The wealthy military officer spoils his wife excessively

"A pair of lunatics—" Ji Xuan raised her voice, cursing angrily, and slammed the door shut with a deafening bang.

The woman's high heels were still lying on the ground. Empress Ji was truly furious and left without even putting on her shoes. However, Su Wen was even more frustrated. Thanks to Lu Zheng, she had completely offended the Empress.

Lu Zheng seemed to read her mind, his proud chin slightly raised: "If you want, you can be more famous than her."

"Just to sleep with you, Young Master Lu, is that all you want?" Su Wen laughed coldly. "This deal seems very worthwhile."

When the large hand lifted her chin, she instinctively closed her eyes. She felt the cool fingertips gently caress her cheek, cheekbone, then the corner of her eye, and her eyebrows.

She had lost weight, and the radiant apple-shaped face she once had was gone. Her cheekbones were high and prominent, and her face was almost devoid of flesh.

A dull ache ran through her heart. He leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips. Her body tensed immediately. He heard him sigh in her ear, "Relax. You don't have to treat this as a transaction."

She suddenly opened her eyes, her curled eyelashes fluttering lightly like butterfly wings, her dark eyes looking at him with a clever glint in them: "Then what should I call it? Is it 'love'?"

His deep black eyes were filled with swirling emotions as he raised a sharp brow and stared at her silently.

"It's love."

“Lu Zheng… um…”

He had already seized the opportunity. As soon as she opened her mouth, his thin lips came close, silencing her. His tongue forcefully invaded her mouth, and her chin, which she tried to dodge, was held in his grasp. His five fingers squeezed her jaw tightly, and her lips and teeth, unable to close, could only be forcefully invaded by him, taking whatever he wanted.

The kiss was intense and lingering; he bit her lip hard, the swirling of his tongue carrying a hint of blood. Her frail body trembled helplessly in his arms, like a leaf adrift in the wind, his fingers cradling her cheeks wet with tears.

She...didn't want to? That's why she cried?

He clearly remembered that the first time three years ago, she was in so much pain that her face turned pale, but she didn't shed a single tear.

My heart aches more and more.

It hurts when I can't see her, but it hurts even more when I can see her.

He thought that embracing her and kissing her fiercely would quell the excruciating pain that had tormented his heart for the past three years, waking him up in the middle of the night every night. But it turned out to be like drinking poison to quench thirst. He would rather she had ripped his heart out with her when she left three years ago, so he wouldn't have to suffer this pain day and night.

The air in her lungs was compressed rapidly, and Suwen felt dizzy. Her small hands tightly gripped his chest, and she leaned weakly against him. The strange yet familiar act of taking her was unsettling; her heart pounded, and perhaps in the next second, her frantic heart would leap out of her chest.

His chest heaved, his movements erratic, his kisses frantic and raucous, his lips moving down her neck, leaving marks and welts. She winced in pain, instinctively biting her lip again. Her familiar scent enveloped him, fueling his reckless madness.

puff--

With a forceful pull, he ripped off a button from her collar, the slight sound startling her awake.

"No more..." She hurriedly covered her neckline. How was she going to leave the company in this situation?

His eyes were bloodshot, staining her reflection red, and his violently rising and falling breaths revealed his displeasure.

His lips curled slightly, his voice hoarse and cold: "You drove one away, shouldn't you take his place yourself?"

Those words, however, completely calmed her down. Her slender fingers reached to her abusive neck; the collar, with its buttons torn off, wouldn't close properly. She could only cover the marks he had left with her hands, and smiled faintly: "I'm sorry, I thought you would be very unhappy to be mistaken for someone else. I didn't expect you to enjoy it so much. I've disturbed your pleasure."

I watched helplessly as the spark in his eyes gradually died out, eventually returning to a cold, indifferent black.

He straightened up, straightened his clothes that she had rumpled. He wasn't messy to begin with, and in a moment he stood tall and straight, his clothes looking brand new.

He picked up the suit jacket that was tossed on the sofa and threw it at her, the jacket landing cleanly on her shoulder in a sharp arc.

"I'll take you out."

She tightened her suit jacket: "Thank you, but no need."

The tall figure, who had already reached the door, suddenly turned around: "Nie Suwen, I want you back by my side, but you're unwilling. Now you want to control who's by my side? What exactly do you want?"

"..."

She was speechless, unable to respond. She watched helplessly as Lu Zheng glanced at her, then turned and left.

Within three days, news of the new owner taking over spread within Huayi Brothers. This was a sensitive period, and normally employees would be restless and artists whose contracts were about to expire would jump ship. However, at Huayi Brothers, the opposite was true. The employees, especially the female artists, were like they were on steroids. Restless hormones could be seen everywhere, at the clock-in point, in the restaurant, and by the elevator.

