"You disagree?" Qin Chong laughed sarcastically. "Do you think I'm discussing this with you? This is my brother's order. I'm just relaying it. You have no room to disobey."
Tong Zhao met Qin Chong's teasing gaze head-on, her expression calm and her tone without the slightest hint of panic: "If it were my elder brother's order, he wouldn't have chosen to have you relay the message."
Qin Chong paused, his expression shifting slightly, before a smile crept onto his lips: "Are you just trying to comfort yourself? If you don't believe me, why don't you ask your older brother yourself—"
Tong Zhao interrupted him, saying firmly, "I don't need to ask. This could only have been your own idea."
Qin Chong frowned, looking at Tong Zhao with a slightly unfriendly gaze.
Tong Zhao met his gaze calmly and asked before he could speak again, "Geng Keli only agreed to the marriage because you promised to help him win me over, right?"
Although it is a question, it is almost indistinguishable from a statement.
Coupled with Tong Zhao's all-seeing gaze, Qin Chong's smile vanished this time, his expression turned icy, and he said coldly, "You take yourself too seriously."
“It’s at least one of the reasons, otherwise why would you insist that I see him?” Tong Zhao continued, “As long as it doesn’t affect the Qin family, my elder brother will at most turn a blind eye. So you’re misleading me with ambiguous words, and then exaggerating your own needs as if they were Qin family’s requirements, betting that I wouldn’t dare to ask my elder brother for confirmation, is that it?”
He picked up his phone, switched to Qin Siyuan's contact interface, hovered his thumb over the dial button, and held it up in front of Qin Chong: "Do you really dare to let me contact my older brother?"
Qin Chong could no longer maintain his composure. He shifted his gaze from the phone screen to Tong Zhao's face, staring intently at him. After a long while, he laughed in anger, letting out a "ha" sound.
"So what if it is?" Qin Chong took a step closer, bent down to meet Tong Zhao's eyes, and finally revealed his true intentions, shedding the pretense of brotherly affection: "I don't need you to do anything else. It's just sleeping with Geng Keli once. You're more than experienced in this kind of thing. It's just a matter of one more or one less. You can accept Shan Song, so there's no reason why you can't accept Geng Keli, right?"
"Besides... you will receive a generous reward. In addition to what my elder brother gives you, I will also give you an extra sum. Of course, you can also say so if you want to negotiate the price."
"You want me to sleep with your fiancé?" Tong Zhao's tone was full of disbelief.
Qin Chong's expression was matter-of-fact: "Yes, you don't need to worry about any other problems. Maybe a few times, maybe a year or six months, he'll get tired of it. At that time, the Qin family will send you away. If you accidentally have a child, you can do whatever you want with it. However, the child will have to be raised by me. I can guarantee that he will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of his life."
Tong Zhao's expression was complicated, once again refreshing his understanding of the Qin family. He seemed to have a hard time understanding Qin Chong's thought process. This person was like a young mistress in a feudal mansion helping her husband take concubines, immersed in her own logic and justifying it.
Following his train of thought, Tong Zhao asked, "Aren't you afraid that Geng Keli will break off the engagement or divorce you for my sake?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Chong seemed to have heard something interesting. He looked Tong Zhao up and down a few times, as if he was mocking him or perhaps pitying him.
Although he didn't say anything, Tong Zhao knew that this meant he wasn't taken seriously, and he couldn't help but want to facepalm and smile bitterly. Why did he have to cooperate with him and ask such a question?
After thinking for a moment, Tong Zhao changed the subject and continued to probe: "Even if you are confident that your marriage with Geng Keli is unbreakable, have you ever thought about what will happen if Shan Song finds out about this?"
This question didn't seem worth Qin Chong's deep thought. He almost immediately followed up on Tong Zhao's question, saying, "So what if he knows? Can he fight against Geng Keli? Do you think Shan Song would dare to openly challenge Geng Keli like he did at the banquet? He was just acting impulsively and felt his dignity was being challenged. He should thank the Geng family for not holding it against him because of the Zhou family."
"Look at his current situation... Oh, you probably don't know." Qin Chong slapped his forehead as if suddenly realizing something, his eyes revealing blatant malice: "Zhou Muyuan will never reuse him again, not before, and even less in the future. Do you know why?"
