No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

A light kiss, filled with lingering affection.

Song Qingran kept her eyes tightly closed, her body trembling slightly. She felt herself suspended in mid-air. Lu Yuanzhou held the girl, who was so light she was almost weightless, and stepped over the burning red candles, carefully placing her on the bed as if she were a precious treasure.

"Open your eyes, Ran..." His deep, husky voice, suppressing his lust, was full of temptation as he called her name. The moment the girl beneath him opened her eyes, the desire he had been aroused vanished as he looked into the depths of her eyes and saw his own numb surrender.

Lu Yuanzhou's heart sank slowly, and all his eagerness to possess her completely vanished.

However, thinking of those three years when he was away, when she had been intimate with other men and lived together in the same villa for three years, at this moment he only wanted to harden his heart and completely possess her, to make her his woman.

"From now on, you will belong to me alone, and no one will take you away from me."

Song Qingran's eyes were slightly moist and glistening, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she reached out to hook her arms around Lu Yuanzhou's neck, her breathing becoming noticeably rapid.

The buttons on their clothes had been undone at some point, and soft, warm kisses landed on their skin. When it was almost time, their clothes were scattered around the bed, barely covering their bodies. The air in the room seeped into their pores, as if it had penetrated their very bones.

Song Qingran kept her eyes closed the entire time, enduring the strange reactions her body was experiencing. She knew that after tonight, she would never be able to go back. Feeling the stinging pain, Lu Yuanzhou sensed her violent trembling and rejection. He wanted to harden his heart, but seeing the tears streaming down her face and her fearful expression, Lu Yuanzhou's heart clenched painfully.

His movements had stopped. Song Qingran, her long eyelashes glistening with tears, slowly opened her eyes. Meeting his deep, dark gaze, she seemed unable to face him, turning her head away to look to the side.

Lu Yuanzhou also knew that her feelings towards him were no longer just simple resistance, but rather a physiological aversion.

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to be like this either. But I just can’t help it. I can’t forget that day… when you and she were doing the same things in the bed I used to sleep in, my heart and my body reacted with resistance to you.”

Song Qingran cried, her voice trembling, her tears flowing even more profusely. Lu Yuanzhou's heart softened instantly. The guilt that burned in his heart made it impossible for him to be cruel. He got off her, covered her with the blanket, and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's all my fault. I was too hasty."

"I'm just afraid of losing you, I'm sorry..."

Lu Yuanzhou gently kissed away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I'm willing to wait for you, until the day you're willing to give yourself to me." He held her tightly. He was just too afraid of losing her, which was why he was so eager to make her his woman completely. But he forgot that his girl was completely different from other women. She was simple, kind, and pure, unlike any other woman.

Ultimately, Lu Yuanzhou didn't want to force himself on her...

Song Qingran cried for a long time in fear. Lu Yuanzhou held her and gently comforted her. It wasn't until 11 p.m. that she finally fell asleep in his arms. She was completely naked and slept peacefully.

After their engagement, Lu Yuanzhou did not force her to share a bed with him. Instead, they slept in their own separate rooms. For the first time in a long time, they began to have an intimate relationship. No matter what, he was the one who betrayed their relationship first, and Lu Yuanzhou could not deny it. When they were first being affectionate, he had also confirmed that her Qingran was still whole.

He was also relieved that there was still room for reconciliation between them.

For Lu Yuanzhou, spending over ten million to get her was worthwhile.

It was just getting light outside.

Song Qingran opened her eyes, turned over so her back was to him, and felt his even breathing behind her, his hand against her skin, and his hand on her waist. She resisted her body's resistance and remained motionless. Her mind was clear, but she didn't know what she was thinking. When it was completely bright outside, Song Qingran finally drifted off to sleep...

Finally, Song Qingran was awakened by the heat. The hotel blankets were all silk, and her body quickly became sticky when covered with them. She sat up, hugging the blanket, and just then saw Lu Yuanzhou coming out of the bathroom. He was drying his hair and had a towel wrapped around his lower body. Seeing his figure made Song Qingran momentarily dazed, but her thoughts returned when she could see his outline clearly.

"Do you want to take a shower?"

Song Qingran nodded, hugging the blanket shyly, not daring to look at him: "My clothes..."

