Chapter 53: Staying Overnight

After much thought, the girl finally gave her answer with a conflicted expression.

“It’s… it’s okay…”

“It’s okay?” Qin Haiyue saw through her little scheme and let out a cold laugh.

“What, do you mean to tell me you prefer that impoverished Lin family over this place? As far as I know, based on their income level, it’s difficult for them to even satisfy their own biological daughter’s material desires, let alone yours as an ‘adopted son’ with no blood relation, right?”

“…”

“I might as well tell you—your adoptive parents actually work for a company under my father’s control. If I wanted to, they would be packing their bags and leaving tomorrow. Do you think they’ll keep raising you once they’ve lost their source of income?”

“…What…?”

“What? You don’t believe me? I can show you, you know.”

Pulling a phone out of her pocket and scrolling through it for a moment, she showed the girl what she had found.

“This is a corporate personnel management app. It can look up employee attendance records, perfect attendance dates, overtime status, basic information, and so on. See for yourself—is this right?”

Displayed clearly on the screen was the basic information for two people. Photos were at the top, followed by names, genders, and everything else in full detail.

[Xu Ming, Lin Cheng]

The girl’s pupils shrank. She had no way to verify the truth of what the other person said, but the moment she saw those two names on the phone, she already believed most of it.

So, was this a threat?

By using the threat of her adoptive parents being laid off as a means to intimidate her, she was being forced to guess whether the Lin family would throw her out because of it.

Similar methods, different attitudes—the girl’s heart felt half-frozen. Unlike when she dealt with Lin Ziyan, here with Qin Haiyue, she had zero room for negotiation.

The girl lowered her head.

“What do you want…”

This threat, sparked by the supposed reason of whether she liked the villa or not, ultimately ended in the girl’s compromise. Qin Haiyue stared at her, the smile on her face growing deeper. She pulled back her phone and beckoned with her finger.

“Come here.”

The girl hesitated for a moment but eventually leaned in.

Once she reached Qin Haiyue, the other girl suddenly reached out and cupped her soft cheeks. Her hands were quite warm, and combined with the heating inside the villa, the touch on the girl’s face felt somewhat itchy.

Because of the sudden change, she was a bit scared and instinctively closed her eyes tight. However, Qin Haiyue didn’t hit her, nor did she choke her like she had yesterday. She simply stroked the girl’s cheeks, observing her carefully.

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

Wha—what… what kind of talk was this…?

The girl couldn’t keep up with Qin Haiyue’s train of thought. How was she threatening her just a second ago, and now she was suddenly complimenting her?

As for an answer? The girl had indeed rarely been complimented, especially before she became a girl. Back then, it was almost non-existent. However, things had been different lately. She remembered the class monitor seemed to have called her cute yesterday, but she had only assumed the monitor was trying to comfort her. Oh, and her sister’s attitude today was also a bit strange.

After thinking it over, the girl answered hesitantly, “I… I guess so…?”

“Hmm? Who was it? Was it that Liu Yinuo?”

The moment those words came out, the girl was stunned.

“Heh, looking at you, it must have been her. How is it? It’s fun being with her, isn’t it? It’s quite easy to have her help you deal with me, too? Tsk tsk, I really don’t know what she sees in you. Could it be this little face?”

“Tell me, if I disfigured you, would she still like you as much?”

Effortlessly uttering such hair-raising words, the girl immediately began to tremble, her eyes filled with terror.

“No… please don’t…”

“Hee hee, just kidding.”

Wearing a malicious smile, Qin Haiyue spoke casually. However, the girl didn’t think it was a joke at all. She truly believed Qin Haiyue was capable of doing such a thing.

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

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

“Wha… what?”

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

“Hmm? What? You’re unwilling?”

Of course she was unwilling! But there was no way the girl could say that to Qin Haiyue’s face. While she was still thinking about how to respond, Qin Haiyue suddenly smiled, interrupting her thoughts.

“Naturally, I can give you time to consider. To be honest, I thought about a lot of things last night. What happened these past few days was my fault; I was too mean to you. So, it’s probably impossible to expect you to agree to such a sudden request. But it’s fine. I won’t beg you to come find me every day. Coming over once every few days is enough.” Qin Haiyue took the girl’s hand, looking sincere.

“What do you think?”

The girl instinctively took a step back, wanting to pull her hand away. Looking at Qin Haiyue’s expression, she knew without even thinking that this gentle act was definitely a facade. The moment she refused, the other girl would immediately change her tune.

So, did she have no choice but to agree? This seemed to be the best possible outcome. At least she wouldn’t get beaten, though she didn’t know how long this “gentle” act would last…

After a long deliberation, the girl gave a small nod. As expected, Qin Haiyue broke into a delighted smile the moment she saw the nod.

“Very good. Then go take a bath first. The water is already hot. I’ll prepare some a change of clothes for you.”

“Huh? But… I still have to go home…” Although it had been dark outside for a long time, the girl was still worried about going home. Even though she didn’t like that house, Lin Ziyan’s threat from this morning was still fresh in her mind, and she was still waiting for her answer. If she stood her up, things would surely end badly.

“No, you’re staying the night here today. You aren’t allowed to go anywhere.”

“But… but…” The girl was still riddled with conflict.

“Go wash up—!”

Qin Haiyue’s face went cold, and the girl immediately didn’t dare to speak anymore. Dazed for a second, she shrank back and walked toward the bathroom inside the room.

“Put your discarded clothes in the hamper outside! Don’t just throw them around!”

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

The bathroom in the villa was designed with separate dry and wet areas. This time, the girl finally remembered to close the bathroom door, isolating herself from the outside.

Qin Haiyue opened the bathroom door as if nothing were wrong. Since there was a separate door for the shower area, the girl inside couldn’t see her movements. She picked up the hamper from the floor and threw it, along with the girl’s discarded clothes inside, directly into the trash can outside the door.

After finishing this, she smiled with satisfaction. In truth, she really had thought about many things yesterday. For instance, some things shouldn’t be rushed, or she might actually break the little brat, and that wouldn’t be good. What she wanted was a slow, steady stream—to have a long-term emotional target she could bully.

Therefore, that unknown basement wasn’t needed for the time being. But the time would come when it would be used.

Well, at least she had to wait. Wait until she let the little brat lower her guard, wait until the world stopped paying attention to her, until, in the eyes of everyone else, she belonged only to her.

Even though she usually had no patience, this time, she was willing to wait a little.