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The night rain poured relentlessly.
Even with the villa’s excellent soundproofing, the splatter of raindrops could still be heard loud and clear.
Su Nian sat alone on the sofa, staring blankly at the television screen.
Her phone rang. She glanced at the screen.
For the first time in a long while, color returned to her lifeless eyes.
She hurried to answer, “Yincheng-ge, did you get the gift?”
On the other end, his voice was indifferent.
“I got it. It’s nice. Thank you.”
But then, a flirtatious female voice could be heard in the background:
“Lying to another young girl again? You really should just be honest if you’re not into her. Didn’t even bother opening the gift…”
The voice was abruptly cut off.
Gu Yincheng had likely covered the receiver.
After a while, he finally said,
“Nian Nian, get some rest. I’ve got something to take care of. I’m hanging up now.”
Su Nian bit her lip, her eyes stinging with heat, yet she forced a smile.
“Yincheng-ge, where are you? If you don’t like the gift, I’d like to come get it back myself.”
“Mm.”
The call ended.
Not long after, an address came through.
So, Gu Yincheng really didn’t want it.
She immediately stood up, grabbed an umbrella, and stepped out into the rain.
When she arrived at Gu Yincheng’s place, the downpour was still heavy. Rain drifted beneath the umbrella, soaking the hem of her dress.
After getting out of the car, the short fifty meters to the villa’s entrance left much of her clothing drenched.
She stood at the door. Inside, laughter and cheerful voices rang out.
Was Gu Yincheng throwing a farewell party before heading abroad tomorrow?
He hadn’t invited her.
Su Nian pressed the doorbell.
The one who answered was her cousin, Su Jin.
Su Jin wore her hair in big, voluminous curls and a seductive burgundy gown, oozing charm and confidence.
Seeing her, she looked amused—as if watching a joke unfold—
Yet she cooed sweetly, “The rain’s pouring out there. Don’t catch a cold, Nian Nian. Come in, quick.”
Su Jin graciously helped her with the umbrella.
The Su family had never been warm toward Su Nian.
She felt out of place, her body instinctively tense, cloaked in self-protection.
As she entered the living room, Su Jin suddenly called out loudly,
“The brilliant young writer is here! Anyone wanting to learn how to write a love letter, come pay your respects to the master!”
Laughter erupted throughout the party.
Someone teased,
“Oh, in this bustling world, who has captured your heart, little sister?”
Su Nian’s face flushed crimson in an instant—so red it looked like it might bleed.
That line had come from the confession letter she’d written and placed inside the gift box for Gu Yincheng.
Su Jin pointed toward the bar counter.
“Nian Nian, everyone thinks your writing is beautiful. We’ve been admiring it.”
Su Nian’s hands clenched tightly as she looked over at the bar.
Her confession letter had been posted there for everyone to see.
Just five hundred words—
She had labored over it for three days,
Weighing every sentence, every phrase.
She’d typed it out, revised it again and again, then carefully copied it out by hand.
Two people stood nearby taking photos,
And then turned their cameras on her.
She was utterly humiliated and quickly raised her hand to shield her face.
Not far off, someone laughed and said,
“This robot dog’s not bad either—my Jiujiu really likes it.”
Through the gaps between her fingers, Su Nian saw the small robotic dog she had gifted to Gu Yincheng being toyed with by a drunken man and his pet poodle.
The poodle kept mounting it, treating it like a female dog.
Su Nian’s eyes turned red, her nose stung with a bitter ache.
Gu Yincheng loved electronic gadgets. She had spent two months writing the program, staying up countless nights, and hiring the country’s best tech design company to build it. She’d poured all her childhood savings into it.
She thought he would love it.
She never imagined he would toss it out for others to mock.
It was her heartfelt gift.
To Gu Yincheng, it was worthless.
Hearing the commotion, Gu Yincheng came out of the study, a poised, elegantly dressed woman at his side.
Through her fingers, Su Nian looked at Gu Yincheng—
Still as handsome and dashing as ever.