"I don't need clothes." With that, Lu Yuanzhou picked her up.

"You...don't do this."

In Lu Yuanzhou's view, she was just too shy.

He laughed and said, "I've seen every part of your body now. Don't be shy. You'll get used to it eventually."

Song Qingran wanted to ask him to leave, but thinking about the money she owed him, what right did she have to make demands of him? Lu Yuanzhou was halfway through washing her clothes when he was called away by a phone call, and Song Qingran secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She gave it a quick rinse and that was it.

When Lu Yuanzhou walked back in, Song Qingran was already dressed and drying her hair in front of the mirror…

“I have already asked my assistant to move all your things to our new home.”

"It's not far from the school."

"I'm going to the law firm in a bit to handle a case. If you get hungry, I'll have Aunt Liu cook for you."

Song Qingran: "Mm."

The ambiguous marks on the girl's neck, which she couldn't hide, were all Lu Yuanzhou's handiwork. Seeing this, he smiled with great satisfaction, took the hair dryer from her hand, and helped her dry her hair.

When Song Qingran was sent back to the new house that Lu Yuanzhou had bought, she saw the person who left, but she did not go upstairs. Instead, she looked at the message sent by the virtual number in her hand and went to the address.

She recognized the place and returned to the dilapidated little building.

Outside, the sky was clear and the sun couldn't reach this place, giving it a gloomy and terrifying atmosphere even during the day.

In the familiar little house, the smell of ashes burned for the dead seemed to have never dissipated. Pushing open the door, Song Qingran saw a black and white photograph that bore a resemblance to herself, still on the table. However, the incense sticks in the incense burner had not been used for worship for a long time.

"How does it feel to be played and then abandoned?"

"When he wanted to protect you, you could have the whole world; when he abandoned you, you were like an ant. Money is far less tempting than power, and yet, all of this is precisely what Lu Yuanzhou cannot give you." The voice echoed from the corridor.

Song Qingran looked up and saw Xu Zhoulan in a royal blue suit, already in her line of sight. His charming eyes held a hint of mockery, as if he were laughing at her past naivety and foolishness.

"Do you regret it?"

"If you hadn't refused, the favor he once showed you two years ago, if you had accepted his love, perhaps... you would already be the matriarch of the Huo family now."

"Don't even mention Shen Bao'er, there are plenty of people who are trying every means to curry favor with you."

"It's better than what you're like now."

"Tricked and used by friends, exploited by false family ties, and then abandoned, the Bai family's goddaughter has now become a laughing stock in everyone's eyes."

Even... Jiang Hua is playing you!

"If I were you, I would take everything she has back..."

“After all…” Xu Zhoulan stood behind the girl, leaned down and whispered in her ear, his voice as seductive as a devil’s, leading her toward the abyss: “The person he fell in love with first… was clearly you.”

"Without Jiang Hua's interference, his love would always be with you. And your path would be easier than anyone else's; you wouldn't have to suffer grievances or belittled anyone, and no one would look down on you..."

"It's not your fault, it's his..."

"He elevated you to a high position, allowing you to enjoy everything, but now he has brought you down to earth, making you an ordinary person again."

"Don't worry, as long as you listen to me, he... will love you again."

“Because… you’re just like her in one way, and that’s enough.” Xu Zhoulan hooked one arm around the girl’s waist and pinched her chin with the other, making her look directly at the photo of the dead person.

Song Qingran: "Why did you help me?"

Xu Zhoulan: "You don't need to know. What you need to know is that we are not enemies."

As he spoke, the man lowered his head, looked at the red mark on his neck, and kissed it back, covering the original mark. "Jiang Hua can't get pregnant, but you can be like a normal person. That's your greatest advantage."

Song Qingran: "Aren't you worried about it getting dirty?"

Xu Zhoulan chuckled softly: "Dirty? The Huo family is even dirtier."

"Your biggest chance of winning is to please Xia He and stay true to yourself. Even if you become Zhou Xu and her shadow, that's still your biggest chance of winning."

"If I were you, I would take back everything that originally belonged to Jiang Hua and return the humiliation she suffered."

Song Qingran: "Do you have a grudge against her, or against the Huo family?"

Xu Zhoulan bluntly stated, "You don't need to know these things."

