Sentenced to Marriage by MadlainQ

A better wife

I felt like I was about to throw up. My head started to spin. I even started to hear Lanfen's wicked laughter inside my mind. How could Lan Jing demand that Aren divorce me? This was ridiculous! And for what reason? Because I wasn't Chinese?!

"Waigong... I don't want to be disrespectful, but are you shitting me?!" Aren snapped.

"Zhuyi ni de yuyan!" His grandfather thundered.

"Wo bu hui lihun!" Aren yelled.

I didn't know what it all meant, but I hated it; I hated this whole situation. I looked at Lanfen and saw her sitting innocently as if she wasn't the main cause of this uproar. I seriously wanted to punch her and knock her white teeth out of that fake humble smile!

Lan Jing took a deep breath before exclaiming, "Why are you so angry, xiaohouzi?! I've chosen Lanfen because you've already been in a relationship together! You broke up because of a misunderstanding, and misunderstandings are meant to be fixed!" He punched the table with his fist.

Aren burst into cold laughter before leaning toward his grandfather. "I can assure you, waigong, that things between Lanfen and me are beyond any type of fixing." Then he glared mockingly at Lanfen. She blinked her almond eyes at him, reaching out her hand to touch Aren's arm. "It wasn't my fault. If you just let me explain..."

"Don't touch me," Aren hissed icily, pushing her hand away.

Lanfen gasped as if he had hurt her hand, and Lan Jing roared, "Xiaohouzi!"

Aren's lips formed a smile, but his eyes blazed dark and dangerously. He stood up and bowed to his grandfather. "I apologize, waigong."

Lan Jing sighed. "I forgive you, xiaohouzi. Now, as for your divorce-"

"Let me finish." Aren's firm tone resonated within the room. "I wanted to apologize because I won't divorce Cora, and I certainly won't marry Lanfen. Don't try to manipulate me or bribe me because I will not let anyone control my life like that. If you refuse to make me an heir this way, then be it. Lan Diamond Corporation is doing fine without your support." He bowed once more before reaching for my hand and leading me toward the exit.

"Fool!" Lan Jing called out angrily, making Aren turn around. "I'm giving you the protection you need! I want to make you untouchable!"

A soft, humorless chuckle left Aren's throat. "I survived thirty-two years without your help. I don't need your protection."

"Yes, I believe that you can protect yourself, but can she?" Lan Jing smirked.

Lanfen, who sat calmly on the sofa, suddenly frowned, sending the old man a confused stare. Aren looked at me, confidence quickly disappearing from his expression.

"What do you mean by that?" Aren let go of my hand and glared at his grandfather. "Are you threatening my wife now?"

"You know what I mean, xiaohouzi. A fragile girl cannot survive in our world," Lan Jing said curtly.

"I can assure you that Cora isn't just some fragile girl," he said, a faint smirk crossing his lips.

Lan Jing raised his eyebrows. "Is she now?" He chuckled before pointing his finger at me. "Hanzi. I will

give you five minutes to convince me how strong you are."

"Yeye!" Lanfen exclaimed, her eyes wide in disbelief, her hand fisting.

"Leave us." Lan Jing looked at Aren and Lanfen. "Cora and I will join you for dinner."

I swallowed hard but didn't dare to refuse his offer. Aren gazed at me worryingly. "You don't have to do this, sunshine."

I stretched my lips into a nervous smile. "Don't worry about me too much, handsome." I climbed to my toes and gave Aren a quick kiss.

"Yeye... perhaps I should stay as well?" Lanfen's tone suddenly softened, betraying her fake politeness. I could hear the final note in her voice, nervously trembling. My private conversation with Lan Jing was something she certainly didn't consider happening.

Lan Jing looked at her coldly. "I think I've already told you to leave."

