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

Song Qingran's eyes flickered slightly, and she stopped what she was doing.

After Xu Zhoulan went upstairs, he immediately spotted a woman with a graceful figure on the balcony. A few strands of hair fluttered gently in the breeze, giving her an innocent yet fragile look. Song Qingran noticed the movement and turned around, her eyes showing little emotion.

Before she could even speak, Xu Zhoulan strode forward and pulled her into a tight embrace, showering her with passionate kisses.

Song Qingran was slightly taken aback, but did not struggle. Instead, she closed her eyes and responded to him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He accepted it, and then went on to be brutal, driven by a vengeful lust.

Upon seeing this, the servant immediately lowered her head and left.

After they went downstairs, they heard the sound of the porcelain used for flower arranging breaking one after another.

After a passionate encounter, Song Qingran's fair skin was marked with purplish-blue welts from being pinched. She awoke from a short sleep to find the man sleeping soundly beside her, still unconscious.

She remained expressionless, enduring the tearing pain, and gently removed his arm from her grasp to stand up, amidst a pile of tattered clothes on the floor.

After leaving the room, she went to the bathroom, closed her eyes, and felt the warm shower water flowing down her body.

...

Huo Ling finished the meeting and rushed back to her office, expecting to see Xu Zhoulan waiting for her obediently.

But there was no one there.

A sudden, inexplicable sense of despondency rose in her heart.

Without a second thought, she quickly opened her phone and skillfully accessed Xu Zhoulan's location system.

When the location of that unfamiliar manor villa was clearly displayed on the screen, her heart sank, and a bad premonition surged into her heart like a tide.

She bit her lip, not bothering to tidy up the slightly messy meeting materials, grabbed her car keys and hurriedly walked out.

Throughout the journey, Huo Ling's thoughts were a jumbled mess. She kept speculating about Xu Zhoulan's actions at the manor villa.

The scenery outside the car window flashed by, and I pressed the accelerator harder and harder, eager to get to that manor immediately and find out everything.

Finally, the car came to an abrupt stop outside the manor villa.

White Rose Estate

Upon seeing the person who had barged in, the maid immediately called out to her, "Miss, Madam has not made any appointments with anyone today. Please leave."

After her bath, Song Qingran exuded a faint scent of water and shower gel. She wore a loose silk robe with the neckline slightly open, revealing her delicate collarbone and a large expanse of snow-white skin. Barefoot, with her slightly dry long hair casually draped behind her, she stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the third floor and saw Huo Ling standing in the courtyard not far away.

Just then, the maid knocked lightly on the door, her voice extremely low: "Madam, the master has woken up."

Song Qingran paused for a moment, then simply hummed in agreement before turning away and leaving.

When she entered the bedroom, Xu Zhoulan was leaning against the headboard, his gaze lingering absently outside the window.

Song Qingran stepped forward and handed her the clothes the maid had prepared for her, her movements as if she were completing a pre-arranged procedure, her face completely expressionless: "Huo Ling is here."

She helped the man get dressed at the bedside.

Xu Zhoulan shifted slightly, enjoying the woman's service. He looked at her, a playful smile playing on his lips: "What's the rush? I just woke up, I'm still feeling heavy."

As he spoke, he slowly walked towards the bathroom, his tone deliberately teasing: "Come help me wash, so the guests won't have to wait too long."

Xu Zhoulan had already taken off his shirt and was leaning against the edge of the bathtub watching her, his teasing look impossible to hide.

Song Qingran adjusted the water temperature very gently. Once the water was warm, she raised her hand and pointed the showerhead at his back. The water flowed down his shoulder line, wetting his hair. Song Qingran only dared to look at his back, not daring to move it even a little bit upwards, her movements stiff like a puppet.

The man, enjoying himself with his eyes closed, asked, "You've never washed your older brother before?"

Song Qingran felt a surge of emotions, but she didn't show it at all. "I have nothing to do with Mr. Pei, and we've never had any relationship."

Xu Zhoulan, however, was not behaving herself. She suddenly turned to the side, and water splashed onto her sleeve. The icy touch made her quickly pull her hand back.

"What's the panic? Don't forget our deal." Xu Zhoulan chuckled, grabbing the woman's chin and scanning her from head to toe as if admiring a work of art. "Is there any part of you I haven't seen before?"

"I didn't get enough of the taste just now."

