Everyone in Lincheng knew that Shang Wu had always lived a charmed life. She had beauty, wealth, and an enviable family background.
Even after her family fell into ruin and her elder brother was sent to prison, her childhood sweetheart, the heir to the Zhou family, remained devoted to her. In the three years since their engagement, he had doted on and protected her, never letting her suffer for even a single day.
This winter marked the third anniversary of their engagement.
Everyone in their social circle was wondering when the two of them would finally get married.
…
Late at night, Shang Wu emerged from the underground parking garage and took the elevator upstairs, avoiding the reporters gathered at the south entrance.
The only light left on in the entire building came from the CEO’s office on the top floor. That was why the reporters had stubbornly kept watch.
If she had not seen that Zhou Yanci had left an important document in his study, she would never have risked coming here and getting hounded by the reporters.
The receptionist on night duty at the front desk was dozing off. The moment she saw Shang Wu, she jolted awake, straightened immediately and greeted her respectfully.
“Good evening, Director Shang.”
Shang Wu smiled at her and went straight to the top floor.
When she reached the CEO’s office, she was just about to raise her hand and knock when she suddenly heard a familiar woman’s voice.
“Yanci, when exactly are you planning to come clean with Shang Wu?”
Shang Wu’s hand froze on the door handle.
It was her best friend, Ji Yu.
Why was she here so late at night?
Through the blinds, Shang Wu could vaguely see Ji Yu sitting opposite her fiancé. The two of them were drinking tea and chatting.
Ji Yu gave a light laugh. “You really are something. Back then, you orchestrated the Shang family’s bankruptcy, took away their core industries, and even taged a rescue so you could play the hero and win Shang Wu over. You made her so grateful that she practically worshipped you. Only you could have pulled off a scheme like that.”
She was thoroughly enjoying herself and had no idea that anyone had arrived outside.
Standing beyond the window, Shang Wu’s mind went blank. The cold had reddened her cheeks, but the color instantly drained from them.
The words thundered through her mind.
Zhou Yanci had orchestrated the Shang family’s downfall from the very beginning?
When the debt collectors had tried to ruin her face, Zhou Yanci had been injured saving her—but that had been an act too?
Ji Yu knew about all of this.
Ji Yu, who had been her best friend for ten years, had known the entire time!
Shang Wu trembled uncontrollably from head to toe.
Inside the office, Ji Yu was still covering her mouth as she laughed. “Now that the woman of your dreams is about to return to the country, and Shang Wu has already helped you get the jewelry division off the ground, you don’t need her anymore. Why not just kick her aside?”
Zhou Yanci had his back to the window, so Shang Wu could not see his expression.
Just two hours ago, he had gently wished her good night. Now he was lounging lazily on the sofa, one hand wrapped around a water glass, as though he were gripping her throat.
His tone was cold and indifferent. “There’s no rush. Shang Wu is still somewhat useful. Mianmian disappeared without a word and left me hanging for three years. I’m going to use Shang Wu to make her jealous.”
Three years.
She and Zhou Yanci had been engaged for exactly three years…
So all these years, Zhou Yanci had still been carrying feelings for his former girlfriend, Shen Mian.
Shang Wu trembled harder and harder, almost unable to remain standing.
Zhou Yanci leaned forward and set down his glass, his voice low. “Besides, the lawyer handling Shang Wu’s brother’s case is still trying to get his sentence reduced. I’ll have to make some arrangements.”
“Pfft… Hahaha! Just thinking about that idiot Shang Yunshen makes me laugh!” Ji Yu became even more carried away.
She slapped the sofa as she laughed. “You arranged for someone to deliberately flirt with Shang Wu in front of him, and he charged over and attacked the man. He got eight years. Serves him right!”
Ji Yu hesitated before asking, “But should we tell Shang Wu that the old man of the Shang family is seriously ill?”
Shang Wu’s breathing suddenly quickened.
Her father was sick?
“Not now! Two months from now, I’ll tell her everything myself and deal with her.”
Zhou Yanci’s tone turned stern. “Don’t forget that the jewelry division is about to launch its limited-edition collection. Everyone has high hopes for her, and your designs still need her help. We can’t let her get distracted. Besides, the old man isn’t going to die anytime soon…”
The voices inside the office gradually faded.
Shang Wu’s entire body turned cold. It felt as though Lincheng’s winter wind were slicing through her skin.
The fiancé she trusted and the best friend she had known for ten years had built their success on the ruins of the Shang family.
She suddenly moved forward, wanting to shove open the door and storm inside. Only when she bit the tip of her tongue and tasted blood did she manage to stop herself.
Her eyes burning red, Shang Wu hurried downstairs and handed the documents to the receptionist.
