Linchuan City, an international metropolis, although it isn't ranked as a first-tier city, it stands out among the second-tier cities.
Lin's Group is a symbol of Linchuan City, with a market value approaching one billion, not to mention the CEO of Lin's Group, who is a celebrity.
Lin Yi, the most beautiful woman in Linchuan City.
Meanwhile, across from Lin's Group headquarters, a bizarre scene was unfolding: a man selling egg-filled pancakes at his stall was confronted by a mature, sultry woman.
"Um... Miss, I'm about to close up. Are you going to buy it or not? There's only one left. If you don't want it, I'll take it home and eat it myself."
Li Chen actually had some thoughts about the beauty standing before him, for he knew she was Lin Yi, the CEO of Lin's Group.
Lin Yi was really beautiful that day, at least in Li Chen's eyes, who had never seen such a beautiful woman before.
Her eyes were clear and bright, her eyebrows arched, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, her skin pale and flawless with a soft blush, and her thin lips as inviting as rose petals.
Especially the mature aura emanating from Lin Yi; probably no man could resist it.
Lin Yi didn't speak, but bit her lips tightly, her expression struggling as if she was making an incredibly difficult decision.
"Come with me!"
After a while, Lin Yi ran over, grabbed Li Chen's hand, and ran forward.
At that moment, Li Chen was stunned. Was this woman out of her mind?
"Hey... what are you doing? I'm just a pancake seller, I sell my craft, not my body!"
Li Chen shouted as he was pulled along by Lin Yi.
In fact, with Lin Yi's strength, she could hardly move him; it was more about him willingly moving forward.
"Hey, if you really want a man, just go out and find one. Why pull me into this? I'm telling you, I can't afford to pay!"
Hearing Li Chen's 'rogue' words, Lin Yi felt her face burning, but she was truly out of options; otherwise, she wouldn't have gotten involved with an egg pancake seller.
...
Lin Yi looked at the man sitting in front of her, finding the reality somewhat ridiculous. Although the man was not ugly, quite the contrary, he was somewhat good-looking, but his attire and crude behavior were something Lin Yi would never consider seriously.
Yet today, she had to do something that would seem laughable to the entire city of Linchuan.
"Let's get married."
Lin Yi gathered her courage and spoke these words.
"Pfft..."
Li Chen was drinking coffee and spit it out upon hearing this.
"Um... I'm sorry."
Li Chen quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe it off, then looked at Lin Yi and said, "Beauty, you are the CEO of Lin's Group, look at me, dressed in clothes worth less than one hundred. Marry you? Wouldn't I become a kept man?"
What Li Chen meant was that he was currently very poor, but he had integrity and absolutely would not become a kept man.
Lin Yi could easily tell what he meant, but after glancing at Li Chen, a look of disdain flashed in her eyes.
A kept man? As if you even qualify?
If it weren't for her company, she would never have said such a thing. The ideal man in Lin Yi's dreams was nothing like this man.
"I just want to register our marriage; of course, we won't actually marry. You live your life, and if you register with me, I will give you an extra amount of money."
"You mean, we'd be having a sham marriage?"
Li Chen immediately understood that this woman was trying to get him into a fake marriage.
"Yes."
"Are you kidding me? How can you fake something as serious as marriage? Although I'm poor, marriage is no child's play. I'm not doing it, go find someone else!"
Li Chen spoke righteously, completely disregarding Lin Yi's increasingly pale complexion.
The president of Lin's Group, the goddess of many men in Linchuan City, was actually being rejected.
Lin Yi had her own pride, which, to put it bluntly, included looking down on others, especially someone who sold egg pancakes.
"Five hundred thousand, I will give you five hundred thousand once it's done, and we'll divorce after three months, how about that?"
Lin Yi nearly gritted her teeth as she spoke, having no choice but to do as that person demanded so her company could secure the necessary funding.
She didn't know why that person specifically chose this egg pancake vendor, nor why that person wouldn't lend her the money until after she had registered the marriage with this man.
Yes, her company was now in dire straits, and the bank had already stopped providing loans. Without further capital, Lin's Group might very well declare bankruptcy.
She was forced to comply with that person's arrangements, even though she despised him.
"Five hundred thousand?"
Upon hearing this, Li Chen's eyes instantly lit up, but he quickly said, "A mere five hundred thousand, how can it buy my dignity!"
"One million, after this, we won't interfere with each other and you'll stay out of my life."
"I'm not that kind of person, dignity is priceless."
"Two million, that's my limit, don't push it!"
Lin Yi bit her teeth, her face had already turned pale, and her hands had started to tremble involuntarily. This man was raising the price, even though she had already offered two million, he still wasn't satisfied!
"It's really not about the money, I, as a person..."
"Five million, no more than that, I'm telling you, if you don't agree, I have at least a dozen ways to make you unlivable in Zhonghai, believe it or not!"
After saying this, Lin Yi felt as if all her strength had been drained. This whole situation was humiliating for her, so why did this man act so self-righteous, as if he was suffering a great loss? Is there such a shameless man in the world?
"Deal! I want cash!"
Li Chen chuckled; he hadn't expected to unexpectedly make five million, which was a significant amount of money. Originally after returning to the country, he was broke, but now it seemed like a windfall had come his way, a buy-one-get-one-free deal with an additional beautiful wife included.
"Cash is impossible, I will transfer it to you only after we divorce normally in three months!"
Lin Yi did not want to wait until then for the man to change his mind. What if he refused to sign the divorce papers?
"No, I want it now."
"Impossible, I won't back down."
"People even pay a down payment when buying a house, and you're buying a man, you should at least pay something upfront, one million, I want a one million deposit."
"Only ten thousand, consider it your pocket money for these three months, nothing else!"
Hearing Li Chen mention buying a man, Lin Yi felt particularly uncomfortable. She used to be so proud, chased by many successful men. When had it come to her buying a man?
"Fine, but I have a condition."
In the end, Li Chen compromised; after all, it was just for three months. He could wait.
"What condition?"
"I want to move into your place, your... what's with that look? I don't have any ulterior motives, it's just that my lease is almost up and I need somewhere to live," he said.