01
Today is Tần Triết’s birthday.
As soon as I got off work, I received a message from him telling me to come hang out at “Thiên Thượng Thiên” that night.
I clutched my phone, but in the end I still replied that I’d come.
Back in my rented room, I rummaged through my closet but couldn’t find a single suitable outfit.
My family had gone bankrupt, and my father had suffered a stroke from the shock and anger.
My mother, whom my father had once raised like a pampered young lady, now had to learn to do laundry, cook, and care for him.
The burden of supporting my family and paying off our debts weighed on my shoulders.
I’d already sold every designer handbag, piece of jewelry, and item of clothing I owned that could be sold.
And Tần Triết’s birthday party would be packed with wealthy young men and women—the most pragmatic people of all.
After learning that my family had gone bankrupt and was buried in debt, the friends who’d once been close to me immediately cut ties and avoided me like the plague.
I sat on the bed and let out a heavy sigh.
With the money I had now, I could rent an expensive evening gown, but…
Never mind.
I lay back on the bed, my thoughts in turmoil.
In the blink of an eye, evening came. I changed into an elegant dress and headed to “Thiên Thượng Thiên.”
In the opulent, decadent room, men and women clinked glasses and chatted merrily.
Compared with their glamour, I looked downright plain.
I took a deep breath, put on a smile, and went inside.
“Tần Triết.”
Tần Triết was sitting in the center of the room. When he saw me, he waved.
The person beside him laughed:
“Oh, isn’t that Lộc Linh? You’re not too busy working to support your parents to come see Tần Triết? Hahaha.”
“Good grief, you look so plain. Don’t tell me you don’t even own a decent outfit? Just say the word—I’ve got enough spare change for you to buy a hundred of them.”
“Tsk. But then again, we’ve lived in luxury since we were kids. Seeing all those girls dressed to the nines every day gets old. A change of pace now and then can be nice.”
I kept my composure and went to sit beside Tần Triết.
I’d been hearing remarks like those for the past two years.
Tần Triết looked disgusted and shifted away from me. “Why do you look so shabby?”
I lowered my eyes. “You know what my family’s situation is.”
“Tsk. Your family’s a bottomless pit.”
His eyes were full of contempt.
He was nothing like the man who’d once treated me with such tenderness and sincerity.
I swallowed the bitterness in my heart and asked, “When are you going to marry me?”
Tần Triết and I had been engaged for two years.
Back then, he’d pursued me passionately, with all his heart.
I was moved by his persistence, so I agreed to be with him.
When my family went bankrupt, I’d already expected my friends and acquaintances to turn their backs on me.
But I never expected Tần Triết to change, too.
When I needed help most, all he did was make a halfhearted phone call and toss out a few cursory words.
Tần Triết gave a mocking laugh. “A woman talking about this kind of thing—aren’t you ashamed?”
The friends behind him laughed along:
“The Lộc family’s bankrupt. If she doesn’t cling to your golden leg, how’s she supposed to support her bedridden dad and useless mom?”
My gaze turned cold. I grabbed a glass of wine from the table and splashed it straight in his face.
“Watch your mouth!”
Mock me all you want, but don’t you dare drag my parents into it!
Drenched in wine, Chu Khởi shot to his feet and pointed at me, cursing:
“Lộc Linh, who the hell do you think you are? You think I won’t fire you on the spot and leave your whole family out on the street with nothing to eat?!”
He charged at me to hit me, but someone held him back, while I was pulled behind them.
The room descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, Tần Triết sat there at ease the entire time.
He didn’t say a word to defend me.
“What are you all doing?”
A woman’s voice rang out. Tần Triết’s expression changed at once, a flicker of delight in his eyes.
02
I followed his gaze.
A beautiful, pure-looking woman walked through the door. She wore a white dress and looked graceful and refined.
Tần Triết hurriedly pushed through the crowd and strode toward her, his eyes revealing his obvious eagerness to please.
“Hứa Lê, I didn’t expect you to come. It’s a little noisy here. Why don’t we go somewhere else?”
She smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine. Don’t spoil everyone’s fun.”
Chu Khởi said coldly, “The real fiancée is back, Lộc Linh. You’d better pack your things and get out.”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone’s eyes turned to me.
Hứa Lê’s, too.
I stared at her face.
She and I… looked at least half alike!
In that moment, I suddenly understood why Tần Triết had changed so completely.
He’d been treating me as a stand-in for Hứa Lê.
“Hmph.”
I could only laugh at how absurd it was.
My vision blurred with tears.
I’d considered countless possibilities. I’d even guessed that Tần Triết had fallen for someone else.
But I’d kept clinging to him only because I needed money—lots of it.
If I could marry him, I’d get a share of the Tần family’s assets.
