Chapter 1

Chapter 2

He held a hundred-dollar bill in his hand.

Paying after the fact, what did she take him for?

The man's face was cold and stern as he strode toward the balcony. The window was indeed open.

This floor was high, the third floor equivalent to the fourth. How did she jump down from here?

Was he that terrifying? Did she risk her life to escape?

The wind blew in from the window, cool like water, but it could not extinguish the evil fire in the man's heart. This woman not only humiliated him with a hundred dollars, but also escaped by jumping out the window afterward... He must not let her get away!

......

Suxi sneezed in the taxi, and the driver looked at her through the rearview mirror. "Little girl, are you okay?"

She looked so beautiful, drenched from head to toe, clearly having encountered some trouble.

Suxi smiled gently. "I'm fine."

The driver smiled. "You're still a student, right? When you're alone outside, you must be extra careful."

"Okay, thank you, sir."

Suxi responded, took out her phone, and quickly typed, "Immediately destroy the surveillance records of my appearance at Tianyue Mansion around 7 PM and 9 PM, completely erase them!"

"OK!" The person on the other end didn't ask any questions, just followed the instructions.

The man's harsh words echoed again. At this point, Suxi no longer pondered whether she should have met Ling Jiuzhe today. She only wanted Ling Jiuzhe to never know she had been there.

Getting off at Yunhai Road, Suxi, having wet the taxi's back seat, paid double the fare.

Back at the villa, the maid, Aunt Wu, was startled to see Suxi's wet clothes. "Young mistress, what happened?"

"I encountered a situation, I'll go upstairs to take a shower first." Suxi walked upstairs.

"I'll draw the bath for you." Aunt Wu didn't dare to ask more and hurried upstairs to prepare.

A few minutes later, Suxi soaked in the warm bathtub, her body gradually relaxing.

Her mind was a mess, and she forced herself not to think about what had happened that night, burying her head in the water.

After the shower, she changed into clean pajamas. As Aunt Wu dried her hair, Suxi's phone rang. It was Su Zhengrong.

Suxi's eyes cooled, and she asked Aunt Wu to leave, then went to the balcony to answer the call.

The call connected, and Su Zhengrong asked anxiously, "Xixi, where are you? Did you see Mr. Ling?"

Suxi's tone was emotionless. "Dad, were you worried that Mr. Ling and I wouldn't get along, so you drugged me to help?"

Su Zhengrong was taken aback. "What do you mean, drugged? Who did you drug? I didn't!"

"Didn't you?" Suxi's lips curled. "Then why did you tell me to meet Mr. Ling at 7 PM when you actually scheduled it for 9 PM with his assistant?"

There was silence on the other end, and Suxi's heart sank as she prepared to hang up.

"Xixi!" A voice suddenly came from the phone. Su Zhengrong sounded guilty. "I was wrong. I wanted you to meet Mr. Ling earlier, thinking that if you two spent more time alone, he wouldn't be so opposed to the marriage."

He quickly asked, "What happened? What's wrong with you?"

Suxi could hear genuine concern in Su Zhengrong's voice and asked, "Really not you?"

Su Zhengrong immediately said, "Of course not! No matter how difficult things get, I would never use such despicable means to scheme against my own daughter!"

Suxi didn't speak.

Su Zhengrong asked cautiously, "Xixi, are you okay?"

Suxi replied coolly, "I'm fine, I didn't see Ling Jiuzhe."

Su Zhengrong didn't dare to ask for details, seeming to sigh. "No matter what, I'm sorry for this. I won't make you see him again. If you don't want to stay in the villa on the mountain, I'll come to pick you up right now."

Suxi's voice softened slightly. "I've already lived here for over two years, a few more months won't matter. Dad, don't worry, I still like it here."

The villa was Ling Jiuzhe's private property. She moved in right after their marriage and had lived there for nearly three years.

Su Zhengrong felt relieved and laughed. "Good, then stay a few more months. When the three years are up, I'll personally come to pick you up. By the way..."

He paused and said, "This Saturday is your mother's birthday. Come home. The things she said last time weren't intentional. She regrets it but can't bring herself to apologize to you."

Suxi responded, "I have a class on Saturday morning. I'll come back after class."

"Alright, call me if anything happens."

After hanging up, Suxi thought for a moment and dialed another number. "Yingying, prepare the latest spring collection of necklaces and earrings. I'll come to pick them up in the next few days."

The other end responded, and Suxi put down her phone. Thinking about what had happened today, images from the dark night involuntarily flashed in her mind.

The man's heavy breathing seemed to be right next to her... She rested her arms on the stone railing, head buried, feeling neither anger nor hatred.

At 11 PM, Ling Jiuzhe left Tianyue Mansion. His assistant followed behind and reported in a low voice, "Mr. Ling, we found out. It was Tianqi's vice president, Li Hai. He intended to drug the woman he brought today, but the glass somehow ended up in your hands. Li Hai was terrified and fled Jiangcheng overnight, heading to Haicheng."

Ling Jiuzhe's dark phoenix eyes glinted with a fierce look. "Since he ran, he should never come back!"

The assistant bowed his head. "Understood!"

Returning to the Ling family's old residence at midnight, the elder Ling couple were in London for an economic seminar, and the parents had gone with them, leaving only their daughter and son at home, both of whom were already asleep.

Ling Jiuzhe went straight to the third floor, took a shower, and then sat in a wicker chair on the balcony, lighting a cigarette from the ashtray on the coffee table.

The cigarette's ember flickered in the moonlight, and Ling Jiuzhe's dark, wet hair fell over his forehead. In the dim light, his handsome face was deep and noble.

He inexplicably thought of the girl from tonight. In the bathroom, he had sensed her unease and, fearing he might hurt her, kissed her for a long time.

Only when she responded did he proceed. She clung to his arm, calling his name in a panic.

At the time, his nerves were already numb, so now he couldn't be sure if she had called his name or not.

Ling Jiuzhe took out the hundred-dollar bill, a new one, now soaked through.

With mobile payments almost universal, who would carry cash?

Why was she in his room?

Who was she?

Ling Jiuzhe suddenly felt curious.

He picked up his phone and made a call. "Find out who the woman who jumped from the third floor tonight is. Find her!"

"Understood!" Ming Zuo, his assistant, only followed orders and never wasted words.

The next day, after her morning class, Suxi received a call from her tutor, asking her to prepare the materials for her scholarship application and bring them to the office.

Suxi organized the materials and was about to go when she received another message from her tutor: [Suxi, I have an urgent matter to attend to in the conference room on the ninth floor. Bring the materials directly.]

Suxi replied and headed toward the office building.

Outside the office building, a black Bentley was parked on the green lawn. As Suxi was about to walk past, she saw a tall, slender figure get out of the car.

Suxi's heart skipped a beat as she saw the man's profile and instinctively turned away.

The lights were off last night, so Ling Jiuzhe might not recognize her, but she didn't know how to face him.

After the car drove away and the man turned into the office area, Suxi continued walking.

But when she turned the corner, she saw the man on the phone again. Suxi stopped and pretended to look at her phone.

When she looked up, Ling Jiuzhe had already walked away. Suxi took a deep breath, puzzled. Why was Ling Jiuzhe here?

Entering the office building, she saw the man getting into the elevator. Suxi slowed her pace, waiting for the elevator to close before walking over.

Just as she was about to press the elevator button, the elevator, which had already closed, opened again.

Suxi looked up, caught off guard, and met the man's cold, questioning gaze.