The sky grew dark as the black night quietly arrived, and the temperature fell significantly compared to the daytime.
Without a scarf, cold wind kept pouring in through the collar of the sweater. Shen Jianian tightly wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the chill. Her steps grew more sluggish, like an oil-leaking machine struggling to function properly.
Blood on her forehead blurred her vision. She lifted her sleeve to wipe it away, but accidentally brushed against her swollen cheek, causing a sharp, burning pain. A scab had formed on the corner of her lip, and even the slightest movement would send waves of pain through her.
Leaving the upscale villa area, Shen Jianian looked around. Few pedestrians were on the street, and those who were hurried along, hardly pausing, perhaps worried about an impending downpour trapping them.
Where should she go?
Shen Jianian moved forward aimlessly, not considering the future; she didn't even know where she would rest her head tonight.
In this unfamiliar Yicheng, apart from her uncle's family, she had no other relatives. Even her uncle's family, after this incident, had been removed from her category of "family."
They were not worthy.
Selfish people simply do not understand the meaning of family.
If, after death, people could truly look down from the heavens to see their loved ones, would her parents feel heartache? Their only daughter was living such a miserable life in the world.
Shen Jianian couldn't walk any further. She felt so tired, her eyelids heavy and unable to open, breathing became extremely difficult, more air going out than coming in.
Was she about to die?
Death would be a relief. Shen Jianian curled her lips into a smile, finding joy in her fading consciousness. Perhaps death would reunite her with her parents, better than suffering alone.
She should have ended this miserable, endless life the day her mother followed her father away.
Unfortunately, she hadn't yet avenged her parents, hadn't yet taken back the Lingyue Group from the Pei Family, the company her parents painstakingly managed all their lives. Would they blame her if she left like this?
Having been meticulously cared for by her parents and enjoyed the life of a princess for twenty years, she couldn't just be so thoughtless.
Right, she couldn't die easily until her great vengeance was exacted.
Before falling to the ground, Shen Jianian, propped up by the will born from hatred, forced open her eyes, moved a few steps, and leaned her body against an old locust tree by the roadside.
She also had a close friend in Beicheng. When the next passerby came by, she could borrow their phone to call Bai Changxia for help. Surely, she wouldn't refuse.
Find a way to get through tonight, and as for the future... Survive first, and then make long-term plans.
Shen Jianian made plans for herself, looking straight and eagerly at the road, silently praying to encounter a good-hearted passerby soon.
In her anticipation, an old black sedan stopped by the roadside not far from her.
The car body was spattered with mud spots, appearing filthy. The car door was pushed open by a hand, and a man in his thirties got out. Tall and thin, he had unshaven stubble on his chin, a cigarette tucked behind his ear, and with a roguish air, he glanced sideways, surveying Shen Jianian from head to toe, unable to resist whistling.
A stunning beauty, who still managed to exude elegance, despite her dirtied state on the streets.
It's no wonder Miss Yin couldn't sit still and sought someone to tarnish the brilliance of this pure white jade. With Shen Jianian's presence, it would only make others pale in comparison.
Today, Li Wu scored big time.
The last time he caught a distant glimpse of Shen Jianian on Nanshui Pedestrian Street, it left him itching for more, but as Boss Yin's niece, he dared only to desire but not to touch.
What to do, suddenly, he didn't want to share her with his brothers.
Three or four men around Li Wu's age got off the rundown sedan behind him. Some wore fur-lined leather jackets, others faded denim clothes, and one even limped... Every one of them exuded a rowdy air.
The looks they gave Shen Jianian were not unfamiliar to her; they were blatantly filled with desire.
Shen Jianian felt a chill at her feet, wanting to run but lacking the strength, she could only helplessly watch as they approached her.
The leading man removed the cigarette from his ear, put it in his mouth, covered it to light it, and then curled one corner of his mouth at Shen Jianian, speaking with a sticky tone, "Don't worry, brother has always cherished beauty; I will treat you well."
Li Wu's brothers all laughed upon hearing that.
