Chapter Three : The Contract Marriage.
1416 Words
The sunlight that poured through the tall glass windows of the luxury penthouse was too bright too sharp like it had no mercy for whoever dared to wake beneath it.
Zhang Mei slowly opened her eyes.
A dull, heavy pain throbbed behind her forehead, as if her skull had been struck repeatedly through the night. She groaned softly, lifting a hand to her temple.
“What… happened…?”
Her voice was hoarse.
Her memories were scattered broken pieces floating in fog.
The charity gala.
The champagne.
The stares.
The humiliation.
And
Liang Wei.
Cold eyes.
A signature.
Flashes of cameras.
Laughter.
Then nothing.
Her brows tightened as she tried to piece it together, but the more she tried, the more her mind resisted. It felt like something important had been deliberately erased.
She exhaled and forced herself to sit up.
That was when she noticed something strange.
The room was not hers.
Her breath slowed.
The ceiling was too high designed in a modern architectural style she had only seen in luxury magazines. The furniture was minimalistic, expensive, and cold. Everything screamed wealth, precision, control.
And the air
carried a faint scent of expensive cologne mixed with something distinctly male.
Her body stiffened instantly.
Slowly, carefully, she turned her head.
Her heart stopped.
Someone was lying beside her.
A man.
Her eyes widened.
Liang Wei.
The most powerful young CEO in Jiang City. The man whose name alone controlled stock markets and frightened entire boardrooms.
His face, usually sharp and unreadable, looked strangely peaceful in sleep. His black hair was slightly messy, falling over his forehead in a way the world had never seen.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was
they were in the same bed.
Under the same blanket.
Zhang Mei froze completely.
Then
her brain caught up.
“WHAT?!”
The scream ripped through the penthouse like a siren.
Liang Wei jolted awake instantly.
“What the hell!”
Their eyes met.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then, slowly, both of them looked down at the same time.
The blanket slipped slightly.
And reality hit them like a truck.
Neither of them was fully dressed.
A second of stunned silence followed.
Then
Zhang Mei grabbed the nearest pillow and hurled it at his face.
“You shameless bastard!”
Liang Wei caught it effortlessly, though his expression darkened instantly.
His voice dropped dangerously low.
“You think I wanted this?”
Zhang Mei’s face flushed with anger.
“Then explain why I woke up in your bed!”
Liang Wei pressed two fingers to his temple, clearly trying to recall something through the fog in his mind.
His memory was fragmented too.
The gala.
Too much alcohol.
Huo Zhen laughing like a fool.
Glass clinking.
People cheering.
Someone shouting “Congratulations!”
Then
blackness.
He suddenly paused.
Something caught his eye.
A small red booklet on the bedside table.
His brows furrowed.
Slowly, he reached for it.
The moment he opened it
his expression froze completely.
Zhang Mei noticed immediately.
“What is it?”
Liang Wei did not answer.
He simply turned the booklet toward her.
Her eyes scanned the page.
Then
her entire body went cold.
Marriage Certificate.
Husband: Liang Wei
Wife: Zhang Mei
Date: Last Night
Silence swallowed the room.
Zhang Mei blinked once.
Then twice.
“No…”
Her voice trembled.
“This… this is fake.”
“It has to be fake!”
She snatched the certificate and examined it violently.
Her breathing quickened.
Official seal.
Registration number.
Government stamp.
Everything authentic.
Her hands shook.
“No… no, no, no…”
Liang Wei stood slowly, grabbing a robe and wrapping it around himself with calm precision. But his eyes were already sharp again fully awake now.
Zhang Mei’s voice cracked.
“You… married me?”
Liang Wei’s jaw tightened.
“You think I would willingly marry someone who threw wine on my suit last night?”
Zhang Mei glared at him instantly.
“You deserved that!”
A flicker of irritation crossed his eyes, but he didn’t respond.
Instead, he walked toward the window.
The city below was already awake glass towers reflecting morning light, traffic beginning to build, life moving forward as if nothing had happened.
But inside this penthouse
everything had changed.
