The rain poured down on the black umbrellas of Jingcheng's elite, sounding like a thousand buzzing bees.
Standing at the very edge of the crowd, completely soaked, Chi Shuyi stared blankly at the black-and-white portrait resting among the sea of white chrysanthemums.
In the photo, Chi Shuran was smiling. It was that same perfect, gentle smile that had made everyone in the city fall in love with her. The beautiful, kind-hearted eldest daughter of the Chi family. The angel who was taken too soon in a tragic car accident.
Around Shuyi, people were weeping. Her mother was leaning against her father, sobbing so hard she could barely stand.
*"Such a tragedy,"* a woman whispered a few feet away. *"Shuran was an angel. She was too good for this world."*
Shuyi lowered her eyes.
*An angel?*
Her fingers curled into tight fists inside her cheap, damp coat. If they only knew.
Chi Shuran wasn't that good of a person. In fact, she was a nightmare wrapped in a beautiful package.
Shuyi's mind flashed back to a week ago. They had been standing on the sweeping staircase of the Chi family mansion. Shuran had just ruined Shuyi's only decent dress with a "clumsy" spill of hot tea.
*"Oh, Shuyi, I'm so sorry,"* Shuran had said loudly enough for the maids to hear. But when she stepped closer, her voice dropped into a venomous whisper only Shuyi could hear. *"Did you really think you could wear that tonight? Know your place, Shuyi. You will always be the ugly shadow standing behind me. Don't ever try to outshine me."*
That was the real Chi Shuran. The sister who secretly pinched her, who sabotaged her exams, who whispered cruelties when their parents weren't looking. Their parents never believed Shuyi anyway. To them, Shuran was the golden child. Shuyi was just the disappointment, the daughter who was never quite smart enough, pretty enough, or elegant enough.
Now, looking at the coffin, Shuyi felt a strange emptiness in her chest.
*Should I be happy?* she wondered. *Am I finally free?* Or should she be sad? Because even in death, Shuran was taking up all the air in the room.
Suddenly, the crowd rippled. The whispering stopped. The sea of black umbrellas parted like the Red Sea, making way for a single man.
Chi Shuyi's heart violently skipped a beat.
Lu Tingzhou.
He walked through the rain, his tall, broad-shouldered frame exuding an overwhelming, freezing pressure. He wore a tailored black suit that hugged his perfect proportions. His face was a masterpiece sculpted from ice—sharp jawline, high cheekbones, and dark, bottomless eyes that held absolutely zero emotion.
He was the CEO of the Lu Corporation. The most powerful man in Jingcheng.
And, he was Chi Shuran's fiancé.
Shuyi quickly lowered her head, hiding the sudden rush of heat in her cheeks. It was her deepest, most shameful secret. She had been in love with Lu Tingzhou for five years.
She loved him long before Shuran even noticed him. But what did it matter? When Lu Tingzhou came looking for a bride, of course he chose the perfect sister. He probably didn't even know Shuyi's name. Why would a man like him look at the mud on the ground when he had the moon in his arms?
Lu Tingzhou stopped in front of the Chi parents. He gave a slight, formal bow. He didn't say a word, but his presence alone was enough to make the grieving parents nod in deep respect.
When he stepped up to the coffin, Shuyi peeked at him through her wet eyelashes.
She expected him to look devastated. She expected to see the heartbroken tears of a man who just lost the love of his life.
But Lu Tingzhou just stood there. His dark eyes stared at Shuran's smiling portrait. His expression was completely blank. He looked tired, yes. But he didn't look like a man whose heart had just been shattered. He looked… terrifyingly calm.
Before Shuyi could analyze it, the funeral director announced the end of the service.
People began to disperse, rushing toward their luxury cars to escape the heavy rain.
"Mom? Dad?" Shuyi called out softly, shivering as the cold wind bit through her thin clothes.
Her mother turned, her eyes red and swollen. But the moment she looked at Shuyi, the grief vanished, replaced by a flash of irritation.
"Don't follow us," her mother snapped, lowering her voice so the guests wouldn't hear. "Looking at your face right now just makes me sick. You couldn't even bother to cry for your own sister? You ungrateful wretch."
"Mom, I—"
"Just take a taxi," her father interrupted coldly, opening the door to their Mercedes. "Don't embarrass us by trailing behind looking like a drowned rat."
