My whirlwind marriage partner is a wealthy CEO

Chapter 280 I'll ask you three things, tell me the truth!

Even after being beaten half to death by Liu Meili, Zhu Shigou was still not giving up. He said intermittently, "I made white fungus and lotus seed soup for Qingqing tonight. If she finds that the soup is missing, she will definitely become suspicious..." His words undoubtedly showed that he still wanted to use Zhu Ziqing to threaten Tan Haoyu.

Tan Haoyu strode up to Zhu Shigou, looking down at him with an air of absolute authority in his eyes: "Speak! What do you want? If you don't tell me, don't blame me for being ruthless and continuing to torture you!"

Zhu Shigou was tied to a chair, his face bruised and battered, but he suddenly burst into laughter, the sound echoing in the empty room: "Hahahaha! Tan Haoyu, if you have the guts, kill me! Otherwise, I'll never forgive you!"

Tan Haoyu frowned deeply. He knew that Zhu Shigou was so confident because he was sure that Tan Haoyu would be mindful of Zhu Ziqing's feelings and wouldn't dare to hurt him easily. After all, if Zhu Ziqing knew that her "father" had met with misfortune, she would be heartbroken, and he didn't want her to suffer the pain of "losing a loved one."

Zhu Shigou seemed to see through Tan Haoyu's thoughts and became even more unscrupulous: "Hmph, if you can't bear to see Qingqing sad, don't even think about getting a single word out of my mouth!"

Tan Haoyu remained outwardly indifferent, but inwardly he was rapidly weighing his options.

A moment later, he gritted his teeth, turned to Liu Meili, and ordered, "Don't worry about saving face for me, take the necessary measures!"

Upon receiving the order, Liu Meili immediately rushed forward and began punching and kicking Zhu Shigou.

Zhu Shigou let out screams of agony, but Tan Haoyu seemed to ignore them: "Continue!"

He then turned and strode away, displaying the decisiveness and ruthlessness he had honed through years of experience in the business world.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Shigou was rendered weak and exhausted by Liu Meili, too weak even to speak. Liu Meili stopped what she was doing and impatiently urged, "Speak quickly! President Tan doesn't have time to waste with you!"

Zhu Shigou struggled to lift his head and said weakly, "I... I admit defeat..."

Hearing Zhu Shigou relent, Tan Haoyu entered the room again, slowly squatted down, and asked with piercing eyes: "I have three questions for you! Why did Zhu Ziqing lose her memory? What exactly is the secret you mentioned? And what is your true purpose?"

Zhu Shigou sneered, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes: "Zhu Ziqing has lost her memory? It's all thanks to your grandfather! If you want to know the details, you should ask him!"

Tan Haoyu was jolted, his heart churning with shock. In his mind, his grandfather had always been a highly respected superhero; he never imagined that he might be the mastermind behind Zhu Ziqing's amnesia. But he quickly regained his composure, his expression remaining calm, and continued to ask, "Then what is this secret you're talking about?"

Zhu Shigou was covered in wounds and tightly bound to a chair. He took a deep breath, trying to dispel the excruciating pain in his body, and slowly raised his head, staring intently at Tan Haoyu.

Tan Haoyu stood ramrod straight, his expression calm and inscrutable. Zhu Shigou knew that he had secretly studied Tan Haoyu for countless days and nights, and this man's inner strength was like an iron fortress. But he had also found a weakness—Zhu Ziqing was Tan Haoyu's only Achilles' heel.

“Tan Haoyu.” Zhu Shigou suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, “I have a secret, and once it’s revealed, it can’t be taken back.”

Tan Haoyu raised an eyebrow slightly and crossed his arms: "Oh? What secret?"

“This secret is related to someone Old Master Tan wants to protect. If it gets out, the Tan family will probably be in big trouble.” A hint of smugness flashed in Zhu Shigou’s eyes as he tried to threaten Tan Haoyu with these words.

Tan Haoyu remained calm and called out, "Liu Meili."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Liu Meili appeared like a ghost, standing beside Tan Haoyu with eyes like knives, staring at Zhu Shigou, ready to strike at any moment.

Seeing this, Zhu Shigou quickly raised his hands in surrender: "Don't be impulsive! I can't tell you this secret. If you really want to know, go ask Grandpa Tan or Liu Zhidong."

"Liu Zhidong?" Tan Haoyu's pupils contracted slightly, clearly surprised by the name. But he quickly regained his composure, realizing that Zhu Shigou was extremely cunning, and the secrets pried out of him might not be reliable. It seemed he would have to find another way.

"Speak! What exactly do you want?" Tan Haoyu's eyes were like torches as he stared directly at Zhu Shigou.

Zhu Shigou licked his chapped lips, his greed evident: "Money, power, status, I want it all. As for how much I can get, that depends on how much Zhu Ziqing means to you."

Tan Haoyu didn't press the matter further, but instead gave the order: "Tell Zhu Ziqing before this afternoon that you're going to the capital on business."

Zhu Shigou frowned, utterly confused, not understanding Tan Haoyu's intentions. But when he recalled the violent torture he had suffered before, his arrogance immediately diminished. He realized that a head-on confrontation would only result in losses, so he could only choose to endure, secretly planning to get everything he wanted in the future and restore the Zhu family to its former glory.

“As long as you do as I say, I can give you money and power.” Tan Haoyu said contemptuously, “Compared to Ziqing, these are nothing. I’m just doing a good deed. I want to see if you have the ability to keep them.”

Tan Haoyu already had a plan in mind. He wanted to observe Zhu Shigou's every move by giving him what he wanted, and perhaps he could use him further.

……

Morning light streamed through the glass curtain wall, illuminating the company reception area. Zhu Ziqing, who had disappeared for a day, stepped into the company and was immediately drawn to a large bouquet of vibrant roses. Her colleagues cast envious glances at her.

"Wow, Ziqing, who sent you flowers again!"

"These flowers are so beautiful, someone must be pursuing you."

Zhu Ziqing, holding the flowers, a blush rising on her face, returned to her office. The flowers and cheesy words from before weren't from Tan Haoyu. After what happened, she no longer felt a direct rejection of this bouquet; instead, she felt a surge of curiosity, wondering who had sent it.

Zhu Ziqing carefully unwrapped the card that came with the bouquet. It contained a poem, written in strong, vigorous handwriting. As she read the verses, her heart began to race, and her cheeks burned.

“This poem…” Zhu Ziqing murmured to herself, “The person who sent the flowers shouldn’t be the guy who played pranks on me before. Besides that person, only Tan Haoyu would do something like this, right?”

Just then, Chen Tianhua appeared at the office door, his face full of concern: "Ziqing, I heard you were sick. Are you feeling better now?"

Zhu Ziqing was slightly taken aback, then smiled awkwardly: "How did you know?"

“It was your father who told me,” Chen Tianhua said, his gaze falling on the bouquet of flowers on Zhu Ziqing’s table, hesitating several times before finally smiling and turning to leave.