Lei Zhengyang lounged back, his piercing gaze locked on the woman before him.
Since the day he turned eighteen, she had been a seed planted deep in his heart, blossoming into an obsession. She was stunningly obedient yet breathtakingly beautiful, with a razor-sharp intellect that outshone the stars. Known as the capital's unrivaled goddess, her charm wasn't just skin-deep—her brilliance had single-handedly transformed the Song family's Tian Ding Group from a nobody startup into a towering empire in just three years.
Now, that seed had sprouted, and it was ready to bloom.
The girl he once knew had matured into a woman of breathtaking elegance, her every gesture dripping with sophistication and allure. That intoxicating fragrance, that seductive poise—everything about her screamed temptation, a forbidden fruit no man could resist.
Yet, this radiant flower bloomed untouched in the heart of the capital. Why? Because her grandfather was Song Yunhe, a retired titan whose mere sneeze could send the city trembling in fear.
A woman like her was destined to be untouchable, a queen above all. Song Yingfei was no exception.
Lei Zhengyang could recall every one of their twenty-six encounters. But in all those moments, she'd spared him only three fleeting glances—not of affection, but of fiery disdain, sparked by his provocative taunts.
Even now, as he'd daringly whisked her to this secluded lair, she sat there, unshaken, radiating regal composure. Her eyes, cold as a winter storm, looked down on him like he was nothing. That arrogance, that contempt—it set his blood boiling.
"Don't you get it, woman? You're at my mercy. Soon, I'll strip you bare and toy with you till I'm satisfied!" Lei Zhengyang raised his wine glass, the exquisite Lafite tasteless on his tongue. His entire being was consumed by her presence.
His family was no less powerful than hers—maybe even stronger. But he knew crossing this line would bring ruin. Did he care? Hell no. He'd go all in, consequences be damned. Even if it meant a bullet to the head, he'd take her first.
In this city, nobody dared disrespect Young Master Lei. Nobody except her.
Tonight, he'd crush that lofty pride of hers and show her that this world belonged to men—and women like her were meant to kneel beneath them.
But his words fell flat. Song Yingfei barely flicked her gaze his way, her voice as steady as a blade. "Lei Zhengyang, do you even comprehend the consequences of what you're about to do?"
She wasn't here by his doing alone. He was just a pawn in a larger game. If he dared defile her, it wouldn't just be him and her—it'd ignite a war between the Song and Lei families. This was no game.
Song Yingfei wasn't afraid of violation. Her fate had long been sealed—a bargaining chip for her family's alliances, destined to wed a stranger. Compared to that, Lei Zhengyang was at least a familiar face. No big deal.
Her calm defiance only stoked his rage. If she'd begged for mercy, he might've let her go, even played the gentleman and escorted her home. But no—she stood her ground, and that turned his anger into a roaring inferno of desire.
A man consumed by impulse is a man without reason, and Lei Zhengyang was never the sharpest blade in the drawer.
"Consequences? I don't give a damn about consequences! You're my prize tonight, and I'm claiming you!" His pride as a man was on the line. Young Master Lei, the capital's untouchable playboy, had conquered countless women—eighty, maybe a hundred. There was no way this one would defy him.
Her beauty? Just a trophy. His spear would pierce through her defenses, clean and swift.
As his eyes blazed with primal hunger, Song Yingfei shook her head, her voice cutting through the haze. "You'll regret this—"
But Lei Zhengyang was done talking. He lunged, pinning her beneath him. Her icy demeanor did little to cool his fire. "For a man's honor, even if they gun me down tomorrow, I'll have the capital's number one beauty tonight!"
Song Yingfei turned her face away, silent, as he tore at her dress. The fabric ripped, revealing a glimpse of her flawless skin, a tantalizing vision that carried the faint, virginal scent of untouched beauty. It was perfection.
At that moment, even a gun to his head wouldn't have stopped this reckless heir.
But then—a faint glow pierced the lust-drenched room. Lei Zhengyang, poised to claim his prize, felt his body lurch as if plummeting into a bottomless void. A scream tore from his throat as he flailed in panic.
Song Yingfei felt the weight lift. The drunken brute pinning her down was… floating? His terrified face twisted as he clawed at the air, his body fading into a blur. In an instant, he was gone, vanishing like a ghost into thin air.
While Song Yingfei stared in shock, Lei Zhengyang was certain he was doomed. They say karma catches up to the wicked, and surely the heavens were smiting him now. But the streaks of electric light swirling around him didn't harm him. Time blurred, and then—he crashed down, clad only in his briefs, into a cold, shadowy room.
"Hell yeah, I'm alive!" he roared, only to freeze mid-sentence. A menacing old man in a wheelchair glared at him, his eyes burning with a rage that could shred him to pieces.
That face… Lei Zhengyang knew it too well. As the third son of the Lei family, he feared no one—except his grandfather.
"G-Grandpa? Fancy meeting you here! Uh, what's with the wheelchair? Arthritis acting up again? I told you those doctors are quacks. Tomorrow, I'll find you a real folk healer, fix that rheumatism for good!" Flattery was his go-to move with the old man, and it never failed.
Until now.
The old man's fury softened, replaced by an eerie calm. "You really don't recognize me, do you? Take a good look."
Grandpa Lei was a tempest of a man, always barking orders. This gentle tone? Unheard of. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Lei Zhengyang studied the man. The resemblance was uncanny, but this wasn't his grandfather. The legs—shriveled below the knees. Impossible.
"Who the hell are you?" Lei Zhengyang snapped, fear creeping in. "Song family goon? Think you can kidnap me? My grandpa's Lei Baozi, you're screwed!"
The room crackled with electric arcs, no longer harmless. They lashed at him like whips, flipping him over, searing his skin with swollen, agonizing welts.
"You dare use torture? The Lei family will bury you!"
"The Lei family? You dare mention the Lei family?" The old man's face twisted with barely contained rage. "Look at me, boy. I am Lei Zhengyang. I'm you—forty years from now. This is your future: a broken man, chained to a wheelchair, living a pathetic, miserable life."
Lei Zhengyang's eyes bulged. He wanted to check if the old man was running a fever. "Alright, pops, I'm sure your story's fascinating. How about we hit a bar, grab a drink, and you can tell me all about it?"
The old man's smile was chilling. "Fascinating? No. My life is a cesspool of regret. I'm a useless husk. You raped Song Yingfei, spent five years in prison, and got your legs smashed. You tried to claw your way back, but what's lost is gone forever. Mistakes are eternal. But I refuse to accept it. I've spent decades building this space-shifting device—two uses only—to change your fate, and mine."
"You can't lock me up, that's illegal!"
The old man ignored him. "The device recharges in a year. Until then, I'm sending you to the Hellfire Training Grounds. Survive, and you'll return to your world. Fail, and you'll dissolve into the void."
"Hey, old man, we're the same guy! If I die, you're toast too!" Lei Zhengyang shouted, dread sinking in.
The wheelchair turned, the old man's voice cold. "I've lived long enough. If I can't rewrite fate, I'd rather die now."
Lei Zhengyang's head spun. He was twenty-one, yet here he was, face-to-face with his sixty-one-year-old self. Was this even possible?
Raping Song Yingfei, five years in prison, legs broken—it didn't add up. Five years was a fair price for his crime. The Song family wouldn't go that far, and the Lei family wasn't weak. Unless… was Song Yingfei right? Was the one who "gifted" her to him playing a darker game?
Getting Song Yingfei had been his obsession since his eighteenth birthday. His best friend helped make it happen. What was wrong with that?