Xia Kingdom.

H City, the Morrison family villa on the east side.

The living room looked warm and cozy, but right now the air was so tense it felt hard to breathe.

Old Mr. Morrison sat on the sofa like a man waiting for judgment.

And the one judging him was Mia Morrison. Her arms were crossed tight over her chest, and that pretty little baby-faced face of hers, usually bright and sweet, was now full of rage.

"Grandpa, do you even have a conscience? Back when you were young, you just had to stir up trouble and steal someone else’s fiancée. Now you’re pushing eighty, they’ve come to settle the score, and your genius move is to shove your youngest granddaughter out to pay off your old romance debt? I’m telling you right now, I am not getting married!"

The girl who usually spoke in a soft, sugary voice, gentle enough to melt anyone’s heart, had completely lost it the second she heard she was being promised off. Worse, her parents, grandparents, the whole family had already agreed behind her back. That was the final straw.

The Morrison family living room was stacked with boxes, each one plastered with bright red double-happiness stickers, all waiting to be opened. They were the betrothal gifts sent for Mia. The worst part? Her grandfather had accepted them while she was away.

"You called me all the way back from overseas, and I actually thought my grandpa missed me. Turns out you just wanted to talk marriage. I’m only twenty, okay? Twenty! I have an older sister and an older brother, so why am I the one getting shipped out to repay your old mess? Doesn’t your conscience hurt at all?"

Old Mr. Morrison coughed awkwardly and said in a guilty tone, "Your sister’s too stubborn. I can’t control her. Your brother’s a man, nobody’s marrying him off. So... that leaves you."

Mia stared at him like she’d just heard the most insane thing on earth. She pointed at herself in disbelief. "Grandpa, so because nobody else can go, I have to be the sacrifice? Am I even your biological granddaughter? Was I adopted or something? Are you really dead set on making me marry in my sister’s place?

"What, is that man lame? Disabled? Blind? In a coma? Can’t find a wife on his own, so he has to pull this whole arranged-marriage nonsense and drag me down with him?"

Old Mr. Morrison’s face scrunched up in embarrassment. "No, that’s not it. The Kingsley family specifically asked for you to marry Vincent Kingsley."

Mia thought she’d misheard. "Marry... marry who?!!!"

"The Kingsley family. Vincent Kingsley."

It hit her like a bolt of lightning, blasting her stiff on the spot.

Vincent Kingsley, executive president of the Kingsley Group, twenty-seven years old, handsome and refined, one of the most famous businessmen in the world. Ruthless in his methods, decisive in action, terrifyingly sharp-sighted. After ten years dominating the business world, he was already half the sky of the commercial scene, the legendary Mr. Kingsley of H City.

But in Mia’s head, that successful, elegant, untouchable man instantly turned into a devil with a dark face, staring at her in a creepy way, baring chilling fangs, smiling so horribly it could give anyone nightmares.

She immediately clapped both hands over her ears. "Nope, no way, absolutely not. Vincent Kingsley is famous for being a cold-faced king of hell. He’s scary as heck. What, are you marrying me off like some kind of human offering?"

With her ears covered, Mia shook her head like a rattle drum, utterly determined.

No way.

She would never marry that devil.

She had seen him when she was little.

"Sweetheart, be good. Hear Grandpa out first." Mr. Morrison pulled out his final trump card. "Grandpa will help you make that thing happen."

Mia Morrison blinked, instantly hooked. "What thing?"

Mr. Morrison gave her a meaningful smile, then crooked a finger at her, looking all mysterious...

At the Kingsley estate on the west side.

Unlike the warmth and lived-in comfort of the Morrison home, the Kingsley residence was grand to the point of coldness. The whole hall screamed luxury, but there wasn't a trace of warmth in it.

"Grandpa, why did you call me back?" On the sofa sat a young man in a tailored suit, summoned back from the company in a rush. The old man beside him looked at his eldest grandson and said calmly, "I've arranged a marriage for you."

The second those words landed, the man's brows sharpened with annoyance. He looked at the old man, his voice icy. "Stay out of my business."

"Vincent Kingsley, you're already twenty-seven. If you still don't get married now, what, are you planning to do it at seventy-two?"

