After finishing his work at the company, Fu Yan headed straight to the tavern.
It was still early afternoon, well before the establishment’s busiest hours.
The warm amber lights cast a dim glow across the room, while heavy music played softly in the background. The faint scents of alcohol and tobacco still lingered in the air.
The empty booths and dark liquor cabinets stirred memories of that reckless night several days earlier.
Dressed in a sharply tailored black suit, Fu Yan settled onto a stool at the counter.
Someone had deleted the hotel surveillance footage before he could obtain it.
It seemed his little sweetheart wasn’t someone to be underestimated.
Whoever she was, she clearly had some influence.
With the footage gone, he had no choice but to return to the tavern and try his luck.
He had barely taken his seat when the bartender recognized him.
After all, who in the capital’s upper circles wouldn’t recognize the young heir of the Fu family?
The bartender immediately approached with a respectful smile.
“President Fu, shall I prepare your usual?”
Fu Yan tapped his fingers idly against the cold counter.
His dark eyes remained calm and unreadable.
“I want to ask you about someone.”
The bartender paused in surprise before quickly nodding.
“Of course, President Fu. Whatever I know, I’ll tell you.”
“I’m looking for the woman I left here with early last Sunday morning.”
The bartender thought carefully for a moment.
Then his eyes brightened.
“Oh! You mean that young lady! I remember her!”
Fu Yan’s fingers stopped tapping.
He raised his gaze.
“Does she come here often?”
“She usually comes on Sunday evenings, sits in the same spot, and orders the same drink.”
“Her number?”
The bartender looked troubled.
“I’m afraid I really don’t know that, sir. She hardly ever speaks to anyone, and she’s never left any contact information.”
“Normally, she finishes one drink and leaves. That night was the only time I’ve ever seen her drink so much.”
Then, as though remembering something, he leaned closer and lowered his voice.
“Although… I’ve heard that she might be a racing driver.”
A racing driver?
A faint glimmer flashed through Fu Yan’s dark eyes.
So the little sweetheart who had taken his innocence that night was actually a racer.
The corners of his eyes lifted slightly, revealing a trace of growing interest.
Wild.
Fearless.
Exactly his type.
Fu Yan took a leisurely sip of his drink.
Then he rose, picked up his suit jacket, and placed a calling card on the counter.
“If she comes here again, call me.”
Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode out.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ye helped Wen Shushu load the last of her luggage into the car.
Wen Shushu stood at the entrance of the Wen family’s ancestral residence and released a long, quiet breath.
Twenty-two years.
For twenty-two years, she had lived within these walls.
Ever since childhood, rules and etiquette had surrounded her like an invisible cage, shaping everything from the way she spoke to the way she dressed and behaved.
And now, at last, she was leaving.
A sense of relief washed over her.
For the first time, she was stepping away from the place that had confined her for so long.
Yet beneath that relief lay something far more unsettling.
Uncertainty.
And fear.
The road ahead was completely unknown.
She couldn’t even be certain whether the man she had just married would bring her a peaceful, stable life or plunge her into an even greater storm.
The car eventually stopped outside Jinghua Villa.
Wen Shushu looked up at the imposing residence before her.
The enormous detached mansion was magnificent, with grand architecture and an unmistakable air of wealth.
Yet its cold, austere appearance offered little comfort.
Looking at it, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had simply been transferred from one small cage into another.
Only this cage was larger.
And somehow, even more frightening.
Jiang Ye helped carry her luggage inside.
Once everything had been brought in, she tactfully took her leave, knowing that Wen Shushu would need to settle into her new home.
And just like that, Wen Shushu found herself standing alone in the vast entrance hall.
The space was so enormous that she hardly knew where to put her hands or feet.
She had been raised to conduct herself with elegance and composure in every situation.
But surrounded by such unfamiliar luxury, all those carefully cultivated manners did little to ease her discomfort.
Instead, she felt awkward and completely out of place.
Her gaze shifted toward a middle-aged woman standing nearby.
The woman appeared calm and dependable, with the composed bearing of someone accustomed to managing a large household.
Wen Shushu approached her hesitantly.
“Excuse me…”
Her voice was soft and gentle, carrying a trace of nervousness.
“May I ask where my room is?”
The woman immediately stepped forward.
“Madam, please follow me. I’ll take you to the master’s bedchamber.”
Aunt Zhang gestured for the servants to bring the luggage.
Wen Shushu followed her upstairs.
When they reached the second floor, Aunt Zhang stopped outside the main bedchamber and pushed open the door.
She was about to instruct the servants to carry the luggage inside when Wen Shushu suddenly stopped.
Her feet seemed rooted to the floor.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to step across the threshold.
“Um…”
She lowered her eyes, her fingers tightening slightly around the edge of her sleeve.
“Is there… perhaps another room?”
Aunt Zhang turned toward her.
Wen Shushu continued in a barely audible voice.
“Would you mind putting my luggage in a guest room instead?”
She truly was frightened.
She barely knew Fu Yan.
In fact, calling them acquaintances would have been generous.
They had met only briefly before registering their marriage.
And now she was expected to share a bedchamber with him?
She simply couldn’t accept that yet.
Aunt Zhang noticed her nervous expression and the timid way she stood in the doorway.
She didn’t press the matter.
Instead, she quietly instructed the servants to carry the luggage into the secondary bedchamber beside the master’s room.
Once everything had been brought inside, Wen Shushu spoke again.
“I… I can unpack everything myself.”
She offered them a small, polite smile.
“Thank you for your help.”
“Of course, Madam.”
Aunt Zhang nodded respectfully.
Then she led the servants out and gently closed the door behind them.
At last, the room fell silent.
Wen Shushu leaned against the door and slowly released the breath she had been holding.
This was the first time in her twenty-two years that she had truly left home.
Even when she attended university, her family had never allowed her to live on campus.
She had always been required to return home after her lessons.
There had always been someone watching over her.
Someone to dictate what she could say, how she should dress, where she could go, and whom she was permitted to associate with.
Every part of her life had been carefully arranged.
And now, suddenly, she was standing in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar house, married to a man she barely knew.
Wen Shushu opened her luggage and began unpacking.
She carefully removed each garment and hung it inside the wardrobe.
Most of her clothes were modern adaptations of traditional qipao, designed in soft, pale colors.
There were also a few dresses and knitted cardigans.
Every piece was elegant and understated, with gentle lines and delicate details.
Just like the image she had always presented to the world.
Graceful.
Refined.
Never ostentatious.
She had also brought along a guqin.
It was an ancient seven-stringed zither passed down through generations of the Wen family.
For many years, it had been her only constant companion.
Whenever she felt lonely, frustrated, or overwhelmed by the expectations placed upon her, she would sit quietly and play.
The music had always been a refuge.
A place where she could express emotions she was never allowed to speak aloud.
But now, as she tried to find a suitable place for the instrument, she hesitated.
The bedchamber was luxurious, yet its furnishings were cold and austere.
No matter where she placed the guqin, it seemed strangely out of place.
Its quiet, traditional elegance clashed with the room’s imposing atmosphere.
Rather like her.
She, too, seemed to belong to an entirely different world.
Wen Shushu stood there holding the guqin, lost in thought.
Then, without warning…
Bang!
The bedchamber door was suddenly thrown open.
There hadn’t been so much as a knock.
Wen Shushu stiffened in fright.
Startled, she stumbled backward two steps.
Her ankle twisted beneath her, and she nearly lost her balance completely.
For one terrifying instant, she thought she was about to fall straight onto the floor.