“In the seven years Wen Sui disappeared, the whole world kept moving forward.
Only her childhood sweetheart stayed where he was, becoming a relic of someone who hadn’t even died.”
“Sexy lingerie? Lace? Black or white?”
A hazy question drifted into her ears, accompanied by the rustle of fabric.
A hand suddenly reached out, sharp manicured nails pinching Wen Sui’s chin, a voice lowered:
“This is the only chance… if you can’t pull it off… the company is finished…”
Bitter liquid was poured down her throat, choking Wen Sui into coughing.
Pungent perfume flooded in along with the woman’s voice, carrying a teasing, coquettish laugh:
“Little sister, bear with it—your good days are coming.”
“That man has no one by his side, and he’s handsome too. Survive this one night, and you’ll rise from the branch to become a phoenix. Don’t forget your big sister when that happens…”
A coat was draped over her, and the woman half-dragged, half-pushed her into some hotel suite.
The door clicked shut, and the room fell into darkness.
Wen Sui’s mind was a blur, as if she were looking through fogged-up frosted glass. She raised a hand and patted her own head.
Wasn’t she at the library cramming late for her final exams?
She’d originally been there with Pei Yuli, but something urgent had come up at the Pei family, and Pei Yuli had to leave first, planning to come back later to pick her up and take her home.
Wen Sui’s stomach had been growling too hard to wait, so she’d left the library alone, planning to grab dinner first…
And then a flash of white light before her eyes—
And suddenly she was here?
Sexy lingerie, drugged drinks, one night…
Wen Sui shuddered, her small face draining of color, and pulled her clothes tightly around herself as if seeking a sense of security.
The room was pitch black, only stray moonlight from the window slipping through the floating curtains and pooling on the floor. By that hazy moonlight, Wen Sui rose to her feet, but before she could steady herself, her foot suddenly gave way and she collapsed back onto the sofa.
She didn’t know what drug they’d forced on her. The bitterness on her tongue spread down her throat, crawling along her blood vessels into her limbs. Her fingers went weak, her chest fluttered and burned, and she couldn’t muster a shred of strength.
Propping herself up on her arms, she struggled to crawl forward a little, intending to take the chance to escape.
Abruptly, the sound of a card being swiped came from the door.
With the clear click of the lock’s tongue, the door was slowly pulled open from outside.
Bright white light from the corridor spilled in. Backlit, she couldn’t make out the man’s face.
But he was extremely tall, dressed head to toe in a black suit and slacks that hung with beautiful drape. His aura was cold and powerful, radiating an intense, almost oppressive force.
The girl on the sofa shrank back, clutching her coat tightly around herself.
Her movements were tiny, and the room’s lights were off.
Yet the man standing at the door was remarkably sharp-eared.
Though she couldn’t see his face against the light, the man with slicked-back hair tilted his head almost imperceptibly, his icy gaze cutting through the darkness of the room to land on her with uncanny precision.
Wen Sui pulled her clothes tighter.
With a soft click, the door closed.
The last thread of light was shut outside. With the snap of the lock, the man locked the door.
In the deep blackness came the sound of leather shoes on the floor.
Step by step, closer and closer to her, growing clearer with every stride.
A suffocating, terrifying aura spread outward. Wen Sui felt a chill all around her, as if the air itself had dropped below freezing.
The heavy perfume on her coat, the cold fragrance sharp in the room, and a faint trace of alcohol…
The girl on the sofa instinctively shuddered, hugging her coat tight around herself as she stared hard at that blurry figure.
The other party seemed very irritated, the air around him oppressively low.
With a heartless cold sneer, he flicked his wrist, and a dagger appeared in his hand.
Ice-cold, reflecting a glint of chill light, carrying a biting killing intent.
His voice was hoarse too, as if ground down by sandpaper, with a certain careless murderousness as he commented:
“Disgusting.”
The person in front of her, dressed like a widower who’d just lost his wife, was a pervert—and now the pervert wanted to kill her.
The girl on the sofa, her small face deathly pale, shrank back with all her might.
The sofa’s backrest was right behind her; there was nowhere left to retreat. Her limp limbs had no strength in them, and all she could do was watch helplessly as he closed in, like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
She was going to die just like this, all muddle-headed and confused.
The footsteps kept closing in, the fingers gripping the dagger twisting lightly.
It seemed he was searching for the best spot to strike, then run her clean through.
The glint of cold light reflected onto the man’s face, cold and cruel.
In the darkness, the girl’s pupils dilated, her watery eyes brimming with moisture. Amid the violent pounding of her heart from nervousness, she pressed her soft lips tightly together.
Her voice was slightly distorted with fear, trembling, in a pitch that had nearly broken:
“I didn’t—”
The man’s motion of spinning the dagger froze in midair.
The girl curled up on the sofa had no time to look closely. Cowering, she spoke faster, as if trying to pour out all her terror in one breath, her voice quavering at the ends:
“It wasn’t me—someone else pushed me in here, I wasn’t trying to seduce you…”
The tall figure in front of her stood motionless, his well-defined fingers gripping the dagger so hard that the blue veins on the back of his hand stood out gnarled and prominent, his breath catching.
An overwhelmingly intense gaze cut through the pitch-black room and landed on her face—and within a shock strong enough to upend seas and overturn rivers, it clung tightly to that snow-white little face blurred by the darkness.
A buzz filled his ears, his heart beating too fast. He seemed unable to understand her words, so baffled that he even tilted his head slightly.
Wen Sui forced down her racing heartbeat and clutched her clothes tight.
The knife-wielding executioner made no further move, but he still seemed like a demon ready to pounce and stab her to death the next second.
With the darkness for cover, he shouldn’t be able to see her clearly.
The girl gathered her courage, her soft, delicate voice small but clear, echoing in the air:
“I’ve never seen you, and I can’t see your face clearly now either…”
“Please let me go, I won’t say a word to anyone, I’ll leave right away, I won’t dirty your hands, I’ll keep it a secret…”
With a clatter, the cold-gleaming dagger fell to the floor, bounced a few times, and vanished from sight.
The last trace of light in the room disappeared.
At the edge of her vision, the devil-like man bent down, bringing with him an approaching, biting cold fragrance.
The girl on the sofa’s pupils widened, tears spilling from her eyes out of pure reflex, her lashes damp with terror.
Her mind went completely blank, the words in her mouth cut off abruptly.
She didn’t dare speak, didn’t dare breathe, hunching her shoulders tight.
But the next second, the man’s cold fingers landed on her face.
Slightly rough fingertips touched her cheek, brushing gently, a single touch and then gone.
In a tone as if afraid of frightening her, careful and halting, he spoke:
“Suisui, it’s me…”
“It’s Gege…”