Vincent Kingsley was the eldest son and eldest grandson of the Kingsley family, the heir apparent, with one younger brother below him.

Back in college, Vincent Kingsley had already started taking over the family business. It had been close to ten years now. He stood at the top of Kingsley Group like an absolute ruler, and under his control, the company had expanded at breakneck speed, its business long since reaching overseas markets.

Even a man like him still couldn't dodge the classic family pressure to marry.

A trace of anger gathered between Vincent Kingsley's brows. He stood up abruptly, impatience obvious in his eyes. "My marriage is not yours to decide."

He strode off with long legs, ready to leave. His polished leather shoes reflected an extra layer of chill against the marble floor. But after only two steps, a voice came from behind him.

"It's the granddaughter from the east side. Your Grandpa Morrison's family."

He stopped dead.

His dark brows drew together slightly. The Morrison family? Had she come back?

old Mr. Kingsley slowly rose to his feet and looked at his grandson's cold, straight back. "The person you've been searching for is still alive. As long as you get married, I'll give you his information."

Vincent Kingsley turned around little by little. A cold edge sat heavy between his brows as he looked at the old man. Grandfather and grandson locked eyes, neither willing to give an inch, neither weaker than the other in presence.

After a long pause, he finally said, "Fine. I'll marry her."

"Next month, on the twentieth. Go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get the certificate."

Time flew.

In the height of summer, July 20.

Outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, four luxury cars were lined up in perfect formation.

For a hundred years, the Morrison family and the Kingsley family had been old family acquaintances on paper, yet in reality they’d been at each other’s throats the whole time. Even when they picked places to live, they had to be dramatic about it.

One held down Donglin on the far eastern side of H City, while the other had stayed rooted for generations on the far western shore, Xian.

The elders of both families had been openly competing for years. In H City, who didn’t know that the two powerhouse families from east and west were “sworn rivals”?

And now, those sworn rivals were about to become in-laws. Honestly, the whole thing sounded ridiculous.

But weird as it was, the marriage alliance was happening for real.

Mia Morrison was practically dragged out of the car by her parents. Still not fully awake, she clung to her mother’s arm, tilted her little face, and used her mother’s shoulder as a pillow to catch up on sleep. The blazing sunlight poured over her fair, soft, baby-round face, making her look extra small and fluffy, the tiny fuzz on her cheeks almost glowing with cuteness.

Not long after, the Kingsley family’s car also rolled to a stop outside the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The old man who stepped out of the car spotted Mia at once and immediately called out with a grin, “Zhengshen, come here and meet your little wife. Look at Mia, isn’t she adorable?”

Vincent Kingsley’s brows pulled together slightly. “It’s Mia Morrison?”

At the same time, Mia was pinched awake by her own mother. She lifted her head and looked at the unfamiliar man across from her. His face was cold, sharp, seriously good-looking, exactly her type if she were just judging by appearances. But Mia knew some people were like datura flowers—pretty to look at, toxic to the bone.

Vincent had thought he was marrying Fiona Morrison, the Morrison family’s eldest daughter. He hadn’t expected the bride to be this barely-grown little girl.

“Oh? So you don’t want to marry me either?” Mia’s eyes lit up instantly. “Then great, let’s not do it, let’s not do it~”

She was the happiest person there. The moment she turned to leave, her mother grabbed the back of her collar and hauled her straight into the registration hall.

Ten minutes later,

The former enemies stood outside the Civil Affairs Bureau, right in front of the marriage certificate, acting like all past grudges had magically evaporated. They were shaking hands, hugging, smiling so hard their faces almost cramped.

One marriage had turned two hostile families into relatives.

Only Vincent Kingsley kept a dark expression the whole time. He glanced at the little girl he had just married. It wasn’t until they got the certificate that he found out she had only just turned twenty. The reason the registration had been delayed for a whole month was simply because they had been waiting for her to hit legal age.

Meanwhile, the “little girl” in his eyes opened her round mouth and let out a huge yawn, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes from sleepiness: So... can she go home and sleep now?

That night, after they got home,

Mia Morrison learned another piece of awful news. “I still have to move?!” Nobody had told her that getting married also meant changing houses.

“Move where?”