In this city where warmth is scarce, after the cold wave hit and winter began, thick wool carpets were laid everywhere in the main building of the Shen residence. The former owner of this house knew how to enjoy life and had specially designed a floor heating system that ingeniously resembled the ancient “dì lóng” (underfloor heating).

In the past winters, Bai Ying needed a lot of courage to get out of bed every day, but now she easily threw off the covers and stepped barefoot onto the floor, walking to the window. She opened the curtains and looked out at the world covered in silver, exhaling a breath of air.

Shen Jin had been gone for a week. She still remembered the night before his business trip when he invited her to his study for a meeting. 

He said to her earnestly, “Bai Ying, I am truly grateful for you this past year. Without you, my grandmother’s last days would not have been so comfortable.”

At that time, she had a bad premonition but still braced herself to listen to him finish.

“You’ve already seen that I’m not someone who can live a peaceful life. Staying by my side means a life filled with unknown risks. You’re still so young; I don’t want to drag you into a life of constant worry and fear. It’s not fair to you.”

Shen Jin took an envelope from the drawer, stood up with a solemn expression, came to her side, bowed his head, handed it to her, and said softly, “This is a little token of my appreciation. Rest assured, I will gradually dissolve our relationship to the outside world, but you can still stay here. If you don’t mind, you can call me ‘big brother.’ I regard you as my own sister and won’t let anyone bully you again.”

Tears fell helplessly from Bai Ying’s eyes.

She was extremely beautiful, with skin as delicate as a dewdrop and as flawless as white porcelain. Her bright eyes that could hide countless worries. She was fragile and shy, with long, smooth hair that was fashionable to curl, but she didn’t bother to. Her hair felt like satin, always carrying a faint fragrance. The lights seemed to coat her in a layer of gold, making her look so gentle and beautiful.

“I don’t want it.”

Her eyes filled with tears, she pushed the envelope back to him, nearly sobbing, “This isn’t some transaction. Everything I did was willingly.”

Shen Jin sighed deeply in his heart, looking at her with complex eyes that carried a softness even he hadn’t noticed, “I didn’t say it was a transaction. It’s a token of appreciation from my heart.”

Their acquaintance was also due to an accident.

Shen Jin was known in his circle for his integrity, but occasionally he couldn’t avoid social obligations. That day, he reluctantly went to a dance hall, enduring the shameless atmosphere inside. Stepping out of the room for some air, he happened upon a young girl being harassed and nearly dragged away.

With his character, he could not ignore this. He easily rescued the girl, who looked up at him in panic. Tears seeping from the corners of her eyes, she looked at him in a lost and bewildered manner.

This girl was Bai Ying.

Bai Ying was a student who had not yet graduated, called by a classmate to attend a birthday party. She had offended a wealthy suitor who used every means to get back at her.

After listening to her sobbing story, Shen Jin felt an unusual surge of compassion. If he was going to help, he would help to the end. His intervention attracted a lot of attention, and soon enough, rumors began to spread.

He had only one relative, his grandmother, who was overjoyed to hear he had a girlfriend. What followed was simply “going with the flow” to fulfill the old woman’s wishes.

Bai Ying had an agreement with him, a mutual arrangement. He provided her with enough protection and material compensation, and she became his nominal girlfriend. Naturally, the agreement would end after his grandmother’s passing.

“Think about it carefully. If you want to study abroad, I can even send you there.”

Bai Ying cried so hard she could hardly catch her breath. She never said the word “love,” but her tears and sobs subtly expressed her feelings for him. Shen Jin sent her back to her room and left with a sigh.

What he didn’t know was that half an hour after he left, Bai Ying, with swollen eyes, hastily opened the envelope. Seeing the number on the check inside, her eyes lit up: she was rich!

Shen Jin was very generous, giving her twice the amount they had agreed upon. As long as she didn’t spend extravagantly, retiring and living off this money for the rest of her life was not impossible.

However, after a brief excitement, Bai Ying pounded her pillow in frustration. 

This man!

He was so utterly clueless about romance, no wonder he was still single at thirty!

Listen to what he said, he couldn’t let her be his girlfriend because he feared for her safety, but he could let her be his sister… What kind of logic is that?

Throughout history, everyone knows that kidnapping a rich man’s son is more effective than his wife. Similarly, the weight of a relative is much heavier than that of a lover. Wouldn’t being his sister be even more dangerous?

She had long known that the greatest vice hidden in these men’s bones was recognizing sisters. She hadn’t expected the calm and self-controlled Shen Jin to also fall under this curse.

How disappointing!

She liked Shen Jin, that was something she could deceive others about, but she dared not deceive herself.

Bai Ying had a scale in her heart; wealth was certainly the most important, but once a person has money, their spiritual needs become higher.

