Chapter 12: The Reward Will Be Given After You Have Results

Chapter 12: Chapter 12: The Reward Will Be Given After You Have Results

The moment he was kicked out of the Shu Family estate, Qin Shiwei received a holographic message from Qin Songlin.

"Heh heh heh~" Qin Songlin’s smug laughter rang out.

Qin Shiwei frowned in disgust. "Don’t laugh like that."

It reminded him of the little kitten who had seen him out the Shu Family’s gates with the exact same laugh.

Qin Songlin continued to gloat, "So you got kicked out!"

Gazing at the Shu Family’s residence, Qin Shiwei said softly, "It wasn’t a total loss."

Qin Songlin just assumed he was being stubborn to save face.

He played the Monday-morning quarterback. "I told you, didn’t I? Shu Guohua doesn’t respond to threats or favors, and he’s fiercely protective. He’s a hard man to deal with. Even if you’d shown up as your true self, he wouldn’t have given you the time of day.

The Fourth District, which he governs, is the one I’m most satisfied with at the moment."

Qin Shiwei was unconvinced.

’Shu Guohua is undoubtedly a formidable man, but I have a feeling that if the Shu Family’s youngest decided to get ruthless, he’d be even more terrifying than the old man!’

’I’ll have to find some time to look over Shu Chao Yu’s file.’

The electronic gate of the Shu Family residence opened.

Then, the disguised and cosmetically altered Commander watched as several housekeeping robots emerged, carrying a leather loveseat.

Right in front of him, the robots tossed the sofa into a dumpster across the street.

That’s right—it was the very same sofa he had sat on during his visit to the Shu Family.

The next robots to come out threw away the tea set he had used.

Their mission accomplished, the robots retreated.

Qin Shiwei: "..."

’Do they have to be so petty!’

He, the magnificent First Commander, couldn’t recall ever being so humiliated. This was a first.

A clear, crisp voice rang out. "You’re still here?"

Seeing Shu Yao emerge from the electronic gate, the grim, predatory look in Qin Shiwei’s eyes softened slightly.

"This isn’t what we agreed upon yesterday." He narrowed his eyes, watching her with dissatisfaction as she stopped at the gate. "In the Federation, marriage fraud carries a heavy price!"

Hearing his deliberate words, Shu Yao put on a theatrical look of fear.

But when she saw a terrifying cold glint emerge from the man’s dark green eyes, she immediately switched to an innocent expression.

"How was I supposed to know you two would be like fire and water the moment you met! And come on, you saw how my mom and my uncles dote on my son. My future standing in the Shu Family might just depend on him."

’So, to become the son-in-law who marries in, I have to get on that little brat’s good side?’

Remembering the hostile look in Xiao Juzi’s eyes, Qin Shiwei’s heart sank.

He stared into Shu Yao’s bright, jet-black eyes and warned her threateningly, "Don’t you ever look at me the way your son does. Remember. Ev-er!"

’From the sound of it, the consequences of disobeying would be severe!’

The smile on Shu Yao’s lips froze for a moment, and that brief pause made her expression turn complicated.

Avoiding the man’s dangerously obsessive gaze, she looked toward the dumpster across the street.

A hint of displeasure entered the man’s eyes.

’So, avoidance is her response?’

’Or is there something in that dumpster more worthy of her attention than me?’

The consequences of annoying this man might be worse than the fate of the trash in that dumpster. Shu Yao’s survival instincts were quite strong.

She decided not to press his buttons again.

She flashed a brilliant smile at him. "I’ll still work on convincing my son. You shouldn’t give up, either. You have to work hard to make him accept you. Everyone else is actually pretty easy to handle. After all, most of the hostility from my mom and uncles stems from Xiao Juzi."

The iciness in Qin Shiwei’s pupils thawed a little.

"I still have time today."

Shu Yao: "..."

’What is this guy trying to imply?’

