“Baby, is it okay?”
Shi Ying’s eyes were blindfolded with a ribbon. A hot, rough hand stroked her back as the man embraced her from behind, kissing her flushed cheeks.
Her mind was completely blank, a thin mist forming in her eyes and dampening the white ribbon.
The man let out a soft chuckle, his tone teasing. “Still so shy.”
As his words fell, Shi Ying was pushed onto the soft bed. She instinctively tried to retreat, but the man grabbed her ankle and pulled her back, stopping her attempt to escape.
His tall, solid body pressed over hers, making it hard for her even to breathe. She instinctively raised her hands to push against his shoulders.
In the next moment, burning lips pressed against the cool, delicate skin of her neck. The slow, lingering kisses left her body weak and limp.
The strong scent of alcohol mixed with his heated masculine presence made her tremble all over.
“Don’t… don’t do this…”
But he gave her no chance to speak further. His hand slid to the back of her neck, and his scorching kiss came down again.
The moment their lips met, Shi Ying’s eyes widened in shock.
All her breath was taken away. Her mind went blank, and the only thing she could hear was her own frantic, rapid heartbeat, echoing through her body and leaving her numb.
With a loud rumble, thunder roared outside. Wind and rain lashed against the windows as lightning illuminated the man’s flushed face.
……
“Ah!”
Shi Ying woke up abruptly, her face burning red.
Her body was hot and damp, her thin nightdress clinging uncomfortably to her back with sweat.
She couldn’t fall asleep anymore. Sitting up, she ruffled her messy hair in frustration and muttered, “It’s just twenty years of being single—how could I have a dream like that?”
She shook her head hard, trying to throw those inappropriate images out of her mind.
A cool breeze slipped in through the slightly open window, dispersing the heat on her face.
Unable to sleep, she picked up her phone. It was exactly seven o’clock.
But not real-world time—this was the time in the virtual world.
It had already been three days since she transmigrated.
In the year 2050, time travel had become something completely ordinary.
The Time-Space Administration managed countless small worlds within books. Humans only needed to lie in a hibernation pod to enter these worlds in a conscious state, like playing a fully immersive virtual game, experiencing everything through their five senses.
The technology quickly became popular, and the Administration divided it into two categories: games and missions.
The game section, as the name suggested, allowed players to enter book worlds as entertainment—each book acting like a dungeon map where one could pursue handsome men or build a career.
The mission section, however, required completing specific objectives.
The Administration would hire participants at high pay to enter these worlds, and successful completion would bring substantial rewards.
Shi Ying needed money, so she signed up for a mission.
She vaguely remembered trying this technology years ago when it first came out, but she had little recollection of it.
This time, in the virtual world, her identity was that of a fresh graduate. Her mission was to win over Shang Yu, the nephew of the president of the Shang Group.
And today, she had an interview at the Shang Group.
The first step in winning over the male lead: create a chance encounter. The office was the easiest place for stories to happen.
Pushing the strange dream out of her mind, Shi Ying got out of bed and opened the curtains.
The place she was in within the virtual world was called Jiang City. Winter there was gloomy, the sky dull and gray, making people feel inexplicably depressed.
Unlike Yun City in the real world, where she lived—a place with spring-like weather all year round, bright and pleasant.
That afternoon, after leaving the Shang Group, Shi Ying stretched lazily at the building’s entrance.
For the past three days, she had been cramming professional knowledge day and night just for this interview.
The interview had gone fairly well. Regardless of the outcome, it was finally over. She silently prayed she could start the job soon.
If not… she’d just find another way!
She walked away from the office building happily, her ponytail swaying in a cheerful arc behind her.
On her way home, as she passed through the pavilion in the middle of the park lake, snow suddenly began to fall.
The white flakes floated lightly in the air like powdered sugar on a cake, quickly covering the ground with a thin layer.
Excited, Shi Ying reached out to catch them.
In the real world, she lived in the south and had never seen such heavy snow.
The pavilion was surrounded by water on all sides, connected to the shore by a wooden bridge. The lake surface was frozen, covered in thick snow. She leaned against the railing, admiring the view for a long while.
The wind and snow grew stronger. The trees around the pavilion shook as snow fell in flurries, slipping into her collar.
Shi Ying shivered and instinctively shrank her neck.
As she stepped out of the pavilion, she almost bumped into a man on the bridge. She quickly stepped back. “Sorry.”
Looking up, she saw him standing there in the heavy snowfall, dressed in a black coat. His features were sharp and cold, standing half in light and shadow like a pine tree dusted with frost in a barren wilderness.
Snow rested on his broad shoulders and short black hair.
His gaze was fixed on her.
Sticky, obsessed… and with a trace of disbelief.
Mom! I ran into a creep!
Shi Ying felt goosebumps from his stare. She quickly wrapped her coat tighter and hurried past him.
The wooden bridge was narrow. As they brushed past each other, Shang Chenyuan instinctively reached out. The ends of her wind-blown hair brushed against his fingertips.
The man froze completely, as if his legs had been nailed to the bridge.
He didn’t dare move, only watching her figure disappear into the endless snowfall.
After returning home, Shi Ying quickly settled dinner and began searching for information about Shang Yu online.
The Shang family was a top-tier wealthy family in Jiang City. The current executive president of the Shang Group was the youngest son of the old master, and Shang Yu, his grandson, was currently studying at Jiang City University while interning at the family company.
There wasn’t much information available online. After searching for a long time, Shi Ying still found nothing useful.
Just as she was about to close the computer, her eyes caught a photo in the corner of the webpage.
It was a back-view photo of Shang Group’s president, Shang Chenyuan, during an interview.
Tilting her head, she stared at it for a long time, feeling it looked strangely familiar.
Just as she was lost in thought, her phone rang.
“Is this Miss Shi Ying?”
“Yes, this is she. May I ask who’s calling?”
“I’m the director of the design department at Shang Group. We spoke earlier today.”
Shi Ying gripped her phone nervously. Sure enough, the next moment—
“Congratulations, you’ve passed the interview. Please come tomorrow to complete your onboarding procedures.”
She was so excited she nearly jumped.
She was one step closer to her one million reward!
“I’ll definitely be there on time!”
To celebrate, she went downstairs to buy some snacks.
As she carried the bag home, a sudden honking sound startled her.
She glanced at the black car parked by the roadside and muttered, “What’s wrong with them?”
“Sorry, President Shang.”
Inside the car, Jiang Wen hurriedly pulled back his hand, cold sweat covering his forehead.
Just now… that girl looked so much like Madam…
But hadn’t Madam disappeared five years ago?
Yes—disappeared, not dead.
As if she had never existed in this world at all.
Since then, President Shang had gone almost mad.
Jiang Wen glanced at the man in the back seat through the rearview mirror. The car lights were off, and the dim streetlights cast shadows across his face, revealing no emotion.
But he could clearly feel it—the moment that girl appeared, it was as if the whole world had fallen silent.
Shang Chenyuan’s gaze followed her tightly through the car window.
The flickering streetlights stretched her shadow, gradually overlapping with memories.
As if from another lifetime.