The biting winter wind swept through the streets, sending snowflakes like shards of ice swirling down and blanketing the pavement.
Qiao Yimian pulled her scarf tighter and hurried into the hotel lobby through the wind and snow.
Even though the evening breeze carried a chill, she was in high spirits. Her footsteps were light and cheerful.
Yesterday, she had received a WeChat message from her boyfriend, Shi Yan, asking her to come to this hotel at seven that evening.
Along with it was a photo of a beautifully decorated stage.
Only then did she remember that today was the first anniversary of her relationship with Shi Yan.
For the past two months, Shi Yan had been repeatedly urging her to take two days off so they could celebrate properly.
He said he would take her on a Ferris wheel, where they could gaze down at the city lights when they reached the very top;
or perhaps they could go to a hot-spring hotel in the mountains. She was usually so busy with work that she needed to take some time to relax.
Unfortunately, a week ago, she had suddenly been assigned to conduct an interview out of town, forcing them to put their plans on hold.
She hadn’t expected Shi Yan to prepare everything so carefully anyway, even though he hadn’t known whether she would make it back in time.
Thinking of this, Qiao Yimian’s heart softened, and she felt a little guilty toward her boyfriend.
So after receiving his message, she had worked through two consecutive nights and finally finished her assignment a day ahead of schedule. She booked a midday flight and rushed back in a state of exhaustion.
The moment she stepped into the lobby, the hotel manager hurried over.
“Miss, our hotel isn’t open to the public today.”
Qiao Yimian nodded. “Yes, I know. I’m here to see Shi Yan.”
“Oh, you’re Young Master Shi’s friend! Then please, come with me!”
The manager quickly led her toward the elevator and said with a smile,
“The engagement banquet started at 6:06. If you go over now, you shouldn’t be too late.”
Qiao Yimian’s eyelid twitched.
An engagement banquet? Whose engagement banquet?
For some reason, an absurd suspicion quietly surfaced in her mind.
But she didn’t ask any more questions and simply stepped into the elevator.
Standing outside, the manager pressed the button for her floor and took the opportunity to look Qiao Yimian over.
She wore a long, dark-brown cashmere coat, its belt tied in a neat bow that accentuated her slender waist. Below the hem, her calves were shapely and long.
On her feet were a pair of soft lambskin boots. The snow clinging to their toes had already melted into droplets of water in the warm air.
The outfit clearly wasn’t cheap.
But what was even more striking was her face.
The corners of her eyes tilted slightly upward, her starry eyes glistening. There was a natural allure in her features, a beauty that could captivate the soul.
Yet her eyes also held a gentle warmth that perfectly softened the seductive quality of her appearance.
The manager had received plenty of celebrities at the hotel, and stars occasionally stayed here as well. But women as beautiful and poised as the one before him were few and far between.
She was, without exaggeration, breathtakingly beautiful.
The manager secretly sighed.
*Young Master Shi’s friend is so much prettier than his fiancée!*
The elevator doors opened again.
The banquet hall was brilliantly lit, and the venue had been decorated like a dream, extravagantly luxurious.
The floor was covered in red rose petals, soft beneath one’s feet and filling the air with fragrance.
But Qiao Yimian had no heart to admire any of it. Her eyes went straight to the stage.
The instant she saw the man’s face clearly, her pupils contracted sharply.
The man was dressed in a white suit, handsome and striking, with a pair of alluring, romantic eyes.
He lowered his head, smiling as he slipped a ring onto the woman’s finger.
The woman shyly tugged at his lapel and seemed to say something. Then she rose onto her tiptoes and kissed the corner of his lips.
The man turned his head slightly, but still allowed her kiss to land on his cheek.
Applause erupted, mixed with cheers and whistles from the crowd.
On the fairy-tale-like stage, the handsome man and beautiful woman embraced each other with deep affection, intimate beyond words.
It was a sweet, romantic scene straight out of a movie—almost painfully pleasing to the eye.
But to Qiao Yimian, it was as though needles had pierced her eyes. After the sharp pain came an overwhelming wave of bitterness.
Even the tranquil lake of her heart was thrown into ripples.
Because that gentle-smiling man was her boyfriend—Shi Yan.
The youngest son of the Shi family, Shi Yan was handsome, generous with his money, and easygoing by nature. A bona fide second-generation heir, he was one of the most notorious young gentlemen in Chucheng.
A man so handsome, wealthy, and good-tempered—and yet he had patiently pursued her for two whole years.
Everyone had assumed it was true love.
A year ago, she had finally been won over by his “persistence” and “sincerity,” and the two of them had officially started dating.
She never imagined that after little more than three hundred days, he would get engaged to another woman behind her back while she was away on a business trip.
Qiao Yimian drew a deep breath. Threads of icy cold crept into her heart, leaving her chilled to the bone.
She lowered her eyes to the phone clenched in her palm. Ever since he had sent that message yesterday, he hadn’t contacted her again.
And when she called him, his phone had been switched off.
So who had sent that WeChat message?
Who had asked her to come here and witness this scene?
Qiao Yimian gently closed her eyes. The needle-like pain was the only thing keeping her rational and clear-headed.
She could simply walk away.
Yet for some reason, her gaze seemed glued to the stage, completely unable to look away.
She watched helplessly as the newly engaged couple cut the cake together, poured red wine, and then walked off the stage arm in arm amid the guests’ applause, laughing and toasting with everyone.
Surrounded by celebration and happiness, she was completely shut out.
To say she felt nothing would be a lie.
No matter what, she still wanted to hear an answer from him directly.
She picked up her phone and called Shi Yan again.
This time, the call went through.
Across the crowd, Shi Yan lowered his head and took out his phone. A hint of panic appeared on his face.
He smiled and exchanged a few words with the people around him, then hurried out of the banquet hall with his constantly vibrating phone.
The moment he looked up, he came face-to-face with her.
The man in his immaculate suit froze for two seconds.
All the color drained from his face, leaving him deathly pale.
“Yimian?” Shi Yan stared at her in shock, his voice trembling slightly.
“Wh-what are you doing here?”
The image of the affectionate young gentleman from moments earlier shattered instantly. He looked at Qiao Yimian in panic.
“Weren’t you away on a business trip?”
“Yes. I worked around the clock because I wanted to come back early and celebrate our anniversary with you.”
Her voice was soft and low, but there was an icy chill beneath it.
Qiao Yimian gazed at him calmly, then glanced toward the noisy engagement banquet behind him.
“It looks like you don’t need that anymore.”
“Yimian, listen to me…” Shi Yan’s heart lurched. He immediately grabbed her cold wrist.
“I’m only pretending with Tian Xiaoxiao! Her father is the chairman of Tian Pharmaceutical, and our company is negotiating a new project with them. You know my mother has always wanted me to marry into another family. If something goes wrong because of me this time, she won’t let me off the hook. My father will definitely kick me out of the company too! I really had no choice…”
Qiao Yimian waited quietly until he finished before speaking in an even tone, though there was unmistakable mockery in her words.
“Shi Yan, not even a dog would believe that excuse.”
She lowered her eyes and pried his fingers off her wrist, a silent smile touching her lips.
“So if I catch the two of you in bed one day, are you going to tell me you were drugged by your mother and were only pretending then, too?”
Shi Yan was left speechless, unable to find an answer.
“I know your mother looks down on me, but I always believed that you were genuinely good to me, so I never backed down. Since you’ve already made your choice, there’s no reason for me to keep trying on my own.”
Qiao Yimian looked straight into his eyes.
“Shi Yan, let’s break up.”