He had once been the star she gazed up to,
The frequent guest in her sweetest dreams.
Now, he had trampled her sincerity into the dirt.
Her affection was like a balloon stretched to its limit—
And at this party, it burst into pieces.
Gu Yincheng let out a light sigh.
“Alright, that’s enough. Put the thing away and give it back to her.”
The poised woman covered her mouth with a chuckle.
“Well, you’re the one who left it lying around. Of course someone would dig it up. That poor girl must be mortified. Go apologize to her already.”
That voice—Su Nian recognized it.
It was the same woman from the phone call earlier.
Gu Yincheng pulled down the confession letter from the bar without even glancing at it.
He walked over to Su Nian and gently patted her head.
“Sorry. You said you wanted to come get it, so I left it on the bar. I didn’t think this bunch would be so childish.”
Su Nian lowered her gaze and swiftly snatched the letter from his hand.
Without a word, she turned to leave—
Only for Gu Yincheng to grab her wrist.
“Nian Nian…”
He called out to her, just as gently as he always had.
Su Nian paused, but from the corner of her eye,
She saw that elegant woman approaching—
Wiping down the robotic dog as she walked.
Gu Yincheng took it from her hands and offered it to Su Nian.
With a soft smile, he said,
“Didn’t you say you wanted to get it yourself? Don’t forget to take it.”
In that moment, Su Nian’s heart completely shattered.
She yanked her hand away.
She didn’t take the robot dog—
Only clutched the confession letter tightly in her fist.
The pink letter paper, crumpled tightly in her grip, had been balled into a wrinkled mess.
She tried her best to hold it in, but her voice still trembled with tears.
“It’s dirty… throw it away.”
With that, she bolted out the door—forgetting her umbrella.
Gu Yincheng stepped forward, taking two strides to follow her,
But the woman beside him caught his hand and pulled him back.
He stopped.
Outside, raindrops fell hard, striking the ground with loud splashes.
Su Nian walked through the rain.
She tore the confession letter into shreds and threw it into a trash bin.
Her phone rang again and again.
She didn’t answer.
She just wandered aimlessly along the street.
She didn’t even know how long she’d been walking.
When her legs finally gave out, she curled up beneath a wall.
Rain pelted her in a relentless downpour—
Until suddenly, it stopped.
Not around her, just above her.
The rest of the street was still drenched.
She looked up.
A black business umbrella hovered over her head.
Underneath it stood a tall man in a crisp suit,
His face blurred by the rainy night.
Towering over her, he looked down and spoke—
His voice deep, with a trace of teasing.
“Poor little bunny. Want to come home with me?”
Su Nian’s heart skipped a beat.
On a night like this, even if she screamed for help, it probably wouldn’t do much good.
The man noticed her fear and let out a soft chuckle.
“Should I say it? That even if you scream until your throat’s raw, no one will come to save you?”
His joke cut through the tension like a knife.
As his voice faded, a black Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of them.
A sharply dressed man in a tailored suit stepped out from the driver’s seat. He bowed respectfully to the man beside her and said,
“President Zhou, Miss Su’s clothes are ready.”
“Mm,” the man responded coolly. “You can go.”
The suited man gave a crisp reply and quickly turned to leave.
Su Nian had guessed the man’s identity.
Zhou Beiming.
The head of the Zhou family, chairman of Yongtai Group.
In Yucheng, no one—no matter who they were—dared disrespect him.
Recently, trouble had befallen the Su family.
At a recent banquet, Zhou Beiming had told her Father he’d taken an interest in her.
Her Father had begged her to make a sacrifice—for the sake of the family.
Zhou Beiming extended a hand toward her.
“Get in the car.”
It wasn’t a question.
Su Nian looked down at her hand—soaked and dripping with water.
After a moment of hesitation, she wiped her hand dry, then placed it into the palm that had waited patiently for her.
Zhou Beiming’s hand was cool to the touch,
Yet it wrapped around hers perfectly, securely.