CEO's Ugly Flash-Marriage Wife Hides So Many Identities
Chapter 366: A Man Remains a Youth Until Death

Chapter 366: Chapter 366: A Man Remains a Youth Until Death

Elder Pei was stunned and asked, "If you have something you want to ask me, just say it directly."

Qiao Rui smiled like a little fox, her mischievous eyes shimmering with cunning light.

Instinctively, Elder Pei felt that whatever this girl was about to say might not be pleasant.

Indeed, the next second, Qiao Rui said: "Grandpa Pei, do you want to change your wife?"

Elder Pei, startled by her sudden change of topic, exclaimed, "What nonsense are you talking about? I’m in my seventies—I’ve never considered divorce."

"That’s fine. When your wife is no longer here, I’ll help you and my grandpa find grandmas from the village—grandmas who can stand at the bridge and hurl insults for three days straight without repeating themselves, their eloquence top-notch, just to keep you entertained."

Elder Pei: "..."

Seeing him dumbfounded, Qiao Rui burst out laughing.

"You little rascal, still playing around?" Elder Qiao reproached her with a stern voice, "Don’t joke about us like that."

"Grandpa, men at heart remain boys until death," Qiao Rui said. "Don’t tell me, once grandma is gone, you haven’t thought about finding a companion?"

Elder Qiao frowned. "Someone my age—what companion am I going to look for?"

"Don’t be shy," Qiao Rui teased, her tone cheerful. "Grandpa Pei, why don’t you persuade my grandpa to find himself a companion? Otherwise, if he gets exasperated by his son, he won’t even have someone to talk to."

"That makes sense," Elder Pei nodded. "At an advanced age, finding a companion isn’t shameful. Who knows, he might even meet someone he clicks with."

"Old brother, now you’re poking fun at me?" Elder Qiao said helplessly.

Qiao Rui smirked. "Well, you two old pals can keep chatting. I’ll head off now."

Without dawdling further with the two elders, Qiao Rui quickly left the Qiao Family residence.

On her way back, she received a call from Pei Liyan.

"Are you off work yet?"

"I left a long time ago," Qiao Rui replied. "In my view, working overtime is just an excuse made by slackers to waste time."

"Heh, if those who work overtime every day heard that, they’d lash out at you!"

"The ones criticizing me are probably the bosses, right? Which employee likes overtime?" Qiao Rui retorted with a laugh. "Especially unpaid overtime."

"Want to have dinner together?" Pei Liyan asked.

"Sure, I’ll head home now."

"No, I mean let’s eat out together."

"Where to?" Qiao Rui asked.

"I know a place with great food and a serene atmosphere," Pei Liyan said.

"What place?"

"You’ll know when we get there," Pei Liyan replied. "I’ll come pick you up, then we’ll go together."

"Alright."

Fifteen minutes later, Qiao Rui let Gai Yin finish work and got into Pei Liyan’s car to go out for dinner.

Pei Liyan drove himself; he appeared particularly relaxed.

Qiao Rui turned her head to look at his profile and asked with a smile, "Where exactly are we going?"

"As I said, just follow me." His attitude was cryptic.

Qiao Rui had no choice but to go along with him.

To her surprise, he brought her to Wheshan Lodge No. 27.

When the car arrived, Qiao Rui was so shocked she almost dropped her jaw.

That morning, she had eaten here with Liang Jinqian, and now in the afternoon, Pei Liyan had taken her to the same spot for another meal.

She was utterly impressed by Pei Liyan.

When Hui Jie spotted Pei Liyan, she was taken aback. "Oh, Mr. Pei, what brings you here?"

It was evident from her demeanor that she held Pei Liyan in high regard.

"I brought my wife over to sample Hui Jie’s cooking," Pei Liyan said with a smile. "Hui Jie, this is Qiao Rui, my wife."

Hui Jie looked at Qiao Rui and smiled warmly. "Mrs. Pei is truly beautiful; you look somewhat familiar to me."

