Chapter 8 She Will Sooner or Later Become a Cast-Off Wife

Huo Sinan slightly furrowed his brows, his confusion evident, and after a moment of contemplation said, "Miss Qiao, if you ever need my help, you can come to me, I can help you get a divorce."

Pei Liyan, with his eyes squinted, captured the astonished expression on Qiao Rui's face and couldn't help but snicker.

Caught between two battling CEOs, Qiao Rui reluctantly replied in a calm voice, "Thank you, Mr. Huo, but I currently have no plans to divorce."

"Why?"

Qiao Rui glanced at Pei Liyan and said indifferently, "Because he is good-looking."

Huo Sinan looked at Qiao Rui in shock, then suddenly laughed, saying with a light chuckle, "He really is good-looking, and quite effeminate too."

Damn woman, she actually teamed up with an outsider to call him effeminate.

Was the word "beautiful" really intended for a man of his stature?

It seemed like Huo Sinan instantly got the point and his smile became much more cheerful.

Pei Liyan's eyebrows furrowed deeply, wanting to strangle Qiao Rui.

Qiao Rui pretended not to see Pei Liyan's cold gaze.

Huo Sinan then said to Qiao Rui, "Miss Qiao, you are quite interesting."

Qiao Rui smiled and said, "Mr. Huo, your spirit of sacrificing for friends is also very admirable to Qiao Rui, I believe Miss Rui Qing would be grateful if she knew how righteously you spoke today."

Huo Sinan scoffed, "Who wants her gratitude!"

Sensing the impatience in his tone, Qiao Rui was taken aback and couldn't figure out why Huo Sinan was annoyed.

Qiao Rui blinked her eyes and softly spoke, "Helping her without expecting anything in return, Miss Rui is very fortunate."

Right after she said that, a flash of cold light appeared in Pei Liyan's eyes as he reached out and grabbed Qiao Rui's wrist.

This woman was truly infuriating.

She was actually chatting with Huo Sinan here, and they seemed to hit it off.

Did he look like a dead man to her?

Pei Liyan gripped Qiao Rui's wrist tightly, causing her to frown in pain.

She looked at Pei Liyan in confusion, wondering what madness had taken hold of him.

Pei Liyan's anger intensified.

The way she looked at him was as if she was looking at a madman.

No woman had ever been so disrespectful to him.

Pei Liyan wore an expression as if he had eaten a fly, his lips tightly pursed, and he said coldly, "You talk too much."

Huo Sinan said, "She married you, does that mean she can't even speak? Pei Liyan, aren't you being too tyrannical?"

Qiao Rui looked at Huo Sinan gratefully; he truly was a person willing to stand up for others.

Impressive!

Pei Liyan gave Qiao Rui a cold glance, opened the car door, and pushed her into the car.

As Qiao Rui was forcefully shoved into the car, she fell onto the seat, the sharp pain spreading through her legs made her furrow her brows.

The door slammed shut.

Only then did Qiao Rui realize, this man was angry!

What was he angry about?

Outside the car.

Pei Liyan, exuding a chilling aura, coldly glanced at Huo Sinan and said, "Enough is enough, don't bring trouble to the Huo Family."

"You think I'm afraid of you?"

Pei Liyan spoke calmly, "If your grandfather knew you were compromising the safety of the Huo Family for a woman, would you still be secure in your position as the heir?"

"You!" Huo Sinan's gaze hardened, and he chuckled lightly, "What does it have to do with you?"

"My business with Rui Qing has nothing to do with you either." Pei Liyan walked around the car and headed towards another vehicle.

Fang Mo quickly opened the door on the other side, letting Pei Liyan get into the car.

The car took off, leaving a trail of dust behind.

Inside the car.

Qiao Rui slightly furrowed her brow from the pain in her leg caused by being hit, not expecting Pei Liyan to be so rough. It seemed that Huo Sinan's presence had indeed provoked him.

However, Huo Sinan was quite righteous, an unexpected surprise.

Pei Liyan didn't take her back, so Qiao Rui returned to the Qiao Family on her own.

Qiao Family.

