"What do you mean? Be clear…"
I stared at Scarlett and couldn't help but feel funny inside. I was sure she was trying to say something else and I was misinterpreting something else, but that was also the reason I wanted her to be clear.
"Well, what she means is…"
Daniel started explaining in Scarlett's stead, just so the misunderstanding doesn't go out of hand.
Apparently, Scarlett was going to get engaged to a guy she doesn't even like due to some political deal between her family and another family. It was the typical rich girl not wanting to marry the young master from another family.
"Stuff like that still exists? I thought it was the twenty-second century…."
"No matter what century it is, people would sacrifice other people for their own benefits."
Daniel rebuked as if it was a matter of fact.
"Then where did I even come from?"
I couldn't help but ask. Why did she want to live with me? To fool her parents or something? Wouldn't there be millions of better candidates for that?
"Well, she wants you to pretend to be her boyfriend and that you guys are madly in love with each other. And that you would die if you get separated from one another… something along the lines. Obviously, Harry, the one who Scarlett is supposed to marry, would not like marrying a girl who already loves someone else."
Daniel explained, unsure about his own plans.
"Did you guys even think this through? And why the heck would you bother a customer of Kibea corporation with something like this? That's just… absurd."
Scarlett smiled weakly hearing that, and her always confident aura seemed to have diminished a bit.
"Well… it was my idea…"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Did you think it through?"
"No… but we can think it through now?"
I shook my head at that.
"Once again, why me?"
I asked the same question again. Because Scarlett was by no means an unattractive girl. On the contrary, she looked quite sexy in her businesswomen-like attire, and her face and body could rival top supermodels.
"Because you are the legendary class? I am sure my parents will be happy to get me married to the legendary class instead of that dumb blonde playboy."
"Why do you think I would tell anyone that I am the legendary class? And even if I did, why would I pretend to love you? Is there anything in it for me?"
I stared at the sibling duo with a deadpan face. They should have known better when coming here.
"We know what kind of person you are. I am obviously not here to ask for free help, you'll get paid for your services. Not to mention, we just have to pretend in front of people, you can live in luxury when there is no one. And you'll have to reveal yourself sooner or later, and missing out on the $5 million from the invitation would be a foolish move."
"How much will you pay?"
I directly came to the point, since there was no need to pretend.
"$5 million for 3 months. You will have free access to my villa, the best VR capsule & gaming setup, and you can drive the desert scorpion too."
"Okay, deal! What do I have to do?"
Are you kidding me? I would get to drive a desert scorpion! Everything else is a matter of the past!
Honestly, this was currently a very lucrative offer for me, not to mention that I would make $5 million just like that.
'Rich people sure have their own ways to spend money.'
But I wasn't the one to complain. Apart from this, considering that I was getting $5 million just for joining the competition, I was sure the stakes of the competition would be too big to ignore. That's why I had almost already made up my mind to join the competition too, even though the thought of revealing my identity to the world was still… scary.
But there was no need to tell them about my decision so early. Decisions made in a rush would come back biting at you. So I am going to pretend that I will not join the competition for the next fifteen or so days.
Hearing that I agreed to her proposal, a beautiful smile bloomed on Scarlett's face, and Daniel looked a bit uneasy, his gaze darting from my face to Scarlett's back and forth.
"As I said earlier. You have to pretend to be my boyfriend and I will tell my parents that I love you and I can't marry anyone else. In no circumstances can you act out of character in front of them. It's best if you don't involve yourself with that son of a **** Harry. Even though he thinks from his pants most of the time, he is still cunning."
"Wait, wait, wait. Just to be clear, I am not going to fight for you with anyone. I'll just pretend and if I feel that I or my family is put in danger, I'll consider the agreement nullified."
I immediately put forth my own point. I didn't want to create any unnecessary drama that might risk my or my family's safety.
"Yes, I am well aware of that. You won't even meet Harry unless some unpredictable circumstances show up. And even then, Harry is someone who likes to maintain his image in public, so you don't have to worry about unnecessary interactions."
After that, Scarlett told me about her family's and Harry's family's circumstances. Although Scarlett and Daniel had respectable jobs, their backgrounds were even more terrifying.
They were the children of the Chairman of Life Group, one of the leading business conglomerates in America. They were doing jobs outside of their own company because they wanted to get real-life experiences without any preferential treatment.
Harry was the son of the Chairman of Pyro Industries. They were also a leading business in America, but instead of focusing on many industries, they just worked on tech and steel.
Nevertheless, they could easily hold themselves toe to toe with Life Group, and since Life was looking for ways to enter the steel market, there was no better giant than Pyro Industries to take expertise from.
But of course, there was no free food in the world and that's why, the Chairman of Pyro Industries wanted to turn this into an opportunity and get into a marriage of convenience, a business marriage just for the purpose of forming the deal and acquiring shares in Life Group.
In return, Life Group would be able to get some shares of Pyro Industries, and also their expertise in the steel business.
It was a win-win for both the parties involved, and that's why it was even harder for Scarlett to reject this marriage straight out. Even her mother couldn't do much regarding this, as she herself was a business-minded woman.
The only one that supported her in not marrying that asshole was her brother. And that's why both of them were planning to get a fake boyfriend for her, and not just anyone but someone with value, someone whose stance could affect just about anyone.
Who else was better than the current world sensation Shura, aka me?
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"I suddenly feel like an important person. Bow to me, mortals."
I said jokingly and both the siblings looked at me with an unamused expression.
—-Ahem!
"Anyways, all I have to do is pretend to be her boyfriend and stay at home. Is that the gist?"
"Not always staying at home, you'll have to attend social gatherings with me, but for the most part, yes, that's it. And one more thing, no funny business. Don't even think about taking advantage of me, or I'll rip you off."
There wasn't much to contemplate after I had made my decision. It wouldn't be that bad to live the life of a rich person for a few months, right?
"About the invitation… Are you considering joining the competition now?"
Scarlett asked. After all, no matter what personal work she had, her utmost priority was to coax me into joining the competition.
That was also the reason I got a strong urge to make her go through more annoyance.
"Nope. I am not joining yet. I'll tell you if I change my mind by some miracle."
"Ughh!"
And just like that, my unexpected deal with the McJohn siblings came to a fruitful end. I was supposed to shift to her place anytime I was ready, but before that.
'I have got a date coming up.'
My private meeting with Princess Ena returned.
...
//DreamNote//
I will increase release rate to 2ch/d after some time, but for now it will continue at 1ch/d, and bonus chapter.
Don't forget to vote this with your power stones and golden tickets :)