Chapter 1

“Ahhh—! Someone! Help!!”

The man was knocked out cold by an antique vase, then had a bottle of Maotai shattered over his head—blood gushed as he screamed for help.

Footsteps rushed toward the locked door.

The girl, clutching a sheer robe barely covering her, staggered to the window. With trembling hands, she threw it open.

A fierce high-rise wind whipped through, sending her long black hair flying. Her face—stunningly beautiful, flushed unnaturally red, with soft lips and a tiny beauty mark at the corner of her eye—gleamed under the warm, ambiguous light.

The old man, aroused despite his bleeding head and reeking of booze, dragged himself up. His sagging leopard-print briefs squeezed his rolls of fat, his words disgusting and obscene:

“Play hard to get, huh? If you don’t serve me right, I’ll have you auctioned to the highest bidder and let the whole crowd take a turn—”

The candle-lit room was filled with whips, cuffs, and terrifying devices.

Jiang Heni bit her lip, eyes steeled. Just as the door was kicked in by bodyguards, she grabbed a flaming candle and threw it—

The alcohol caught fire instantly.

As the fat pig of a man screamed in agony, she shut her eyes and leapt out the window.

BANG!

Jiang Heni blinked at the metal rod embedded in the wall beside her.

She… wasn’t dead?

“Quit yappin’, princess. Debt’s gotta be paid! If we don’t see cash, we’ll beat it out of you!”

Four thugs surrounded her, dragging bats and steel rods.

She gasped. “Next week! My dad’ll be back next week!”

Her voice trembled as memories flooded back. In her past life, this moment had destroyed her—slapped a scarred gangster in the face and was dragged to an underground auction, sold off for a million.

This time, she couldn’t lose control. She had to survive.

But the thugs weren’t listening. One reached for her—

A bag fell. Several steaming, plump meat buns rolled out.

Everyone froze.

“Are you f*cking kidding me?! Meat buns?! You playin’ us?!”

Jiang Heni nearly cried at the sight of the wasted food. “Those were for dinner…!”

Her excuses fell on deaf ears. As they closed in—

A black blur exploded into the alley.

A massive Doberman, sleek and powerful, its muscles rippling under a glowing black vest, charged in like a beast. Without hesitation, it launched a thug into the air and casually stepped on the bun bag.

It started eating.

One bun at a time. Only the clean ones.

It… really was a dog.

Heni froze, hugging the wall. She was terrified of dogs.

“Where the hell did this mangy mutt come from?!” one thug cursed.

Before he could kick it—WHAM—a cloth bag slammed into his head.

“Scar Bro?! Why’d you hit me?”

“Shut the hell up!!”

The scar-faced thug immediately bowed to a tall figure emerging from the alley’s shadows. Leash in hand, muscles defined, eyes pitch-black.

“M-Mr. He… what brings you here?”

The man didn’t answer, just gave the leash a shake. The Doberman instantly perked up, obeyed, and trotted to his side, still licking bun crumbs.

Jiang Heni recognized the shift. This man was clearly the real boss—the one even the gangsters feared.

The one holding her debt.

She shrank into the wall. Her father—gambling addict and professional scumbag—had run off with his mistress and dumped millions in debt on her head.

“I already paid everything I had,” she said softly. “I even found a job…”

“That pocket change?!” Scarface spat. “You owe millions! Tomorrow—no money, no mercy.”

The man stepped forward.

His looming figure cast a massive shadow over her. His large hand rested casually by his side—wide, rough, capable of slapping her into next week.

Her breath caught. Her chin tilted up by the cold chain of the leash, dragging gently across her cheek.

His voice was low, gravelly, and lazy:

“Little girl…”

“If you don’t pay up next month… I’ll feed you to Dewang. Sound good?”

His tone was almost flirtatious, like a lover whispering a secret—except it chilled her to the bone.

She looked up, trembling, and met the playful smirk of a devilish man.