Chapter 1

“No, I don’t want to get married!”

In the lavish and magnificent hall, for the first time, Wen Jianxin lost her composure in front of everyone and shouted so brazenly.

Her panicked eyes turned helplessly toward her mother, begging her not to be so cruel.

A man fifteen years older, devoid of humanity—she truly couldn’t bring herself to compromise.

Shang Lingzhu instinctively furrowed her brows.

In her view, her daughter’s loss of composure was entirely inappropriate.

A trace of reproach flickered across her delicate and elegant features.

“Jianxin, you have no right to say no. As a member of the Wen family, from the moment you were born, marrying Wang Zhi has been your mission.”

The powerful alliance between the families could not be broken by her daughter’s willfulness.

Besides, Wang Zhi had waited for her for eighteen years—how could she possibly run away at the last moment?

The Wen family would never commit an act of betrayal, and even less could a daughter of the Wen family be so inconsiderate and faithless.

Mission, mission—those two words again.

Since childhood, they were the words she had heard the most, and Wen Jianxin was sick to death of them.

She withdrew the soft, pleading expression from her face, straightened her back, and said coldly, decisively:

“I don’t want to marry, and no one can force me!”

Like a proud phoenix, she ignored all the shocked or disapproving stares around her and, stepping firmly on her high heels, walked toward the stairs one step at a time.

Just as firmly as she intended to break off the engagement.

“Stop!”

Her mother’s furious roar came from behind, and Jianxin’s steps inevitably paused.

But only for a moment—then she continued up without looking back.

Once inside her room, she slammed the door shut with a bang.

The steely expression on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by loneliness.

Her once-straight back bent little by little, her body sinking limply against the door, then sliding slowly to the ground.

With her head buried against her knees, tears gushed uncontrollably, like a breached dam.

She didn’t know how to change her parents’ and clan’s decision, nor how she could possibly break this absurd childhood betrothal.

Xu Wangzhi was far too possessive, too controlling—she could never marry him.

Once, she had merely spoken with a male classmate, and the next day, that classmate had disappeared from school.

Even his parents were fired from their jobs for various so-called reasons.

At first, she hadn’t known Xu Wangzhi was behind it.

It wasn’t until she once visited his home at his mother’s invitation, and—while bringing him fruit upstairs—overheard a conversation between him and his assistant, that she realized he had been having her watched all along, keeping track of her every move.

All those classmates who had mysteriously disappeared—it had all been his doing.

How could she possibly marry someone so terrifying, so twisted?

The more she thought about it, the more her head throbbed.

Marrying such a man would be a fate worse than death.

Through her hazy distress, she vaguely heard a familiar voice.

It seemed… he was here.

Her expression grew complicated.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone rapped on her door.

Wen Jianxin stood, looking toward it, as if she could see the man on the other side through the wood.

A man whose mere thought made her shiver.

Suppressing all emotion, she opened the door with a calm face.

The first thing she saw was a pair of broad shoulders.

Above them, a refined yet cold face.

Her breath caught, and the color drained from her face.

She feared him.

No—she dreaded him.

Whenever he was around, she didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

She was afraid that any sound might provoke his fangs.

Afraid of his omnipresent, suffocating aura—his sickly, clinging, perverse gaze.

It was as if he wanted to devour her whole, grind her bones to dust.

Xu Wangzhi frowned, looking at her coldly.

“You’re this afraid when you see me?”

Jianxin shivered uncontrollably, fighting the urge to bolt, forcing herself to calm her pounding heart. She kept her face cold as she asked:

“What are you here for?”

Xu Wangzhi brushed past her without answering, walking into the room as if he owned it. His voice was as icy as frost, and his words were even more chilling:

“You want to break off the engagement?”

She wasn’t surprised the news had reached him so quickly—she only thought coldly, Of course. Even in his busy life, he still has the time to hear every detail of what I do.

That the Xu family could produce such a degenerate, only to ruin her life with him—it was nauseating.

Her distaste showed plainly on her face.

“That’s right. I want to break off the engagement.”

Xu Wangzhi casually sat down, raising his eyelids lazily. His eyes were deep as a bottomless pool, revealing nothing.

Being stared at like that made Jianxin uneasy, but she still met his gaze without fear.

One second passed. Two. Three. The air felt frozen—no one spoke.

Then Xu Wangzhi suddenly rose from the sofa and strode toward her.

Startled, Jianxin instinctively stepped back. “What are you doing?!” she demanded.

He didn’t answer, only closed the distance with long strides.

His gait was unusual—there was a limp, awkward and noticeable.

Her heart skipped a beat. She didn’t know what he intended, but she kept retreating, trying to stay away from him.

It was useless.

Because he was already in front of her.

His scorching gaze locked onto her, trapping her where she stood, his presence wrapping tightly around her, leaving her no escape.

Under the predatory stare, her racing heart pounded even harder, her body trembling despite herself.

Her lips quivered as she looked at him in terror.

She feared he would do something she could not bear.

It had been like this before—she had nearly lost her innocence.

She didn’t dare imagine what would happen if he did that to her here, in her own room.

Xu Wangzhi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took in her face.

She was trembling in fear, yet her back remained straight.

Even her retreat was measured and steady.

It was as if, even if the sky fell, she would bear it with courage.

Her resilience made him want to break her pride—just to see her show a fragile, pitiful side.

To see how long she could endure.

And in the end—would she yield?

He thought idly, his gaze turning strange.

If she yielded too easily, perhaps… he wouldn’t like her anymore.

Wen Jianxin didn’t know that what he liked was only her unyielding spirit.

If she had known, she would have begged without hesitation—so that he’d grow bored and let her go.

At this moment, sensing something unusual in his eyes, she felt only a deep foreboding.

She feared what might happen next—feared it might be something she could never recover from.

For example, losing her chastity.

She fixed him with a warning stare.

“This is the Jian residence—you will not be allowed to act with impunity!”