Xu Zhoulan looked at her lips, which held an alluring temptation, and bit them. Then, he grabbed her waist and pulled her into the bathtub with him. Water splashed up, but he couldn't feel her struggle or resistance, which deepened the kiss.

After a while, he finally released her. Xu Zhoulan looked at her body, her skin flushed pink from holding her breath. His hands roamed over her body. "Such a beautiful woman, how did you manage to resist touching me, brother?"

Song Qingran's moist eyes were captivating.

"Your body is more delicate than it was five years ago."

...

Five years ago, Song Qingran had just come out of the library, still holding the textbook she hadn't finished reading, when her phone screen was blindingly bright, pushing out news that Mr. Pei and Jiang Hua were about to get married.

Not only on mobile phones, but also on the large screens throughout the shopping mall, people were sending their wedding wishes.

In that instant, Song Qingran felt as if all the strength in her body had been drained away.

It felt like my heart had shattered into pieces.

She kept thinking, would things have been different if she hadn't rejected Mr. Pei?

Song Qingran felt that she was going crazy from missing him so much; the longing had seeped into her very bones.

The rain fell harder and harder. She didn't use an umbrella, letting the rain soak her hair. She walked unsteadily in the empty alley, the word "wedding" echoing repeatedly in her mind.

She didn't even notice the footsteps behind her. "Little girl, all alone?"

A rough voice suddenly rang out, and three sleazy-looking men blocked her way.

Song Qingran snapped back to reality, took a step back, and her heart leaped into her throat: "What do you want to do?"

The man in the lead rubbed his hands together, his eyes sweeping over her with ill intent: "It's such a boring rainy night, why don't you keep the brothers company?"

As they pounced on her, Song Qingran struggled desperately, her books scattered on the ground, wrinkled and soaked by the rain. She cried out, but no one answered; despair overwhelmed her like a tide.

With great difficulty, she broke free from their struggles and ran into the street.

"Help me, is anyone there...?"

"help me!"

Just then, a black sedan drove up and nearly hit her. The car stopped right in front of her, and Song Qingran fell to the ground in a disheveled state.

A man got out of the car, and a bodyguard held an umbrella over his head. His tall figure and the coldness in his eyes made the three thugs stop immediately.

Without saying a word, he gave a single glance, and his bodyguards rushed forward and quickly subdued the thug.

Song Qingran collapsed to the ground, soaked to the bone, her hair sticking to her face.

The rain intensified, and she looked up, the rain obscuring her eyes so she couldn't see his face until the man squatted down in front of her. "Tsk, whose little girl is this?"

"So disheveled?"

"Leave on your own, or come with me?" His voice carried an irresistible force.

As Xu Zhoulan stood up, he extended his hand to her. Song Qingran blinked, a drop of water falling from her long, raven-feather-like eyelashes. She knew what going with him this time would mean.

In those few hesitant seconds, Song Qingran's mind went blank, and she grabbed the hand that was being reached out to her as if possessed.

The winter rain in the cold season was so cold it chilled her to the bone, just like her heart.

Song Qingran was stunned for a moment, then stood up following his hand and got into the car with him.

The car eventually stopped in front of a five-star hotel. He booked a presidential suite and handed her a clean bathrobe.

The hot water poured over her in the bathroom couldn't warm her cold heart.

Pei Zhan's marriage announcement and what she had just experienced felt like two knives stabbing into her heart.

Looking at her disheveled reflection in the mirror, she suddenly had a "what's the point" thought.

She walked up to Xu Zhoulan, who was sitting on the sofa smoking. Her gaze paused for a moment, the cigarette between her fingers trembling slightly, but she didn't look away.

The man, with his long legs crossed, leaned lazily against the sofa, quietly waiting for her next move. Song Qingran then loosened the belt around her waist, her robes falling away to reveal her flawless body. "I... want to be your woman."

Xu Zhoulan stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, walked to her, and gently traced her cheek with his fingertips: "Have you thought it through?"

"I do want to experience what it's like to be a woman who has been supported by my older brother for so many years."

Do you think... he might care?

Song Qingran treated herself as an object, something for him to use.

That night, she lingered in Xu Zhoulan's arms.

She became his woman completely.

He also presented the White Rose Estate as a gift to her as a way of supporting her.

A slight fluctuation of emotion swept through Song Qingran's heart.

