Chapter 1

“To protect you, through lifetimes, till death do us part.”
—Fu Jinghan

Outskirts.

A dilapidated warehouse.

A girl curled up in the corner, her entire body covered in blood.

All ten of her fingers were bleeding, the torn-off nails scattered carelessly across the blood-soaked soil. Drops of blood trickled from her fingertips, falling one by one beneath her.

She didn’t know who had brought her here, nor did she know what they wanted.

She had been imprisoned for so long, she was beginning to forget who she even was.

She wanted to die, but couldn’t.

Every time she was dragged back from the brink of death, the price was an even more unbearable torment. There was not a single uninjured part on her once-fair skin. Even death had become a luxury.

When she was first brought here, no one paid her any attention. She had no idea how many days passed like that.

Just when she thought she was going to starve or die of thirst in this place, they finally showed up.

Ji Nuannuan couldn’t tell which was hell—the days they weren’t here, or the ones when they were.

On the bright side, she was finally given food and water. But the torture that followed made her wish she were dead.

They would shove her head into a water tank, pulling her out only when she was about to drown.

They would press red-hot iron against her skin until her clothes melted into the scorched, wrinkled flesh.

At first, when she was just brought here, she often fantasized that someone would come to rescue her. But no matter how long she waited, it always ended in disappointment.

The prolonged darkness and torture gradually destroyed any shred of hope she had. She grew numb.

“Creak.”

The dull sound of a door opening echoed through the warehouse, but Ji Nuannuan didn’t react. Her head remained bowed, though her trembling grew worse.

The sound of the door opening had become a signal.

What followed was always beatings and torment. Every time they came, she would be beaten to a bloody pulp and left with moldy food—again and again.

Her eyes were tightly shut, but if you looked closely, you’d see her eyelashes trembling.

But this time, no sounds came after the door opened.

Instead, the rhythmic click of heels echoed, and a pair of exquisite high-heeled shoes stopped in front of her.

Ji Nuannuan looked at the shoes in a daze. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, her head jerked up.

“Xinxin!”

The owner of the shoes was her half-sister—Ji Xinxin!

And standing behind her was the man Ji Nuannuan longed for day and night—Wei Yang!

These two were the most important people in her life. They had really come to save her. They found her!

Ji Nuannuan forced her eyes open, and just when the joy was about to show on her face, she quickly lowered her head again. She didn’t want them to see her like this.

She was afraid that her appearance was too horrifying—that Wei Yang would despise her, that her sister would be heartbroken.

But Ji Nuannuan had no idea what expressions the two wore.

They stood there, looking down at the filthy, disheveled girl with a detached, almost amused look.

“Sister, how’s life in here treating you?” Ji Xinxin asked with a playful smile.

It was only then that Ji Nuannuan noticed something was wrong.

Neither of them looked anxious—on the contrary, they seemed to be enjoying the spectacle.

“You… you…”

Ji Nuannuan froze as she stared at Ji Xinxin’s expression. Suddenly, everything clicked.

It felt like a nightmare. She shook her head hard, trying to clear it.

She didn’t want to believe it, but she couldn’t help it.

The person she loved.

The sister she trusted.

Did they conspire to kidnap her?

But Wei Yang had said he loved her the most… and Xinxin had always been her closest sister!

“Well, my dear sister, do you like the big surprise I’ve prepared for you?” Ji Xinxin sneered as she watched the pain spread across Ji Nuannuan’s face.

Ji Nuannuan’s voice was hoarse and disbelieving. “What…?”

“You’re still so clueless, huh? Even now you don’t know how you ended up here?” Ji Xinxin looked at her with disdain.

“But then again, you’ve always been this stupid. Otherwise, how could you possibly believe that Wei Yang ever truly liked you?”

“Wei Yang?!”

“You…”

Ji Nuannuan turned to look at the man behind Ji Xinxin, desperately searching his face for an answer—but all she saw was irritation.

She couldn’t say a word.

Even an idiot would understand the truth now.

She couldn’t believe it—but the truth was right in front of her.

“Why? Why are you doing this to me?! I treated you as the most important people in my life! Why?!”

At this moment, Ji Nuannuan seemed to completely unravel, screaming hoarsely at the two of them.

“Why?” Wei Yang finally spoke, his voice like a knife slicing through her last bit of hope.
“There is no why. You were just a pawn throwing herself at me.”

“If it weren’t for your marriage into the Fu family and the leverage it gave us, do you think I would’ve even remembered who you are? Someone like you?”

“I only met you because I lost a dare.”

His words stabbed into her heart like cold steel.

The person she gave everything to love—was this the truth all along?

Their meeting was a joke. Their promises were lies.

Ji Xinxin’s gloating expression was now completely unmasked. She crossed her arms and stared mockingly at Ji Nuannuan.

“You think you’re someone? You’re nothing but trash no one wants!”

“Being useful to me even once means you had some worth.”

She walked forward, yanked Ji Nuannuan’s hair, forcing her to meet her gaze.

“I really don’t know what Fu Jinghan saw in you. He’s been looking for you all this time.”

“At first, I just wanted him to marry me. If he did, I’d become Mrs. Fu, and half the Fu family’s empire would be mine.”

“Then I’d reveal your whereabouts—what a perfect plan.”

“But I never imagined he’d refuse everything, even handing over the entire Fu Corporation in exchange for news of you.”

“Such a delightful surprise, don’t you think, sister?”

“What a shame. If I weren’t afraid you’d cause trouble for me if found alive, I would’ve loved to keep you around.”

“Do you think he’ll still love you after seeing the wreck you’ve become? My dear sister?”

The Fu Corporation Ji Xinxin spoke of was one of the top conglomerates in Huaguo.
Fu Jinghan—its CEO—was the very man Ji Nuannuan had spent years resenting and fleeing from.

And yet this same man… was willing to give up everything for her.

But even with that knowledge, Ji Nuannuan felt only deeper sorrow.

Fu Jinghan had done so much for her—too much. It overflowed. She had taken it all for granted.

But still… her grandmother…

Ji Nuannuan didn’t have time to think any further. Her scalp felt like it was being torn off, but her limbs were bound—there was no way to fight back.

As Ji Xinxin yanked her head, Wei Yang had already doused the warehouse in gasoline.

“Oh, right. Since you’ll be dead soon anyway, I might as well tell you—your grandmother’s death?” Ji Xinxin whispered with mock sympathy.
“It wasn’t Fu Jinghan’s doing.”

“We only framed him so you’d hate him—and help us steal more confidential files from his company.”