A Threat Disguised as an Offer

After much deliberation, the girl finally answered with a face full of conflict.

“It’s… not bad…”

“Not bad?” Qin Haiyue saw through her little thoughts and sneered.

“What, do you prefer that poor Lin family over this place? From what I know, with their income, they can barely satisfy even their own daughter’s material desires, let alone you, a so-called ‘foster child’ with no blood relation?”

“…”

“Let me tell you, your foster parents actually work in companies under my father. If I wanted, they’d be packing their things tomorrow. Do you think they’ll keep supporting you without a source of income?”

“…What…?”

“What? Don’t believe me? I can show you, you know?”

She pulled her phone from her pocket, searched for a moment, and showed the girl what she had found.

“This is a company employee management program. It can check attendance records, full attendance days, overtime status, and basic information. See if it’s right?”

There on the screen were two people’s basic info. Photos on top, names, genders, everything.

[Xu Ming, Lin Cheng]

The girl’s pupils contracted. She couldn’t verify the truth of the other’s words, but seeing those two names on the phone, she already believed most of it.

So this was a threat?

Threatening her with her foster parents being fired, making her guess whether she would be kicked out of the Lin family because of it.

Similar methods, different attitude. The girl’s heart sank halfway. Unlike dealing with Lin Ziyan, with Qin Haiyue, she had no room for negotiation.

The girl lowered her head.

“What do you want…”

This threat, sparked by a pretext of ‘liking this villa or not,’ ended with the girl’s compromise. Qin Haiyue stared at her, her smile growing deeper. She put away her phone and crooked her finger at the girl.

“Come here.”

The girl hesitated for a moment before moving closer.

As she reached Qin Haiyue, the other suddenly reached out and cupped her soft cheeks. Her hand felt very warm, and with the heating on in the villa, the touch against the girl’s small face brought a slightly ticklish sensation.

Startled by the sudden move, she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut. But Qin Haiyue didn’t hit her, nor did she grip her throat like yesterday. She stroked the girl’s cheek, examining her carefully.

“Has anyone told you that you’re actually quite pretty?”

Wh-what… what kind of talk is that…?

The girl couldn’t keep up with Qin Haiyue’s train of thought. A moment ago she was threatening her, and now she suddenly complimented her?

Was she supposed to answer? The girl was rarely praised, especially before becoming a girl—even less so then, almost never. It had only changed recently. She remembered the class monitor seemed to call her cute yesterday, but she thought the monitor was just comforting her. Oh, and today her sister’s attitude was also a bit off.

Thinking it over, the girl hesitantly replied, “S-someone has…?”

“Oh? Who? Was it Liu Yinuo?”

As soon as those words came out, the girl was momentarily stunned.

“Heh, judging by your reaction, it must be her. How is it? Having fun with her? Easy for her to help you deal with me? Tsk, I wonder what she sees in you. Could it be this little face?”

“What do you think? If I ruined your face, would she still like you so much?”

She said the chilling words as if it were nothing. The girl trembled all over, her eyes filled with terror.

“No… don’t…”

“Hehe, just kidding.”

Qin Haiyue smiled maliciously, speaking casually. But the girl didn’t think it was a joke. She genuinely believed Qin Haiyue would do such a thing.

Seeming satisfied with toying with her, Qin Haiyue let go of the girl’s face and stood up.

“Look, this house is so big. It’s a waste for me to live here alone. So I was thinking, how about you come live with me from now on?”

“Wh… what?”

The girl looked at Qin Haiyue in disbelief, unable to believe the other could actually say such a thing.

“Hm? What? Don’t want to?”

Of course she didn’t! But she certainly couldn’t say that to Qin Haiyue’s face. As she was still thinking how to respond, Qin Haiyue suddenly smiled, interrupting her thoughts.

“Of course, I can give you time to think. Actually, I thought a lot last night too. These past few days were my fault. I was too harsh on you. So it’s probably impossible for me to just rush you into agreeing. But that’s okay. I’m not asking you to come every day. Just once every few days is fine.” Qin Haiyue took the girl’s hand, her expression sincere.

“What do you think?”

The girl involuntarily took a step back, trying to pull her hand away. Looking at Qin Haiyue’s expression, she knew without thinking that this gentle act was just a facade. If she didn’t agree, Qin Haiyue would immediately change her face.

So she had to agree? That seemed like the best outcome. At least she wouldn’t get beaten. She just didn’t know how long this gentle act would last…

After a long deliberation, the girl nodded lightly. As expected, Qin Haiyue showed a delighted smile upon seeing her nod.

“Good. Now go take a bath. The water’s already hot. I’ll prepare some clean clothes for you.”

“Ah? But… I still need to go home…” Though it had been dark outside for a while, the girl still thought about going home. Even though she didn’t like that house, Lin Ziyan’s threat that morning was still fresh in her mind. She was waiting for her answer. If she stood her up, she would definitely be doomed, right?

“No. You’re staying here tonight. You’re not going anywhere.”

“But… but…” The girl was still full of conflict.

“Go take a bath—!”

Qin Haiyue’s face turned cold, and the girl immediately dared not speak. After a dazed moment, she timidly walked toward the bathroom inside the room.

“Put the clothes you take off in the laundry basket outside. Don’t throw them around!”

Another voice came from behind. The girl found it strange that Qin Haiyue specifically emphasized that, but after entering the bathroom, she still did as told.

The villa’s bathroom was still wet-dry separated. This time, the girl remembered to close the bathroom door, cutting herself off from the outside.

Qin Haiyue casually opened the bathroom door. With the bathroom door as a barrier, the girl inside couldn’t see her actions. She directly picked up the laundry basket on the floor and, along with the clothes the girl had taken off, threw it all into the trash can outside the door.

After doing this, she smiled with satisfaction. In truth, she really had thought about a lot of things yesterday. For example, some things couldn’t be rushed, or she might actually break the little brat. She wanted a long-term emotional punching bag she could torment.

So that hidden basement wasn’t needed for now, but it would come in handy someday.

Well, she just had to wait. Wait until she made the little brat let down her guard, until the world stopped paying attention to her, until in others’ eyes she belonged only to her.

Though she was usually impatient, this time she was willing to wait.