Shen Jin indeed had good looks, having boldly ventured into society in his teens, and over the years, he had developed an imposing aura. Such a man naturally had his charm.

However, in her view, his age was indeed not small; he was about to turn thirty-one, a full eight years older than her.

The age difference of eight years always made her unable to treat him as a peer. His scheming nature also made it difficult for her to relax too much in front of him, fearing that she might reveal her true self in a moment of carelessness.

Besides, he was too reticent and lacked any sense of fun, treating her like an elder would a junior, with tolerance and kindness but without any hint of romantic interest. Sometimes she would tease him unintentionally, but he never seemed to get the hint, which over time, truly annoyed her.

Knock, knock, knock—

There was a knock at the door. Bai Ying didn’t like to shout “come in” at the top of her lungs, but if she spoke in her usual soft and gentle voice, the person at the door definitely wouldn’t hear her. So, she had to go and open the door gracefully.

“Miss Bai, good morning!”

“Xiao Lan, good morning,” Bai Ying said with a smile.

“Where would you like to have breakfast today?”

Xiao Lan thought Miss Bai had been acting a bit strange lately, hardly ever leaving her room, and even having breakfast sent to the small study next to her bedroom instead of having it in the dining room.

She pondered and finally figured out the truth—it must be because her husband was away on a business trip and Miss Bai didn’t want to be reminded of him. After all, this enviable couple had always shared sweet breakfasts together in the dining room, and it would indeed be less appetizing to eat alone.

Bai Ying pondered for a moment, “Send it to the study next door.”

That study was hers, but there weren’t many books in it. These past few days, it had become her little dining room.

As the saying goes, “a full belly breeds various desires,” but Bai Ying’s interest in Shen Jin wasn’t strong enough to make her persevere through setbacks. She also understood human nature—being too eager might end up being a wasted effort.

Shen Jin was now like a tasteless piece of meat to her—useless to eat but a pity to throw away.

Under the frustration, her mood was inevitably a bit low, and she could only comfort herself by looking at the numbers on her checks.

Three days ago, unable to sleep at night, she went downstairs alone to clear her mind. Perhaps having stayed in the warm house for too long, she felt a bit suffocated and stepped out to the small garden.

The moonlight, carrying a cold temperature, shone on the ground. She sat in the pavilion, leisurely looking up at the night sky. At that moment, a figure entered her line of sight.

The man looked very young. Wearing the black suit of the Shen residence’s bodyguards and draped in a thick coat, she figured he was probably on patrol. His gaze swept over every area like an eagle, finally colliding with hers. She was surprised, and he was even more astonished.

After a brief silence, he spoke, his voice as cold and hard as iron.

“Who are you, and why are you out here so late?”

Faced with this authoritative voice, Bai Ying’s heart leaped. She smiled, feeling as if she had found a long-lost pleasure—there was actually someone in the mansion who hadn’t seen her before!

She decided to tease him, stood up, and walked gracefully to him, sizing him up without a trace.

“Are you new here?”

With that look, her smile deepened. Shen Jin had left and taken most of the bodyguards with him; this must be one of the new ones.

However, he was surprisingly handsome, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and a broad and tall stature. Compared to Shen Jin, he was not inferior, but rather more outstanding, because he looked much younger, probably around twenty-five, definitely not over thirty.

Jiang Mocheng frowned but did not answer, which was taken as an affirmation.

Bai Ying smiled, her voice lighter, with a slight upward inflection at the end, as if hooking someone. 

“I haven’t seen you before, are you patrolling now?”

Jiang Mocheng suddenly realized that the situation was not good. He hadn’t expected that it was almost midnight, and this woman was here instead of sleeping… If she inadvertently mentioned it, it wouldn’t be long before the butler noticed something was wrong.

He steadied his mind and said in a business-like tone, “Yes, I’ll go back to rest after finishing this round, what about you?”

“Me?” Bai Ying’s eyes wandered, and she said pitifully, “You know Miss Bai, right? I’m her assistant.”

Miss Bai? Jiang Mocheng had certainly heard of her, said to be Shen Jin’s girlfriend, whom he deeply cherished.

Once, a reporter accidentally captured her profile, and before it was leaked, Shen Jin forcefully collected all the newspapers in the city, showing his protective nature.

“Miss Bai has been researching something lately, asking me to take pictures of the moon every hour.”

Bai Ying lied effortlessly, and conveniently, she had a camera hanging around her neck, which served as evidence.

Jiang Mocheng didn’t understand the significance of taking pictures of the moon.

He was silent for a few seconds, then asked her, “Did you take pictures of anything else?”

“Yes.”

Bai Ying said with a smile, “I took a lot, and just now, I even captured your silhouette. You seem to be the tallest among the new batch.”

“…”

His gaze shifted to the camera on her chest, his brows tightly knitted, wondering how to trick her into deleting the photos without arousing her suspicion.