Contract marriage:Mother for rent, wife for free
Chapter 29: A disaster

Chapter 29: A disaster

Lin Wei had read somewhere, only she couldn’t remember where. probably scrawled on a bathroom wall that just before you die, your life flashes before your eyes.

It was a true enough statement, considering how Lin wei’s head was pounding. Her head seems to be repeating the word, "it’s over. It’s over."

Right now, all she saw was orange.

Bright, blinding, county jail orange.

Maybe she could pull off the "mentally unstable" defense.

Lord knew she was plenty qualified for that.

Ezekiel Wang stepped further into the room, his long coat swishing dramatically behind him, his icy blue eyes chilling.

The air shifted. Tension rose beneath her shoulder blades, electricity crackled, or maybe it was Lin wei’s brain short circuiting.

She could practically hear the "bzzzt" as her last two neurons fried themselves into oblivion.

Game over. Goodbye, cruel world.

"Zeke!" Dull Chit called out again, fluttering her lashes like an overworked windshield wiper.

She pointed a trembling, manicured finger at Lin Wei. Her face crumbled briefly like she was on the verge of tears.

"This—this creature insulted me!"

Creature?

Lin Wei squinted at her. Was this woman not done yet?

"I demand she be arrested," Dull Chit continued, voice rising like a demented kettle on a boil.

"I want damages for emotional trauma. For slander. For defamation of my character!"

Lin Wei fought the very powerful urge to burst into hysterical laughter.

Character? Lin wei had never seen someone who.lacks character as much as she.

Ezekiel Wang, CEO, destroyer of hopes and dreams — slowly turned his ice-cold gaze on Lin Wei.

And it felt exactly like being dissected alive.

Bai Yue, faithful friend that she was, took a strategic step back.

The way a seasoned soldier retreats when their comrade steps on a live landmine.

Lin Wei squared her shoulders.

No backing down now.

If she was going down, she was going down on her own terms.

"Is this true?" Zeke asked, voice low and smooth.

Like silk hiding a razor blade. His eyes glinted with amusement.

Lin Wei opened her mouth, prepared to spew out the finest concoction of lies ever brewed.

But all that came out was:

"...Define true."

Honestly, someone up there should take pity on her. She was going to become the mother to the man’s children for God’s sake.

Bai Yue slapped a hand over her face.

Dull Chit gasped so hard she nearly inhaled her fake lashes.

Zeke’s mouth twitched.

Was that — God help her — amusement?

No, surely not.

This was a man who probably ate amusement for breakfast and washed it down with the blood of his enemies.

"I said," Zeke drawled, "is it true you insulted my dear sister?"

Sister?

SISTER?!

Lin Wei stared at Dull Chit, who was preening like a peacock on steroids.

Of course. Of course the universe would make her insult the sister of the richest, most powerful man in the city.

Lin Wei licked her lips nervously.

"Depends on the perspective," she hedged.

Bai Yue let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like a dying moose.

"Perspective?" Zeke repeated, raising a single, disdainful eyebrow.

Lin Wei nodded frantically.

"Exactly. I mean, technically speaking, some might call it... constructive criticism."

She smiled.

It felt like a grimace.

Silence fell.

A heavy, choking kind of silence.

Dull Chit was now vibrating with rage.

"I want her fired! Blacklisted! Burned at the stake!" she screeched.

Lin Wei winced.

"My God, woman. I merely stated the facts not even an insult."

Bai Yue let out an actual sob behind her.

Zeke looked between them all, something dark and unreadable flashing in his eyes.

The tension was thick enough to choke a bear.

Finally, after what felt like a hundred years, Zeke said:

"You’re not a manager."

A statement, not a question.

Lin Wei froze.

Sweat beaded on her forehead.

His icy blue eyes were dissecting, skirming and flinging out all her secrets.

"Well..." she tried to summon a plausible excuse, but her mouth had gone on vacation without her brain.

"I see the badge," Zeke said, dryly.

"’Manager Ahn’, is it?"

He quirked his lips — a mockery of a smile.

"I don’t remember hiring a five-foot-two tornado with anger management issues."

Lin Wei blinked rapidly.

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

A fish gasping for air.

Zeke stepped closer, hands in pockets, posture lazy but dangerous.

Like a lion toying with a wounded gazelle.

"Tell me, Miss...?" he prompted.

"...Lin Wei," she croaked.

"Miss Lin Wei," Zeke repeated thoughtfully.

"Why are you impersonating my staff?"

Bai Yue tried to intervene, bless her soul.

"She was helping!" she sobbed the words.

