Forced to Marry a Female Billionaire CEO

Xu Ke's face darkened.

"I definitely can't compete with Sister Wong Qifu, the most famous woman in the Haisui District, for a fiancé!" Bai Qian'er continued.

"But do you think I'm incapable of expressing my admiration for Sister Wong Qifu and, incidentally, mentioning our late-night chat in the hotel room?"

Xu Ke took a deep breath. "You're digging your own grave. Ruining your reputation to damage mine is mutually destructive."

"Why do you care? My only focus is martial arts!"

With a sly, fox-like smile on her pretty face, Bai Qian'er showed she was ready to go all out. Moreover, seeing Xu Ke feign composure while he was actually panicking made Bai Qian'er feel even more smug. She was certain she had found Xu Ke's Achilles' heel.

However, after a moment of silence, Xu Ke suddenly took out his cell phone and handed it to her.

"Go ahead, make the call. You can say it over the phone and even save the airfare."

On the phone, Wong Qifu's number was glaringly visible.

The atmosphere suddenly fell quiet.

"You..." Bai Qian'er abruptly looked up, her eyes widening as she stared at Xu Ke.

"Go on. Weren't you going to talk about the two of us chatting in a hotel room?" Xu Ke raised an eyebrow. "Come on! If you don't, you're not a Huaxia person."

"You jerk!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Bai Qian'er finally cursed angrily and stormed off.

How could she possibly trade her own reputation for a fight?

Xu Ke shook his head and closed the door. "The youth of today really don't know what persistence is."

If I could be fooled that easily, I'd be a worthless Seasoned Envoy.

Bai Qian'er, who hadn't gone far, almost spat out a mouthful of blood when she heard this.

Tang Yingchang remained silent behind Xu Ke. It seems if you care about your reputation, you really can't beat Mister Xu.

After Bai Qian'er left, Xu Ke had yet to resume his cultivation when he received a video call from Duan Chongfeng.

Perfect timing, Xu Ke thought. I needed to find him anyway.

In the hotel living room, Xu Ke sat on the sofa and answered the call.

"Little brother, are you in Sui City?" Duan Chongfeng asked immediately.

Xu Ke nodded. "I arrived a while ago."

But Xu Ke noticed what looked like a hint of guilt and embarrassment on Duan Chongfeng's face, though he wondered if it was just his imagination.

What's going on? Could he be feeling guilty for selling me out to Duan Zhuo'er?

Just then, Yuan Shang's voice came from off-screen. "Has he picked up?"

Following that, a grim-faced Yuan Shang appeared in the video, sitting beside Duan Chongfeng.

Xu Ke was momentarily stunned. "Vice Alliance Leader Yuan, are you still visiting at this late hour?"

"I'm not visiting. I came to chat with Old Duan, and incidentally, to find you," Yuan Shang said, his face not just grim but also tinged with melancholy.

Xu Ke was taken aback once more. "Why the long face? What happened?"

Yuan Shang glared. "Still playing dumb? I absolutely refuse to believe this has nothing to do with you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Ke saw the guilt practically spilling from Duan Chongfeng's face.

Xu Ke was puzzled. "What are you talking about? How does it involve me?"

"This afternoon, I received a message about an elderly man found dead on the Haisui Expressway," Yuan Shang said slowly.

Xu Ke stiffened and coughed twice. "And then?"

"Still playing dumb?" Yuan Shang's expression was unkind.

Considering Xu Ke's reaction, and how obedient Lin Zhongtian had been to him previously, Yuan Shang was certain that Lin Zhongtian's death was related to Xu Ke. He knew Xu Ke was coming to the Sui City auction. He just hadn't expected Xu Ke to take the opportunity to kill Lin Zhongtian during his trip.

Yuan Shang's face turned slightly grim as he said, "When they confirmed he was a registered elder of the Martial Alliance, they handed the matter over to the Alliance for handling."

"Xu Ke, this is a major incident. He died on the expressway! If Alliance Leader Chen hadn't suppressed the news in time to prevent a public scandal, it would have been all over the news by now... Don't you think you owe us an explanation?"

He assumed Duan Chongfeng was also in the dark, so he patted his shoulder. The gesture indicated that Xu Ke owed both of them an explanation.

SMACK! The impact on Duan Chongfeng's shoulder only made his forced smile more strained.

Seeing Yuan Shang's worried and pained expression, Xu Ke felt a pang of guilt. Kang Chenghua had just died a few days ago; he knew Yuan Shang must be having a hard time.

Feeling guilty, he humbly bowed his head and admitted his fault. "I'm sorry, Vice Alliance Leader Yuan. I was wrong!"

"However, I couldn't inform you in time. The situation these last two days has been dangerous and urgent."

"But Brother Duan knew about it. you could have asked him first!"

Hearing this, Yuan Shang was stunned. He turned his head to look at Duan Chongfeng. "Is what Xu Ke said true?"

A strained laugh escaped Duan Chongfeng's lips. "Heh, hehe... How about a drink first?"

"Dammit, you old bastard..." Seeing this reaction, Yuan Shang was furious. "You two actually cut me out?!"

Duan Chongfeng quickly raised his hands. "No, no, no. I didn't tell you because I thought it would be better to explain everything clearly after it was all over."

"What if I told you and you ended up ruining Xu Ke's plan?"

Of course, Duan Chongfeng knew. After all, the person who had "delivered" the truck to Lin Zhongtian was none other than Duan Yi. Yuk Dalong could borrow a truck, but he couldn't drive it, and Xu Ke didn't trust anyone else with the task. Not to mention the issue of confidentiality; what if they got caught by the traffic police for driving without a license? The whole plan would be ruined. That's why he let Duan Yi, who had a license, help out. And that's how Duan Chongfeng came to know about it. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

But after hearing Duan Chongfeng's explanation, Yuan Shang was livid. "What crap justification!"

"Even if Xu Ke hated Lin Zhongtian that much, even if you had to seize the rare opportunity to act fast, you still should have notified me!"

"If you had told me in advance, I could have cleaned up the mess! Why leave a loose end on the expressway?"

"If it gets out that Lin Zhongtian was murdered, Yan Xuehai and Wong Ting would have a legitimate reason to come from Long Capital to kill Xu Ke..."

"If a Martial Saint takes action, who could possibly save him?"

The thing that angered Yuan Shang the most was that Xu Ke and Duan Chongfeng had acted without informing him. If this got out, making the news would be the least of their worries. Their lives would be forfeit!

Duan Chongfeng nodded furiously. "Right, right, right! Old Yuan is right!"

But Xu Ke was taken aback. "Who said I killed Lin Zhongtian?"

"If not you, then who?"

Yuan Shang was just as stunned as Xu Ke.

Yuan Shang automatically assumed Xu Ke was behind this. After all, Xu Ke was the one who had dealt with Kang Chenghua. In his mind, the two events were undeniably linked: Xu Ke travels to Sui City, and Lin Zhongtian dies on the Haisui Expressway. He wouldn't believe they were a coincidence if you beat him to death.

Xu Ke shook his head. "I don't have that kind of capability."

"Then who was it?" Yuan Shang asked, astonished.

"It was Ye Taiqing," Xu Ke said.

At this, Yuan Shang's expression changed. "Impossible! Hasn't Ye Taiqing always been in Long Capital?"