Forced to Marry a Female Billionaire CEO

"Ah, I have to do it myself?" Xu Ke's disappointment was written all over his face. What's the point of that? If there's no one in the passenger seat, what fun is there in driving?

"Or what? Did you want to borrow my hands?"

At that, Xu Ke chuckled. "I definitely want to borrow more than just your hands…"

"Fine. Come and borrow whatever you want. Do you dare?" Wong Qifu laughed in exasperation. She always stuck to her policy: as long as there was no physical contact, she would forever be more assertive than Xu Ke.

"What's there to be afraid of?" Xu Ke muttered. "I'm just afraid you'll blush and start saying, 'Oh, stop! There are people around…'"

"…Xu Ke, you're asking to die!"

"Alright, alright, I'll stop. Let's talk about something serious." Xu Ke was no longer teasing; his tone was serious now.

Wong Qifu was startled. "What else is there to talk about? I'm about to get out of the car."

"When it's time for me to deliver the grain, do you want to be there to witness it in person?" Xu Ke asked with a solemn expression.

Wong Qifu finally erupted in anger. "Xu Ke!"

Just the thought of such a scenario was enough to make her heart race and her cheeks flush. Seeing her reaction, Xu Ke burst into laughter.

***

By the time they hung up, Wong Qifu had already arrived at the corporate restaurant.

"Director Wang, we're here!" Zhan Yunning, sitting in the driver's seat, was visibly embarrassed. Was that something I was supposed to hear? Luckily, we're just eating on the company campus today, so Uncle Wu isn't in the car. Otherwise, Director Wang's image would be completely shattered…

However, when Wong Qifu didn't respond, she turned her head to look. What she saw left her utterly stunned.

Wong Qifu was glaring at her phone, her fair, delicate face filled with indignation. Yet, this annoyed expression gave the usually unapproachable woman a certain charm. Zhan Yunning found it hard to believe that the domineering Wang Family Empress, who always overpowered everyone with her authority, could look like this. When has Director Wang ever shown such a girlish side?

Wong Qifu collected herself, her expression calming as she resumed her usual grand and naturally magnanimous air. Noticing Zhan Yunning staring, she frowned and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"Director Wang, it's rare to see you looking so cute," Zhan Yunning blurted out.

She was incredibly envious of Xu Ke. Having worked for Wong Qifu for so long, she knew just how capable her boss was. If she were a man, she would have fallen for her in an instant. She never imagined someone like Xu Ke would get so lucky.

Faced with Zhan Yunning's teasing, Wong Qifu didn't so much as blush or skip a beat. "Are you teasing me?"

"No, not at all…" Zhan Yunning grew flustered.

In truth, she had said it with the intent to tease. In her experience, most young women would show at least a hint of bashful shyness if they were teased after chatting with their crush. She had wanted to see how Director Wang would react. But to her surprise, Wong Qifu hung up the phone and acted as if nothing had happened, almost as if Zhan Yunning had been the one on the phone with her beloved, not her boss.

"It doesn't matter if you were or not," Wong Qifu said, shaking her head. "Once you've dealt with this thorny issue for me, you can say whatever you want. Come on, let's eat."

Wong Qifu's calm, businesslike demeanor, so clearly separating the personal from the professional, left Zhan Yunning feeling rather awkward.

"Yes!" She quickly bowed and followed Wong Qifu out of the car.

However, what Zhan Yunning didn't see was the fleeting blush that crossed Wong Qifu's fair face as she turned away. It would be a lie to say I'm not embarrassed about flirting with Xu Ke in front of my subordinate. But thankfully, I'm a good enough actress to hide it.

***

After hanging up, Xu Ke sat on the sofa, pondering for a moment with a look of regret in his eyes. Actually… that wouldn't have been so bad, either.

DING-DONG.

At that moment, the doorbell rang again. Xu Ke's thoughts were interrupted as he rose and walked to the door. Tang Yingchang was still on the bed, sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in cultivation. After Xu Ke helped restore his strength, he still needed to periodically regulate the stability of the True Qi in his body and nurture his meridians.

"Who is it?" Xu Ke asked as he approached.

"My Lord, it's me, Duan Zhuo'e," a hushed voice answered from outside.

Xu Ke opened the door. "What is it?"

"Let me come in to talk." Duan Zhuo'e squeezed inside.

CLICK.

The door closed behind him.

"Sister Qianqian sent Fang Caizhe to investigate you," Duan Zhuo'e said, not hesitating for a second to sell out his teammate to the Seasoned Envoy.

"Investigate me?" Xu Ke's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Because of Xie Jiancheng's abnormal behavior. Sister Qianqian thinks your background must be extraordinary, so she sent Fang Caizhe to look into it." Duan Zhuo'e had spilled almost everything, stopping just short of revealing what material his teammate's underwear was made of.

Xu Ke patted his shoulder. "Why Fang Caizhe?"

He could understand why Bai Qian'er wanted to investigate him. After all, if he were in her shoes, he would also want to find out if there was something special about him that had caught Xie Jiancheng's attention.

"Er, the Fang Family in Jiangnan is famous throughout Huaxia for its intelligence-gathering capabilities. That's why the Northern Dragon Guard recruited Fang Caizhe; they valued his family's skills," Duan Zhuo'e explained carefully.

Xu Ke pondered for a moment. "I see. Is that all you came to tell me?"

"Yes. I was worried you might have some secrets you haven't hidden well enough and that you might need to make some preparations before that bastard Fang Caizhe finds anything," Duan Zhuo'e said.

Xu Ke's focus seemed to drift slightly. "You hate him that much?" The relationship between Duan Zhuo'e and Fang Caizhe doesn't seem very good…

Duan Zhuo'e's face was filled with indignation. "That bastard is always causing trouble. He's so annoying…"

"Alright then. I'll be careful. You should head back."

Only then did Duan Zhuo'e hurry away.

After he left, Xu Ke was lost in thought. He had never expected so many things to happen before he even came to Sui City. The thought of a Fang Family he'd never even heard of investigating him made him a little worried; it would be a lie to say otherwise. But after mulling it over, he realized he didn't really have anything to fear.

Still, just to be safe, he decided to ask Feng Wei to help him destroy some surveillance footage.

***

In that same villa in the center of Sui City, Yin Han and Xie Jiancheng walked into the living room.

"Family Head, Young Master Xie is here."

Xie Jiancheng wore an excited expression, eager to report the day's successes to his father. But as soon as he saw him, he noticed that Xie Hezheng's face was terrifyingly grim.

"Dad…" Xie Jiancheng was taken aback.

"Do you think you're the only one in this world with a brain?" Xie Hezheng roared the moment they were face-to-face.

Xie Jiancheng was shocked. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You have the nerve to ask me that? Let me ask you, did you give Xu Ke something at the auction?" Xie Hezheng slammed his hand on the table.

Frightened, Xie Jiancheng took two steps back before crying out in protest, "Yes, but wasn't that what you told me to do? To make sure I satisfied Xu Ke in every way possible…"

"Did I fucking tell you to announce it to the whole world with a microphone?!"