I flinched at the change in his tone, even if his words weren't meant for me. Lanfen couldn't hide her surprise and anger. She got up from the sofa and reluctantly bowed before heading to the door. She didn't look at me, but for the first time her real, disgusting face surfaced from beneath the carefully crafted mask. I only prayed that Lan Jing saw it the same way I did. Aren opened the door and let Lanfen leave the room first. Then he smiled at me and left himself, closing the door behind him.

I took a deep breath and slowly walked back to my previous seat. I could see Lan Jing observing my every step closely. I smiled nervously as I sat down. "So, what did you want to talk to me about, Mr. Lan?"

Lan Jing leaned back in his chair, his

eyes locked on me. "You intrigue me, hanzi. You don't have a diploma, and yet my grandson decided to appoint you as a temporary CEO while he was in a coma. I had zero

experience in running a company.net

and yet you managed to deal with three experienced executives. Not to mention that I was surprised by how fast your relationship developed. You come from two different worlds. Do you expect me to believe that you met by accident in a café where

you worked and got married a

month after?"

Chills ran down my spine. I couldn't tell if I should trust him or not. I had no problem with revealing the whole truth, but I needed to find out more about his reasons... "What do you want me to say?" I smirked.

Lan Jing chuckled and leaned closer to me. "I want to hear the amazing story behind your relationship. I want to know what makes you so special that Aren could only look at his old love with disdain while staring at you with googly eyes?"

I tried to read his face, but he was almost expressionless, and this case was a little too important to gamble. "Can I ask you a question before I answer, Mr. Lan?" I did my best to keep my voice calm despite the swirling emotions within me.

He smiled curiously. "Of course."

I cleared my throat and looked deep into his eyes. "Do you truly want to make Aren the heir of the Lan family, or was your demand a test or a way for you to control him by Lanfen in the future?"

He raised his eyebrows, shocked by my straightforwardness, and then let out an audible, slow exhale. "As you may know, I decided to choose the heir among my grandchildren. There is Chen's son Caishen, and Peng's sons, Peizhi and Weimin. I hadn't wanted to consider Aren as a potential heir for a long time, but because I couldn't forgive Liling for what she had done in the past. It wasn't until my wife, Heng, was dying and made me promise to make things right and bring back Liling's son into the family. Liling was Heng's perfect little ray of sun and believed that she would have been capable of leading the Lan family into the brightest future. I used to have the same belief, but, after her betrayal, I couldn't even hear about her son without getting angry. That was, of course, before I met Aren for the first time." As he paused, his

lips curled into a proud smile. "He was arrogant and cold, deadly ambitious, and a perfect leader at that. He carried this dangerous combination of qualities that could have exploded, making him either a great man or a terrifying threat. It was obvious that he would have been a perfect heir... but he was also empty inside, emotionless. That was why I told him to get married, hoping that a woman would bring warmth into his life."

I raised my eyebrows and let a sarcastic chuckle escape my throat. "And that's why you want him to marry Lanfen?"

"Why not?" Lan Jing frowned. "She managed to charm my current wife, Mingyu, at the charity event two years ago. She told us that Aren and she had been together in a loving relationship but parted when her parents decided to move back to China. She seemed to be Aren's ideal second half."

My chest squeezed painfully at his words. I struggled to remain calm, but how could I? I wanted to scream and curse Lanfen, but I was at a disadvantage. She had been wrapping Lan Jing and his wife around her finger for two years. They trusted her, but I was a stranger; a girl who appeared out of nowhere. No matter how much heartache Lan Jing was causing me at that moment, I needed to remain composed and wait.

"It was her presence that gave an idea to set Aren a condition that he had to get married. I had it all planned. I wanted to set him up for a blind date, a date with Lanfen... but he refused to go on blind dates and negotiated to find a wife himself. I agreed to his ridiculous idea, even though I knew that his marriage would certainly be nothing more than a contractual arrangement." He looked me up and down with a smirk. "Now, tell me, hanzi, am I right? Is your marriage also based on a contract?"