Chapter 2

A myriad of different expressions on the faces of all the guests below the stage could be seen. Many of them were discussing amongst themselves, too. "This woman…is Mister Jeremy's fiancee? Why is she dressed like some random brat from the streets?" "Shouldn't Mister Jeremy's partner be someone graceful and elegant? Who the heck is that woman?" "Ahem! Mister Jeremy has quite a unique taste in women..." Corinne deliberately dressed like a brat to scare off her blind date, but Jeremy did not seem to care at all that people were complaining about her image as his 'fiancee'. More accurately, he seemed unconcerned that his taste in women was questioned, and he acted as if he was merely a spectator in his own show. Despite the odd looks from many guests, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and exchange engagement rings with Jeremy. It was a farce she had to maintain until the host announced the end of the ceremony. Although everyone found it difficult to appreciate what Jeremy saw in her, they applauded Jeremy only for the sake of his dignity. Corinne descended the stage and wanted to leave as soon as she could. Unfortunately, three beautifully dressed women came up to her and stood in her way. "Which family are you from?" "Why did you come here in that ugly-looking getup?" "Did you think you were fit to stand by Mister Jeremy's side with that sort of conduct?" Corinne evaded them and refused to entertain their questions, but the three of them continued to stand in her way. Corinne lost her patience and glanced at their fancy evening gowns. "In terms of fashion sense, the three of you are no doubt worthy of being Jeremy's equal, but let me ask you this: did he ever allow you to get close to him?" "How dare you!" The three women all came from wealthy families in New Capital City, and it was the first time they had been mocked in such a manner. They were adamant about demanding an apology from Corinne, or they would not let her go! Some distance away, Zeke Callen, the Callens' second youngest son, came over and raised a toast to Jeremy. "Where'd you get that girl from, Jeremy? I imagine your grandfather is going to be pissed if you bring her back to meet him." "He just wants to have a granddaughter-in-law," replied Jeremy nonchalantly. "It's fine as long as it's a woman." Zeke clicked his tongue. "Of all the women in the world you could choose, why her?" Jeremy lowered his charming gaze and raised his glass to take a sip of the wine. It looked as if he was reminiscing about something. "Because her lips are sweet." Jeremy had always been a non-indulgent person, so one could imagine how stunned Zeke was to hear that. He stared at Jeremy in disbelief and uttered, "I never realized you had such unique preferences!" A splash was heard, and it turned out that a glass of wine had been splashed on Corinne. Zeke looked over and cocked an eyebrow. "Your little fiancee is being bullied, it seems. Aren't you going to help her?" Jeremy narrowed his eyes. "That won't be necessary." Zeke was still trying to figure out what Jeremy meant when he saw Corinne grab the first woman's hair with her left hand while her right hand reached for a second woman's hair. Then, Corinne smashed the two heads together. The two women collapsed unconscious to the ground while the third was stupefied. "You… Y—Y—You… You!" Corinne remained expressionless as she kept quiet and gently waved her hand, gesturing for the woman to move aside. The woman complied immediately and did not dare to stand in Corinne's way anymore. Zeke's lips twitched. "I think I know why you chose that bratty girl now." There was a certain pensiveness in Jeremy's expression as he sipped his wine in silence. She had earlier approached him with such lightning speed, not to mention use only one hand to make a tall man like him bend down for a kiss. Her strength was nothing short of amazing, and she had guts and brains to go with it too! "Tommy, bring her to the room and let her have a change of clothes." "Yes, sir!" Rather than following Tommy to get her clothes changed, Corinne walked over and glared unhappily at Jeremy. "You're being unreasonable, mister! All I did was give you a peck, and now you want me to pledge myself to you. Don't you think your request is a bit too disproportionate to my actions? Can't I take responsibility for what happened in some other way? Like financial compensation, for example?" Jeremy narrowed his charming eyes, and a cryptic smile unfolded across his face. He looked at Corinne and said, "Hmm… How much do you think a kiss from me is worth?" Corinne first observed his face and then at his thin and handsome lips, as if she was genuinely appraising his value. "I can't say for sure. It'd be better for you to name your price! You're not young, and it's probably not your first kiss, so the price better not exceed thirty bucks! It's not like I can fork out more anyway!" "Ridiculous!" Tommy felt that she was digging her own grave by saying that a kiss from his boss was only worth 30 dollars. It was supposed to be her good fortune to be engaged to Jeremy, yet she seemed to thumb her nose at him! Jeremy raised his hand, signaling for Tommy to back away. He then reached out and hooked Corinne's pointed chin with his slender fingers. He did not exert much strength, but an air of danger abounded. "Bold of you to disrespect me in public. Might as well go all the way and bear the consequences, eh?" he said. Corinne frowned, thinking that the man must have had a screw loose. After all, she couldn’t wrap her mind around why he chose to have her play the role when she looked terrible today. The corners of Corinne's lips twitched. She then said in a mischievous tone, "Fine! Can I go to the bathroom now?" Jeremy did not make any comment but merely gave Tommy a look and signaled to them that they were allowed to take her to the bathroom. A few minutes later, Tommy came back with a solemn expression as he approached Jeremy. "Sir, Miss Corinne jumped out of the bathroom window and ran away. I've already sent someone to chase after her." Jeremy, dressed in a suave suit, leaned lazily on the sofa as if he had anticipated she would do so. His handsome yet cold face showed little emotional fluctuation, and he merely swirled the glass of red wine in his hand. "Don't bother. Just find out where she lives and send someone to deliver the betrothal gifts." "Yes, sir!" Zeke had seen enough of the drama and could not help dissuading his good friend. "Are you sure you want to marry a woman who has nothing to offer you? To tell you the truth, I—" Jeremy said meaningfully, "Only someone like her will be up to the task." - It was already in the middle of night when Corinne returned home. As soon as she entered the house, her father Marvin swung his palm toward her. "The nerve of you! How dare you come back home!" Corinne stepped back nimbly and avoided the slap with ease. Marvin was brewing with anger as his palm stiffened mid-air. "Your mother chose a good man for you, but you dressed up like a clown for the blind date? You even kissed some random man in public. Our family's reputation has now completely ruined! The person in charge of introducing you to the man scolded your mother because of your actions! I want you to kneel, admit your mistake, and apologize to your mother!” Corinne put her hands into her coat pockets and stared coldly at her father. "She's not my mother." 'She's just a stepmother who's trying every possible way to marry me off as soon as possible so that I'll lose the right to inherit the family assets!' Lilliana feigned kindness and said, "I'm fine, Marvin. Don't take your anger out on Corinne. Her ignorance and naivete are all signs of my failure as a stepmother..." Marvin was even more distressed when he saw his wife interceding for his ignorant daughter at such a time. He turned around and scolded his daughter, "Ungrateful! Utterly ungrateful! Lilliana treats you well all the time, but you won't even call her mom!" Lilliana wiped away her bitter tears and persuaded her husband as if she had been wronged. "Forget it, Marvin! I don't mind if she calls me Aunt Lilliana!" Corinne was not surprised at all to see Lilliana's performance, for the latter was an expert at playing the victim and showing people only what they wanted to see. It was such a shame that Marvin was smitten by her beauty and could not see Lilliana’s true colors. Corinne passed a stack of documents to Marvin and said, "These are the actual information of all the blind dates that Aunt Lilliana set up for me. Why don't you have a look? If you find anyone you like, I'll be happy to marry them." Marvin was taken aback for a moment. He picked up the file, looked through it, and his expression gradually soured