"Seize the opportunity, baby." Before leaving, Xu Zhoulan kissed Song Qingran's lips. "I haven't tasted the flavor of the Huo family heir's woman yet. It tastes good."

Song Qingran wiped the lingering scent from her lips. After he left, she stared intently at the black and white photograph.

I will inherit everything you have...

Even if... I become you completely.

...

Xia He also took Huo Ling's words to heart.

So, the Bai family hosted a charity gala, inviting prominent families from high society to attend. However, not just anyone could attend; those who did were people who had influence in the capital.

Most of them were people the Bai family could trust. The main reason was that they wanted to use this method to reconnect with Jiang Hua. Xia He also wanted to let go of her past prejudices and try to accept her.

When the Jiang family received the invitation, Jiang Hua and Pei Zhan returned early and had dinner with their father.

"These commercial gatherings that use charity as a pretext to raise money, I don't know how many invitations I receive every day, and there's nothing worth going to."

Jiang Weiguo: "It's okay to say such things at home, but you can't say them carelessly in public."

"However, the Bai family also said this time that it's the thought that counts, and every donation will go to the orphanage to support the orphans. There are specific details for each donation, so it should be true."

"At that time, several major families in the capital will be there. If you go, you can meet more people and build better relationships. It won't do you any harm. Your jewelry restoration studio might even find its biggest source of clients among them."

"Whether I go or not is irrelevant." Pei Zhan put some food in her bowl. "Huahua has offended all five great families in the capital except for the Shen family."

Jiang Weiguo finally realized something and raised his hand to give up, "Forget it, let's hope this banquet doesn't bring in a few more formidable business rivals."

"If someone as good as me can't get along with me, that's their problem. They should look for the reasons within themselves."

"I still remember that the boy from the Li family wrote you a love letter. During that year and a half of junior high, your homeroom teacher even tattled on you, saying that you weren't studying properly at school and had started dating early."

"It seems Mrs. Pei has quite a few admirers." The remark sounded somewhat sour.

Jiang Hua: "That happened a long time ago."

"I've long forgotten about him."

"Early romance? Did you? I don't think so,"

Jiang Hua recalled carefully, as if she remembered something, and she laughed and said, "I remember, he was a stutterer, and he would blush whenever he saw a woman. I had never seen such a funny person, so I took him in as my follower."

"Then rumors spread that I was dating him. Later, I dropped out of school and stayed at home. I haven't been in contact with him for a long time."

Jiang Weiguo raised his eyebrows. "Back then, someone filmed us crawling on the ground like dogs and posted it in a group chat, causing the Li family to lose face. Mrs. Li even came to our door in person to demand an explanation. During that time, the Jiang family lost a five million yuan order." Five million yuan was no small sum back then.

“That’s the only eldest grandson of the Li family, the future head of the Li family.”

"Forget it, you'd better not go."

"If we run into them and they bring up old grievances, the Jiang family will have another enemy without us even knowing why."

Jiang Hua: "Hmm~ No, I have to go."

Pei Zhan: "I'll go with you."

"what ever."

When Jiang Hua arrived, she wasn't dressed too formally, just in her usual attire, except for an expensive bracelet on her wrist worth millions. At the lawn banquet, the women sat at one table while the men chatted idly nearby.

Shen Bao'er knew she was coming, so she followed along.

Apart from the Bai family, no one else has the ability to gather all five major families together.

In a lounge on the second floor of the Bai family home, Pei Zhan put down his wine glass. Huo Ling, dressed in an ordinary shirt and black pleated skirt, said, "It seems that what I said to my mother last time still worked."

Pei Zhan replied absentmindedly, "Hmm, you did a good job."

"Of course. I hope Mom and Sister-in-law will have a pleasant chat this time."

Seeing that he didn't speak and that his mind was entirely on his sister-in-law, Huo Ling secretly chuckled behind his back.

Although the Huo family is no longer in the capital, their influence remains as strong as ever. When Xia He appeared, everyone turned their attention to the side and stood up respectfully to greet her, the rumored matriarch of the Huo family.

But... except for Jiang Hua.

Of all the people in the room, only Jiang Hua remained seated, motionless, calmly sipping her drink, her gaze completely unmoved.