Prologue
"Beep—"
"Ah—it hurts!" After being unconscious for so long, I was startled awake by a pain that stabbed straight into my mind, and I screamed. Several doctors' hands were covered in my blood, and seeing this, several nurses rushed over and pinned me down hard against the bed.
"Beep—"
"Ahhhh! No, no! It hurts! Ah—" I cried my heart out, my convulsing body beginning to go numb, as if I could no longer feel the pain. My screams gradually grew hoarse.
"Continue. The patient's condition is very bad!" One doctor looked coldly at another as he spoke.
That doctor nodded and pressed a red button.
Immediately, my body felt as if some force had drained it completely, and the pain was as though I were standing at death's doorstep.
"Is she in a lot of pain? Is she in a lot of pain?" Outside the operating room, I heard a familiar voice ring in my ears. My eyes slowly opened, and I gazed dazedly at the surgical lamp above me.
Without any courtesy, the doctor plunged a needle straight into my arm!
"Ah—" Only I understood this pain, how much I had endured, all of it heaped upon my body.
"Get away! All of you, get away!" The voice outside grew louder and louder. Many people tried to stop him but found they couldn't hold him back at all. He knocked down everyone who blocked his way, roaring.
"Young Master, just wait a little longer, it will be over soon!" Another doctor left me and walked toward the door, saying to him.
"Get away, don't touch her! No more treatment! Even if she becomes a lunatic or goes insane! She's still my woman! Do you hear me?!!" He glared fixedly at them, his eyes bloodshot. He forcefully shook off the people restraining him and strode toward me, step by heavy step.
As soon as his words fell, another piece of my soul was taken away.
"Ah—" I convulsed with tears in my eyes, my pitiful body wracked with pain, my throat aching, my whole body aching.
"Whoever dares touch her again—I'll kill them on the spot!" He grabbed the doctor who had acted on his own initiative and hurled him viciously into the machines beside him.
Half of my soul had been taken from them, leaving only me with a mind of blank whiteness, and this hollowed-out shell of a body that trembled violently all over.
Why?
Why is heaven so unfair to me?
What did I ever do wrong?
Why must I bear all this suffering?
Why why why?
"Xiao Cai." He suddenly knelt on the ground, lifted me up, and held me tightly in his arms, unwilling to let go for even a moment.
My body trembled in his embrace, and I couldn't tell whether it was despair over what he had done, or the torture from the doctors. My lashes quivered faintly as I breathed in that same, familiar scent.
I knew that right now, he was by my side.
"Xiao Cai, I know I was wrong—" he whispered in my ear, carrying a month's worth of longing and an apology that had gone unspoken for so, so long.
The world, it seems, owes me an ordinary love—
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Chapter 1
"Stop! Don't run!" Just as I was narcissistically admiring myself in the mirror in the parking lot, a group of men in black burst in from outside, chasing a man who had run a long way—and at that moment, I was very certain and very sure of one thing: he was running straight toward me!
W-wait a second!
Toward me?
What does that have to do with me, hey!
He swiftly brushed past me. I thought that would be the end of it. Well, yes—no, it wasn't over!
He grabbed my paw! Why was he grabbing me? Did he want to drag me down with him? What kind of world is this, playing these childish games! But still, I couldn't help being dragged along by him, running this way and that, while a group of men in black pursued us closely like a pack of mad dogs. So this idiot who refused to let go of my hand picked up the pace, outright dragging me along as I ran. I screamed the whole way, broadcasting our position to the men in black: "Ahhhh—come chase us! He's here! Ahhh—why are you all so slow? Hurry hurry hurry—Ah!!!—" Finally, unable to bear my penetrating dolphin-whistle, the idiot spoke: "Hey! Can you keep it down?"
"Damn it! How can I keep it down? You dragged me into running for no reason!" I raised my head in fury, only to see his hat blown off by the wind, revealing an extraordinarily handsome face.
Is—is this even a human being?
I froze in an instant. Seeing that face and that magnetic voice that could hook your soul away anytime, anywhere, I realized that compared to him, my burky manly figure honestly made me look utterly petite. Ohohoho~
"In any case, keep quiet for this Young Master!" the idiot growled, his very handsome face set sternly, that electric-charged devil's claw gripping my hand tighter and tighter, leaving my whole body tingling, as he kept dragging me around the parking lot N more times.
That pack of dog-like men in black still pursued us relentlessly, until the distance between us grew farther and farther. Was this what successfully shaking them off looked like?
In the blink of an eye, I found us hiding in a dark corner. I raised my head and looked at that handsome face of his, saw him panting, beads of sweat sliding down the side of his face—so handsome that I began to question my whole existence!
Suddenly, while I was staring entranced, he turned his head and looked at me, a pair of eyes like clear diamonds at the bottom of a deep pool staring straight into mine, shocking me back to my senses.
"Hey, let's make a deal." He spoke coldly, as if the moment he said it, refusing wasn't an option.
