A single drop of hot sweat trickled onto her collarbone, and Jiang Lai shivered.
The man felt her reaction. His fingers, white as jade, gripped her chin, the pressure fluctuating as if he were toying with a small trinket. He curled his lips slightly, his voice dropping into a tone of nonchalant indifference.
"Jiang Lai, you’re quite something, aren't you? Daring to crawl into my bed—does your sister know?"
Faced with his mockery, Jiang Lai turned a deaf ear. Instead, she boldly reached up to hook her arms around his neck.
The exertion had left her almond-shaped eyes glistening with a haunting, misty clarity. Her red lips parted as she let out a delicate, mocking laugh that struck straight at his heart.
"She’s currently fooling around in a hotel with my fiancé. Tell me, Mr. Jin, are you sure you still want to be my brother-in-law?"
It was a provocation.
Jin Shengshi’s eyes darkened, and instantly, the weight of his body pressed down harder. He let out a cold scoff. "And so what? If she’s tainted, she’s tainted. It’s her family background I’m marrying, not her."
With that, the curve of his lips transformed. The grip on her chin lost every shred of mercy.
"Jiang Lai, don't tell me you think that just because you crawled into my bed tonight, I’ll swap brides for next month’s wedding?"
He was truly angry now, but Jiang Lai was completely unfazed. She arched her brows and reached up to peck him on the lips.
"Why not?"
It was a light, butterfly-like kiss.
Before Jin Shengshi could react, she had already hooked her legs around him and slipped into a mode of shameless self-promotion. "Mr. Jin, I’m much more obedient and well-behaved than my sister, and I’m far better at being infuriating. If you want to turn the Jin Family upside down, I have plenty of ways to do it. And most importantly, I will never betray you."
Jin Shengshi stared at the slightly reddened corners of her eyes, his mouth curled into a sneer. Her words were a fabrication. First off, the description "obedient and well-behaved" was the exact opposite of who she was.
She was indeed good at being infuriating, and turning the Jin Family upside down—that part was likely true.
As for the last point, it remained to be seen.
He suddenly fell silent. Seeing a glimmer of hope, Jiang Lai grew bolder, clutching his neck as her tone rose.
"Mr. Jin, I can even warm your bed every day, be your little sweetheart. In this life, I will only ever love you."
Love him alone?
That was the biggest joke he had ever heard.
Jin Shengshi laughed—a cold, chilling sound.
He ripped her hands away from his neck, his deep, dark eyes filled with derision. "Your fiancé is sleeping with your sister, so you’re using me to strike back? Jiang Lai, your little scheme is truly well-calculated."
His sharp gaze swept over her features, inch by inch. "And another thing: what makes you think I have any need for that love of yours?"
Having anticipated that he wouldn't be easily swayed, Jiang Lai pulled out her final chip. "Then what if I told you that Jiang Yi is pregnant?"
Jiang Yi was her sister, born of different parents. She was also the bride for Jin Shengshi’s wedding next month. The child in her womb, naturally, belonged to her fiancé.
True enough, upon hearing the news, the muscles in the man's face stiffened. His dark, fathomless eyes seemed to be fixed on her, but in reality, they had already cut her to ribbons a thousand times over.
But Jiang Lai was not someone who feared trouble.
She blinked, deliberately drawing out her words.
"Mr. Jin, tell me—if I leak this news to the media, what kind of impact do you think it will have on the Jin Family? And on you?"
What kind of impact?
The impact would be massive.
Aside from being branded a cuckold, the "Jianxing" project, which the Jin Family had spent three years preparing, would go down the drain. After all, for months, the Jin Family’s marketing campaign had been built entirely around the image of the "crown prince of the Jin Family and the daughter of the Jiang Family, a devoted couple."
In the age of the internet, this had attracted a vast number of young couples. People were so eager for the "Jianxing" project that they were practically ready to sell everything they owned just to buy a home there as their wedding suite.
If outsiders found out that Jiang Yi had cheated before the marriage, the image of Jin Shengshi and Jiang Yi as a devoted couple would become a laughingstock.
One could only imagine how high the cancellation rate for those who had already paid their deposits would be.
He narrowed his eyes, his deep, dark gaze filled with displeasure. The hand that had been on her chin moved to her throat and tightened.
"Are you threatening me?"
The tiger was beginning to stir.
Although she didn't have many years left to live, Jiang Lai didn't particularly want to be strangled to death right now. As she began to choke slightly, she quickly stopped him. "I just want you to be my backer!"
Two minutes later, the two of them were fully dressed and sitting on the sofa.
Jiang Lai stopped playing games and shifted into full negotiation mode. "I know you need to marry to consolidate your position within the Jin Group as a family man, and I know you need the influence of the woman's family to support you."
To Jin Shengshi, this was nothing but nonsense. Sensing his detached gaze, Jiang Lai quickened her pace.
"Any woman you marry will fulfill the requirement of becoming a family man. As for whether her family can actually help you—well, benefits and risks come together. You chose the Jiang Family, so you must have done your research, but no matter how meticulous your work was, you don't know them as well as I do, having lived there for over a decade. I’m telling you now: the Jiang Family is dirty. If you choose to marry Jiang Yi, you’ll be dragged down with them."
"If you choose Jiang Yi, you’re choosing her family, and the Jiangs are untrustworthy—they won't just sit back and let you play them like chess pieces. If you choose me, you’re only choosing me. If you tell me to go east, I won't go west. I will be obedient and follow your arrangements, and I will never hold you back."
Jin Shengshi was indeed interested in the claim that the "Jiang Family is dirty," but it wasn't enough to change his plans.
"Jiang Lai, if I recall correctly, you’ve been raised by the Jiang Family for over a decade. Are you trying to prove that you’re an ungrateful ingrate by telling me they’re dirty?"
"Or do you really think I’d keep an ingrate by my side?" He tilted his head, smiling at her, his deep, dark eyes possessing a formidable presence.
Jiang Lai didn't take this mockery to heart at all.
She curled her lips into a bitter smile, looking refreshingly frank. "What a pity. If you had seen how they raised me for over ten years—treated worse than their own dogs—you might take back that comment about me being an ingrate."
*Treated worse than a dog.*
It was enough to prove her situation within the Jiang Family.
The smile on Jin Shengshi's face faded. It wasn't the first time he had seen Jiang Lai smile, but it was the first time he had seen her smile with such bitterness.
Jiang Lai had come with a plan today, and she didn't want to waste any more time. She stated her position directly.
"Mr. Jin, we can enter into a contractual marriage. You only need to protect me for three years. In those three years, I can not only help you topple your stepmother’s faction, but I can also ensure that the entire Jin Family falls under your control."
"You know how it is in these wealthy mansions—scheming is a woman's game, and a woman can stir the waters best. A man like you, already drained by the power struggles in your group, must find it exhausting to deal with your stepmother’s family at home, right? Since that’s the case, why not let me help you?"
Jin Shengshi gave a light scoff. "You’ve got quite the audacity."
Jiang Lai smiled, her voice honey-sweet. "Do you dare to bet?"