Mu Qingran looked at her gambling-addict father, each word pronounced with a pause and utter decisiveness:

"I won’t give you money, and don’t think about ruining my life anymore. If you go tell Huo Tianpei about my past, and I end up not being able to marry into the Huo Family, you will get even less than nothing. Furthermore, if you dare to follow me inside today, I will immediately have the servants break your arms and legs, then poison and mute you, to see how you’ll go about telling tales then! One million? Hah, I’d rather use that to get rid of you than to give it to you."

Having said that, she shook off Mu Derun and walked toward the gate of Huo Garden.

Mu Derun, rejected by her, became enraged with humiliation.

He had just caught up when he saw his daughter’s figure had already entered Huo Garden.

The luxurious iron gate closed with a clang.

Mu Derun had wanted to barge in and cause a scene, but his daughter’s threat, "I’d rather use that to get rid of you than to give it to you..." echoed in his ears. In the end, he spat viciously and left huffily.

Just like Mu Qingran had said, if he made a fuss and she couldn’t become the second young madam of the Huo Family, there would be no benefit for him either!

Also, her threat to break his arms and legs and mute him still spun in his head, unavoidably making Mu Derun somewhat wary.

If he went in now, that unfilial daughter would be on guard, and the place was full of Huo Family members; he didn’t even know if the old master was there!

Going head-to-head, he feared he might be at a disadvantage!

Hmph, it would have to wait for another time.

Not far away, within the solemn and luxurious walls of Huo Garden, on the villa’s terrace.

Jiayi, who had returned to her room, used the mini telescope previously prepared by Huo Zhenyang for her own use, to see clearly the falling out between father and daughter outside Huo Garden, and of course, she also caught snippets of their quarrelsome voices.

After entering the room, she took a shower, changed out of her sportswear, and put on a loose pink house dress. She let down her high ponytail, and her seaweed-like long hair fell down her back, exuding the fragrance of shampoo along with a natural, born-with-it body scent.

"From what Mu Derun said, Mu Qingran’s past involved more than just approaching you on Yao Zhenru’s instructions; there seems to be an even more fascinating history."

Seeing Mu Derun leave in a huff, Jiayi turned around and glanced at the man on the beach chair.

She guessed that if Mu Derun could have come to his daughter for money so quickly, it was because Huo Zhenyang had lured him there.

In the center of the terrace.

A white coffee table featured a bottle of red wine, and beside it on a leisure beach chair, Huo Zhenyang lounged with his legs crossed, having just enjoyed the drama not far from the building. His hands, previously crossed, now relaxed, and his eyes slightly narrowed, indifferently settling on the girl in front of the railing.

After returning to G City, like a wound-up spring, he had been dealing with company affairs for several consecutive days, and only today had he finally been able to relax at home.

He slightly tilted his chin upward, regardless, the show was getting more and more interesting.

After a moment, he picked up the telephone on the coffee table and coldly articulated:

"Tell someone to do it."

Then he tossed the telephone back onto the coffee table.

With just a short five-word command, Jiayi involuntarily twitched, sensing the determination and ruthlessness on the man’s face.

Although she wasn’t clear on what he was planning to do, she was certain that he would take this opportunity to leverage the situation with Mu Qingran, to bring down Yao Zhenru and her son, who coveted his family’s position.

For him, Yao and her son were like two borers, which in his eyes were actually not worth mentioning at all.

If the two were just ordinary outsiders, he might have already dealt with them in the blink of an eye.

It was precisely because they belonged to the Huo Family that he resorted to such roundabout methods to deal with his stepmother and half-brother.

Despite the weather not being particularly cold, Jiayi inexplicably felt a chill.

Maybe it was right not to fall for this man.

This man, with his inscrutable mind and ruthless heart, was too hard to figure out.

As for her, she only had the role of being at his mercy.

She could almost foresee the predicament of Huo Zhenxuan, Yao Zhenru, and Mu Qingran soon being toyed with by him.

Huo Zhenyang noticed her expression as she looked at him was somewhat abnormal, a hard-to-conceal fear, panic, anxiety.

"Come here," he said indifferently, reclining on the lounge chair.

Jiayi hesitated for two seconds before slowly walking over.

"Do I make you very nervous?" he asked, arching his noble brow, his pitch-black eyes unfathomable.

"No."

"Then why is your face so tense, not a single smile to be seen? Since the purpose of your return is to cooperate with me in dealing with these people, and we are now close to success, shouldn’t you be happy?" He didn’t let her off, continuing to press her relentlessly.

He quite enjoyed cornering this little thing with no escape, watching her speechless, her face blushing as she struggled to speak, then swallowing her in one gulp. It gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

Jiayi’s throat moved, "I’m just a bit tired; I haven’t rested much these past few days."

Actually, this statement wasn’t completely false. Since returning to G City and staying in Huo Garden, she had to act with him every day and keep an eye on Mu Qingran, which indeed wore on her spirits.

After observing the faint shadows under her eyes, Huo Zhenyang fell silent for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke, "Come here, sit down."

Go there... and sit down?

Confused for a moment, she wondered where? There was only one lounge chair on the entire terrace. After a few seconds’ pause, she realized he wanted her to sit on his lap.

She shook her head, "That won’t be necessary, I..."

Before she could finish, his tone had already plummeted several degrees, "I don’t like women who talk back."

She bit her lip, wondering what she was afraid of. It was an everyday occurrence to sit on his thigh, but...

She still wasn’t accustomed to performing such intimate gestures with him in broad daylight.

No matter how many times it had happened, being close to this man with an imposing and cold demeanor always left Jiayi with an intangible sense of nervousness and awkwardness.

It was just like on CHUANG: each time she felt like a schoolgirl, naively accommodating him, as he led her through the entire tumultuous and fierce process.

She slowly moved forward, stepping towards him, but he had already grown impatient. His thick brows rose as he reached out, capturing her wrist and pulling her down forcefully!

Her body swayed in mid-air before she ended up sitting on his lap, looking up to meet his eyes, dark as obsidian mirrors.

"If you don’t want to fall off, then hold on to me," he said with a teasing curl on his lips.

Now that she was sitting, what was there to fear in holding him? She bit her lip, then raised her tender arms, like shoots of bamboo, encircling the man’s neck and settled herself.

"You always sleep soundly every night, how come you haven’t rested well? Last night you were like a little pig, snoring so sweetly," he seemed to relish this posture, a beauty in his arms, feeling utterly content and unconcerned with how red her little face was in his embrace.

Her face was so hot she felt she could cook an egg on it, and she blurted out a retort, "I do not snore, you’re the one who snores."