Liang Wei exhaled slowly.
His mind, as always, began calculating.
Last night was a disaster.
A public scandal.
Media explosion.
Stock sensitivity.
Board pressure.
And now
this.
A legal marriage.
To Zhang Mei.
His fingers tightened slightly.
This was not just a mistake.
It was leverage.
Or a liability.
Or both.
He turned back toward her.
“We need to solve this.”
Zhang Mei scoffed immediately.
“There’s nothing to solve. We divorce immediately.”
Her voice was firm.
Clean.
Final.
But Liang Wei didn’t answer right away.
Instead, he studied her.
Carefully.
Like a strategist studying an unexpected piece on a chessboard.
Then
something shifted in his eyes.
A calculation.
A dangerous idea forming.
“What if we don’t?”
Zhang Mei blinked.
“…What?”
Liang Wei walked toward her slowly.
Not aggressively.
But deliberately.
Measured steps.
Controlled presence.
“What if we turn this accident into an advantage?”
Zhang Mei narrowed her eyes.
“Speak clearly.”
Liang Wei stopped a few steps away.
His voice lowered.
“A contract marriage.”
Silence.
The room felt colder instantly.
Zhang Mei stared at him like he had lost his mind.
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
He turned slightly, walking toward the table, pouring himself a glass of water with unnerving calmness.
“You need protection,” he said.
Zhang Mei stiffened.
“And you need stability,” he continued.
Her jaw tightened.
“My life is not your negotiation tool.”
Liang Wei turned back.
“Your family disowned you.”
That sentence hit harder than expected.
Zhang Mei’s expression hardened instantly.
“And my company is entering a dangerous phase,” Liang Wei continued.
He placed the glass down gently.
“If we cooperate… we both gain control.”
Zhang Mei stared at him in silence.
Her pride screamed at her to refuse.
To walk away.
To never accept help from a man like him.
But beneath that pride
was reality.
After the Zhang family cast her out, she had survived alone.
Every door in high society closed in her face.
Every opportunity vanished.
Every step forward felt like fighting through glass.
And Liang Wei
he was not just anyone.
He was the center of that world.
Still, she refused to show weakness.
“What exactly are the terms?” she asked coldly.
Liang Wei’s lips curved slightly.
“One year.”
“A public marriage.”
“No interference in each other’s personal lives.”
“And mutual cooperation when necessary.”
Zhang Mei raised an eyebrow.
“And after one year?”
“We end it quietly.”
She studied him for a long moment.
Then
she laughed softly.
Cold.
Sharp.
Almost amused.
“CEO Liang…”
“You really are ruthless.”
He met her gaze evenly.
“You haven’t seen ruthless yet.”
A pause.
Then Zhang Mei extended her hand.
“Fine.”
“One year.”
Liang Wei shook it firmly.
“Deal.”
Their handshake was brief.
Controlled.
Professional.
But something lingered between them.
Something neither of them could define yet.
Because neither realized
this was no longer just a contract.
It was a beginning.
And beginnings always disguise themselves as accidents.
Across the City Unknown Office
In a dimly lit high-rise office overlooking the city, silence hung heavily in the air.
A man stood by the window, holding a glass of red wine.
Wang Xiao.
One of Liang Wei’s most dangerous competitors.
Behind him, his assistant hesitated before speaking.
“Sir… the news is confirmed.”
Wang Xiao didn’t turn.
“What news?”
“…Liang Wei got married.”
A pause.
The glass in his hand stopped mid-motion.
Slowly, he turned.
“Married?”
“Yes sir.”
“To who?”
The assistant swallowed.
“Zhang Mei.”
Silence.
Then
a slow smile formed on Wang Xiao’s lips.
Not warm.
Not amused.
Cold.
Calculated.
“Interesting…”
He took a slow sip of wine.
“Very interesting.”
He placed the glass down gently.
Then leaned back in his chair.
“If Liang Wei is distracted by marriage…”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“Then the timing couldn’t be better.”
A pause.
A whisper of ambition.
- Writer
