[Host, hurry outside! Something big has happened, a major incident!]
The Gossip System reminded her again, this time stating it directly.
Xie Qingtao’s heart skipped a beat, and a sense of foreboding surged within her.
[What happened?]
[Host, I just detected fluctuations from Liu Yunyun’s Comparison Group System. The Comparison Group System has issued another task. The task is to frame your eldest brother for a hooligan crime and have him killed. The reward for this task is your eldest brother’s position in the logistics department of the machinery factory.]
As soon as Xie Qingtao heard this, she tried to stand up, but her legs went weak, and she stumbled, nearly falling.
[No, I need to go find my parents and discuss a plan.]
[Host, don’t go to your parents right now. Your third brother is in danger.]
[What? Third brother is in danger? No, I need to go find him immediately.]
Having barely processed the shocking news from earlier, Xie Qingtao now collapsed to the ground. Her fingers trembled, her breath caught, and a cold sweat instantly broke out on her back.
Xie Qingtao quickly scrambled to her feet and rushed straight outside.
She had just reached a secluded corner of the large compound when she stumbled upon a horrifying scene.
Liu Yunyun stood facing Xie Qingxiao, her eyes brimming with intense affection, gazing shyly and timidly at Xie Qingxiao’s coldly handsome face:
“Qingxiao, I like you.”
Xie Qingxiao’s expression remained unchanged, his eyes filled only with disgust and arrogance, his lips curling downward:
“Miss Liu, are you perhaps not fully awake?”
A toad lusting after swan meat—utterly delusional.
A simple sentence, yet it turned Liu Yunyun’s face a mix of green and purple, as if a palette of colors had been splashed across it, creating a spectacular sight.
Liu Yunyun knew Xie Qingxiao was mocking her. The affection in her eyes receded like a tide, leaving behind shame and indignation. Her fingertips turned white from clenching too hard:
“Xie Qingxiao, don’t think you can humiliate me just because I like you.”
Xie Qingxiao didn’t even spare her a glance, instead looking at a sparrow perched on a distant tree. His arrogant demeanor was on full display:
“Oh! Just because you like me, does that mean I have to accept your feelings? Which law says that?”
Liu Yunyun’s chest heaved with anger, her nostrils flaring with each breath. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she laughed arrogantly:
“Yes, you’re right. There’s no law that explicitly states that liking someone means they have to agree. But I have leverage over your eldest brother. If he were to die because you rejected my confession, do you think you’d regret it for the rest of your life?”
Liu Yunyun’s words carried an unmistakable threat, and her smug, petty demeanor made her appear utterly repulsive.
She was confident that Xie Qingxiao would agree to marry her.
From her hiding spot, Xie Qingtao could clearly see the disgusting possessiveness in Liu Yunyun’s eyes—the same revolting look a toad gives when coveting a white swan.
This made Xie Qingtao narrow her almond-shaped eyes, which now gleamed with murderous intent. She clenched her fists tightly, her heart roaring with the impulse to rush out and kill Liu Yunyun.
The Gossip System in her mind desperately tried to stop her:
[Host, don’t go kill Liu Yunyun. It’s not worth throwing your life away for someone like her. Host, calm down. Follow me and take deep breaths—inhale, exhale…]
Xie Qingxiao’s eyes flickered slightly before settling back into stillness. His voice carried a mix of arrogant rudeness and cold restraint, devoid of warmth and impossible to read:
“Oh! And then?”
Liu Yunyun’s throat tightened, the smugness and arrogance on her face freezing in place:
“Xie Qingxiao, don’t you care about your family? If your family died right in front of you, would you still wear that expression?”
Liu Yunyun was gambling, betting that Xie Qingxiao had a weakness.
Once she discovered that weakness, wouldn’t Xie Qingxiao be easily captured?
Sure enough, Xie Qingxiao’s calm, unruffled eyes contracted almost imperceptibly, vanishing in an instant.
But Liu Yunyun still caught it.
