Chapter 1: Saving Someone’s Life (I)

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Winter days in Nangong were extremely bleak and desolate. The biting cold wind whipped the flesh, and the steps on the dry and frosty road made slight squeaking sounds.

Ning Qing was walking on the road in a white down jacket. She is fair-skinned, with silky black hair, sparkling eyes, and a bright smile. She kept exhaling through her rosy lips to warm her hands.

Even such a cold day could not dampen her spirits. She was going out on a date.

It was her first date after turning eighteen, with Xu Junxi.

They had grown up together and got along like peas and carrots. Young love had been in the air. It wasn’t until yesterday that Xu Junxi finally expressed his feelings about her and asked her out on a date at a park.

She was more than delighted to go.

Thinking of his sunny, warm face, she arched a sweet smile and quickened her pace.

Suddenly, a stumbling man appeared from the corner who slammed into her shoulder and fell to the ground.

Rattled, Ning Qing looked down at the man.

He was about twenty-six, twenty-seven years old. He had a sculpted face, sword-like eyebrows, and a tall nose. This was definitely the most handsome man Ning Qing had ever seen.

He was wearing a black wool coat and a thin, navy V-neck sweater. One of his hands was pressed against his bleeding abdomen. He was obviously severely injured.

“Sir, are you alright?” Ning Qing squatted and asked, “You’re injured. I’ll call an ambulance.”

The man could barely open his eyes, his face pale due to excessive blood loss. He frowned and shook his head, “Don’t … some people are chasing after me …”

At that moment, Ning Qing heard some rushing footsteps, alongside a man’s low voice. “Hurry! We must get rid of him today!”

Are they going to murder him?

Ning Qing bit her lips, and with great effort, moved the injured man into the bush by the side of the road. “Sir, hide here for a while. I’ll lead them away.”

“Don’t go…” He waved to stop her. But the girl was swift like a rabbit, leaving him with a hazy yet beautiful image.

Ning Qing stood in the road, and soon a group of men in black appeared. They looked fierce. Upon seeing her, they asked rudely, “Oi, young lady. Have you seen an injured man passing by?”

Ning Qing quietly and naturally hid one hand in the pocket of her down jacket, her face unchanged. She pointed the front with the other hand and said, “I just saw a man walking over there.”

The men in black looked at each other. Today they would rather kill a thousand innocent people than miss their prey. This girl seemed a little suspicious, and they had reached a silent consensus to remove her as a potential threat.

Ning Qing felt their gloomy stare. One of them even started to walk towards her…

At this critical moment, a string of melodious ringing sounds came from her pocket. She reached for the phone and answered it.

“Hi, Junxi…I’m at Fumin Road… You’ll be here in one minute?… Okay, I’ll just wait by the bus stop.”

Ning Qing hung up the phone. Without even looking at those men, she crossed the road and stood by the bus stop, quietly waiting for her date.

The men in black looked at each other again. The girl’s calm and natural behavior seemed to have removed doubts from their mind. With the innocent look, she did not seem to be lying. She tilted her head, smiled and waved her arms at a man wearing a suit, who was just walking towards her. “Hi, Junxi. I’m here.”

The arrival of that man completely dispelled those men’s thoughts of killing Ning Qing. They did not hesitate anymore and quickly rushed toward the direction where Ning Qing had just pointed at.

Chapter 2: Saving Someone’s Life (II)

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

The man in the suit scratched his head, confused by Ning Qing’s greeting. Ning Qing looked around and confirmed that those men in black walked far away before she bowed to apologize. “Sir, the situation earlier was really urgent. I had to use you to put on a show. Thank you for being here.”

The suit man found her pretty good-looking, so he left after saying, “It’s okay.”

Ning Qing crossed the road and sneaked into the bush. She sat next to the injured man, her heart thumping loud in her chest. She could have died.

Luckily, she was quick-witted to have pressed her phone in her pocket so that it rang to look like someone was calling her. It was also quite fortunate that the man in the suit appeared just in time.

After she slowed down her breathing, she lifted her head to look at the injured man. Her pupils immediately contracted when she saw the large pool of blood on the ground. There was a faint tinge of green on the man’s pale face. He was closing his eyes as he lay down. It looked like he was no longer breathing.

“Sir, sir…” Ning Qing crawled over to his side and shook him with her shivering hands. There were tears flowing down her cheeks as she asked, “Are you dead? Don’t die. No…”

It was her first time being so close to death. She was crying in fear. He was perfectly fine earlier, how could he…

“Stop shaking me. I’m not dead.” The man moved his thin lips and spoke very weakly yet in calmness.

Ning Qing was stunned; she quickly wiped away her tears and complained in a pout, “Why didn’t you say anything earlier if you were not dead? You gave me a heart attack.”

“You’re so timid now. Weren’t you extremely brave earlier?” The man smirked.

“I am brave!” Ning Qing retorted. She took out a white handkerchief from her pocket and helped put pressure on his bleeding abdomen.

The man still had his eyes half closed, but he could see the girls delicate, beautiful face. Her eyelashes, graced with teardrops, were fanning like a butterfly’s wings.