Hui Jie examined Qiao Rui closely and added, "Really, Mr. Pei, I feel like I’ve met Mrs. Pei somewhere before!"

Qiao Rui felt a bit speechless.

Having met earlier that morning, it made sense—Hui Jie must be encountering so many people that recognizing someone like this wasn’t unusual.

"Is that so?" Pei Liyan dismissed it as polite small talk.

Qiao Rui laughed lightly and said, "I also feel like I’ve seen Hui Jie before. Meeting you feels particularly familiar, as if we’ve known each other for years."

"Mrs. Pei, you’re too kind. It’s an honor to know you," Hui Jie said warmly. "Please, both of you, come inside."

Pei Liyan nodded, then wrapped an arm around Qiao Rui, leading her inside.

In the private dining room, Pei Liyan planned to order a pot of flower tea.

Qiao Rui immediately said, "Let’s just have green tea."

Pei Liyan raised an eyebrow slightly. "Hui Jie’s flower tea is better here."

No matter how good something is, you can’t drink a pot in the morning and another in the afternoon.

"But I want green tea today," Qiao Rui blinked her eyes and suddenly acted coy. "Can we, Mr. Pei?"

Pei Liyan’s gaze tightened, and he immediately said, "Alright, I’ll give in."

Qiao Rui beamed happily.

When it came to ordering dishes, she ended up choosing almost the same ones as earlier that afternoon.

But Qiao Rui genuinely liked Hui Jie’s cooking; even though she had eaten it once, having it again in the afternoon still tasted delicious.

Seeing Qiao Rui enjoying her meal, Pei Liyan asked, "How’s the injury on your back?"

"Nothing serious," Qiao Rui shook her head dismissively. "It’s just a punch—doesn’t need to be taken too seriously."

"Fang Mo highly admires you now," Pei Liyan said, a teasing smile in his eyes. "Miss Qiao, any interest in joining the Pei Family as my vice president?"

Qiao Rui paused for a moment, then laughed gracefully. "Thank you for your kind offer, President Pei, but I prefer calling the shots—being a vice president doesn’t thrill me."

"Even being my vice president wouldn’t thrill you?" Pei Liyan asked, his gaze filled with intrigue.

"It wouldn’t thrill me. Having you control me dampens the fun," Qiao Rui said.

"I’d let you control me," he retorted.

"Then I still wouldn’t go."

"Why not?"

"I just took a new position today, and now you want me to jump ship? What’s the deal?"

"My point is, after the Qiao Family matter is resolved," Pei Liyan said with a smile.

Qiao Rui shook her head. "Dealing with that later is something for later. I prefer focusing on what’s in front of me and doing it well."

Pei Liyan found her perspective pragmatic.

Meanwhile, back at Qiao Junxian’s home.

Since returning, Lin Hailan had been crying non-stop.

Qiao Junxian was utterly fed up. "Stop bawling and tell me what happened already! Enough with the sobbing."

"I!" Lin Hailan hesitated.

She clearly understood that a significant chunk of the money Qiao Junxian extracted from the Qiao Family had been siphoned back to her side of the family.

Now, with Qiao Rui demanding that the money be returned, she knew that while it was easy to take the money, coughing it back up would be exceedingly difficult.

"What’s going on?" Qiao Junxian pressed again.

Left with no choice, Lin Hailan handed him a bundle of documents.

Qiao Junxian swiftly pulled them out to scan, his face turning pale.

These documents were far more incriminating than what the old master had shown.

The contents could easily send him to prison.

"She wants us to return three billion within three days. If we don’t, she threatens to have you imprisoned."

"What?!" Qiao Junxian cried out. "She’s being outrageous—this is driving us into a corner."

"She even said if we don’t return it, our Xiangxiang will be jailed too. We’ll all end up behind bars!"

"Ha, well, so be it—if she wants war, let’s give her war!" Qiao Junxian sneered darkly. "She shouldn’t blame me, then!"