OUR FIVE YEARS CONTRACT

PROLOGUE

The scent of expensive sandalwood and cold ink always filled Yiran's office, but today, it felt suffocating. On the mahogany desk sat a folder-thin, unassuming, yet heavy enough to alter the trajectory of two lives.

The Five-Year Contract.

Yiran didn't look up as the door clicked shut. He knew the sound of those footsteps; they were light, hesitant, yet frustratingly familiar.

"You're late," Yiran said, his voice a smooth, icy blade.

Yunqi paused, his fingers tightening around the strap of his bag. He looked at the man who held his family's future in his manicured hands. Yiran was a masterpiece of sharp angles and cold ambition-a man who bought companies for breakfast and souls for dinner.

"The traffic was-"

"I don't pay for excuses, Yunqi. I pay for results." Yiran finally looked up, his dark eyes tracking Yunqi with a predator's focus. He pushed the document forward. "Five years. No scandals. No genuine emotional attachments. We play the part of the devoted husbands in public, and in private, we remain strangers."

Yunqi looked at the gold-plated pen resting on the desk. Five years. It was a lifetime to spend with a man who looked at him like a business transaction. But then he thought of the mounting debts and his sister's hospital bills.

"And after five years?" Yunqi's voice flickered.

"You walk away with enough wealth to never see my face again," Yiran replied, a faint, cynical smirk touching his lips. "It's a fair trade, don't you think? Your freedom for my reputation."

Yunqi reached for the pen. His hand trembled slightly, but his gaze remained steady as he met Yiran's eyes. He wasn't just signing a contract; he was stepping into a golden cage.

"Just remember, Yiran," Yunqi whispered, leaning over to press the nib to the paper. "Contracts can protect your assets, but they can't control the heart. Don't be surprised if this costs you more than you planned to pay."

The signature was bold, final, and dangerously binding.