Just as Qiao Rui reached the entrance, she heard a shrill female voice from inside.

"Why should that bumpkin marry into the Pei Family as the young madam? Grandpa, why are you so biased?"

Qiao Rui had intended to enter the house but suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She recognized the voice; it was her second cousin, Qiao Yufei.

"Just shut your mouth." A woman stopped Qiao Yufei. "Haven't you seen that your grandpa is angry? Hurry up and leave."

"I won't. Grandpa is being too biased." Qiao Yufei cried out emotionally. "Grandpa, you could have stopped this."

"Qiao Yufei!" Elder Qiao's voice was low, utterly steady, and those three words emitted a strong oppressive force that made one afraid to breathe.

For a long moment, all was quiet inside the house.

It seemed no one dared to speak again.

Qiao Rui was puzzled, not expecting Elder Qiao to be so authoritative.

Hah!

There was nothing puzzling about it. If Elder Qiao were reasonable, she wouldn't have grown up in the countryside.

Qiao Rui lowered her gaze, not hurrying to enter.

Silence spread, and after a while, Qiao Yufei suddenly started crying. "Grandpa, I just can't accept this."

"So what if you can't accept it? If Pei Liyan didn't choose you, and you have the ability to make him choose you, I wouldn't have any objections," Elder Qiao's voice came again.

Qiao Yufei cried even harder.

"Don't cry!" Elder Qiao's three words were faint, yet commanding.

Immediately, Qiao Yufei dared not cry, but she couldn't stop sobbing.

After a while, Qiao Rui heard the elder say, "Do you think Qiao Rui will be happy marrying Pei Liyan?"

Qiao Rui was taken aback — he knew she wouldn't be happy.

He knew it, yet he still wanted her to marry Pei Liyan; it was deliberate.

Indeed, he was aware that being chosen by Pei Liyan wouldn't bring happiness, yet he still watched her walk into the tiger's den.

Then, she heard the elder say, "Each of your cousins is as beautiful as a flower. Pei Liyan didn't choose them; he had to choose Qiao Rui because from the start, he never intended to continue this marriage for long."

Qiao Rui was shocked.

"With your Grandpa Pei around, he is cautious because his wings are not fully grown. Once he inherits the Pei Family, Qiao Rui will certainly become a divorced woman. Knowing this, do you still envy her?"

Elder Qiao's calm yet extremely cruel words exploded like thunder.

Qiao Rui pursed her lips, her hand clenching into a fist beside her, then she slowly relaxed it.

She knew Elder Qiao loathed her, but not to this extent.

She was unwelcome even before she was born, because her mother wasn't accepted by Elder Qiao, so her father, Qiao Boyuan, and her mother, Tang Li, ran away and lived outside for seven years.

In the end, her father Qiao Boyuan died in a landslip, buried under the mountain. Excavators dug for seven days and nights, only to find a pile of decaying flesh and stark white bones.

Elder Qiao attributed all these misfortunes to her mother, Tang Li. After her father's death, her mother suffered a severe emotional breakdown and was sent to a mental hospital by Elder Qiao, and her brother has since disappeared without a trace.

Two-year-old Qiao Rui was thus sent to the countryside, where she grew up until just a few days ago when she was brought back at the age of twenty-one.

And the reason Grandpa brought her back was purely to consolidate the status of the Qiao Family. As long as the Qiao Family formed a marital alliance with the Pei Family, the Qiao Family would benefit greatly.

As long as Elder Pei was alive, remembering the life-saving friendship he once had with Elder Qiao, he would not stand idly by.

As for her happiness, it was never within Elder Qiao's considerations.

Qiao Rui had anticipated this outcome, but hearing it firsthand was still somewhat uncomfortable.

She stopped at the door for a while.

The elder then said, "With a man like Pei Liyan, Grandpa does not wish for you to marry him; it would be easier for you to find happiness with someone else."

"Yufei, did you hear that? Your grandpa is looking out for your best interests."

Yufei, still resentful, whispered softly, "I understand, Grandpa."

Elder Qiao said no more.

Just then, the old butler appeared, exclaiming in surprise, "Miss Qiao, you're back?"