Shen Jianian, with her back against the tree trunk, already pale, now showed a terrified expression, her lips trembling, "Who are you? Don't... don't come any closer, I've called the police..."
"By the time the police arrive, Brother Wu will have finished the deed." The man in the leather jacket behind Li Wu sneered.
Li Wu snorted with laughter, "Roll, your brother isn't that fast, is he?"
He raised an eyebrow, looking at the quivering Shen Jianian like a trembling quail, took out the half-smoked cigarette from his mouth, tossed it to the ground, and crushed it with his shoe tip, exhaling a smoky breath.
Shen Jianian smelled the pungent tobacco drifting with the wind, her chest heaved violently, almost inducing nausea.
Li Wu grabbed her by the back of the neck, pulling her face close to his, slowly savouring her and remarking, "Damn, she's beautiful."
"Brother Wu, hurry up," said another subordinate, touching his chest, feeling itchy for action.
"Get lost!"
Li Wu made up his mind; Shen Jianian belonged to him alone, no one else could lay a finger on her.
With the lush greenery of the suburbs just outside the wealthy district, he couldn't wait any longer. Dragging the frail Shen Jianian, he moved out of the surveillance camera's view into a secluded spot, beginning to undo his belt.
*
At Rose Manor, the aroma of tea filled the air.
Fu Jichen invited Lu Yanzhi to stay for dinner. The maid Zhou Rongzhen, having received his instructions, went to the kitchen to ask the chef to prepare a few extra dishes, while she stayed to assist.
Dinner was served half an hour earlier than usual. After the meal, Lu Yanzhi lingered in the living room to enjoy some tea.
Speaking of enjoying life, Fu Jichen was indeed unparalleled. Here, there was no end to good tea and wine. With the manor's beautiful environment, no matter which window you looked out of, it was full of green and pink, elegant and pleasing; anyone who came would be reluctant to leave.
"You said she would return, yet she's still nowhere to be seen." Lu Yanzhi sipped tea, bringing up the afternoon bet, "You might have to forfeit. Let me think... How much of your shares would be appropriate? Too much and I'd seem greedy, too little isn't worthwhile, given how rare it is for Fu Da to place a bet once."
Fu Jichen lay back in his chair, resting his chin on one hand, the other toying with a smooth and lustrous white jade handle on his wrist, rotating it between his fingers, "Did you know who that girl was before you set the bet?"
"Who?"
Lu Yanzhi, having spent more time in Yicheng than Fu Jichen, had at least an 80% familiarity rate with faces from the upper circles, though not a hundred. Upon Fu Jichen's reminder, he suddenly realized he truly hadn't met the girl before.
Anyone invited to Old Mrs. Qin's birthday banquet should have an unusual identity.
"Did you know?" Lu Yanzhi sensed something wasn't right, suspecting he'd fallen into Fu Jichen's trap.
Fu Jichen, with unhurried calm, said, "Shen Shiyan's only daughter, from Beicheng's Lingyue Group."
She had stayed at his place for three days. He wouldn't be unsure of her background. Today, when she woke up and he asked her name, it was the final confirmation.
She said her name was Shen Jianian.
Then there was no mistake.
Lu Yanzhi, thoroughly shocked, sat up a little straighter, his crossed leg set down, and from his palm holding the teacup, a few drops spilled with his movement: "The Lingyue Group was swallowed by the Pei Family, Shen Shiyan's heart disease struck, and he couldn't be saved. His wife followed him, leaving behind a daughter, is it her?!"
"You're quite well informed," Fu Jichen commented in a bland voice.
"But that doesn't make sense, how could the Shen family's heiress be in Yicheng?"
"As far as I know, she has an uncle named Yin Chengde in Yicheng. Her uncle and aunt, huh..."
The abrupt ringing interrupted Fu Jichen's words. He sat up a bit more, reached for the phone on the coffee table, and placed it to his ear. Qu Mo's voice came from the other side.
"Miss Shen has fainted, her condition isn't looking too good."