Capital Yunling, East Slope Manor.
In the second-floor lounge, the old-fashioned clock ticked away, sounding deafeningly loud in the excessively quiet atmosphere.
Tong Zhao had been sitting quietly for nearly half an hour, but the tightly closed door still showed no sign of being opened.
The person hasn't arrived yet.
Tong Zhao withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath.
Today is his engagement day.
Just a door away, the banquet hall was brightly lit, the clinking of glasses echoing the surrounding symphony, the frivolous wine swirling with every movement, and the exchange of toasts filled with servile obsequiousness and affected mannerisms, extravagant and indulgent.
The engagement banquet of the Zhou and Qin families was grand enough that most of the prominent families in Yunling were invited. The congratulations were not the real purpose; the banquet was just a formality.
I also wanted to see what was going on. The circle of the wealthy is only so big. Several days ago, news spread that the Qin family had recognized an omega illegitimate child and was going to arrange a marriage between their young master and the Zhou family.
Tong Zhao is this illegitimate child.
Three months ago, Tong Zhao was taken back to the Qin family by his half-brother Qin Chong from the wrap party, where he met Qin Daosheng, the father figure who had been absent from his life for more than twenty years.
Before the father and son could enjoy a few days of filial piety, Qin Daosheng couldn't wait to reveal his true colors and arranged this marriage for him.
"Xiao Zhao, you are more fortunate than your mother. The Zhou family is a good place to go."
Qin Daosheng patted Tong Zhao's shoulder with feigned affection: "From now on, you will change your surname to Qin. Now that you have acknowledged your ancestors, as an omega, you should stop showing your face in public and give the Zhou family an heir as soon as possible. Consider this manor your dowry from your father. If you behave well, the Qin family will not mistreat you in the future."
Qin Daosheng spoke arrogantly, and the way he glanced at him was not like he was looking at an equal, but more like he was valuing a piece of goods that was about to be sold.
Tong Zhao, as the commodity being sold, had no choice but to understand that he had absolutely no room for resistance. Neither the Zhou family nor the Qin family were people that a minor celebrity like him could afford to offend.
Besides, he had already learned his lesson once...
Recalling certain fragments of his memory, Tong Zhao shuddered. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and when he looked up, he forced a smile: "...Okay, Father."
Qin Daosheng was a womanizer in his early years, and he had countless illegitimate children who were adopted into the Qin family. However, he only seriously trained a few of them, and they were all Alphas who were selected through multiple rounds of screening to help Qin Siyuan, the only legitimate heir.
This is the first time an omega has been recognized and brought back to the Qin family.
Based on his observations over the past few months, Tong Zhao guessed that this was probably a solution devised by the Qin family's only omega young master, who was unwilling to enter into a marriage alliance.
The Qin family doted on him and accepted him so readily. Tong Zhao smiled bitterly, realizing that no one had ever considered his opinion.
However, Tong Zhao has no other merits; his adaptability and mental fortitude are barely among them.
He started working in society in his teens, and that indomitable spirit has long been worn down by the ups and downs of his acting career over the past few years. He has learned to depend on others, to barely survive, and to live in the cracks... No one taught him these things; they are all survival rules that he summarized little by little after hitting walls everywhere.
Tong Zhao comforted himself, saying that when things reach the end of the road, there are always more solutions than problems. At least until now, whenever he felt he was on the verge of despair, someone would always lend him a hand.
As a child, she was helped by kind neighbors. Later, she was sponsored to study by a kind person she accidentally saved. Then, she was selected by a discerning director because of her face, which she inherited from her mother's excellent genes, and entered the entertainment industry.
Although he has also suffered some malicious framing and slander because of his face, he has always managed to escape danger.
After all these years, there's no reason for me to be defeated by this scumbag father. Thinking this, Tong Zhao cheered up and touched the paper strip folded into a small square in her pocket.
The note had become warm from his skin after being touched multiple times, giving Tong Zhao a strange premonition that this fiancé, whom he had never met, might bring him a new turning point...
Half an hour ago.
Entering such a high-end occasion for the first time, Tong Zhao seemed out of place among the crowd.
He followed Qin Daosheng around, offering toasts while enduring all sorts of unfriendly scrutinizing gazes, all the while secretly observing Qin Siyuan, the eldest brother of the Qin family, whom he was meeting for the first time in three months.
Qin Siyuan's appearance wasn't particularly outstanding, but his temperament was exceptional. Every gesture he made exuded rigor and discipline. The most striking feature was his pair of eyes, which shone with an inorganic luster and showed no emotion whatsoever. If Tong Zhao had to describe him, he felt that this person was somewhat like an AI.
