C1 Contract Marriage!

At the Watock Hotel in Orifrough.

Room 1444.

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

The hotel room door was stealthily opened, followed by a flurry of hurried footsteps as a swarm of reporters burst in.

The blinding flash of cameras was relentless, with the sound of shutters clicking incessantly.

Beneath the suggestive pink lighting, a man and a woman lay in compromising positions on a spacious waterbed.

"Mr. Lin Han, are you the husband of Ms. Lin Kexin, the General Manager of Watock Group?" one reporter asked.

"Mr. Lin Han, why are you having a private late-night meeting with the hotel's lobby manager?" inquired another.

"Mr. Lin Han, are you discussing hotel management techniques and the comfort of this oversized waterbed?" a third chimed in.

The reporters bombarded him with pointed questions, their recording devices all trained on Lin Han.

"Ah, yes, we were discussing hotel management experience. Please, don't get the wrong idea," Lin Han responded hastily, attempting to straighten his clothes.

Zhang Xuan, the lobby manager on the bed, was neither panicked nor flustered. Instead, she posed for the cameras, feigning innocence while subtly revealing some bruises on her body.

Tears welled up as she spoke in a soft, aggrieved voice, "Stop filming, please. I'm just a humble lobby manager. He's the husband of the group's General Manager, and he asked me to discuss hotel management. I couldn't refuse."

"What are you talking about? Weren't you the one who called me here? How could you..." Lin Han realized the situation was dire. Unable to clear his name in front of the reporters, he made a beeline for the exit.

...

In the Purple Garden District, Lin Han's residence.

More accurately, it was the home of Lin Kexin, into which he had married.

The moment he opened the door, he was met with a barrage of household items.

Tea cups, pillows, slippers... everything imaginable was hurled at Lin Han, who deftly caught a teacup, sparing himself the trouble of cleaning up broken pieces.

"You bring shame upon us!" his mother-in-law, Wang Yunxiu, bellowed. "Get over here!"

Lin Han shivered, spotting the open bedroom door, and bolted with his slippers in hand.

After a year of marriage, he had been on the receiving end of his mother-in-law's beatings countless times. Fear had become a habit.

A year prior, he had agreed to marry Lin Kexin and become a son-in-law to the Lee family. He received 200,000 yuan in cash to arrange his adoptive parents' funeral, and he became the manager of the cleaning department at Watock Hotel. The company paid him a monthly salary of 20,000 yuan for living expenses.

It should have been a comfortable life, but despite Lin Kexin's stunning beauty, he hadn't even touched her fingertips.

For a year, he had worked tirelessly with his own two hands to fulfill his dreams. The thought alone made his heart ache for himself... his hands, rough and calloused.

That evening, Lin Han had been summoned to a guest room by the hotel lobby manager, expecting a romantic encounter. Instead, his hopes were dashed by a swarm of reporters.

Upon hearing Lin Kexin's sobs, Lin Han halted his rush to the bedroom and returned to the living room.

"Lin Han, do you realize how big tonight's incident has become?" Lin Kexin tossed her phone to Lin Han, slumped back onto the couch, hugged her knees, and tugged at her hair, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

"Heh, that was quick. In just half an hour, the online media hits have already topped a million. And look, it's even on Orifrough's evening news? Tsk tsk, it seems someone had this all planned out!"

Lin Han scanned the media reports, photos, videos, and dialogues on the phone, all crystal clear. Yet he maintained a nonchalant demeanor, as if the whole affair was of no concern to him.

"Lin Han, you heartless scoundrel, how could you dishonor my daughter like this? Do you have any idea how carefully she has to speak and act at Watock every day? One small slip-up and she could be ousted from the company!"

His mother-in-law's broom came down hard on Lin Han, but instead of his usual cries and evasive maneuvers, he stood firm, his gaze fixed on Lin Kexin with a look of deep sorrow.

"Mom, please stop hitting me. I'll take responsibility for my own mistakes," Lin Kexin said, her face a mix of scornful laughter and self-derision. She dried her tears and glared at Lin Han with her reddened eyes.

"Not hit him? If I don't, he'll think he can get away with anything. Honey, I've told you before, this guy is no good. He's only with you for your money..."

"Enough, Mom, just stop," Lin Kexin yelled at her mother, something she rarely did.

"I..." Wang Yunxiu didn't want to see her daughter upset, so after a few more hits, she reluctantly stopped.

Lin Han was at a loss for words, looking at Lin Kexin with her tear-stained face, he sighed with compassion.

Indeed, their marriage was one of convenience, but since the day he joined the Lee family, Lin Kexin had never treated him poorly, except for keeping him at arm's length.

Despite the mockery from family members, her mother's reluctance, and the disbelief of her colleagues, Lin Kexin had always stood by him, preserving his dignity in the eyes of others.

What struck him most was that Lin Kexin, who always seemed so aloof and formidable, could break down in tears, her crying tugging at his heartstrings.

"Kexin, I won't let you be hurt, not even a little. I'll protect you," Lin Han promised, his usual playful demeanor replaced by a look of earnest determination.

Lin Kexin looked up to see a completely different side of Lin Han, and she was momentarily taken aback.

In that moment, she found herself believing in him.

"Ha! Your promises sound better than a song. What can you do, a poor kid who had to resort to cheating in a casino to pay for his adoptive parents' funeral, only to end up getting beaten and coughing up blood? What can you do when you're living off my daughter?"

"Ding! Ding!"

Wang Yunxiu's tirade was cut short by the sound of Lin Kexin's phone ringing. It was her secretary calling.

"Hello, Director Lee. There's trouble. Have you seen the news online?"

The voice on the phone was filled with urgency. "The Vice Director convened a board meeting in your grandmother's name just now. He said..."

"Just say it, I'm all ears." Lin Kexin's voice quivered, yet she maintained a stubborn resolve.

"The board has decided to remove you as General Manager. The dismissal notice will be issued tomorrow. Director Lee, you need to find a solution fast. After tonight, it'll be too late..."

The phone clicked off, and the light in Lin Kexin's eyes vanished completely. Years of effort had gone up in smoke.

"If they want to blow this up, let's turn the tables on them. Will they succeed in their deception, or can we silence the rumors? Or perhaps... are they digging their own graves?"

"Smack!"

Lin Han's mother-in-law delivered a fierce slap across his face before he could finish speaking. "Exactly, you're digging your own grave, and you've dragged my daughter down with you! If she's ousted from the corporation or the Lee family because of this, I'll make sure you go down with me, even if it costs me my life!"

"Die? Hardly. There's always a solution."

Lin Han touched his stinging cheek. It had been years since he'd felt the sting of a slap, the humiliation almost forgotten. Thankfully, Lin Kexin had reawakened that dormant fury within him.

His eyes glinted with a chilling resolve. "Besides, for some, death isn't such an easy escape."

With a steely expression, Lin Han returned to his room and retrieved an old phone from the safe. He hesitated before finally making the call, "You need to get to Orifrough immediately..."