Tianyi did not think highly of people like her, who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Even if she had escaped her lowly origins and was now posing as refined, she would not catch his eye.
He said disdainfully, "Then I will be direct with you, Mrs. Huangfu. Release Daisy, stop targeting her, and give her freedom. I will not expose your true identity, and you can continue to be Mrs. Huangfu. We will remain strangers."
"Daisy? What do you want with this woman?" Wu Xiufang asked, surprised. "What is your relationship with her?"
"A friend."
"The outside world says that President Qin is devoted to his wife and never strays. I didn't expect there to be another woman..."
Tianyi interrupted her, saying coldly, "I told you she is just my friend, there is no other relationship. Do you want the child in her belly, or the status and position you gained by any means necessary?"
"If I can have both," Wu Xiufang said, unyielding. "Since you and Daisy have no special relationship, you can name any other conditions, and I will agree to them."
Tianyi glanced at her and sneered, "I have no other conditions, only this one request. If you are ruined, what use will Daisy's child in her belly be? I believe you, Mrs. Huangfu, understand what is more important."
"You! You dare to threaten me like this! Don't think I have no way to deal with you!" Wu Xiufang snorted coldly.
Tianyi said with an air of complete control, "Of course, you have many ways to deal with me, and you probably even want to kill me. But I fear that before you can act, your unsavory affairs will be spread throughout the streets and alleys of Lancheng."
Wu Xiufang closed her eyes, then opened them and said, "But if I agree to your terms, how can I trust that you won't break your word?"
"You have no choice. If you don't want to be ruined, you must do as I say." Tianyi stood up, looking down at her, and warned her, "Don't play any tricks, and don't even think about harming me or my family. Every move you make is within my grasp. A single misstep will lead to your utter ruin."
This man, much younger than her, instilled a sense of fear in her that she had not felt for many years.
Tianyi fiercely crushed the teacup on the table, a curve forming on his lips. His smile was more terrifying than his frown. "I cannot stomach your tea. By the way, you cannot hide your inner ugliness with such beautiful flowers. What a pity for these flowers."
After speaking, he turned and walked a few steps towards the door, then looked back at Wu Xiufang and said, "In fact, my patience is limited. You had better release Daisy within three days, or face the consequences."
He left the private room coldly.
After the door of the private room closed, Wu Xiufang, enraged, plucked a nearby fresh flower and brutally broke and tore it apart, gnashing her teeth at Qin Tianyi.
Hate was hate, and anger was anger, but this man was truly formidable. She had met her match!
At this moment, a man older than her, with most of his hair turned white, emerged from a hidden compartment in the private room and said to her respectfully, "Miss, how should we deal with this person?"
"Deal with him? Can you deal with him?" Wu Xiufang said, "He is completely different from the fools we have encountered before. Do you know who he is, and how much influence he has in Lancheng?"
"Of course, I know. But even with his background, can he compare to the power of the Huangfu family? What are we afraid of him for?" Shi Yingchang said, not taking Qin Tianyi seriously.
"We are not yet in a position to take such a risk. Qin Tianyi's status in Lancheng is paramount. If anything happens to him, it will be very disadvantageous for us."
"Miss, then what should we do?"
Wu Xiufang tightly gripped the broken flower stem and said, "Do as he says. But before releasing the person, we must conduct a DNA test on the fetus. If it is not Shaohua's child, then we don't need to bother with them. At least Qin Tianyi will not publicize those matters for the time being."
"Miss means we should let Daisy go like this? And your son died in vain, without making that woman pay?"
Wu Xiufang's expression turned grim. "But if the child in her belly is Shaohua's flesh and blood, it is not too late for us to find a way to get the child. Now that Qin Tianyi has leverage over me, we should not act rashly. But I cannot be controlled by him forever. We must also find his weakness, find something to hold over him."
Shi Yingchang said worriedly, "I had people follow him these past few days, and I found that he has no bad habits. Besides work, he spends time with his family. What leverage can such a person have?"
"Then his family is his weakness." Wu Xiufang remembered that Tianyi had mentioned his family when he was so imposing. If he had no weak points to exploit, she would start with his family.
Shi Yingchang said, "He has hired bodyguards to protect his family twenty-four hours a day."
"Assistant Shi, why are you still unchanged? Just like before, you only know how to fight. You don't need to lay a hand on his family. Have someone investigate his wife now, and find out everything about her past and all her experiences."
Shi Yingchang saw that Wu Xiufang seemed to have an idea, and knowing that she had always been resourceful, he replied, "Yes, I will do it now."
...
Qin Tianyi left the club and drove straight home.
He knew that he could only temporarily intimidate Wu Xiufang and get her to release Daisy first.
Upon returning to the villa, Susu was playing games with the children in the garden.
Tianyi quietly covered her eyes from behind and said in a very soft voice, "Guess who I am?"
Susu grabbed his hands and smiled, saying, "You are the big bad wolf, going to catch them and eat them one by one."
"Wow, you guessed it." Tianyi smiled and let go of her, pretending to be the big bad wolf, and went to catch Tiantian.
The three children screamed with laughter and scattered, all afraid of being caught.
Tianyi still managed to catch Tiantian, holding her in his arms and pretending to bite her twice.
Tiantian was not afraid and instead giggled, leaning into his embrace.
The innocent and lovely laughter of the children eased his mood considerably, allowing him to forget all his troubles for the moment.
After the children had gone to sleep, as soon as they returned to their room, Susu immediately grabbed his shirt and sniffed it carefully. She said with a hint of sourness, "Where did you go tonight without coming home? The scent on you is really nice. What kind of perfume is that?"
Tianyi hugged her and smiled, saying, "Your nose is really sharp. How did I not notice this before?"
Susu broke free from him, not letting him gloss over it. Facing him, she firmly clutched his shirt with both hands and said irritably, "Don't try to sweet-talk me. Tell me honestly, what did you do tonight?"
"What could I have done? Of course, I met a client." Tianyi said with a serious expression. "I'll tell you, the place where I met the client today was filled with flowers, decorated like a flower shop. Smell it carefully again. The scent on my clothes is not perfume, but the fragrance of some flowers."