“Baby, the ‘Yu’ in my name means desire—the kind with overwhelming desire.”
—He Siyu
At Mandu Restaurant, private room 2108.
Several of Qi Huaiyu’s close friends had gathered in the private room with their girlfriends for dinner.
After finishing recording a video at home, Ni Yang hurried over with Shanshan. She had originally told Qi Huaiyu that she did not have time to come, but he had said all his brothers were bringing their girlfriends, and he would be lonely by himself. He told her it did not matter if she arrived late and asked her not to feel pressured.
The restaurant’s premium private rooms were designed with a lounge area at the entrance, while the dining area was inside another room. The moment she arrived at the half-closed wooden door, she heard someone asking Qi Huaiyu:
“Brother Yu, after you get engaged to Miss Ni, are you going to persuade her to change jobs? Calling it a Sleep Aid Therapist sounds nice, but honestly, she’s just showing herself off online and doing improper things.”
The speaker was Zou Jie, Qi Huaiyu’s college roommate and the person Ni Yang disliked the most. Every time the man saw her, the teasing amusement in his eyes was impossible to ignore.
She had mentioned it to Qi Huaiyu before, but her boyfriend had told her she was too sensitive and must have seen it wrong. He insisted Zou Jie respected her very much.
Ni Yang took out her phone, opened the camera app, turned on video recording, and pushed the door open a crack, pointing the lens toward the round dining table.
On the phone screen, Qi Huaiyu still looked exceptionally handsome even under the harsh overhead lighting. He lounged lazily against his chair, his cold pale fingers casually swirling a wine glass.
Someone chimed in.
“Yeah, Sister-in-law’s job is pretty embarrassing from an outsider’s perspective.”
A girl spoke cautiously.
“I’ve watched Miss Ni’s sleep-aid videos before. They’re perfectly normal. She already has over eight million followers on the platform. It’s not as terrible as you guys are saying.”
“What do you know? She’s a rich young lady. Even living off her parents at home would be better than doing this kind of embarrassing self-media work.”
Seeing that Qi Huaiyu showed no sign of interrupting them or getting angry, everyone at the table began criticizing Ni Yang one after another, saying this about her was bad and that about her was bad, lamenting how her excellent family background had gone to waste.
Qi Huaiyu curled his lips slightly into a mocking smile and took a sip of red wine.
“Ni Yang is a wealthy heiress, yet she insists on becoming some Sleep Aid Streamer. Isn’t it basically soft-core content? If her family background wasn’t impressive, there’d be no way to introduce her profession to others. It’s humiliating.”
“You’re right. Once we’re engaged, I’ll make her switch jobs. She studied financial management in university but refuses to build a future at Ni Corporation, choosing instead to coax netizens to sleep at home. It’s laughable.”
At that instant, it felt as if a mountain had collapsed.
Her heart sank straight into the bottom of the sea, icy coldness spreading through every inch of her body. Ni Yang bit down hard on her lower lip, forcing herself not to make a sound as tears welled in her eyes.
Her tea-brown pupils shimmered with tears, blurring her vision.
In just two days, they would be getting engaged.
They had been together for two years, and he knew exactly why she had entered this industry.
Yet in front of so many people, not only had he failed to defend her, he had even called her humiliating and ridiculous.
All the love in her heart was scattered by those mocking, insulting words. A tear slid silently down her pale face.
She lowered her phone, casually wiping away the tears with her fingertips. Her expression suddenly turned cold as she turned around and left.
If Qi Huaiyu had not treated her well before, there was no way she would have agreed to marry him so soon after graduating from university.
After taking the elevator downstairs, she informed the front desk not to tell Qi Huaiyu that she had come.
She and Qi Huaiyu often dined at this restaurant, and she even had a VVIP membership here. Today’s banquet had only been able to reserve the best private room because of her membership.
“When Qi Huaiyu comes down to pay later, don’t use my membership discount. Charge him the original price. If he asks why, tell him I didn’t renew it and that the membership expired.”
The receptionist was confused but still calculated the bill for room 2108 according to Ni Yang’s instructions. Without the membership discount, the dishes and private room fee totaled 1.3 million yuan. They had opened several bottles of wine worth over a hundred thousand, and every dish ordered had been one of the restaurant’s signature specialties that required advance reservation.
With the membership discount, the total would have been 910,000 yuan.
“Understood, Miss Ni. Please take this umbrella. It’s raining outside—don’t get wet.”
The receptionist smiled as she handed over a transparent umbrella.
Warmth stirred faintly in Ni Yang’s heart.
“Thank you.”
After smiling and nodding politely at the girl, she turned and left. Membership renewal required the owner to be present in person, so there was no way Qi Huaiyu could renew it himself and continue using her benefits.
Now that she had seen his true face, how could she possibly let him take advantage of her anymore?
Outside the restaurant, she stood beyond the revolving doors as a gust of wind mixed with rain splashed against her bare calves.
When she had left home earlier, the evening glow had still been beautiful. There had only been a breeze. Yet in just an hour and a half, rain had already begun pouring down.
Ni Yang opened the umbrella. Her black low-heeled leather shoes stepped through the rainwater gathered on the stairs as she slowly walked toward the parking area.
