Qiao Mai had no idea that at this very moment, in a half-mountain villa on the other side of the city, a detailed background check report about her had already landed on He Sinian’s desk.
It included her group-bought afternoon tea, rented designer dresses, the rundown old apartment in the urban village, and her bank account balance—down to the exact two decimal places: 1560.23.
“A bona fide gold digger, huh?”
He Sinian sneered, leaning back against the leather sofa as he picked up a pre-cut cigar.
Just then, his phone screen lit up.
It was a message from Qiao Mai.
Casually tapping it open, he saw a transfer of 1,000 yuan, and his action of lighting the cigar paused. With barely a thousand yuan to her name, she still had the nerve to say that even if the sky fell, she’d hold it up. Since she was so keen on acting, if he—the “bankrupt CEO”—didn’t play along, wouldn’t he be letting down all her hard work?
His slender fingers tapped lightly on the screen.
He Sinian accepted the one thousand yuan.
Then, he pressed the voice note button.
Back in the rundown apartment, Qiao Mai was deep in a dream of sudden wealth.
In the dream, she used her large luxury flat as collateral to cash out twenty million yuan, and He Sinian, desperate to please her, was peeling grapes for her while dressed in a maid outfit.
The crisp “ding” of a notification text message brutally dragged her out of her dream.
Groggily, she snatched her phone.
First glance: He Sinian has accepted the payment.
She smiled with relief. Excellent. No pretense; he really was a man of action.
Second glance: she tapped on the voice message.
“Money received. Since you said you’d support me, I’m moving in with you tomorrow. Send me the location.”
“Holy crap!”
Qiao Mai instantly snapped awake, springing up from the bed like an ejection seat. The fake Hermès bag by her side tumbled right onto the floor.
Move in? Together?!
Wasn’t this progress bar moving way too fast?!
Stunned, she looked around the room. It was a ten-square-meter rental where the paint on the walls was peeling off like a botched plastic surgery case. The bathroom gave off a bizarre, eerie sewer scent. The bed was still piled high with the high-end dresses she needed to return to the rental company today.
If she let He Sinian move in here, her persona as a “hundred-million-worth, financially independent elite socialite” would instantly shatter into dust!
Once He Sinian discovered she was a thorough and complete fraud, given that man’s dark and ruthless methods, she would definitely die a much more miserable death than in the original book!
“What do I do? Fast brain, think of something!”
Should she move to her big luxury flat right now?
But… in the original book, He Sinian was as wise as a demon with terrifying insight; she was afraid she’d get her box lunch (kick the bucket) ahead of schedule!
Suddenly, Qiao Mai’s gaze locked onto the “Socialite Group-Buying Chat” on WeChat.
Jenny, a member of the group, had recently hooked up with a rich second-generation heir who traveled frequently, and was staying rent-free in a detached villa in the western suburbs.
Qiao Mai immediately dialed Jenny’s voice call.
“What are you doing so early in the morning?” Jenny asked, her voice dripping with sarcastic annoyance. “Did you scrape together the final payment for the group buy? And what about the dry-cleaning fee? How do you plan on paying that?”
Qiao Mai pinched her palm, summoning the negotiation skills she used in her past life to dupe business partners.
“Oh come on, sis, the final payment and dry-cleaning fee are definitely coming. But I’m calling you because of something urgent—I want to bring you along to make a fortune.”
“Make a fortune? Relying on your bankrupt boyfriend?” Jenny sneered.
“I always knew you lacked vision,” Qiao Mai said, deliberately lowering her voice to manufacture an air of mystery. “He Sinian might be bankrupt, but the connections and insider information in his hands are still there. Last night, I accompanied him to meet a capital tycoon back from Wall Street, and they’re injecting a billion in bridge funds. At the latest, the He Group will stage a comeback next month.”
The other end of the line went silent.
Qiao Mai continued painting her big picture: “Sis, right now is when He Sinian is at his lowest and easiest to manipulate. I’m going to take him in to cohabitate and completely tie him down. When he rises again, the position of Mrs. He will be mine. At that point, what resources won’t you be able to get?”
Jenny was clearly tempted.
Although she and Qiao Mai weren’t on the best of terms, Qiao Mai had sharp methods and easily snagged a top-tier tycoon like He Sinian. Her tone softened involuntarily. “What do you want me to do?”
“I want to borrow your villa,” Qiao Mai stated flatly. “Didn’t your sugar daddy go to Europe? My big flat has been rented out at a high price; if I take it back, I’ll have to pay a sky-high penalty fee.”
