Spring brought a fine drizzle carried by the wind, casting a hazy grayish-white veil over the sky.
The entire city felt damp and sticky in the air.
There were still forty minutes to go before the official start of the Fu Group’s 40th Anniversary Celebration.
Inside the five-star hotel, lights shimmered, and the venue was packed with guests.
Lawyer Su Yi stepped out of the hotel’s parking lot, holding a black umbrella. Led by a hotel staff member, she made her way inside.
A few minutes later, her phone rang.
A female voice came through the speaker, asking, “Have you arrived yet?”
Su Yi quickly explained, “There was a traffic jam. I got delayed a bit, but I’m already at the entrance.”
She hung up and hurried forward.
Before she could walk far, her phone rang again.
Su Yi paused and looked down at the screen.
It was a client calling about an ongoing case, so she picked up.
“Sorry, I’m not at the law firm today. If you want to negotiate with the other party, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Please don’t worry—this case will definitely be handled properly.”
She continued walking while speaking.
A few minutes later, Su Yi finally hung up and let out a long breath.
That client was seriously impatient.
After ending the call, she made her way deeper into the banquet hall, scanning the room as she walked.
She pushed through the crowd and reached a quiet corner of the hall.
Finally, Su Yi found the person she was looking for.
Lin Qing was just accepting a glass of wine from a server. She swirled it gently and took a small sip.
She wore a simple, elegant pale teal dress. Her long hair was neatly tucked behind her ears, and she wore light makeup. As she spoke with others, her smile was warm yet slightly distant.
When Lin Qing spotted Su Yi, she teased, “You said you’d be here before seven, and now you’re twenty minutes late.”
Su Yi pulled a tissue from her bag and wiped the raindrops from her hands. “I stopped by the legal aid center, so it took a little longer.”
A server approached with drinks. Su Yi glanced at the tray of wine glasses and waved her hand. “No alcohol for me.”
Lin Qing quipped, “Legal aid center? It’s only just spring, and you’ve already picked out your annual aid case? That’s fast.”
As both longtime friends and colleagues, Lin Qing knew Su Yi usually didn’t take on aid cases until the end of the year. The early commitment caught her by surprise.
“It just happened to be a case I was interested in, so I took it.”
As they chatted, Su Yi’s phone rang again.
Annoyed, she rejected the call.
“Client again?” Lin Qing asked.
“Yeah, one of those pushy types. Total headache.”
Su Yi shoved the phone back into her bag and cast a glance of envy at Lin Qing.
“I really envy you. You chose the non-litigation track—more money, less stress. Look at me, running around like crazy, and the clients don’t even appreciate it.”
In the legal profession, litigation lawyers and non-litigation (transactional) lawyers followed completely different paths.
Litigators dealt with endless civil and commercial cases, often appearing in court.
Non-litigators didn’t need to wear robes or appear in court. Their day-to-day was more about office work, handling securities and capital market transactions.
To Su Yi, Lin Qing’s job seemed much more relaxed.
Lin Qing smiled at the complaint and offered comfort.
“There’s no such thing as an easy job in our field. A few years ago, I did litigation too, just like you. I thought switching to non-lit would be a breeze, but once I got into it, I realized—it’s just as exhausting. Look closely at my dark circles. Even ten layers of concealer can’t cover them.”
She pointed to her eyes.
Su Yi felt a little better after hearing that.
*
As they chatted idly, the banquet officially began.
After the host finished the opening remarks, the stars of the evening made their entrance.
“Next, Mr. Fu and Miss Song will grace us with the first dance of the night.”
As soon as the host finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
Lin Qing silently watched the couple in the center of the dance floor.
The man wore a sharp black suit, and the shifting lights cast shadows across his face, highlighting his high nose bridge and striking features.
Beside him, the woman wore a pale pink princess-style gown, her long hair cascading like a waterfall down to her waist. She looked at the man in front of her with a radiant smile.
The two of them moved in sync with the music, their dance fluid and elegant.
As the overhead lights flickered and swayed, the man shifted his gaze away from his partner and looked off into the distance—
Right at Lin Qing.
Their eyes met.
Lin Qing froze for a split second.
Caught in the act of staring.
A moment later, she quickly looked away.
Song Shuyao, noticing the man was distracted, frowned slightly and asked,
“Sinian, what are you looking at?”
Fu Sinian retracted his gaze and replied flatly,
“Nothing in particular.”
On the dance floor, silhouettes moved and overlapped. The male and female leads captured everyone’s attention with their graceful dance, drawing rounds of praise.
Su Yi couldn’t take her eyes off them. She nudged Lin Qing with her elbow and whispered,
“Hey, look at Young Master Fu and Miss Song—don’t they make a perfect match?”
Lin Qing took a swig of strong liquor. The rich aroma of the alcohol spread across her tongue and shot straight to her head.
“They do,” she replied expressionlessly.
“I heard they’re getting engaged next month. A marriage alliance between the Fus and the Songs—talk about a power couple.”
Engaged?
Lin Qing raised an eyebrow.
Song Shuyao had only been back from the UK for six months, and the Fu family was already rushing to arrange the engagement.
Quite hasty, wasn’t it?
By rough calculation, Fu Sinian was less than a year older than her.
Almost thirty.
The age where one should be settling down.
….
As the dance ended, the crowd erupted in applause.
