Early the next morning, in an old, run-down residential complex in the city.
After a night of nightmares, Shen Zhihui woke right on schedule at around seven, guided by her body clock. She got out of bed, her forehead dotted with fine beads of sweat.
The back of her nightdress was damp, too.
Soaked through.
Shen Zhihui hurried to take a shower. That dream had been horrifying.
She had dreamed of Jiang Jingnian again last night.
But unlike the steamy dreams other people had about CEOs, the scenes in her dreams were never anything pleasant.
She had only dreamed that Jiang Jingnian tracked her down and threw her into international waters to feed the sharks.
And that wasn’t the end of it. She thrashed about in the open sea for ages while he stood on the deck of a cruise ship, looking down at her. Then he snarled, “Shen Zhihui, the women I hate most are the ones who climb into a man’s bed. This is what you get.”
Shen Zhihui could practically cry: !!!
He was the one who had pulled her close and taken her first time.
But at least it had only been a nightmare.
From now on, she would have to keep out of Jiang Jingnian’s way whenever she saw him.
After a quick hot shower, she changed into a dress and came out. Mother Shen entered with a photo of Gu Mingyu.
“Huihui, take a look. This is Gu Mingyu, the man you’re meeting for a blind date this weekend.” Mother Shen placed his photo on the dressing table and sighed sadly. “Huihui, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to go through this.”
Not wanting to upset her mother, Shen Zhihui hurriedly put the photo away. “Mom, don’t be sad. The blind date might not work out.”
“Grandfather can’t sell me off for the rest of my life.”
Though she said that, Mother Shen knew the truth… If they didn’t do something soon, her Zhihui really would be forced to marry into the Gu family.
This time was different.
Old Master Shen and the Eldest Uncle’s family genuinely wanted to do business with the Gu family.
“Just go along with it for now. Your father and I will think of something.” Mother Shen didn’t want to push her daughter into a fire pit, either. “Shen Qianqian stole Shen Zhuli from you, so they can’t use her for a marriage alliance. You’re the only one left.”
“But Gu Mingyu isn’t a good person, either.” Even though he and their daughter had been classmates in elementary school, his reputation wasn’t very good. His family had money, but all he did was drink and carouse.
If Zhihui really married him, she would never have any peace.
“Mom, don’t be sad. I can make the Gu family think I’m unsuitable.” It was only a blind date, after all; the marriage alliance hadn’t been settled yet.
She had a way to make Gu Mingyu dislike her.
“I’m running late. I’d better get to work.” After comforting Mother Shen, Shen Zhihui took her briefcase from the coat rack and headed out.
Mother Shen followed her. “Take a bun to eat on the way.”
“Okay.” Shen Zhihui was a little hungry.
Mother Shen went to the kitchen, put a bun in a plastic bag for her, and could barely hold back her tears. “Huihui, be careful on the way.”
Shen Zhihui hated seeing her mother cry. Mother Shen had once been a refined lady from a distinguished family, but who could have guessed… Shen Zhihui reached out and hugged her. “Mom, things will get better. Once I become a senior designer, we’ll be able to break free from Grandfather and the others’ control.”
“Mm.” Mother Shen stroked her hair.
She and her husband had cherished their Zhihui like a little treasure for more than a decade.
Who could have imagined that the Eldest Uncle—their closest relative—would stab them in the back and bring everything crashing down?
They had lost everything.
And now their daughter had to struggle constantly just to make ends meet. It hurt Mother Shen to see it.
Still, she believed things would gradually improve.
The Eldest Uncle’s family would get what they deserved.
*
Shen Zhihui came downstairs and slowly made her way along the path toward the bus stop outside the complex.
When she was nearly there, she was so hungry she could hardly stand it.
She had no idea why.
She’d never been this hungry in the mornings before.
Why had she been so ravenous every morning for the past two days?
Shen Zhihui rubbed her stomach, opened the plastic bag, and, without caring that she was in public, started eating the bun beside the bus stop.
What she didn’t know was that across the road, in the parking lane opposite the bus stop, a custom-made Maybach worth tens of millions sat quietly in wait, dazzlingly out of place in such a cheap neighborhood.
Inside, the handsome man fastened the Van Cleef metal cuff links on his shirt with elegant, aristocratic ease as he watched the woman eating a bun at the bus stop across the road.
She had been born into a wealthy family, after all. Even now that she had fallen on hard times, her extraordinary bearing made her stand out from the crowd.
