"Ugh, I got killed again."
Watching the burly warrior on the TV screen finally fall to the dragon, Tang Lingyi lost her patience. She tossed the controller onto the floor and lazily sprawled out on the soft rug beneath her.
Only after stepping out of the game world did she suddenly realize the room had already plunged into complete darkness.
Had she really been gaming from noon straight through to night!?
Well, when she thought about it, it wasn't that surprising. She'd always been a gaming enthusiast, but her financial situation had previously kept her from ever owning a proper console. Now, trapped in what felt like a gamer's paradise, it was only natural she'd lose herself in play.
Once her thoughts returned to reality, hunger finally caught up with her. She stood, rubbing her flat stomach, and headed downstairs.
Didn't that Qin Xiu guy say he'd prepare meals for her?
She really hoped he hadn't forgotten—if he had, her life might literally be on him.
Reaching the first-floor living room, Tang Lingyi was surprised to find lunch and dinner already waiting for her on the dining table.
Maybe it was because she'd been staying on such a high floor, or perhaps she'd just been too absorbed in her game—but she hadn't even noticed anyone coming in.
Starving, she completely forgot about staying cautious. Like a ravenous tiger, she rushed to the table and began devouring the food with gusto.
Tang Lingyi had never been picky, and the meal was genuinely delicious—likely prepared by the estate's own chef. In every way, it far surpassed the takeout she used to eat back home.
With her mouth full, a thought crossed her mind:
Is this really punishment?
Isn't this exactly the kind of life everyone dreams of?
After satisfying her hunger, Tang Lingyi decided to try out the villa's large bathtub.
Stripping off her clothes, she stood naked before a full-length mirror. The girl reflected back was naturally beautiful, her figure graceful and alluring. Her porcelain-doll features—carefully enhanced by Yang Li's expert makeup—were so stunning even she herself couldn't help but be entranced.
Moreover, this female body matched Tang Lingyi's ideal perfectly: teardrop-shaped breasts of just the right size, a slender wasp waist, and a peach-like, perfectly rounded rear—exactly the hourglass figure she'd always admired.
Unfortunately, it was now her own body, which dulled any sense of excitement.
Though she was, at her core, still a boy—and unquestionably attracted to girls—no matter how gorgeous the body, seeing it on herself only allowed for aesthetic appreciation, not arousal.
After all, it would be strange if someone actually found their own body sexually appealing.
But…
A faint, eerie smile curled the corners of the girl's lips in the mirror.
Even if she wasn't turned on by her own body, studying its structure was still perfectly understandable.
Half an hour later, a flushed-faced girl emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel.
So… this is what a girl's body is really like.
After her bath, Tang Lingyi threw on a loose T-shirt and shorts and headed straight back to the gaming room. She played until the early hours of the morning before finally feeling drowsy enough to return to Tian Suqing's bedroom and collapse into sleep.
And so began Tang Lingyi's strangely joyful imprisonment.
Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Qin Xiu never once set foot in Bayview Manor. Not only did he stay away himself, but he also strictly forbade anyone else from visiting "Tian Suqing"—not even Tian Yushu was allowed.
His goal was to make this woman taste true loneliness—and ensure she'd endure it for the rest of her life.
Unfortunately for him, he'd miscalculated.
***
Fifteen days later…
At the Tianyao Group headquarters in City S, Qin Xiu sat in the penthouse meeting room, hosting a high-stakes negotiation.
"So, if your company wants my financial support to survive this crisis," Qin Xiu said calmly, leaning back in his chair, "I'll buy your shares at the original issue price—one yuan per share."
The nearly ten senior executives of Tianyao Group exchanged shocked glances, whispering among themselves.
One yuan!?
At that price, once Qin Xiu injected his capital, he'd instantly become one of Tianyao's largest shareholders.
Qin Xiu, however, seemed oblivious to their murmurs. His gaze fixed steadily on Chairman Li Tianyao—the elderly man seated across from him, his hair already streaked with gray.
"What do you say, Chairman Li?" Qin Xiu asked with a smile.
Li Tianyao lowered his head, torn. His company had recently been bombarded with a flood of rumors—some true, some false—and their primary revenue stream, pharmaceuticals, had just lost its key supplier overnight. Without external funding, Tianyao Group was on the brink of collapse.
But Li Tianyao knew full well that Qin Xiu was behind all of it—and yet, there was nothing he could do.
"Qin Xiu! This is outrageous!" A handsome young man beside Li Tianyao finally snapped, slamming his hand on the table. "Our shares are trading at over thirty yuan! How dare you shamelessly demand the original issue price!"
One of Qin Xiu's bodyguards, Lu Qicheng, immediately reached for his waist, ready to intervene—but Qin Xiu stopped him with a subtle gesture.
Qin Xiu looked up at the young man, his expression unchanged, still smiling faintly. "You're Li Jiaming, Chairman Li's son, correct?"
"So what if I am!?" Li Jiaming retorted, assuming Qin Xiu was questioning his right to be in the meeting. "I'm a shareholder too—I have every right to be here!"
"That's not what interests me," Qin Xiu said, his smile unwavering, though his tone grew ominously sharp. "What I'm curious about is…"
He paused, then asked with chilling nonchalance:
"How was my wife in bed?"
The room erupted in gasps. Li Jiaming stammered, his face paling. "D-don't spread rumors! I don't even know your wife!"
Qin Xiu said nothing. He simply snapped his fingers.
Wu Feng, the bodyguard standing to his right, immediately pulled out a phone and connected it to the large conference screen.
On the screen, a video began to play—Tian Suqing and Li Jiaming, locked in a passionate, explicit encounter.
"Mmm… harder… I'm so turned on, Jiaming…"
"I am too… you're gonna drain me dry, baby…"
The recording replayed in full view of everyone present.
Li Jiaming's face turned ashen. His fingers grew cold. Only now did he realize he'd been secretly filmed—leaving him utterly defenseless.
"You clearly enjoyed it, yet you won't even admit it. How dishonest of you," Qin Xiu said, shaking his head with a sigh. "But she is my wife, after all. Since you got to enjoy her, you should pay the price. That's why I think my offer is more than fair—in fact, I'd say I'm even being generous."
Upon returning and successfully reclaiming control of the Qin Group, Qin Xiu had discovered that Tian Suqing—that despicable woman—had been using Qin Group funds to secretly support both Tianyao Group and this pretty-boy Li Jiaming. And the man in that compromising video? None other than Li Jiaming himself.
If he didn't exact revenge, he'd have no dignity left.
They say a gentleman's vengeance can wait ten years—but for Qin Xiu, there was no need to wait that long.
Ten years is too long.
All he wanted was today.