“Don’t tell anyone I was here tonight!”
She rushed out of the company, and the cold wind cut straight through her thin coat.
In a daze, Shang Wu walked into the parking garage. Zhou Yanci and Ji Yu’s words kept echoing in her ears.
She got into her car and thought back to what had happened three years ago.
The Shang family had once been thriving, but three years earlier, the company had been implicated in illegal projects. Her father’s entire team had been arrested and imprisoned.
Her parents had spent the family fortune compensating the victims involved.
Their competitors had all emerged to kick them while they were down.
When Shang Wu went to plead with people on her parents’ behalf, the vice president of a rival company had harassed her. Her brother had arrived in time to save her, but had accidentally injured the man. He had been sentenced to eight years and sent to prison.
So none of it had been an accident. Every bit of it had been arranged by Zhou Yanci!
What had Zhou Yanci been doing before the Shang family fell into chaos?
She remembered.
That year, Zhou Yanci had defeated several capable cousins within the Zhou family and won his grandfather’s favor. He had become the heir to Chengzhou.
At that point, he had needed a major victory to prove himself and secure the shareholders’ support.
He had chosen to strike at the Shang family, then played the devoted rescuer willing to help her with everything he had.
The people he sent to help with the aftermath had actually been erasing traces of what he had done.
By taking in the Shang family’s unemployed technical staff and absorbing the Shang family’s remaining businesses into Chengzhou, he had been recruiting talent for Chengzhou while swallowing up the Shang family’s business.
By hiring a lawyer to fight her brother’s case and reduce his sentence from twelve years to eight, he had been keeping him out of the way before he could uncover the truth.
After that, Zhou Yanci had arranged for her parents—whose hair had gone gray almost overnight from the strain—to retire in the countryside. He had brought her to his side and proposed with great fanfare, all so he could control her more easily and make her focus on running the jewelry division.
Hatred burned in Shang Wu’s eyes. Clenching her fists, she slammed them hard against the steering wheel.
Blood seeped from her knuckles, but she felt no pain at all.
After everything that had happened to the Shang family, she had been so grateful to Zhou Yanci that she would have gladly given him her life.
She had willingly abandoned her reputation as a celebrated designer simply because Zhou Yanci had asked her to work behind the scenes and manage the jewelry division.
Over the past three years, she had given her designs to her best friend, Ji Yu, allowing Ji Yu to build a reputation as a design prodigy. She had poured her heart and soul into helping Chengzhou generate countless profits.
But in the end, It had all been a lie!
The man and best friend she had believed she could rely on were actually the enemies who had schemed against her entire family at every turn, plotting to use her until she had nothing left to give.
She hated their heartlessness and cruelty. Even more, she hated herself for failing to recognize them, for mistaking the people who ruined her for the ones who had saved her, and for even planning to marry Zhou Yanci—the man who had ruined her entire family—and build a family with him!
As Shang Wu went over everything that had happened, The ache in her chest tightened until she could barely breathe.
She wept silently in the car as though venting all her anguish. She cried until her tears ran dry, her head throbbed violently, and her whole body felt as if they were being cooked in a vat of boiling oil…
It was not until dawn broke over the Chengzhou Tower that the first light of morning fell across the building.
Dressed in a suit, Zhou Yanci appeared before the reporters, brimming with confidence.
The reporters surged forward and thrust their microphones toward him.
“CEO Zhou, is the highly anticipated new collection also designed personally by your fiancée, Shang Wu?”
“Designer Ji’s work sold extremely well, and she publicly thanked Shang Wu for her support. Will the two best friends be collaborating again this time? Everyone is looking forward to it!”
Zhou Yanci raised his brows slightly. His assistant, Xiao Dong, immediately lifted a hand to signal for everyone to quiet down.
“CEO Zhou will take a few questions.”
Zhou Yanci smiled. “Chengzhou Group has invested twenty million more than last year in promoting the winter limited-edition collection. This is A-Wu’s labor of love, so of course I’ll give it my full support. And Designer Ji will, as always, be involved in the design.”
Someone asked, “Then when will you and Miss Shang be getting married? We’re all waiting to congratulate you!”
Zhou Yanci’s smile froze for an instant before his tone turned gentle. “Well… that mainly depends on when A-Wu is willing to marry me.”
“I’m not marrying you.”
A hoarse voice cut through the crowd.
Zhou Yanci turned toward the newcomer and froze.
“A-Wu.”
Shang Wu had hastily touched up her makeup. Her jet-black hair was loosely pinned up, and a pair of oversized sunglasses concealed her eyes, giving her an even colder, more aloof air.
She took a microphone from one of the reporters.
“Thank you for your concern. I have no intention of marrying Zhou Yanci.”