Tong Zhao looked at him coldly without saying a word.
Qin Chong chuckled softly twice and said to himself, "Because he almost killed Zhou Muyuan."
Tong Zhao's pupils dilated in shock.
Seeing this, Qin Chong finally showed a satisfied expression: "Shan Song almost strangled his father to death the night the wedding banquet ended. What do you think Zhou Muyuan's attitude will be after facing such a son? What kind of ending will Shan Song face after he loses his usefulness?"
Qin Chong reached out and pinched Tong Zhao's chin, shaking it from side to side. His eyes swept over the back of her neck. "You're quite capable, sneaking out right after being marked. What will happen if he catches you and takes you back this time?"
He asked with apparent curiosity, but Tong Zhao knew he didn't really want an answer, so she simply kept her mouth shut and pretended to be persuaded and anxious.
Qin Chong smiled, placed his hand on his shoulder, leaned down and whispered in his ear, "You must have suffered a lot living with him. What do you think your final fate will be?"
"Even if you give birth to his child, so what? Who can tell the difference between medical malpractice, traffic accidents, natural disasters, and man-made calamities? You probably don't have those unrealistic dreams of moving someone over time, do you? I see you're quite enjoying yourself now, aren't you? After it's all over, you'll be even more comfortable than you are now. Some things are only reliable if you hold them in your own hands, aren't they?"
"Please consider my suggestion carefully, and reply only after you've thought it through."
Qin Chong straightened up and walked towards the door.
One step, two steps... The door lock clicked, and at the same time, Tong Zhao's voice came out: "Wait a moment."
As expected, Qin Chong stopped in his tracks and looked confidently at the dejected Tong Zhao on the bed.
Tong Zhao raised her eyes: "No need to consider it, I won't agree."
Qin Chong's expression changed drastically: "What did you say?! Are you crazy?"
"Does agreeing to your request guarantee a good outcome when I go back? Qin Siyuan will punish me for disobeying orders, Shan Song will retaliate against me for insulting him, and you—"
Tong Zhao regained her composure and questioned, "How do you know when Geng Keli will get tired of me? And when I will regain my freedom? You say Shan Song doesn't dare to confront Geng Keli, but do you dare? If he really holds me captive just to torment me, can you save me?"
Qin Chong's lips moved, as if he couldn't find a suitable rebuttal for the time being.
Tong Zhao chuckled self-deprecatingly, his tone slightly harsher, and he waved his hand, appearing somewhat agitated: "You can't, and the Qin family certainly wouldn't be willing to offend the Geng family for the sake of an illegitimate child like me. It's all just empty talk. To put it bluntly, you just want to use me to achieve your goals. Whether I live or die is none of your business!"
"I believed you, and that's when I really didn't have many days left to live." Tong Zhao leaned back against the headboard, closed his eyes, suppressed his surging emotions, and spoke clearly and logically, word by word.
"At least Shan Song is currently under Zhou Muyuan's control and won't really do anything to me. As long as I act obediently according to the Qin family's requirements and keep my mouth shut, Qin Siyuan won't make things difficult for me, since I'm nominally half a member of the Qin family now. Even if something unexpected happens and Shan Song is finished early, for the sake of your wealthy families' reputation, Qin Siyuan can give me enough hush money. At the very least, Zhou Muyuan won't let me, his daughter-in-law, live too badly."
Tong Zhao smiled and deliberately asked Qin Chong's dark face, "Why do you think I would take such a big risk and waver after being swayed by your few words? Are you more trustworthy than my elder brother?"
Qin Chong's face was ashen, and his eyes were so cold they seemed to drip ice.
Tong Zhao slowly got out of bed, ignoring his gaze, walked to the door, and turned the doorknob: "So you should keep your suggestion to yourself. This kind of thing could easily bring shame to all three families if not handled carefully, and my elder brother might not be able to tolerate it."
After saying that, he opened the door: "I will relay what you said to me today to my elder brother. Take care and don't come back."
Qin Chong glared at him for a long time before finally saying, "You don't know what's good for you!"
He turned and left with a flick of his sleeve.
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