I thought Ta Chi was just running his mouth.

So when he actually texted me an address to a high-rise apartment later that night, I was caught off guard. After a brief internal war between my self-respect and my appreciation for an insanely attractive face, naturally, the face won out.

Standing in front of his front door, I hesitated for a long moment before finally hitting the doorbell.

Ta Chi opened the door, wearing his usual cold, aloof expression. I had half-expected the scene inside to involve dim ambient lighting, a half-unbuttoned shirt, and him lounging in some effortlessly seductive pose.

Instead—he walked me straight into the kitchen.

“Cook me a meal.”

I froze, my hands trembling slightly as he handed me an apron.

Who demands a late-night home-cooked meal at this hour? Especially from someone like me, whose culinary resume includes literally setting an electric kettle on fire.

In a panic, I did a quick deep-dive on a recipe forum to crash-course tomato scrambled eggs. It didn’t look pretty, but it was edible.

Ta Chi silently polished off the entire plate. Once he was done, he offered just two words: “You’re dismissed.”

I glared at him, furious, yet determined to play it cool.

As I turned to leave, my eyes caught a starship scale model displayed near the entryway.

It was the exact same model Tuong Minh Chau had bought a while back.

I stopped dead in my tracks, a sudden flare of possessive jealousy scorching through my veins. Pivoting back, I pinned him with a glare.

“Did she give that to you?”

“Yeah,” he answered casually, as if it were the most insignificant thing in the world.

I let out a cold smirk, reaching out to yank him hard by his collar. Before he could react, I ripped his shirt buttons open one by one.

“Did she touch you like this too?”

Ta Chi’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, remaining completely silent.

Recalling a move I had recently picked up, I pinned him down against the sofa and leaned right into his ear: “Pay close attention.”

The metallic snap of his belt buckle echoed in the quiet room, drawing a low, raspy groan from deep within his chest.

By the time I gathered my composure and pulled my clothes back on, he was staring up at me, his voice rough and heavy: “Tuong An, what are you doing?”

I shrugged, offering a flippant smile. “Just a slight lapse in control.”

I turned on my heel to walk out, but he gripped my arm with sudden force, his eyes bloodshot and intense.

“I’m serious, Tuong An.”

I went rigid, giving a half-amused, cynical scoff. “Then let’s just keep it casual like before. Friends with benefits, it works out for both of us.”

His face instantly fell. A split second later, he slammed me back against the wall.

His kiss crashed down on me, so hot and relentless it nearly stole the breath straight from my lungs.

By the time I managed to push him off, my voice was still shaking: “Ta Chi, you’ve lost your mind.”

He just let out a quiet chuckle, gently untying the ribbon from my hair and looping it around his own wrist.

“I’ll drive you back.”

For once, I behaved myself and didn’t offer a single word of resistance, mostly because it was abundantly clear that the real lunatic here was me.

The following morning at breakfast, I announced to my father that I wanted a position at Tuong Corporation.

Minh Chau froze mid-bite, her knife and fork clinking against her plate.

“Do you think working at the company is a game? We’re going through a rough patch right now, stop giving Mom and Dad more things to stress over.”

I slowly massaged my wrist, shooting her a faint smile. “Someone clearly forgets the beatings the second the pain wears off.”

Minh Chau stomped her foot in pure fury and stormed upstairs.

I turned my attention back to my father. “So, can I join the company?”

He set his utensils down, his voice remarkably calm: “Fine. But you have to go on a blind date.”

I was slightly taken aback; I hadn’t expected him to yield so easily.

Since my goal was to get my foot inside the company door, I didn’t push back against the date. Besides, it wasn’t like he was forcing me to walk down the aisle tomorrow. A quick, polite rejection was all it would take to wrap it up.

When I arrived at the restaurant and saw the man waiting at the table, I was rendered completely speechless.

“…Ta Chi? What on earth are you doing here?”

He raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with subtle irritation: “Who were you expecting?”

“What is this? Do you actually want to marry me?”

He leaned back, entirely unbothered. “What if I do?”

I stared at him in disbelief. “You’re insane, Ta Chi! After everything I put you through…”

He went silent for a long beat before speaking softly: “Exactly. Consider this my ultimate revenge.”

I locked eyes with him, studying his face, before a sudden laugh bubbled up from my chest.

“You’re in love with me.”

Ta Chi offered no response.

“Fine, keep your secrets. So, when are we getting the license?”

To be completely honest, I had never believed in fairy-tale romance anyway. If I had to settle down through an arranged setup, I’d much rather it be with Ta Chi. He got his twisted form of payback, and I got my leverage at the company, a mutually beneficial arrangement.

“Right now,” he said firmly.

Before I could even register his answer, he hauled me back to the house to grab my family registry book, whisking me straight to the marriage bureau just minutes before they locked up for the day.

Walking back into the Tuong estate with a shiny red marriage certificate in hand, I still felt like I was moving through a surreal haze.

“So, An An, how did the date go?” Mrs. Tuong asked, her voice brimming with quiet anticipation.

Minh Chau’s lips curled into a smug smirk. “As if Ta Chi would ever bother giving her the time of day.”

I smiled faintly, tossing the marriage certificate right onto the glass coffee table with a soft thud.

The entire living room fell into dead silence.

Minh Chau’s voice pitched into a hysterical screech: “Tuong An! Did you force him into this?! Why can’t you just let him go?!”

I rubbed my ear idly, keeping my tone completely flat. “If he didn’t want to, who could possibly force him? Could you?”

“Impossible! You’re lying!” She lunged forward, reaching to snatch the certificate off the table.

I delivered a clean, hard blow straight across her cheek.

“Sobered up yet?”

Minh Chau glared up at me, her eyes burning with raw, venomous hatred. I had to admit, in that exact moment, the feeling was utterly intoxicating.

My father let out a long, heavy sigh. “Report to the company tomorrow morning.”

“Will do,” I replied smoothly, floating upstairs with an uncanny sense of relief.

【She just played the entire Tuong family like a fiddle. Absolute masterclass!】

【Honestly, if I had her level of unhinged confidence, I’d be unstoppable too.】

【The black lotus trope really is the elite genre!】

I spun the red marriage certificate between my fingers, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of my lips…

Would you like me to continue translating the next chapter or adjust the tone of any specific character’s dialogue?