CEO's Ugly Flash-Marriage Wife Hides So Many Identities

Mr. Pei glanced at her plain face, her skin looked nothing special, and she was looking down with large glasses covering half of her face.

"Sit down," Mr. Pei said in a deep voice.

Qiao Rui had no choice but to sit down again, clasping her hands together on the table, trying hard to appear attentive.

Yet, her tightly furrowed brows betrayed her impatience.

Mr. Pei noticed her clasped hands and suddenly realized that they were quite beautiful.

Her fingers were fair and slender, her palms narrow, and her nails neatly trimmed, showing a healthy color.

On closer inspection, her hands were indeed very beautiful, comparable to a hand model's.

He wondered for a moment, her figure wasn't bad, and she was eloquent, and now he had discovered her beautiful hands—an asset, perhaps.

Being scrutinized by a man, Qiao Rui had no idea what Mr. Pei was thinking and just kept staring at her own hands.

Deciding to be direct, Qiao Rui said, "Mr. Pei, let's just outline the basic rules then."

"Okay," Mr. Pei snapped back to reality and nodded. "First, we are married by license, but that doesn't mean we are truly husband and wife."

Qiao Rui had never thought about being a true wife.

She glanced knowingly at Mr. Pei.

Not the slightest bit surprised.

A flicker of astonishment crossed the depths of Mr. Pei's intense eyes.

Qiao Rui nodded slightly under his piercing gaze. "Continue."

His assertiveness and brevity suddenly reminded him of himself conducting company meetings.

Whenever he listened to his subordinates report, he was just as succinct, showing impatience.

He frowned. "As a couple, we must maintain each other's image in public."

"Fake spouses," Qiao Rui nodded, her expression indifferent. "We respect each other while dealing with people you want to handle, right?"

"Yes!" Mr. Pei nodded.

"Understood."

"Second, in this house, apart from the master bedroom, study, and a collection room on the top floor, you are not allowed to enter anywhere you please, but you can enter any other room."

"Are you not allowed to enter my room either?" Qiao Rui retorted.

Mr. Pei frowned slightly, saying, "Of course."

Qiao Rui: "Please state the third rule."

"You play along with me, I cover for you," Mr. Pei stated indifferently. "As long as you are my wife, I'm also responsible for your expenses—I'll give you sixty thousand a month for living expenses, how about that?"

Qiao Rui knew it wouldn't be so simple.

She nodded and asked, "Should we consider the sixty thousand as a salary for my part-time job?"

She said it so casually, it almost sounded like how much she earned mattered.

Mr. Pei furrowed his brow: "You think it's too little?"

Qiao Rui said, "Not really, it just feels cheap to be your wife."

"Insulting me?" Mr. Pei immediately took offense.

Qiao Rui shook her head. "Don't misunderstand, I just think you're quite stingy."

Mr. Pei clearly caught the sarcasm and his expression darkened considerably. "How much do you want?"

"Three hundred thousand," Qiao Rui said straightforwardly.

Mr. Pei was stunned. He suddenly realized that the price she asked for was what his business friends spent on their high-end mistresses in a month.

He eyed Qiao Rui suspiciously. "What's your justification for this amount?"

"It's the intrinsic value of being your wife," Qiao Rui said. "Three hundred thousand isn't much, besides, I'll be at a disadvantage in future marriage prospects being a divorcee."

Mr. Pei scoffed: "You're really quite confident, asking for three hundred thousand."

What was worse, she wanted a divorce right after getting a marriage license.

Qiao Rui was straightforward: "So is it a deal?"

"Fine, three hundred thousand," Mr. Pei agreed without further objections.

Qiao Rui asked, "Have you finished stating your three rules?"

"Yes, that's everything," Mr Pei regained his usual poised composure, moving with an elegance that was all him.

Qiao Rui said, "You've said your part, now it's my turn."

Mr. Pei was taken aback. She had demands too?

Qiao Rui stated, "First, since we are fake spouses, please, Mr. Pei, always remember that and do not casually enter my room."

Mr. Pei nodded. "No problem."

"Second, during this fake marriage, you can't cheat on me overtly."

Mr. Pei scoffed, fancying himself not just any casual man.

But this request was rather strange.

Did she think he was the type of man any woman could spend a night with?

He glanced at Qiao Rui and said, "The same goes for you. You can't cheat on me."

Qiao Rui responded, "Don't worry, I'm a person of integrity."

"As if I'm not a person of integrity," Mr. Pei sneered.

Qiao Rui muttered under her breath, "You weren't initially."

"What did you say?" Mr. Pei countered.

Qiao Rui said, "Nothing."

Mr. Pei's piercing gaze swept over Qiao Rui's face as he said in a deep voice, "You also can't cheat on me privately. I'm a man, and even in a fake marriage, I can't be cheated on."

Qiao Rui huffed, "So many demands."

She had said he could find other women privately.

And yet, he was being unreasonable by asking her not to see other men.

Heh, even if she wasn't like that, she wouldn't be outdone.

"Yes, there are many demands," Mr. Pei admitted unabashedly. "State your third condition."

"Third, I need to return to the Qiao Family home for a few days each month," Qiao Rui had important things to investigate, and staying at the Qiao family home would make it more convenient.

Mr. Pei said, "That's acceptable."

"Deal!" Qiao Rui stood up. "Anything else you want to add?"

Mr. Pei also stood up, "Nothing for now, that's all."

"Got it." After saying this, Qiao Rui went upstairs.

Mr. Pei watched her leave, his brows furrowing; she was very direct.

At that moment, Mr. Pei's phone rang. He answered and then went to his room to change his clothes, seemingly about to go out.

Qiao Rui returned to her room, checked her room to confirm it was a safe and independent space, then lay down.

Her phone also rang.

She glanced at it; it was her good friend Song Muyu calling. A smile appeared on Qiao Rui's lips as she answered,

"Muyu!"

"What's going on? You scared me to death, I thought you really died," Song Muyu sounded very anxious and worried, but upon hearing Qiao Rui's voice, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, without giving Qiao Rui a chance to speak, Song Muyu barraged her with questions: "Ruirui, what's this about faking your death? I can't even leave the country in peace. Do you realize you almost scared me to death?"

"I'm not likely to die young," Qiao Rui laughed lightly, sounding calm. "Just a bit tired, as you know, I've always wanted a break, and this was an opportunity."

"But what's with you and Mr. Pei?" Song Muyu sounded extremely worried, "The news said, you and Mr. Pei slept together that night."

Mentioning that, Qiao Rui touched her face with one hand, somewhat speechless. "It was an accident."

"An accident?" Song Muyu was astonished. "Did he hit on you?"

"Not a flirtation, it's a long story, I'll tell you later."