Chapter 9 - I Find You Tolerable
"Did I hear wrong?"
Haha! Now it all made sense to her. It was a dream. And boy, such a bizarre dream! Chen Yi closed her eyes and pinched her wrist to wake up from that ridiculous dream. When she reopened her eyes, that tycoon's serious face was still there. Chen Yi's face fell.
Not a dream.
"Ms. Chen I'm being serious here. My request is that you marry me." Li Luxian observed her strange actions and shook his head. Was it too shocking to be suddenly asked to be married by him? Okay, maybe it was.
Chen Yi sighed. Now she was sure that Gods were having a fun time watching her bizarre life from above. Chen Yi looked at that flawless, chiseled face who was the dream of so many girls. Countless women would sell themselves just to be with him for a night. And that sort of man was sitting right in front of her asking her to marry him. If she was not to laugh at her fate then what was she supposed to do?
"Mr. Li, look here. I'm not completely understanding you. Are you asking for a fake marriage?"
"A trial marriage"
"A trail marriage turned it into pretty much a real marriage. So you are asking for a real marriage?" Chen Yi was trying her best to make sense out of this situation.
"Yes," Li Luxian replied simply sparing the use of words.
Chen Yi fell silent for a short span of time, unsure what to say next. "I still don't get it. Instead, I don't get anything. Mr. Li, it is so...", Chen Yi trailed off.
"But this is what my request is."
Chen Yi wanted to cry. Was it alright to call it a request when she had no other choice other than agreeing to it? A request is something where you have at least the right of choice!
"Secretary Zhang" Li Luxian asked, finding his future wife about to cry. She should be kind to her right?
Zhang Min pulled out a long printed contract and placed it on the dazzled Chen Yi lap. "What is this?" She glanced at Li Luxian.
"This is the formal agreement between you and me." Li Luxian explained.
With cold fingers, she opened the pages and started reading its contract. She realized that Mr. Li was not joking. He came well prepared for what he wanted from her that indicated that he was serious about that marriage thing. She took her time reading the terms, rereading almost five times.
"The contract states I'm obliged to stay in a marriage with you for a time period of a year. After the time if any of the participants want to back out from the marriage, then we have the liberty to get it?" Chen Yi confirmed.
Li Luxian nodded coldly.
"I still don't understand why." Chen Yi closed the file and stared at Li Luxian with some hesitancy evident in her eyes. "The scandal is not that big to force you to the way to marriage. And given your power and influence, you have the ability to easily dismiss it without this marriage. Besides I have heard you already have a fiance."
"I've other reasons for this marriage and don't concern about my fiance. Our engagement was only limited to the words between elders. There was no involvement of personal feelings."
Actually, this marriage proposal was not a bad thing. But she wanted to stay safe. She didn't want to fall into some trap, She had to know his reasons.
"Marrying someone is not a simple decision. I hope Mr. Li understands it and informs me about his reasons so I could reach a better conclusion." She chose to say her next words. After all, it was up to him whether he wanted to tell her or not. If he did tell her, they could develop a foundation of trust. He could choose to close her up and never say a thing but in that case, Chen Yi has decided that she would close up to him.
It was worth a shot.
Li Luxian was silent for a while trying to look past the calculative woman in front of him. His lips were tilted into a small smile. This slight gesture made him look irresistible. Having a long sight over consequences than rashly making a decision.
He liked her.
"I want to get rid of my fiance." He decided to tell her.
"Wang Hualing?"
"Yes. Like I said before our engagement was forced by elders and..." Li Luxian didn't know how to phrase that but in the end, he did. "She is a bit eccentric"
Chen Yi coughed.
Wang Hualing was the perfect image of a woman portrayed on media. An elegant, quiet and innocent reputation that was the dream of so many men. Her calm and beautiful character won her countless praises all over the media. And not to count the countless awards she won in her career as an A-list actress.
And that man just called her eccentric?
Never mind his antics. "This makes sense now. You want this marriage to get out of your engagement." Chen Yi's face finally looked settled. She didn't like to stay in the dark. Now that she knew it was all about Wang Hualing, she could be at ease. But she was wrong there.
"That is one of the reasons. But not the main reason." Li Luxian shook his head.
"What is the main reason then?" Chen Yi wanted to know as much as possible.
"The main reason is that I'm interested in you." His head was resting on his wrist; his elbow was lazily propped over the couch armrest. His piercing gaze scorched Chen Yi with its intensity. The tiny smile on his lips widened as he observed her every single reaction with his sharp eyes. "I want to marry you because I'm interested in you."
Chen Yi's throat was dry.
This is-This is- She had no words to describe the situation. "I don't believe you."
Li Luxian straightened his face and looked right into her eyes. He leaned closer to her. Chen Yi leaned back wanting to get away from him but he placed his hand on side of the couch stopping her escape. He didn't stop until his face was inches away from her.
'What the fuck is he doing? At least mind your secretary! He is still standing here!'
He grabbed her chin and made her look into his eyes. "What should I do to make you believe me?" His voice was low and seductive.
Chen Yi broke into violent coughs and quickly slipped away as far from him as she could. "N-Nothing. I believe you! I believe you! There is no need for you to do something!" This man was insane!
Li Luxian laughed at her reactions.
Chen Yi: "..." Was he just teasing her right now? She couldn't believe it!
"What is it in me that interests you?" Chen Yi decided to ask.
"What is it in you?" Li Luxian repeated with a frown as if thinking.
"There are a lot of women better than me who are far better qualified for capturing your interest." Your so-called interest!
"So?"
"So what do you find in me to choose me for this role?"
"Given the present situation with the scandal, you are the best candidate."
"Is that all?"
"More important than that, I find you tolerable." There was no other woman he could tolerate more than five minutes. But for some reason, he felt like this feisty girl wouldn't annoy him as other women did.
Chen Yi: "..."
Should she take this as a compliment?
I don't find you pretty. I don't find you attractive. I find you tolerable?
Chen Yi didn't know what to think of him anymore. He was so impossible. In the end, she could only sigh.
"And if I agree to marry you, you would forget about all the losses caused by me and I'll free after a year?"Just to be safe, she asked.
"Yes," Ths time, his smile was roguish. Of course, he wouldn't be letting her free so easily as she thought.
That was escalating so quickly and her mind was lagging behind the bizarre turning of events. She bt her lips and made a decision that she didn't know whether she would regret in the future or not.. "Mr. Li I agree to marry you"