Li Xiangsi—a stunningly beautiful, seductive, and captivating woman.

For a long time, she had wondered if one day Bochen would fall for an extraordinarily beautiful woman, someone truly worthy of him in both looks and talent.

One day, he would realize, with shock, that the woman standing beside him was too ordinary, with nothing to offer except her family background.

Yes, her only redeeming quality was her identity as a daughter of the Yin family. Without that, she was nothing.

Nothing…

Yin Tianyu dropped her face onto the black and white keys, pressing them with her weight, producing a dissonant jumble of notes.

She quietly gazed at the phone lying beside the piano. Two hours ago, it had rung once, as if in protest—her husband calling to tell her that he had an unexpected engagement tonight and wouldn’t be coming home.

She hadn’t asked him what kind of engagement it was, just as she hadn’t asked the week before when he canceled their plans, failing to accompany her to a social event for the first time. Nor had she questioned him on that late night two weeks ago when he received a mysterious phone call.

She had never been the kind of wife to keep a tight grip on her husband, and Bochen had never needed her to be. He always volunteered his schedule, ensuring she never had to worry.

But now, she could no longer fully keep track of him.

Because he had learned to lie about this.

He had told her many lies, including how he, like her, found social engagements unbearable, including how, when they first met at a party, he had fallen in love with her at first sight, and how she was, in his eyes, the sweetest and most adorable woman in the world—the most gentle and virtuous wife.

She had once been thankful that even though half of their marriage was built on lies, the other half was real.

At least, he genuinely liked her, genuinely treated her well, and genuinely played the role of a good husband.

But now, was she going to lose even that half of the truth?

Yin Tianyu lifted her head. She admitted she was terrified, acknowledged that her heart had become an ocean, surging with waves. She began to play Beethoven’s *Fate*, letting the stormy notes express the fear swirling inside her.

Was this her fate?

Was she destined to lose the man she loved most, destined to watch him step by step fall into another woman’s arms?

Could she stand by and watch him become obsessed with another woman? Could she bear that pain?

Could she? Could she?!

“Tianyu!”

A shocked voice rang out at the doorway. Her heart trembled, and she abruptly stopped her wild playing on the piano keys, clenching her fists tightly.

She turned her head and forced a smile at the man who had come home late.

“Bochen, you’re back.”

He didn’t answer, leaning against the doorframe, gazing at her thoughtfully for a moment before walking toward her.

“It’s late. Why are you playing like this? Are you upset?” He frowned slightly as he looked down at her.

“Sorry, was I disturbing anyone?” She deepened her smile deliberately. “I watched a movie about Beethoven tonight and suddenly felt like practicing one of his pieces.”

“A Beethoven movie?”

“‘Immortal Beloved.’ You probably haven’t seen it, have you?” She spoke softly about the story. “It’s about how, after Beethoven’s death, his friend found a love letter in a drawer addressed to his ‘Immortal Beloved.’ He didn’t name anyone in the letter, so his friend went through great lengths to try to find this mysterious woman! I thought it was a very interesting film.”

He silently stared at her and then sat down beside her. “So, did his friend find the woman in the end?”

“Yes, he did.” She answered softly, lowering her eyes to the piano keys. “After watching the movie, I suddenly thought that maybe everyone has an ‘immortal beloved’ in their heart—someone they don’t dare let others know about.”

Though there were still a few centimeters of space between them, she could feel his body suddenly stiffen.

“You women… your minds are always filled with these overly romantic ideas,” he teased with a sigh, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Keep playing the piano. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Okay.” She watched him leave, and as his figure disappeared from sight, her smile faded along with him.

She had struck a nerve.

He might think he could still pretend in front of her, but after years of marriage, how could she still be that naïve girl she once was?

She knew all too well what each of his smallest reactions meant.

Because she had been watching, carefully observing, and learning.

Yin Tianyu lowered her gaze and sighed softly.

Now, it was her turn to act oblivious—

—

Had Tianyu already figured it out?

Had she realized that lately his mind had been filled with thoughts of Li Xiangsi—her icy gaze, her mysterious smile, her dancer-like grace, and her raspy, seductive voice?

Had Tianyu sensed it? That when he laughed, when he talked endlessly, when he dined with her or buried himself in work, his thoughts were all about Li Xiangsi.

His reason was slipping because of one woman—had his wife guessed it?

“Terrible,” Lu Bochen muttered in frustration, raising his glass and downing its contents in one gulp.

In the dimly lit lounge bar, lazy jazz music played, but he wasn’t really listening.

Next to him, a man quietly observed him. Bochen knew his restless actions were being noticed, but he didn’t care.

The man wasn’t one of his colleagues from the legislature, nor one of the important figures he had to entertain. It was Wei Xiang, his childhood friend and only confidant.

Wei Xiang knew all of his shameful past, understood his boundless ambition, just as Bochen knew about the painful heartbreak Wei Xiang had once suffered.

“I never thought you’d lose your mind over a woman. Didn’t you say this kind of thing could never happen to you?” Wei Xiang hit the nail on the head, exposing the worry in his heart.

“I thought so too, but it happened.”

That night, when he looked at her through the car window, it sealed the deal—all impossibilities became possible.

“I’m curious, what kind of woman could make you this obsessed? Is she beautiful?”

“Extremely.”

“Is she smart?”

“Too smart.”

“Is she passionate?”

“Not at all. She’s cold, like a block of ice.”

“Cold like ice?” Wei Xiang raised an eyebrow. “You’re obsessed with an ice-cold beauty?”

“No, she’s not emotionless. In fact, she smiles quite often, and her smile is very alluring.”

“What kind of allure?”