“Once I lock down He Sinian, next month I’ll bring you into a new, guaranteed-profit new energy project that’s guaranteed to triple your money! If you don’t believe me, I’ll send you a photo of the real estate deed tomorrow.”
Hearing “triple your money” and “real estate deed,” Jenny was completely sold.
In the end, Qiao Mai secured four days of usage rights to Jenny’s villa. Once the mortgage loan went through, she’d have money and could head straight to a five-star hotel for a monthly package!
Changing into that group-bought Dior dress, Qiao Mai headed straight to the bank to finalize the mortgage paperwork, with the funds expected to hit her account within three days.
Then she hailed a cab without stopping, arriving at the south suburb villa Jenny had sent her.
It was a three-story detached house with a two-hundred-square-meter small garden—truly imposing.
An hour later, an online ride-hailing car stopped outside the gates.
He Sinian stepped out carrying an extremely simple black travel bag. Today, he wore a plain white shirt with no logos, black casual trousers wrapping around his straight, long legs. Putting away the oppressive aura of someone in a position of high power, he looked exceptionally casual.
Qiao Mai’s eyes lit up.
She immediately went up to him, naturally hooking her arm through his. “Darling, I’m sorry you have to make do staying here with me. My big flat just had its soft furnishings redone and hasn’t finished airing out yet. I was afraid the formaldehyde would be bad for your health, so we’ll make do in this little villa for a few days.”
He Sinian unperturbedly let her hold his arm.
His gaze swept across the villa, then brushed over Qiao Mai’s dress—which clearly showed signs of having been dry-cleaned too many times, with a hemline that had shrunk slightly.
He curved his lips. “It’s fine.”
“Come on, let me show you our love nest!”
Qiao Mai boldly pushed open the front door and led He Sinian to a spacious, brightly lit… guest bedroom.
Jenny was quite a piece of work; she’d locked the master bedroom.
“I figured you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately and your sleep definitely hasn’t been great. This guest room gets the best sunlight, so you should sleep here,” Qiao Mai said, putting on an extremely considerate facade.
“And you?” He Sinian lowered his gaze to look at her.
“I’ve been busy lately and might disturb you, so I’ll just rough it out in the study tonight!”
Qiao Mai’s body stiffened all over.
Her nose was filled entirely with his cedarwood scent.
Big brother, this is a borrowed house, she wouldn’t dare mess around in someone else’s sugar daddy’s bed!
She let out a couple of dry laughs, biting the bullet to explain, “I’m just worried you’ll touch things and feel emotional! Since you’re this attached to me, we’ll sleep together then!”
Worst case, I’ll pull an all-nighter in the study!
As night fell…
To maintain her socialite facade, Qiao Mai found an upscale private-kitchen delivery on Meituan with extremely flashy packaging that looked just like a Black Pearl restaurant.
Using all kinds of first-timer discounts and full-reduction red envelopes, her out-of-pocket cost was 88 yuan.
Even so, watching her balance drop to 472.23, her heart was bleeding.
The two sat opposite each other in the spacious dining room.
“Eat more. From now on, following me, I guarantee you’ll have meat at every meal.”
Qiao Mai boldly dropped a piece of spare rib into his bowl.
“Even if the He Group is gone, I’ll still raise you nice and plump. Tomorrow I’ll contact a few venture capital firms to try and help you get your career back off the ground sooner.”
He Sinian looked at the rather mediocre-looking piece of pork rib in his bowl.
“Okay.”
He replied in a low voice, picked up the rib, and took a bite.
Qiao Mai contentedly shoveled a mouthful of rice.
Just as she was calculating how to trick him into washing the dishes after they ate, a harsh electronic chime suddenly rang out from the front door.
Beep beep beep—clack.
The door opened unexpectedly.
Qiao Mai’s movements froze instantly.
Didn’t Jenny say her sugar daddy wasn’t coming back until next weekend?!
This was only day one!
Just as she stood up, she saw a young man push a silver suitcase inside.
“Babe, I’m ho—”
Seeing them, the man’s words stuck in his throat, and he froze in place.
Crap, the ship is wrecking!
Qiao Mai’s scalp went numb.
This sugar daddy was probably going to call the cops on them as trespassing thieves any second now!
Just as she was about to spin a wild excuse, she saw the young man’s gaze shift past her and lock dead onto He Sinian.
His facial features twisted violently, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.
“You… what, what are you guys doing here?!”