.

“Don't talk, eat noodles, eat noodles.”

My phone suddenly rang.

It was Andrew the foreign tailor calling. We had given phone No. to each other.

“Mr. Matteo, I want to talk to you about something!”

He said in a hasty tone.

“Ok, what's it?” I asked as I ate my noodles.

“Someone wants to buy the secret cloth-dyeing formula in your hands, and the asking price is 5

million!”

“What?”

I froze!

Surprised to hear me, Andrew hurriedly added.

“I mean “pounds”!

5 million pounds was over 50 million yuan at the exchange rate at the time.

I didn't expect this foreign tailor to go to such lengths for this formula!

Seeing me frozen in place, Clara kicked me under the table. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“What is it? Was it Carrie trying to pay you over? I knew that woman wouldn't take it lying down!”

I shook my head. There was no way Carrie had that much money and bought it in pounds. This was

obviously a foreign company.

“Sis, if I really have 50 million yuan, would you marry me?”

Looking at her pretty face makes me feel happy. In the past years, wasn't she the one I'd been thinking

about in my head?

She burst in to laughter.

The noodle soup spurted out and she covered her stomach and coughed for half a day before saying.

“You, 50 million? Your suit was bought at a department store, right? Will Millionaires wear these

clothes? Also, do you know how much 50 million is?”

I turned the speaker on, Andrew asked anxiously, “Mr. Matteo, I'm not joking with you. Someone does

want to buy your formula. 5 million pounds is quite a lot! If you agree, we'll sign the contract tomorrow,

and I can represent you fully!”

Hearing those words, the smile on Clara's face froze instantly!

I giggled, looked at her and said. “Sis, I want to sell the formula and get 50 million...to marry you.”

The chopsticks in her hand dropped to the floor, and then, in a great panic, she straightened her

clothes and said.

“Well... it's... so sudden. I... haven't thought about it yet, I... heh!”

She was so flustered that she blushed and smiled at me awkwardly. I understood that what we had just

said were bragging and chatting. If she was really the kind of woman who could sell herself out for

money, she wouldn't be the girl I knew.

“Mr. Matteo, how do you think? I need your answer.”

Andrew urged anxiously.

“No.”

I was brief.

“No...if it's a matter of price, we can talk about it again. I'm always available!”

He said in more panic.

“It's not about the money. I won’t sell it.”

I hung up the phone straight after I said that.

This formula was passed down from my teacher hundreds of years ago. Back then, someone held a

knife to the neck of the Stone Family's grand master and asked him to hand over the formula, but the

old master refused. If I sell this formula, what would I be?

Clara was dumbfounded about I refused and she kicked me hard and said.

“Are you crazy? It is a good opportunity to sell a formula for 50 million!”

“What's the point of having all that money if you're not marrying me?!”

Squinting, unconsciously, I loved to make jokes too.

“And what if...what if I marry?”

She kicked me in a hurry.

“If I have 50 million, why should I marry a woman like you?”

“You…”

She pointed at me in exasperation and suddenly laughed.

“Am I that bad? I used to be most beautiful girl in the school, okay?!”

Then we both laughed. It was a warm feeling. And for the first time in over 20 years, I laughed happily.

But the next day, I couldn't laugh at all, because I didn't expect Carrie could be that sinister!