The car door slammed shut. The engine roared, and the Mercedes drove off, splashing dirty puddle water onto Shuyi's black shoes.
Shuyi stood perfectly still in the empty cemetery. The rain was pouring harder now, plastering her dark hair to her pale cheeks. She didn't have an umbrella. She didn't even have her purse; she had left it in her parents' car.
She was completely alone. Just like always.
A bitter smile touched her lips. She wrapped her arms around herself, turning to begin the long walk down the mountain road.
*BEEP.*
A short, sharp honk made her flinch.
Shuyi turned around. A sleek, black Maybach had silently pulled up right beside her. The back window slowly rolled down.
Shuyi's breath caught in her throat.
Sitting in the dim light of the backseat, looking like a dark god of the underworld, was Lu Tingzhou.
He had taken off his suit jacket. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, revealing the sharp line of his collarbone. He looked at her, his dark eyes sweeping over her shivering, rain-soaked figure.
"Get in," his deep, magnetic voice commanded. It wasn't an offer. It was an order.
Shuyi froze. Panic flared in her chest. "President Lu… it's fine. I can walk. I wouldn't want to dirty your car."
Lu Tingzhou's eyes narrowed slightly. The temperature around them seemed to drop another ten degrees.
"Chi Shuyi," he said, saying her name slowly, like he was tasting the syllables. "Do I look like a man who repeats himself?"
Her legs moved before her brain could catch up. Terrified of angering him, she quickly opened the heavy door and slipped into the backseat, pressing herself against the door as far away from him as possible.
The door clicked shut. The window rolled up, sealing them inside a quiet, luxurious bubble. The only sound was the heavy rain drumming against the roof and the soft hum of the engine.
The car smelled like him. Cold pine, expensive leather, and a hint of dark tobacco. It was intoxicating.
"Drive," Lu Tingzhou told the chauffeur in the front.
The car pulled away from the cemetery. Shuyi sat stiffly, her hands tightly gripping her knees. She was dripping wet, ruining his expensive leather seats. Why did he offer her a ride? Did he want to yell at her? Did Shuran tell him awful things about her before she died?
A soft thud broke her panicked thoughts.
A thick, dry towel landed on her lap.
She looked up, startled. Lu Tingzhou had tossed it to her. He was leaning back against his seat, his long legs crossed, staring straight ahead.
"Dry your hair," he ordered quietly. "Before you get sick."
"T-thank you," she stammered, picking up the towel with shaking hands. She quickly began to dry her wet hair, trying to be as invisible as possible.
Silence stretched between them for ten long minutes. The tension in the car was so thick Shuyi felt like she couldn't breathe.
Suddenly, the car took a sharp left turn.
Shuyi blinked, wiping the condensation off the window. She frowned. This wasn't the way to the Chi family mansion. In fact, they were heading toward the most exclusive, private district in the center of Jingcheng—an area where only billionaires like Lu Tingzhou lived.
"Wait," Shuyi said, her voice trembling slightly. "President Lu, the driver took a wrong turn. My house is in the opposite direction."
Lu Tingzhou didn't say anything.
"President Lu?" she tried again, her panic rising. "Please tell him to turn around."
The privacy screen between the front and back seats suddenly slid up with a soft hum, completely isolating them from the driver.
Shuyi's heart slammed against her ribs. She pressed herself harder against the door, her wide eyes locked on him. "What are you doing? Let me out."
Lu Tingzhou finally turned his head to look at her.
He didn't look calm anymore.
Slowly, he leaned across the wide leather seat. His massive frame completely boxed her in. Shuyi gasped, her back hitting the door as he stopped just inches from her face. She could feel his body heat, could smell the dangerous scent of his cologne.
He raised his hand. His long, elegant fingers brushed a damp strand of hair away from her cheek. His touch was burning hot against her cold skin.
Shuyi squeezed her eyes shut, terrified. "Please... don't hurt me. I know Shuran told you bad things about me—"
"Shuran is dead," his low, rough voice whispered right against her ear, sending a violent shiver down her spine.
He tilted his head, his thumb gently but firmly stroking her lower lip.
"Did you really think," Lu Tingzhou murmured, his dark eyes burning with an intense, suffocating obsession that he had been hiding for years, "that I was ever going to let you go back to that house?"