Noticing Tong Zhao's gaze, Qin Siyuan glanced at him indifferently without saying a word.
Seeing this, Tong Zhao tactfully looked away.
Qin Chong was not present today, probably because the Qin family considered that it was inappropriate to change someone at the last minute, and having someone attend the engagement banquet would inevitably lead to gossip.
Thinking about this, Tong Zhao suddenly felt quite envious of Qin Chong. When it comes to arranged marriages, he could just refuse to marry if he wanted to. I guess not many people have that kind of capriciousness.
However, the reality was somewhat different from what Tong Zhao had imagined. While it was indeed Qin Chong's suggestion to allow him to return to the Qin family, the final decision was actually made by Qin Siyuan.
Qin Siyuan knew that her younger brother was unwilling to marry Shan Song. The reason was simple: the Zhou family's true heir was actually Zhou Xinlin, the youngest son born to their stepmother, while Shan Song, the eldest son born to the first wife, was merely the heir in name only; the real power was still in the hands of his father.
So when Qin Chong approached his elder brother and said he could get Geng Keli to propose a marriage alliance to the Qin family within three months, hoping he could help persuade their father, Qin Siyuan quickly judged what was more important.
Unlike Shan Song, Geng Keli, the youngest son of the Geng family, was extremely favored.
It can be said that his family supported him in almost everything, even when he insisted on entering the entertainment industry back then.
Geng Keli reached his peak right from the start, winning the title of triple Best Actor at a young age. Back then, it was no joke online that he would retire from the entertainment industry to go back and inherit the family business.
The reason the Qin family agreed to let Qin Chong enter the entertainment industry was largely because of him.
If Qin Chong can win over Geng Keli, then the Qin family can simultaneously form marriage alliances with both the Zhou and Geng families, which will bring great benefits to the Qin family.
After careful consideration, Qin Siyuan executed the plan with astonishing efficiency. Within three days, Tong Zhao's personal information and paternity test results were neatly arranged on the table in Qin Daosheng's study.
Qin Daosheng always took his eldest son's decisions seriously, and the matter was settled in just a few words.
Ironically, Qin Daosheng couldn't even remember Tong Zhao's mother's name. It was only when he saw the photo printed on a thin stack of A4 paper that he seemed to suddenly realize something and gave a fake sigh.
Tong Zhao was an orphan with no ties. Qin Siyuan eventually found the old site of Tong Zhao's maternal grandmother's house. Hearing that the site was about to be renovated, he decided to use it to threaten Tong Zhao into submission.
They hadn't expected Tong Zhao to agree so readily, rendering all their scheming futile.
Qin Daosheng sneered inwardly. As expected of someone raised by the common people, he wanted to rush into the world of fame and fortune whenever he had the chance. He had no backbone.
Tong Zhao was unaware of the disdain from his adoptive father and elder brother behind him; he was talking to a man who had approached him and struck up a conversation.
The man was dressed in a suit and tie, and his manners were polite, unlike the others on the scene who outwardly flattered him but secretly laughed at him.
But halfway through the conversation, the man suddenly leaned closer under the guise of putting down his wine glass and quietly slipped him a note with his left hand.
This is, after all, an engagement banquet between the Zhou and Qin families. Has this person gone mad?
Tong Zhao frowned, stepped back to create some distance, and looked up to see that the man had a calm expression.
"Sorry." The man apologized, tilted his head back and finished the remaining half glass of wine, while gesturing again with his eyes to the note he was holding in Tong Zhao's hand.
Tong Zhao lowered her eyes, her expression unchanged. She turned around, gave Qin Daosheng some instructions, and went to the bathroom to open the note.
"Wait for me in the second-to-last room on the third-floor corridor. —Shan Song"
The characters are strong and bold, with strokes that penetrate the paper; even just looking at the words exudes a fierce energy.
“Dansong…” Tong Zhao murmured.
Speaking of which, it seems his arranged marriage partner hasn't shown up yet tonight?
He thought he would have to go through today's procedures all by himself.
That's true. After all, it's a matter between two families. Even if we don't give him face, we can't disrespect the Qin family.
But... passing notes? That's such an old-fashioned method, and this clandestine approach, like a secret rendezvous between spies, is just too...
Tong Zhao felt conflicted, but then strangely relaxed. He folded the note, put it in his pocket, and headed up to the third floor.
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