But I never expected… I truly never expected…
From beginning to end, this relationship had been nothing but a joke!
Hứa Lê looked at me, a little confused. “Tần Triết, who is she?”
A flash of panic crossed Tần Triết’s eyes. Guiltily, he put an arm around her waist.
Before he could speak, I said, “I’m Tần Triết’s fiancée.”
Hứa Lê’s face instantly turned pale. She stared at him in shock.
Tần Triết hurried to explain. “Don’t listen to her nonsense. She’s the one shamelessly clinging to me. Everyone here can vouch for that.”
He signaled with his eyes, and his playboy friends immediately chimed in.
“That’s right, sis-in-law. Don’t listen to Lộc Linh’s nonsense. Brother Triết doesn’t like her at all. You’re the only one in his heart.”
“She only came here because she heard Brother Triết was having a birthday party today. She’s just a gold digger.”
Everyone around them joined in. Hứa Lê’s gaze grew more and more contemptuous, and she said haughtily:
“Miss Lộc, please have some self-respect.”
Tần Triết held her close and sneered, “You’re so boring. Maybe my younger uncle should teach you a lesson. Who knows, maybe some blind man will take an interest in you someday.”
Everyone immediately burst out laughing.
My hand clenched into a fist. “Tần Triết, don’t you dare regret this.”
He snorted, then put an arm around Hứa Lê and sat down.
I turned and strode out of the room, my heart filled with nothing but anger.
Tần Triết didn’t want Hứa Lê to know about the relationship between us? Then I’d make sure she found out!
When Tần Triết was pursuing me, he came up with all kinds of romantic gestures—from love letters to a sea of flowers, even naming a star after me. The list went on and on.
When he and I got engaged, the news was even reported by major media outlets.
I wanted to see what he’d do after Hứa Lê learned all of this!
I had just walked out of “Thiên Thượng Thiên” and was about to hail a cab when a hand clamped over my mouth and yanked me back inside.
“Mmph!”
03
“Bitch, you dared to throw wine on me? I’ll kill you!”
It was Chu Khởi!
I struggled desperately, but before long they had me tied up tight as a dumpling.
Afraid I’d scream, they frantically slapped duct tape over my mouth and pulled a black bag over my head.
There was more than one of them!
Everything went pitch-black, and I was overcome with panic.
“Hurry, hurry! I just checked—Tần Mục has a business dinner tonight. He’s at the hotel and hasn’t gone home yet.”
“Are we really taking her there? I think Brother Triết was just saying that offhand. Besides, Tần Mục is…”
“Are you stupid? He’s the one who said it. If something happens, do you think he’ll let us take the blame? At worst, we can say we were just following orders.”
“I think we should just get rid of her. No one’s ever dared to throw wine on me before!”
I panicked! They were going to put me in Tần Mục’s bed!
Everyone in City A knew that Tần Mục was a savage wolf, ruthless to the extreme.
As a child, he’d drifted from place to place and grown up among beastfolk, killing to survive. His wild nature was impossible to tame.
When he came of age and learned his true identity, he returned to the Tần family.
At first, the Tần family refused to acknowledge him. But with his exceptional intelligence, he made the old master of the family see him in a new light, and the old man made an exception and added him to the family genealogy.
Now, although he was a beast-person, he was the most influential member of the Tần family.
People said he had a fearsome face, was bloodthirsty and murderous, and used utterly ruthless methods.
“Mmph, mmph…”
I struggled with all my might, but they still threw me into the car.
The car started, and my heart felt like it was suspended in midair.
Once the car stopped, they pulled the bag off my head.
Tears streamed down my face as I stared at the people before me in terror.
Chu Khởi grinned lecherously and patted my cheek. “Tsk, tsk. A beauty in tears is so pitiful. Tần Mục will surely ‘pamper’ you.”
Then he blindfolded me with a strip of black cloth, told someone else to take me upstairs, and went to the front desk.
He said Tần Triết had sent him with a gift for Tần Mục, and successfully got Tần Mục’s room key.
They had barely thrown me onto the bed when the lookout outside frantically announced that Tần Mục had returned!
Chu Khởi and his men immediately ran off.
The vast room was left with nothing but the thudding of my heart.
My hands and feet were tightly bound. Lying on my side on the bed, I tried rubbing my face against it to dislodge the black cloth covering my eyes.
Not long after, I heard the door open, followed by unhurried footsteps approaching.
I struggled to sit up and huddled in the corner of the bed.
The footsteps paused at the doorway for a moment, and I heard a soft chuckle.
Then, step by step, they came closer to me.
They stopped right beside me.
Before I could even shrink back, a large hand pressed down on my shoulder.
Firm. Cold.
The duct tape over my mouth was ripped off, sending sharp stings of pain through me.