With all the guests now present, the banquet officially began.
Fu Sinian accompanied Song Shuyao in greeting the guests.
Hua Ding Law Firm had previously participated in Fu Corporation’s financial transactions, so several of their lawyers were present tonight to offer congratulations.
Lin Qing and Su Yi were among them.
Song Shuyao approached with a glass of wine and clinked glasses with Lawyer Jiang Muhong, one of the partners at Hua Ding.
“Hello, Lawyer Jiang. Thank you and your team for your hard work on the equity foundation matter last time.”
A few months ago, the Song Corporation had a private equity strategic investment project, and Hua Ding’s legal team had been in charge.
Jiang Muhong smiled.
“You’re too polite, Miss Song. Though I was the named lead on that project, most of the actual work was handled by Lawyer Lin here. She played a far greater role than I did.”
Jiang Muhong had been with Hua Ding for over 20 years and was semi-retired. She had a high regard for Lin Qing and entrusted her with most major projects.
Song Shuyao turned to Lin Qing with a polite smile.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Lawyer Lin. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“You flatter me, Miss Song.”
Lin Qing lifted her glass and gestured in return.
The group chatted for a while.
Not long after, a pair of hands landed on Song Shuyao’s shoulders.
“Shuyao.”
She turned to look—Fu Sinian had appeared behind her.
“Sinian, come, let me introduce you. This is Lawyer Jiang, Lawyer Lin, and Lawyer Su from Hua Ding.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Fu Sinian offered a small smile to the three of them, pausing slightly when his gaze met Lin Qing’s.
Lin Qing pretended not to recognize him. With a calm expression, she shook his hand.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Qing made an excuse that she wasn’t feeling well and left for the restroom.
Inside the banquet hall, Fu Sinian continued to drink and mingle with guests.
Tonight’s annual Fu Corporation event had attracted many of the city’s top business figures, and Fu Sinian dared not be negligent, toasting each of them in turn.
“Sinian, Shuyao—word is you two are getting engaged soon. Congratulations!”
A smiling man raised his glass to Song Shuyao.
“Thank you,” she replied with a smile.
“I heard you joined your father’s company under a false identity and worked your way up from the bottom. You’re already a department manager after just a few months—impressive! I see you with new eyes.”
“I don’t deserve that kind of praise. If we’re talking impressive, it’s you. A PhD! Only two people from our graduating class got one, and you’re one of them.”
Song Shuyao and Fu Siyen had been high school classmates, with the friendship to match.
The two chatted back and forth.
Fu Sinian stood quietly nearby, occasionally inserting a few words. He didn’t remember much about this cousin—Fu Siyen had gone abroad to study at a young age.
But ever since Fu Siyen’s father had tried to seize power at a shareholder meeting years ago, Fu Sinian had little affection for their side of the family.
Drink after drink, a headache began to set in.
Fu Sinian turned to Shuyao and said,
“Shuyao, I’m not feeling great. I’m going upstairs to rest for a bit.”
“Are you okay?” she asked with concern.
“It’s nothing. Just had too much to drink—I’ll be fine after some rest.”
“You’d better take care of yourself. The entire Fu Corporation rests on your shoulders.”
Fu Siyen chimed in with a sarcastic undertone.
Fu Sinian shot him a cold glance and replied,
“Thanks for your concern, cousin.”
That “cousin” was polite—too polite.
Fu Siyen just smiled without responding.
Song Shuyao called over a staff member and helped escort Fu Sinian upstairs.
Meanwhile, Lin Qing exited the restroom, her head pounding like a drum.
As she walked down the hotel corridor, her steps grew unsteady.
A staff member approached her, concerned.
“Miss, are you feeling unwell? Would you like to rest in one of the guest rooms?”
Lin Qing’s head throbbed violently. She assumed she simply wasn’t used to drinking—perhaps it had been too long.
Thinking some rest would help, she nodded and followed the staff member.
The elevator opened. She was led to Room 519.
Click. The door opened.
Lin Qing stepped inside and instinctively reached for the light switch near the door with her left hand.
Before she could touch it—
A pair of unfamiliar hands grabbed her wrist and yanked her forward.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
A stranger’s presence enveloped her instantly.
Startled, Lin Qing let out a cry and widened her eyes—but she couldn’t make out the man’s face in the dark.
Panic surged. She instinctively tried to push him away.
But the man gave her no chance to resist.
He leaned in and captured her lips in a deep, forceful kiss.
Lin Qing’s mind exploded in a thunderous buzz. Her heart pounded uncontrollably.
The man’s hand slid up from her waist and stopped at her shoulder, gently pushing aside her strap.
Her dress began to slip off her body.
Lin Qing pressed her palms against his chest, trying to push him away.
But he only responded with an even deeper kiss.
A fog seemed to cloud her mind. Her thoughts scattered, and heat flared across her body.
Then came a chilling realization:
Something was wrong with the wine she drank tonight!
Lin Qing struggled to push Fu Sinian away, but it was no use.
The physical difference between them left her powerless.
A trail of kisses landed on her neck.
Her back hit the hotel’s cold sheets.
As her body was completely exposed, Lin Qing gasped softly. Her nails scratched a red mark down the man’s back.
He paused for a moment.
Then, in a deep voice near her ear, he said,
“Hang in there—it’ll be over soon.”
That familiar voice struck Lin Qing like a bolt of lightning.