The restaurant’s glowing sign reflected against the puddles on the asphalt road, where her shadow appeared faintly. Scenes from her past with Qi Huaiyu flashed through her mind one after another.
The memories replayed uncontrollably in her head. Her hand gripped the umbrella handle tightly, her fingertips turning white from the pressure.
She and Qi Huaiyu had been university classmates. During the second semester of freshman year, he had started pursuing her. After that incident, he would often sit outside her door to keep her company, chatting with her about daily life and telling her jokes he had heard. Little by little, she had accepted his feelings.
They officially began dating during their junior year.
It was also around that time that she started posting ASMR videos online. She had hoped her videos could give warmth to people struggling in life and help insomniacs find even the faintest trace of sleepiness.
Her first video had been incredibly simple—almost crude. She had not shown her face, only using the white noise of rainfall along with a few comforting words and some ear-cleaning sounds.
Yet the response had been surprisingly good.
Her account instantly gained thousands of followers, and countless people thanked her in the comments, saying her sleep-aid videos felt soothing and worked extremely well.
She still remembered eagerly sending the video to Qi Huaiyu the moment she uploaded it. At the time, his expression had held a flicker of confusion before instantly turning into gentle encouragement.
He had said, “Yangyang is amazing. What made you think of posting this kind of video?”
“I haven’t been sleeping well lately. My psychologist suggested trying ASMR sleep-aid videos. I tried them after going home, and they really felt wonderful. So I thought maybe I should try making some too. What if I could help people suffering from insomnia like me?”
For the past two years, Qi Huaiyu had always respected her. He never forced her to do anything she did not want to do. He had been attentive and considerate—so much so that everyone around her said she had found an exceptionally good boyfriend.
She had first noticed the change six months ago, when problems arose within Qi Corporation. Qi Huaiyu and his father became overwhelmed with work and gradually neglected her more and more.
Then one night, while she had been preparing to record a video in her room, she received a phone call from him.
His voice had sounded hoarse and exhausted, as though he had not rested in a long time.
“Yangyang, let’s get married.”
The proposal had come so suddenly that she froze.
“Isn’t this too early? We’re still young.”
“Does Yangyang not want to marry me? Or do you think my family isn’t worthy of yours?”
At the time, she had assumed he only said those things because Qi Corporation was in trouble.
A week later, he proposed to her by the sea, and she agreed.
Their parents met soon afterward and settled both the engagement date and the wedding date.
Qi Huaiyu’s behavior had been impeccable, leaving both her father and mother extremely satisfied. That very day, the Ni Family invested in the Qi Family.
The long-troubled Qi Family had finally seen a new ray of hope.
Although the walk had only been a short distance, countless thoughts crossed Ni Yang’s mind. The moment she stepped beneath the parking shelter, Uncle Meng, the driver, hurried over with an umbrella.
He quickly unlocked the car so she could get inside.
While sitting in the driver’s seat, he glanced at her cold expression through the rearview mirror and wondered silently whether Mr. Qi had angered the young miss again.
The engagement was right around the corner. What exactly had gone wrong in Mr. Qi’s head?
As they drove back toward the Ni residence, the rain gradually intensified, and lightning flashed within the distant clouds.
Ni Yang received a WeChat message from Qi Huaiyu.
[Yangyang, where are you? Do you need me to pick you up?]
[It’s raining outside. I’m not going anymore.]
[Alright. The rain really is inconvenient. Rest early then.]
[Mhm.]
After replying coldly, Ni Yang stared at her reflection in the car window, her thoughts stretching endlessly.
She refused to become Qi Huaiyu’s stepping stone.
A man who looked down on professions while living off others was nothing but trash. She would consider these past two years as feeding an animal.
The engagement banquet two days later needed a groom.
But that groom did not necessarily have to be him.
If she had to choose someone, then He Siyu, the current head of the He Family, would be an excellent candidate.
Rumor had it that he kept away from women, was old-fashioned and boring, loved business trips, and practically lived for work.
The He Family also had cooperative projects with Ni Corporation. If she were going to marry, it should naturally be someone whose family matched hers in status and could create mutual benefit.
Coincidentally, she had He Siyu’s WeChat.
Adding him had been purely accidental, and they had only exchanged a few brief messages before.
Lowering her gaze, she found his contact under the letter H.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, typing and deleting repeatedly.
Finally, she shut her eyes, clenched her teeth, and pressed send.
[Mr. He, this is Ni Yang. May I schedule half an hour with you tomorrow? I have an important business proposal I’d like to discuss.]
It was only seven at night. He should already be off work.
She locked her phone screen and tossed it aside before searching through her bag for something. Eventually, she pulled out a compact powder case for touch-ups.
Opening it, she saw her reflection in the tiny mirror. Her makeup was fresh and simple, but nervousness nearly overflowed from her pale eyes.
About two minutes later, the phone beside her lit up with a notification sound.
Ni Yang’s pupils trembled slightly. She snapped the compact shut and stuffed it back into her bag before turning to stare at the darkened phone screen.
After shifting uneasily in her seat, she reached out and picked up the phone. Once the facial recognition unlocked the screen, He Siyu’s message appeared clearly in the chat window.
[Alright. I’m free tomorrow morning from ten to ten-thirty. My assistant will wait for you in the lobby.]