CHAPTER 1

Chi Shuang had been looking forward to her engagement banquet for a long time, only for it to amount to nothing in the end.

She had carefully chosen the venue, and the dress was custom-made by a renowned designer. Every detail perfectly reflected the childhood dream she had always envisioned. But she never could have imagined that just as her dream was about to come true, it would turn into a nightmare instead.

A week ago, Liang Qian had gone on a yacht trip with a few of his childhood friends. It was partly to celebrate securing a major investment project and partly—so they claimed—a “bachelor’s night.” When Chi Shuang heard about it, she merely scoffed. This group of people would say anything just to justify having a gathering.

Back when she first started dating Liang Qian, she had her doubts from time to time—not because of his character, but simply because no one truly understands each other at the beginning of a relationship. She had heard and seen enough stories about so-called wealthy heirs to be wary, and his frequent meetups with his childhood friends for drinking and dining only made her more suspicious.

Were these gatherings innocent, or was there more to them?

Like a detective channeling Sherlock Holmes, she meticulously observed every detail.

Did he develop any new speech habits when texting?

Were his emojis the ones he usually used?

Did his eyes hold sincerity when he told her he loved her?

There was a time when she found all this exhausting—even began regretting how impulsively she had agreed to his pursuit. She couldn’t deny that his grand and passionate courtship had fed her vanity. Hadn’t she fantasized about a domineering CEO falling in love with her? But once she actually got together with him, she realized how vast the gap between them truly was.

As her anxiety deepened, the thought of breaking up crossed her mind.

Before Liang Qian, every boyfriend she had ever dated had spoiled and doted on her. She had never once doubted their loyalty while they were with her. But with him? Was it normal for her to be this insecure?

Perhaps sensing her growing coldness, Liang Qian made a decisive move. Barely a month into their relationship, he introduced her to his social circle.

They had been together for two years now, and everything had remained peaceful. That was largely thanks to the fact that his childhood friends were, surprisingly, decent and upright men. If even one of them had been the type to flirt around recklessly, she and Liang Qian wouldn’t have lasted this long.

Birds of a feather flock together.

If there’s a rotten apple in the basket, it’s only a matter of time before the whole lot spoils.

She thought this trip would be no different from the countless ones before.

When she sent him a message that night and he didn’t reply, she didn’t think much of it. But by the following afternoon, she received a call from one of his childhood friends—Meng Huaiqian.

“Chi Shuang.”

In the few times she had interacted with him, Meng Huaiqian had always spoken in a steady and indifferent tone. But this time, he sounded completely out of sorts.

“I’m Meng Huaiqian. My driver will come pick you up in a bit.”

“There’s something… something…”

He kept repeating those words, stumbling over them incoherently.

Chi Shuang frowned, a thought flashing through her mind.

Had they gotten themselves into some kind of trouble?

Or—had that bastard Liang Qian done something reckless after drinking?

And it was at that very moment that she suddenly realized—perhaps, deep down, she had never truly trusted this relationship.

“I still haven’t figured out which matter is more serious, which one I find harder to accept.”

Chi Shuang’s eyes were red and swollen. She pulled out a tissue and continued sobbing.

Her hair was disheveled, and she hadn’t cared about her appearance for nearly a week. She looked utterly miserable.

Forget washing her hair or doing skincare—she had lost all appetite and was surviving on sheer willpower. She had been dieting for the engagement, still three pounds short of her goal, but in the past few days, she had easily met that target and even lost an extra two pounds.

A business car was parked downstairs, with three drivers working in shifts around the clock, ready to take her to the hospital at any time.

Jiang Shiyu listened absentmindedly as Chi Shuang poured out her sorrows.

The two had known each other since kindergarten. Other than her, there was no one else who could accompany Chi Shuang through the most difficult days of her life.

Friends were meant to be relied on for support, but even that had its limits.

Whenever Jiang Shiyu felt like her nerves were about to give out, she would receive a call from Chi Shuang’s current greatest enemy.

His tone was far more composed than Chi Shuang’s. Though his voice was hoarse, he remained polite. “Miss Jiang, thank you for your trouble during this time. Please rest assured, I’ve already spoken with your company’s management. You will be on paid leave for the next month, and in addition, I will compensate you with ten times your salary. I ask for your help in comforting Chi Shuang.”

“If he had cheated, whether physically or emotionally, I would be disgusted either way,” Chi Shuang said, her eyes brimming with tears. “But now, it really seems like he’s dead. I don’t even know if I would rather he had cheated and was still alive or remained faithful but died… Shiyu, if only I had stopped him that day and not let him go!”

Jiang Shiyu, dark circles under her eyes, sighed. “Shuangshuang, don’t blame yourself. This isn’t your fault.”

“Of course, it’s not my fault!” Chi Shuang wiped her tears and gritted her teeth. “This is all that damn Meng’s fault. If it weren’t for saving him, Liang Qian wouldn’t be missing right now! I had a bad feeling about him from the first time I met him. Shiyu, how does he have the audacity to still be alive, to keep breathing in this world? If it were me, and my best friend died for me, I wouldn’t last twenty-four hours—I’d kill myself out of guilt!”

Jiang Shiyu stifled a yawn.

