"And when that happens, people start to turn. They plot to bite the hand that feeds them." She smiled sadly. She thought about it for a moment. "I have to show my father how bad this arranged marriage will bode for them. But I doubt it will work."

  And she was at a dead end.

  "Then what do you plan on doing? With Bai Ye Qing starting his journey towards destroying his father's hard work…… what can you do?" Mo Qingchen's eyes gleamed with curiosity.

  "If Yun Sui Bo wants to sign an agreement with the company so bad, we'll make sure he signs it. Just that the name of the majority shareholder will be me." As the plan slowly formed in her head, she calculated. "If the company is mine, to begin with, there wouldn't be a need to arrange my marriage, now would there?"

  "Have you considered saying no to the marriage?" Mo Qingchen asked incredulously. While the decision to buy the company was a good one, if her motivation was to not get married, she would just have to refuse. That was all it took, right?

  "Do you think that works with the chauvinist?" she scoffed. "A few weeks ago, he informed me that my brother would be taking over my company." She guffawed, the idea was so farfetched that she wanted to slap sense into her father.

  "Yun Sui Bo has really gone senile." That was what Mo Qingchen had to say.

  "What you don't have any other comments?" she asked incredulously.

  "No. Desserts are here," he informed her.

  Even though the meal was incredible, the dessert was better. It was heavenly. The main ingredient was cloudberry. Mo Qingchen informed her that it was called Swedish gold. She could certainly see why. Mo Qingchen indeed had good taste in food. She was almost enticed to ask him for recommendations but with his recent following around, she feared he would tag along with her, so she didn't ask.

  She gave out a small moan with every bite she took. She couldn't have enough. She even took bites out of his dessert, leaving him watching her drown in food. She felt slightly guilty but that was okay. For all the irritation he had cost her, he could pay back in the food.

  "What if he finds someone else to marry you? Will you say no then, too?" he asked suddenly as she was wiping her lips. She looked up.

  "I'll just try to fulfill the need he has," she shrugged.

  "And you will keep giving him everything he needs and not revolt. Do you need his acceptance that much?" He sighed.

  "I did think about marrying someone he would never approve of, but the reasons for not marrying Bai Ye Qing remain. I can't marry someone who doesn't understand me or know anything about the life I live. I can't marry anyone who is hungry to grab my money. It is hard, you know? I can't just marry blindly without considering what effect it will have on me."

  Mo Qingchen nodded. "So, to be rid of your father, you need to marry someone who enrages him and is up to your standards, is that right?"

  Qian Meng nodded.

  "Your standards are high. There's no one else except for me who fits it." Qian Meng looked up in shock and then sighed in relief. There was mischief in his eyes. Undeniable mischief that told her he was joking.

  "Yes, my standards are high. If you're the only one…… I guess I'll have to be an old spinster," she countered with a raised brow. His smile dropped and he stared.

  "Well, enjoy your lonely, single life," he scoffed.

  The thought of her denying made him uncomfortable.

  "Now that you mention it…… not marrying and being my own woman will make my father so angry that his blood pressure will rise off the roof." She mulled the thought over. "I don't believe in love, either, so the only way I am marrying is if I see the dollar signs in the future." The words were said casually, but Mo Qingchen considered them seriously.

  If she didn't marry Bai Ye Qing, some other man would come along and take advantage of this foolish girl. She was starving for love and didn't know how to pick people to call her own. As her loyal enemy, he had to make sure their battle was long and intense, not deterred by pesky people who wanted to take her focus away from the main goal.

  He had to become victorious over her when she was using full force, not watching her go to ruin. He wouldn't let that happen.

  It seemed he had a lot to think about.

  "You want to be a trophy wife?" His nose scrunched up in confusion.

  "Who are you calling a trophy wife? I have more money than most people on the planet, okay? I don't believe in love, so I will have to be comfortable talking about money. I want to marry someone with whom I can make more money." Now that she said it out loud, she sounded like a greedy woman. But what was wrong with that? She could grow her money just fine. The man would need to offer at least double the growth if he wanted to marry her.

  "That's fair." That was a good thing to consider when tying the knot. But wouldn't swindlers use it to marry her? "How do you ascertain profits?" he asked casually.

  "You're awfully interested in my married life," Qian Meng teased when the waiter came to their table with the cheque. "Are we going to compete in marriage as well?" She shuddered at the thought. "Let me know the parameters so that I can choose a good man."

  She looked at the bill and was about to pull out her card when Mo Qingchen grabbed her wrist.