Zeke gave her a look so cold, Bai Yue immediately snapped her mouth shut and melted into the crowd.

Lin Wei inhaled deeply.

There was only one way out: the truth.

Or... at least, a heavily glazed version version of it.

"The real manager had a... health issue," she said carefully.

"He couldn’t come out. So, being the kind-hearted, humanitarian soul that I am, I stepped up."

More silence.

Zeke’s head tilted.

"You mean to tell me, you voluntarily assumed responsibility for dealing with my sister?"

Lin Wei shrugged helplessly.

"When you say it like that, it sounds like something I would do when I’m high on cheap beer. Which I’m not. I haven’t even had my coffee yet."

"It is stupid," Ezekiel acquiesced.

Then his voice hardened.

Lin Wei wasn’t sure whether to feel complimented or deeply insulted.

Dull Chit stomped her foot.

"Zeke! Arrest her! Fire her! Do something! I won’t be humiliated like this!" she whined.

Zeke sighed, rubbing his temples as if a migraine was incoming.

He looked at Lin Wei for a long moment, then said:

"You’re hired."

Silence.

Dead silence.

If you dropped a pin, it would’ve screamed from the pressure.

Lin Wei blinked.

"I’m sorry — what now?"

"You’re hired," Zeke repeated, smirking.

"You handled my sister better than most of my trained employees. You’ve got guts. I respect that."

Lin Wei felt faint.

"But—I insulted her—"

"And it was glorious," Zeke said smoothly.

Dull Chit let out a shriek loud enough to summon demons from hell.

"You can’t be serious!" she shrieked.

Zeke ignored her.

His gaze pinned Lin Wei like a butterfly to a display board.

"You’ll start Monday," he said lazily.

"Bring coffee. I like it black. No sugar."

Then, as if he hadn’t just turned her world upside down, he pivoted on his heel and strode out, coat billowing dramatically.

The doors slammed shut behind him.

Lin Wei stood frozen, mouth hanging open, while Dull Chit fumed and Bai Yue cautiously poked her arm.

"Are you okay?" Bai Yue whispered.

Lin Wei swallowed thickly.

"I think... I think I just sold my soul," she mumbled.

Bai Yue blinked.

"To the Devil?"

"To the CEO," Lin Wei corrected hollowly.

"The Man whom I was supposed to be the temporary mother for his children. Do you think he’ll recognize me tomorrow?"

Bai Yue stared at her like she’d grown three heads.

"You think he’ll recognize you?" she echoed, voice cracking.

"Lin Wei, you insulted his sister. While impersonating a manager. In front of half the company."

Lin Wei wobbled on her heels.

"God, I’m doomed."

Bai Yue grabbed her by the shoulders, giving her a gentle shake.

"Focus! Remember the contract? The one you signed because you were broke and desperate and high on instant ramen fumes? The one where you agreed to bear a child for ’a prestigious client’ under total anonymity?"

Lin Wei groaned and dropped her face into her hands.

Bai Yue hissed under her breath.

"Keep your voice down! You want Dull Chit to hear and add ’scandalous gold-digger’ to the charges?"

Lin Wei took a shuddering breath and tried to center herself.

It didn’t work.

Mainly because every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Ezekiel’s smirk, the way his coat had flared behind him, and the small, terrifying detail that he’d looked amused.

People like Ezekiel Wang weren’t amused by mortals. They were amused right before they squashed mortals like bugs.

"I need to get out of this," Lin Wei whispered frantically.

Bai Yue’s expression turned pitying.

"You signed a binding contract. Literally. Remember that weird legal clause? You break it, you owe them your soul—or at least ten million dollars."

Lin Wei whimpered quietly.

Ten million dollars.

She didn’t even have ten dollars in her bank account right now.

"Maybe..." Lin Wei licked her lips, brain scrambling.

"Maybe he won’t put two and two together. Maybe he’ll just think I’m two different disasters."

Bai Yue looked at her like she was the dumbest genius alive.

"Lin. He’s not stupid. He’s Ezekiel Wang. He probably invented paranoia."

Lin Wei considered throwing herself out the nearest window.

Instead, she stood up straighter, inhaled deeply, and announced, "I’ll just have to be so professional he’ll forget all about today."

Bai Yue gave her a slow, wide-eyed nod.

"Right. Professional. Like telling his sister to invest in a new attitude?"

"Constructive criticism," Lin Wei corrected automatically, cheeks flaming.

She peeked at Dull Chit, who was still vibrating with rage in the corner.

Yup.

Totally professional.

Lin Wei prayed for divine intervention.

Or a very large meteor.

Whichever came first.

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