Seeing her give no reaction, the aura around Qin Shiwei grew even colder.

Expectation was hidden beneath the danger.

Not only was Shu Yao adept at reading people, but her will to live was also exceptionally strong!

"Um, Commander, would this humble one have the honor of buying you a drink?"

Qin Shiwei frowned. "I don’t like crowded places..."

Then he saw Shu Yao pull out two bottles of nutrient solution.

’Okay, he’ll just pretend he didn’t say that last part.’

Shu Yao walked closer and handed him a bottle, smiling. "I can’t afford to take you anywhere fancy."

Qin Shiwei didn’t take the nutrient solution. Instead, he grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her into his embrace.

The next second, Shu Yao was held so tightly she could barely breathe.

The man’s powerful arms kept tightening, as if he wanted to crush her into his very being.

Something tightened around her waist as well; it seemed his tail had wrapped around her again.

Shu Yao was stunned for a moment. Once she realized what was happening, she instinctively tried to push him away.

But there seemed to be no space left between them.

With his eyes closed, Qin Shiwei took a deep breath of her scent.

’A sweet citrus scent, exactly as he remembered.’

Shu Yao gently patted his slightly hunched back. "Commander Qin, instead of wasting your energy on me, you should be thinking about how to win over your son."

’He just wanted to hold her a little longer.’

Shu Yao said in the same tone she used to coax Xiao Juzi, "And you can’t use violence, okay?"

The man nervously loosened his grip, his hands hovering awkwardly with nowhere to go. Only his tail remained coiled around her waist.

"Did I hurt you?"

"What I meant was, you can’t use violence on Xiao Juzi just to make him submit to you!"

Qin Shiwei breathed a sigh of relief. He placed his hands on either side of her exposed neck, the delicate smoothness beneath his fingertips making him linger. At the same time, his gaze locked onto her red lips, growing hotter and hotter.

From Shu Yao’s upward-tilted perspective, she had a perfect view of his elegant Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

She was momentarily dazed.

The plain face before her drew closer.

She simply couldn’t reconcile this face with the memory of that blindfolded half-face.

Instantly snapping back to her senses, Shu Yao pushed his face away with her palm.

"Not now!" She tapped her red lips, the gesture both teasing and alluring, her smile just as captivating. "You’ll get your reward after you’ve made some progress!"

Qin Shiwei was not pleased.

’He felt like she was coaxing him as if he were a three-year-old child.’

"If Xiao Juzi runs out and sees us, he’ll throw another fit." Shu Yao felt she had been out for quite a while. She wanted to go back, but she couldn’t break free from the man’s embrace.

She was getting a little angry.

Qin Shiwei’s lowered gaze fell into her lively eyes, catching her current emotion.

"Yaoyao, your expression has changed."

"I thought you would respect me!"

At her words, the gloom in Qin Shiwei’s green eyes faltered.

His hands and tail slowly loosened their grip.

"I just... it’s been so long... I wanted to be with you a little longer..." he explained clumsily.

Shu Yao sighed like a long-suffering mother.

’She shouldn’t have expected a war machine to be versed in the ways of the world.’

"What you said in front of my mother and uncles today... someone taught you to say that, didn’t they?"

She could guess with her eyes closed who the "expert" pulling the strings behind him was!

’Your Majesty, of course!’

Qin Shiwei pursed his thin lips. "Not entirely."

"Some things, no one can teach you. You have to learn them yourself, you know? This is Xiao Juzi’s first time having a father, and it’s your first time being one. You both have to learn to accept each other." Shu Yao poked his chest, her tone firming. "But he’s a child, and you’re an adult. Children will always have unconditional trust in their parents. Only when you give him your fatherly love without expecting anything in return will he see the good in you. Understand?"

Qin Shiwei nodded dumbly.

Shu Yao sighed again. "Looks like you still don’t get it. I’ll compile a file of his likes and dislikes and send it to you. You should also look up some guides online yourself."