“Why did you pant and sit on the ground then?”

“Because I ran too fast. I was worried that you’d die!” Then Ning Qing looked at the man and said, “You can’t keep bleeding like this. Those men in black should be gone by now. Let me send you to the hospital.”

“It’s okay. My people are here.”

Right then, a Land Rover jammed its brakes in the middle of the road. The car door swung open and out came two men who pushed the shrubbery aside and greeted the injured man. “Young Master…” They helped him up in awe.

Ning Qing let go of him. She knew that those were the people who were going to save him, so she let them take him.

“What’s your name?” The injured man turned around before he left with his eyes fully open.

Ning Qing was at loss for words. They were such deep and beautiful eyes. The black and the white were so clear and bright, just like the starry night. They glimmered like obsidian. Truly resplendent.

Ning Qing realized that her infatuation was showing, and she quickly reined back her demeanor. She then stood up and responded embarrassedly, “… Ning Qing, which means pretty woman.”

The injured man didn’t show any expression. It was as though he was born a cold introvert. He looked at her and got in the Land Rover.

At that point, the Land Rover swiftly drove off.

Ning Qing waited until the Land Rover was out of sight before she reined back her gaze. She looked at the blood stain on her hand and felt like she just woke up from a dream.

She suddenly thought of her handkerchief.

Just before the man left, she had loosened her grip and the handkerchief had been taken by the injured man.

The man’s eyes appeared in her head again and her heart started racing. She shook her head and cleared her mind of the image. She then suddenly shouted “ah” and started running.

Sh*t. What about my date?

Xu Junxi, wait for me.

Chapter 3: Three Years Later

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

Three years later.

While she was in the classroom, Ning Qing received a phone call from Xu Junxi. “Hey, I’m at the Imperial Hotel, Room 2016. Bring me a new set of clothes. Now.”

Although he sounded cold and harsh, Ning Qing was glad that he called.

Over the past three years, this was the first time that Xu Junxi had called.

Three years ago, she ended up being two hours late for their date for saving that injured man on her way. By the time she got to the park, Xu Junxi had already left.

After returning home, she learned that Xu Junxi accidentally had fallen off the rock in the park and was sent to the hospital. Coincidentally, her half-sister Ning Yao was also in the park at that time. While trying to save him, she fell as well and bruised her head. She was also taken to the hospital. That accident left a scar on Ning Yao’s head.

And that was when the drama began. There was something going on between Xu Junxi and Ning Yao. And as far as he could see, she, Ning Qing, was the one to blame for everything.

This was despite the fact that the two families had allowed an engagement between the two, and technically Xu Junxi was her fiancé.

Ning Qing rushed back to the school dormitory and took out a brand new outfit, consisting of one men’s shirt and a pair of suit pants. It cost half of her monthly salary from her summer job.

Way too many things happened these past three years, including her parents’ divorce. The Ning family had thrown her and her mom out. She was no longer the young lady of the Ning family.

Ning Qing rushed to the Imperial Hotel. She laid her hand on the doorknob of Room 2016 and found the door unlocked, so she opened it a crack.

Two voices emerged from the room.

Her face stiffened, and her heart instantly sank to the bottom of her chest.

She pushed the door open softly. As expected, she could see clothes strewn about the carpet, while two people were entangled with each other on a wide, soft sofa.

To Ning Qing, this felt like a stab in the heart. She thought that Xu Junxi had called her to reconcile. She didn’t expect that he actually had her come to witness this–her fiancé sleeping with another woman?

Over the past three years, he had treated her coldly and been completely indifferent to her. She often saw reports about his love affairs with a certain female celebrity or socialite from the newspaper, but she always believed that such were simply extravagant headlines based on gossip. She chose to believe that he wouldn’t do any of that.

She had always stood firmly by him, without even a shred of doubt. She had given him full respect and trust.

But now what was all that for? He cheated on her right in front of her!!!

How much did he hate her to have to humiliate her like that?

Thinking of how delighted she was on her way here, she felt like a complete, utter fool.

Ning Qing’s presence was noticed by the two people on the sofa. As the woman’s red nails ran across the man’s chest in a tempting way, she giggled and said, “Mr. Xu, your fiancée is here…”

While talking to Xu, the woman kept glancing at Ning Qing provokingly.

There was not one person in T City hadn’t heard of Ning Qing, the No.1 socialite in the whole city. Her beauty was far beyond that of any other woman.

It was a pity that the No. 1 socialite’s glory was gone. Everyone wanted to take their chance to step on her and humiliate her, for no other reason than her much-envied beauty.

The woman was so complacent that she slept with Ning’s fiancé.

A thin layer of sweat formed on Xu Junxi’s forehead. Kissing the woman’s neck, he said indifferently, “Ignore her, so disappointing! She just came to bring me clothes. Let’s continue.”

“How could you say that, Mr. Xu? Haha…” The woman chuckled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Ning Qing clenched her fists tightly. It was unbearable. She took another step and walked in.