Ji Xuan, in particular, not only renewed her contract, but extended it for another five years. Rumors within the company about her appearing hand-in-hand with Xiao Shao at the Starry Night press conference that day were already rampant.

This was Suwen's first time in a recording studio. After using her voice excessively for most of the day, her throat felt rough and uncomfortable. The producer finally allowed her to rest for a while.

As soon as I pushed open the door to the tea room, I heard something I didn't want to hear.

"Who do you think that newcomer surnamed Nie is? She managed to get Brother to record for her."

"Let me tell you, what I heard yesterday was that Xue Shaofeng personally came to ask you for help, brother."

"No way, what exactly is her relationship with Xue Shaofeng?"

"What other connection could there be? It's just a newcomer trying to climb the ladder by relying on a superstar..."

"She doesn't seem like it. She usually seems quiet and doesn't talk much."

Su Wen stood behind the door listening, her expression blank. But when she turned around, she was met with a mocking smile from Ji Xuan.

He was so focused on eavesdropping that he didn't even notice! Su Wen could only raise his face and give an awkward smile. It's true what they say, enemies are destined to meet.

Ji Xuan curled her lips into a smile, about to speak, when the two people in the break room suddenly changed the subject: "You can't judge a book by its cover. When Ji Xuan first joined our company, she was all innocent and well-behaved, but now she's practically a bus stop, anyone can get on..."

"That's right. We don't even know the company has been acquired yet, and she's already hooked up with the new owner."

"You think she got her Golden Horse Award for Best Actress? She got it by sleeping around..."

Suwen saw Ji Xuan's exquisite diamond nail polish deeply embedded in her palm. After thinking for a moment, she took out the earphones Ji Xuan used to listen to music from her bag and slowly put them into her ears.

Ji Xuan snapped back to reality and glared at her.

She smiled slightly and walked past her nonchalantly.

Unspoken rules have long existed in this circle. Since one cannot resist the rules, one can only conform and adapt. When the same opportunity presented itself, Nie Suwen did not believe she could resist the temptation.

One man's meat is another man's poison. A famous star in the industry once made a bold statement: "One day, I will put all the clothes I took off back on, one by one."

The biggest winner of the top ten qualifying round was undoubtedly Nie Suwen.

With her almond-shaped eyes curved and her pupils as black as lacquer, dressed in simple white jeans, she looked as youthful as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl. When she went on stage, she would timidly and shyly look at the judges, but the moment her hand touched the microphone, her eyes would suddenly become sharp and piercing.

Without any prelude, the first thing he said was a mellow, deep voice, with a melodious and lingering ending, like the helpless sigh of an old man who has seen all the vicissitudes of life.

Is this still that familiar old song?

Apart from Xue Shaofeng, the two judges and all the staff present were stunned.

Such a powerful bass voice—why had they never noticed this girl before? They couldn't even remember how she performed in the previous round. Is it possible for someone to change so much in just one week, or was she a hidden gem, only now shining brightly?

The guitar accompaniment was faint, just a light tapping of the beat, and only her low, husky voice echoed throughout the studio. When Xue Shaofeng added a humming segment for her, there were no lyrics; she simply hummed casually, her head lowered, her gaze languid and melancholic, her fingertips brushing against the ends of her slightly curled hair—an inexplicable mature charm. The stark contrast with her youthful face was stunning.

As the camera panned across the judges' panel, lyricist Wei Guang excitedly took off his headphones, his eyes shining, and started clapping along to the rhythm.

"It's really hard to hear a voice like this in China. It's amazing. When you open your mouth, it's like you're possessed by something, I'm completely mesmerized." Wei Guang praised without reservation.

After the song ended, Suwen reverted to her shy and timid newbie mode, holding the microphone and unsure of where to put her hands.

It's precisely this stark contrast between her singing style and her current appearance that sparks people's interest in finding out more.

When it was Xue Shaofeng's turn, he simply squinted and said briefly, "Your song really killed me softly."

After the show aired, almost overnight, Nie Suwen's name became an internet sensation. Even the following morning's newspaper reported on her stunning performance in the top 20 to 10 competition. Her singing video quickly garnered over a million views online, with countless comments such as, "It's amazing! She's a completely different person when she sings and when she doesn't!"

"Is she a foreigner? I'm completely shocked that there are such voices in China!"

"Susu, Susu, we support you..."

Because of the stark contrast between her youthful appearance and her mature, deep voice, netizens nicknamed her "Reversal Girl." Furthermore, since she mentioned in an interview clip that she likes rice cakes, and given her fair and delicate features, fans affectionately call her "Rice Cake Girl," and even created a Baidu Tieba forum and fan club for her. The company, of course, wouldn't miss such a great opportunity, and quickly launched an official website for her, beginning a massive promotional campaign for Suwen.