He had given her hope, but in the end, just when she fell completely in love with him, he turned away resolutely, extinguishing all the hope in her heart.

She just regretted that her feelings for Mr. Pei came too late.

Every night, she thought that she should just agree to be with Mr. Pei.

Even when she made love intimately with the man in front of her, every time she closed her eyes and endured it, she imagined him as him in her mind.

Song Qingran was unwilling to accept this ending.

Even if she only uses him as a substitute.

I dream of staying by his side.

But what he did was to drug Jiang Hua in her room so that she could give him her first time.

She didn't do anything wrong; she just fell in love with him.

But he dealt her a devastating blow.

He withdrew all his affection for her, causing her to fall from heaven to hell, a fate worse than death.

"I…"

Song Qingran spoke softly.

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a sound coming from outside.

Maid: "Miss, this is not a place for you. If you don't leave, I'm calling the police."

Huo Ling's feet trod across the marble floor, the expensive cashmere carpet absorbing the sound of her hurried footsteps, but unable to stop the frantic pounding of her heart in her chest.

The villa was eerily quiet, with only the light from the crystal chandelier casting dappled patterns of light in the empty corridor. Behind each tightly closed door seemed to lie a silent mockery.

She pushed open each door, and Huo Ling saw the documents spread out in the study and the familiar suit jackets hanging in the dressing room.

Her heart was pierced with pain.

Every familiar detail was pulling her deeper into panic.

Just as she reached the door to the master bedroom on the third floor, a faint mist of steam wafted out from behind the half-open door, mingling with the familiar scent of cedarwood shower gel, instantly catching her breath.

Clothes were scattered on the floor in a mess. A white silk nightgown was crumpled into a ball, and next to it was a pair of off-white lace panties with damp stains on the edges.

Huo Ling's fingertips were icy cold, and the movement of pushing open the door was accompanied by an uncontrollable tremor. The shadowy figure behind the frosted glass of the bathroom made her throat tighten, as if a ball of cotton soaked in ice water had been stuffed into it.

With a loud bang, the bathroom door slammed against the tiled wall, causing ripples to spread across the mirror.

The warm water in the bathtub was steaming with white vapor. Xu Zhoulan leaned against the edge of the tub, his black hair wet and clinging to his neck, his eyes and brows covered with a blurry, languid look.

The woman he was holding tightly in his arms had her face buried deep in his chest, her slender fingers gripping the skin on his chest. On his back, she could clearly see a bloody scratch.

She understood where the scratch came from.

Xu Zhoulan raised his eyes, his gaze showing no surprise, only an almost indifferent calm.

Song Qingran shrank her head further into Xu Zhoulan's arms, her ear tips flushed an unnatural red, but she still refused to look up.

Huo Ling stood there, feeling all the blood rushing to her head and freezing into ice in an instant.

The steam in the bathroom grew thicker, blurring the outlines of the three people, but clearly reflecting the broken light in Huo Ling's eyes.

She opened her mouth, trying to shout something, but found that she couldn't even make a sound. She could only let the sharp pain spread from her heart to every part of her body, dragging her into the abyss of collapse.

That slender, seemingly frail figure evoked a sense of familiarity.

Seeing this, Huo Ling's eyes welled up with tears, and the pain in her heart made her feel suffocated. "Five years. I thought you had changed." A choked voice came from her throat, and every word she uttered hurt her heart.

Maid: "I'm so sorry, sir. I couldn't stop this young lady. I'll take her away now."

Sitting in the bathtub, Xu Zhoulan waved his hand, and the maid bowed her head and silently retreated. He stood up, grabbed a bathrobe from the side, put it on, and stood in front of the woman who did not want to show her face.

Seeing his protectiveness, as if he were afraid she might do something to her, this action stabbed Huo Ling in the heart again.

"Are you crying?" He slowly walked up to her and reached out to wipe away the tears falling from her eyes.

Next second.

A crisp slap echoed in the bathroom.

Huo Ling used almost all her strength to slap him across the face. Xu Zhoulan turned his head to the side after being hit, and when he looked at her again, the color of his lips seemed to have deepened, and a dangerous smile was playing on his lips.

"You're an asshole."

On the high-speed, winding highway, Huo Ling, as if she didn't care about her life, stepped on the gas, driving so fast that she couldn't see the scenery outside the car window, it was all a blur.