Human emotions were like reservoirs—when drained too much, they eventually ran dry.

That’s why people say time is the best healer.

She still remembered that when the accident first happened, Shuangshuang had fainted upon hearing the news. When she woke up, she either stayed silent, shed tears in silence, or stared blankly into space.

That CEO Meng, despite his busy schedule, had hired several well-known psychologists for Shuangshuang, unwilling to let her collapse completely.

It wasn’t until the third day that Shuangshuang finally spoke.

Now, on the seventh day, she had started talking more and more. This house had been her and Liang Qian’s love nest, filled with traces of him. Seeing those reminders made her cry, and after crying, she would curse—cursing Liang Qian for being irresponsible and leaving her behind, cursing Meng Huaiqian even more, her words laced with every profanity imaginable.

“Shiyu, if it were you, if it were me, would you risk your life for me?”

Jiang Shiyu felt another chill run down her spine.

This was her best, best friend.

They had even shared their most private secrets, and in college, they had pooled their living expenses together…

Endure it!

Jiang Shiyu reached out and patted Chi Shuang’s hair. “If you ask me, I really don’t know how to answer. But when a person values someone else’s life more than their own in a life-threatening moment, they would definitely be willing to risk their life for that person. Shuangshuang, I know it’s hard for you to accept reality right now, but I just want to tell you—no matter how much pain and sorrow you feel, you still have me, and you still have Uncle and Auntie.”

Chi Shuang’s nose tingled, and tears fell again.

She wrapped her arms around Jiang Shiyu’s waist, burying her head in her lap, sobbing as she cursed, “Is Liang Qian even human? How could he not have thought of me while doing this?”

“Meng Huaiqian is a bastard too! Can’t we trade him for Liang Qian to come back?!”

Jiang Shiyu reacted quickly, covering Chi Shuang’s mouth.

That kind of talk couldn’t be said carelessly.

Walls have ears.

Chi Shuang’s tears fell onto Jiang Shiyu’s palm.

When she had cried enough and exhausted herself, she finally drifted off to sleep under Jiang Shiyu’s comforting presence.

Jiang Shiyu rubbed her numb legs and sat by the bed, watching her friend’s sleeping face.

Chi Shuang’s mother had once been the most beautiful performer in her arts troupe, and her father had been a dashing, romantic young painter.

With such strikingly attractive parents, Chi Shuang had been a natural beauty since childhood. In kindergarten, little boys would sneak candies and chocolates from home just to make her smile. In elementary school, her desk was always stuffed with love letters… It seemed that people with exceptional looks had smooth, trouble-free lives.

At sixteen, while visiting a garden in Beijing, Chi Shuang was unexpectedly spotted by a film director. The director spent a long time persuading her parents, and finally, in the following year’s art film, a breathtakingly beautiful girl appeared on screen for just ten minutes—yet was unforgettable to countless viewers.

Naturally, Chi Shuang went on to enroll in a film academy.

Unfortunately, sometimes fate was fair. Though she had stunning looks, her acting skills…

She also loved to play, disliked hardship, and feared exhaustion. An actor who wanted to go far in the industry had to pour in effort and sweat, but “perseverance” was not a trait in Chi Shuang’s nature.

Still, in this era, there were plenty of people willing to pay for beauty alone. Though she feared hard work, she never caused scandals, content to be a decorative figure in the entertainment industry—until three years ago, when she met Liang Qian. Liang Qian fell in love with her at first sight and launched an intense pursuit.

He pursued her for nearly a year before she finally agreed.

While many thought the relationship would go nowhere—”So what if she dates a rich second-generation heir? He won’t marry her anyway”—to everyone’s shock, Liang Qian proposed. A serious, heartfelt proposal.

Yet, just before their engagement banquet, fate took a turn.

Liang Qian disappeared.

“Disappeared” was just a euphemism. A week had passed, and there was still no sign of him. The chances of him surviving were slim.

Jiang Shiyu tucked the blanket around Chi Shuang, then touched her forehead. Only after confirming she wasn’t running a fever did she quietly step out of the master bedroom and gently close the door.

The weather forecast predicted an incoming storm.

As she carefully went to shut the balcony windows, she unexpectedly caught sight of someone leaning against a car, smoking with an unreadable expression.

…

Ten minutes later, Jiang Shiyu went downstairs, carrying out the trash.

“She’s much better now.”

Meng Huaiqian stubbed out his cigarette. His expression was weary, and the usual noble elegance he carried was tinged with exhaustion. “Miss Jiang, thank you.”

Jiang Shiyu, equally drained, shook her head. “No need to thank me. Shuangshuang is my friend. Even if you hadn’t mentioned anything, I would have stayed by her side.”

Meng Huaiqian remained silent for a few seconds before nodding.

“Did she eat anything today?”

He didn’t know Chi Shuang all that well.

His only impression of her was from a past dinner gathering, where she had pouted in frustration because Liang Qian hadn’t picked out the fish bones for her in time. Liang Qian had immediately leaned in, whispering soft reassurances until she broke into a smile.

“She ate,” Jiang Shiyu replied. “She had a bowl of fish congee.”

Only then did Meng Huaiqian let out a breath, the tension in his furrowed brows finally easing.