Cooperative Marriage
The ties between people can be truly strange and unpredictable. Take Yang Jiaming and Li Huiyuan, for instance. One moment, they were complete strangers, and the next, they were discussing the possibility of marriage.
It all began when Yang Jiaming posted a message on a local forum titled, “Who is willing to accept a cooperative marriage?” Yang Jiaming’s intention was clear: he was looking for someone to marry, but he was determined not to talk about love. Many netizens thought the post was a joke, but Li Huiyuan took it seriously.
Yang Jiaming had a very wealthy father who, many years ago, divorced his first wife and married a younger woman, soon after having another son. After that, Yang Jiaming rarely contacted his father.
However, not long ago, his father found him again. It turned out that his younger brother had died, and the Yang family’s business needed an heir. Yang Jiaming was the only candidate. No one could resist the temptation of an inheritance, so Yang Jiaming decided to return to his father.
But there was a condition: he had to get married to gain the inheritance. Since witnessing his mother’s abandonment, Yang Jiaming had vowed never to marry. After much thought, he came up with an idea: if he had to marry, why not find a girl to complete the task through a cooperative marriage?
Of course, his conditions were that the other party must agree to a prenuptial agreement and to split all household expenses evenly after marriage. Besides the marriage certificate, they would have no other relationship.
On the seventh day after posting, Li Huiyuan contacted him. She got straight to the point: “We can cooperate.” Initially, Yang Jiaming was worried, not believing any girl would accept such terms. But when he met Li Huiyuan, he understood.
Li Huiyuan was very clear: “I want to marry you to give my unborn child a name.” Without needing further questions, Li Huiyuan explained her situation: she had been deceived by a married man and only found out after becoming pregnant.
Determined to break up with him, she couldn’t bear to give up the baby. “Once I have the baby, you can divorce me immediately. I can even pay you.” Her sincerity reassured Yang Jiaming. He thought it was a good deal.
Of course, they kept all this from his father. Yang Jiaming concocted a convincing story: he and Li Huiyuan had been in love for a long time, and now she was pregnant, so they were getting married. His father met Li Huiyuan once and was very satisfied with her. Soon, they had a grand wedding.
After the wedding, Yang’s father bought them a fully furnished 240-square-meter apartment and gave Yang Jiaming 100,000 yuan to hire a nanny to take good care of Li Huiyuan. Naturally, Yang Jiaming did not give that money to Li Huiyuan. Since their marriage, they split every expense, even a cabbage, equally.
Yang Jiaming thought that if Li Huiyuan overstepped, he could divorce her. To his surprise, she never did. She adhered strictly to their agreement, even going out to work in the late stages of pregnancy and insisting on paying her own medical bills.
Seeing her move slowly, Yang Jiaming sometimes felt a twinge of sympathy, but it was just sympathy. To keep his father from suspecting anything, Yang Jiaming even went to the hospital when Li Huiyuan gave birth. “It’s a boy,” the doctor announced, but Yang Jiaming remained indifferent. It didn’t matter to him whether it was a boy or girl.
He didn’t expect his father to be so thrilled that he came to the hospital that night and placed a 100,000 yuan card under Li Huiyuan’s pillow. She politely returned it to Yang Jiaming after his father left. Embarrassed, he thought she must have seen his anxious expression. He awkwardly said to the baby, “I’ll use this money to buy you a gift later.”
Just then, Li Huiyuan coughed, startling Yang Jiaming as his stepmother walked in. After that scare, he no longer dared to call himself “uncle” to the child.
The baby was named Pengpeng by his father. After being discharged from the hospital, the old man suggested they move into his villa. This idea frightened Yang Jiaming—if they moved in, the truth would come out. Fortunately, Li Huiyuan declined and returned with Pengpeng to their apartment.
Yang Jiaming was initially pleased with her behavior but gradually grew uneasy. His father was too affectionate with Pengpeng, visiting frequently and doting on him. He worried that if the truth came out, his father wouldn’t be able to handle it. Worse still, his father’s lawyer hinted that Pengpeng might be included in the will.
Yang Jiaming decided on divorce. To his shock, Li Huiyuan refused. She even took Pengpeng to plead with his father, who sternly warned him: “If you divorce, I’d rather have my grandson than my son!”
With no other options, Yang Jiaming shelved the divorce plan. However, with Pengpeng around, trouble was inevitable. He decided to find Pengpeng’s biological father, hoping the man would take his son back.
Remembering that Pengpeng’s father was a manager named Tianzhao at Beijing New Century Company, Yang Jiaming went to Beijing but found no such person. The company’s receptionist said Li Huiyuan had resigned two years ago.
Realizing he had been deceived, Yang Jiaming suspected their encounter wasn’t accidental. He decided on a paternity test to prove Pengpeng wasn’t his.
When he and the nanny took the child to the testing center, Li Huiyuan intercepted them, terrified of the test’s outcome. Despite her objections, Yang Jiaming was determined.
Before he could attempt another test, two days later, Li Huiyuan burst into his office, disheveled and pleading: “I agree to the divorce, just give me back my child.” Shocked, Yang Jiaming learned Pengpeng had disappeared. The nanny claimed the child vanished while playing in the garden. Li Huiyuan accused him of kidnapping.
His father was furious when the truth came out, ordering Yang Jiaming to return the child and finalize the divorce. Li Huiyuan confessed Pengpeng was conceived via artificial insemination.
She had lied about Tianzhao to avoid trouble. Heartbroken, she admitted she sought a nominal father for her child.
Despite Yang Jiaming’s denial, no one believed him until a photo from a social media campaign to rescue kidnapped children surfaced. He notified Li Huiyuan, and Pengpeng was found.
The child’s joyful cry for “daddy” stirred emotions in Yang Jiaming, who realized his attachment to Pengpeng.
That night, as Li Huiyuan packed to leave, Yang Jiaming hesitated but couldn’t bear to see her go. He impulsively told her to stay, admitting he couldn’t let Pengpeng go. They reconciled, and Pengpeng slept peacefully, feeling his parents’ love.
Later, fearing his father’s reaction to the truth about Pengpeng, Yang Jiaming realized his father’s love for Pengpeng might remain unchanged if he treated the child as his own. Ultimately, he understood that his happiness was tied to Li Huiyuan and Pengpeng, deciding to build a future together.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