Jiang Jingnian finished fastening his cuff links and said to Lu Congbai in the front seat, “Order breakfast for Miss Shen from Yuzhuxuan. The best they have.”
Lu Congbai nodded. “Yes, President Jiang.”
“Go to the office first. If I invite her right now, she probably won’t get in the car.” Jiang Jingnian said, “Keep two hours free for me this afternoon. I’m going to her design company to ask Miss Shen to do some design work.”
“Yes, President Jiang.” Lu Congbai made a note of it, started the car, and drove away.
Shen Zhihui ate a couple of bites of her bun by the bus stop. When the bus arrived, she put the rest back in the bag and climbed aboard to go to work.
Her home wasn’t very far from the office—about a thirty-minute trip.
When she arrived, Guoguo was already waiting by her desk, grinning from ear to ear.
She looked as if she thought Shen Zhihui had won the lottery.
Shen Zhihui walked over with her bag. “Guoguo, what are you grinning about?”
“Look!” Guoguo said with a grin, pointing at her desk.
Shen Zhihui looked down and froze. Who had bought her all this breakfast?
And the logo on the bags was from Yuzhuxuan, the most high-end restaurant in the city.
“Who sent this to me?” Shen Zhihui wasn’t as surprised as Guoguo. If anything, she was wary.
She had been pampered since childhood and was used to the finer things. Even though she was poor now, she wasn’t the sort of materialistic girl who would be over the moon at the sight of a brand name.
Instead, she worried someone might have given it to her with the intention of poisoning her.
“I don’t know either. When I got here, a young man from Yuzhuxuan delivered it himself. He didn’t say who sent it, only that it was for you,” Guoguo replied.
“If no one will tell us who it’s from, take it back for me. Otherwise, the Old Witch will see it and start gossiping.” Shen Zhihui picked up the beautifully packaged bags and handed them to Guoguo.
Guoguo looked a little disappointed. “You really won’t eat it? Maybe it’s from someone who’s pursuing you.”
“I heard breakfast at Yuzhuxuan costs 1,888 a serving, and it’s special-order only. They don’t cater to poor people—just the rich and powerful.” Guoguo was an ordinary person who had never been pampered.
She thought it would be a shame to send back such an expensive breakfast.
“I don’t take what I haven’t earned. I don’t want to eat something when I don’t even know where it came from.” Shen Zhihui sat down behind her desk and took out her design drafts.
She was ready to get to work.
Seeing that her Zhihui really wouldn’t have any, Guoguo could only carry the expensive, too-hot-to-handle breakfast back to Yuzhuxuan.
After taking two steps, she spotted a pure white card edged in gold inside one of the bags.
Curious, she pulled it out and looked at the signature and name.
She was so shocked she nearly screamed on the spot.
Holy crap.
It was from Big Shot Jiang?!
“What are you doing? Why haven’t you taken it back yet?” Shen Zhihui asked, turning her head curiously to look at Guoguo, who was making exaggerated faces, a pencil in her hand.
Guoguo glanced around the office. No one had come in. She quickly hurried over to Shen Zhihui, gasping for breath, and handed her the card. “Look. It’s from Jiang Jingnian.”
The moment she heard Jiang Jingnian’s name, Shen Zhihui’s brows drew together.
Unbelievable.
Why did whatever she feared always happen?
She’d spent the whole night having nightmares because of him, and now she’d received breakfast from him this morning.
Shen Zhihui bit her lip as she read the words on the card. She honestly felt like she wanted to die.
Could this Big Shot really be trying to invite her to have some “fun”?
She couldn’t handle that.
“He actually invited you to talk about a design at one thirty this afternoon?” Guoguo whispered, unable to hide her excitement. “Huihui, do you think he’s really taken a liking to you?”
Shen Zhihui rubbed her eyelids, thoroughly irritated. “What are you talking about? Have you been reading too many romance novels?”
“A man like him, who’s spent years in business and controls so much capital, isn’t going to take a liking to some woman just like that. He’s more likely looking to play around.”
But she didn’t want to play along with him.
She was afraid he’d play her to death.
That wouldn’t be worth it.
She still had her parents to support, and she had to get revenge on the Eldest Uncle!
“Okay, okay, I was only joking. So what are you going to do with the breakfast?” Guoguo asked quickly, afraid Shen Zhihui would get angry.
Shen Zhihui took the bag from her. “Leave it here. I’ll meet him this afternoon and give it back to him.”
The King of Hell had tracked her down here, too. Shen Zhihui knew she couldn’t avoid him.
She could only face him first.