Liu Yunyun laughed triumphantly in her heart, staring straight at Xie Qingxiao’s handsome, aloof face with the gaze of someone looking at a caged bird.
Her eyes swept over Xie Qingxiao from head to toe, constantly assessing him in her mind.
That look felt like a slimy, filthy mollusk crawling over a person’s body.
Disgusting and sticky.
This time, Xie Qingxiao finally deigned to look at Liu Yunyun, his gaze icy and piercing:
“State your conditions!”
Liu Yunyun finally heard the words she wanted. She planted her hands on her hips, raised her head high, and laughed heartily:
“That’s more like it! My condition is that you voluntarily marry into my family, abandon the Xie surname, take my family’s name, and have no connection whatsoever with your own family—not even a single glance.
You must obey me, you cannot be good to your sister, and you must take me with you when you go to university.
It would also be nice if you could secure a university spot for me.
Once we’re married, I’ll treat you well—after all, you are my beloved.”
Liu Yunyun finished her torrent of words in a rush.
Xie Qingxiao pondered for a moment, his brow not even twitching, still looking at Liu Yunyun with an unperturbed expression.
“I agree to your…” Not a chance!
Xie Qingtao’s furious voice cut straight through, interrupting Xie Qingxiao:
“No way! Liu Yunyun, you disgusting creature, don’t you know what kind of trash you are? With that ugly face and nauseating mouth, you dare to covet my brother? I’ll beat you to death!”
Xie Qingtao immediately began punching and kicking Liu Yunyun, each blow landing with force, making it impossible for Liu Yunyun to fight back. Suppressed by Xie Qingtao’s assault, Liu Yunyun could only cover her head and scream in agony.
The wounds Liu Yunyun had just begun to recover from returned to their previous state.
Her injuries were even more severe than before, with some bruises particularly dark.
After venting her anger, Xie Qingtao nervously grabbed Xie Qingxiao’s hand, frowning as she said:
“Brother, you mustn’t agree to her. That person is nothing but trouble. If you marry her, you’ll definitely regret it. I don’t want you to sacrifice the rest of your life because of Eldest Brother…”
Xie Qingtao rambled on at length.
In her heart, she couldn’t stop feeling lingering fear and panic, her hand trembling as she held Xie Qingxiao’s.
She was afraid Xie Qingxiao would truly sacrifice himself for Eldest Brother.
Based on her understanding of Xie Qingxiao, he really would do such a thing.
Xie Qingxiao lowered his gaze to look at Xie Qingtao’s trembling hand, then covered her slightly plump little hand with his own. The coldness, arrogance, and detachment on him instantly faded as he broke into a smile:
“Taotao, don’t worry. I never had any intention of agreeing to Liu Yunyun’s conditions.”
Hearing this, the furrow in Xie Qingtao’s brow relaxed, and she let out a sigh of relief:
“That’s good! Brother, Liu Yunyun isn’t worthy of you. You are the bright, clear moon in the sky, while she is the filthy mud on the ground. The two of you are simply not a match. You have a bright future ahead and a wife who shares your heart.”
Xie Qingtao kept imagining in her mind what her future third sister-in-law would be like—what kind of person could possibly be worthy of her radiant and noble third brother.
Among their family, the one with the brightest future was her third brother.
No doubt Liu Yunyun had taken a liking to Xie Qingxiao precisely because she saw his promising prospects.
Xie Qingxiao’s teasing gaze fell upon Liu Yunyun, who was panting heavily and once again bruised and battered:
“Miss Liu, a friendly reminder: a toad can never feast on swan meat. The idea of eating swan meat is nothing more than a dying toad’s fantasy!”
After saying this, Xie Qingxiao took Xie Qingtao’s hand and leisurely walked away.
Leaving only Liu Yunyun, her eyes filled with venomous resentment, standing there in a daze.
The feeling of being played for a fool was unbearable.
Especially humiliating.
A stifling anger churned in Liu Yunyun’s heart, unable to rise or dissipate.