A deal?
Making a deal here?
Having read a lot of, ahem, adult material lately, my mind immediately went into the gutter.
"What do you want?" I instinctively covered my chest, keeping my distance from him.
Sure, I'm flat as an airfield, but if you look closely, I do have a chest! Don't tell me he noticed? So he's fallen for me like this? No way?
Oh heavens! Oh no.
Ah, pfft!
As if!
I'm not wearing any makeup today! I'm wearing long, aunty-style flared jeans! On top I've got a sports bra from a two-yuan store and a bargain-bin top that cost less than ten yuan, and after he dragged me around running, my loose hair has turned me into a drowned rat!
And!
I'm even wearing flip-flops that cost a few yuan!
At this point, I'm too embarrassed to even say it out loud. But look at him—tsk tsk tsk—a crisp striped shirt with black trousers, the leather holster at his waist dazzling my recently recovered eyes, those leather shoes gleaming so brightly that even diamonds can't match their beauty.
On a handsome man, everything looks perfect!
He took a deep breath, as if utterly disgusted by my existence. A long while passed before he coldly replied, "You look pretty decent. (Yan Xiaocai: Right, I do!)"
So?
He wants to make a deal, is that it?
That kind of dirty deal?
Sure enough, he's fallen for my beauty! It must be fate—I dressed so, so plainly, showed up in flip-flops no less, and I'm still getting complimented. Blame it on my gorgeous looks!
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Being stared at by him made me extremely uncomfortable, so I asked, still covering my chest.
Then suddenly something felt off, and I hurriedly stretched out my other hand to cover below!
"This Young Master is not some casual man. No need to be so coy!" He sneered, but his handsome eyes were lying!
He was clearly staring at me hard, plotting something!
"Fine, what deal?" Realizing I couldn't escape, I might as well surrender for now, thinking there'd surely be a chance to flee later.
His handsome eyes fixed on me, and in that voice that could impregnate a woman, he said: "Be my girlfriend and help me drive off my fiancée. The price: one hundred million!"
Oh.
What?
My eyes slowly widened, my vision filled with nothing but money money money.
"One hundred million? In RMB?" I asked, drooling.
"Mm. What do you say?" He nodded coldly.
"Help you get rid of your fiancée?" I batted my big, cute, sparkling eyes and looked up at him, momentarily feeling that if I kept looking at him from this angle, I might actually end up making this deal.
He seemed to find my words strange, his sword-like brows knitting: "That was something my father decided on his own!"
"Then couldn't you just tell that fiancée no directly? Why pay to find me?" The moment those words left my mouth, I instantly regretted it. Oh my god—I've lived this long without ever knowing what a hundred million RMB even looks like, and I'm just going to refuse? What kind of saint am I trying to be, ahhhhh!
He sneered. "No, this time she's dead set on it. This Young Master has no choice but to find someone to fool her for a while. Once it's done, you won't be short-changed!"
It sounded pretty tempting. In other words, he wanted me to be that thing—you know, the third party who wedges her way in. For a love expert of my caliber, that's old hat. My nose slowly tilted up: "Look, those people outside are still searching for you. How do I know if you're a good guy or a bad guy?"
Besides, he kept calling himself "Young Master." Having read too many novels, I found that odd. And a deal for a hundred million? Is money really that easy to earn? I work myself to death day and night for a hundred yuan!
"OK, then I never said anything." Apparently he wasn't in the mood to explain the whole story to me, but judging from his outfit, he was indeed a rich man.
Just as he was about to leave, I blocked his way: "I accept! But you have to pay me a ten percent deposit!"
Hearing my agreement, he said nothing and simply pulled me along, running toward somewhere else.
Immediately, the men in black caught sight of our shadows flitting through the small streets and swiftly gave chase behind us.
Good heavens!
What is he trying to do?
Doesn't he know I can't run?
"Hey!" I yelled loudly at the man who was dragging me along like a pig.
He didn't look back, only gripped my hand tightly, his gaze fixed on a locked-in target.
Shining before my eyes was a resplendent golden palace! Its entire exterior was made of gold, radiating a beautiful glow.
My eyes, which had only just recovered a little, were blinded all over again!
What is he doing?
What is he doing?!
Then he burst through the back door, dragged me straight up to the second floor, and the servants nearby blocked the men in black who were pursuing closely behind.
"Why did you bring me here? Where is this?" I asked, running along after the man whose back was forever turned to me.
"Quiet! Whatever I tell you to do later, just do it!" He still didn't turn around, and dragged me into an enormous room!
This room was as big as a sports field; the bed seemed to sit at a distance you'd need a race to reach from the door. I couldn't help shivering. Judging from the décor, it clearly wasn't a girl's room—could it be this guy's room?
How is it this gorgeous?
I looked around and around, not daring to move, afraid of damaging someone's gold-plated floor with a single step!
Before I could react, a devil's claw slipped into my clothes!
Oh! My! God!