Chapter One: Victim of Schemes

Eno’s thoughts drifted away, and in a daze, she heard a voice speaking close to her ear.

It was a man’s voice, low and hoarse.

“Stop pretending to be asleep!”

Eno’s eyes flew open. Her vision, at first hazy and unreal, gradually sharpened, and at last she saw clearly the man pressing over her.

“Mr. Yan?”

A flash of astonishment crossed her face; her wide eyes were round as copper coins.

What was happening? Why was she lying in Mr. Yan’s bed?

After a wild, tempestuous night, the effects of the drug in the man’s body finally faded. He lowered his gaze to the woman beneath him, her snow-white chest covered in the marks his kisses had just left.

He brushed aside the damp hair clinging to her forehead, revealing a delicate face. Eno’s breath was uneven, her cheeks flushed, her eyes red, looking so pitiably lovely.

She glanced around and, to her shock, realized she was in a guest room in the annex of the Yi family villa.

How had she ended up here? Wasn’t she supposed to be in her own bedroom? Who had brought her here?

Rubbing her spinning head, she tried hard to recall the night’s events.

Tonight was her adoptive father Yi Leijun’s birthday; many friends and relatives had been invited to the house for the celebration. Yan Ze, the heir to the Yan Group and someone her father needed to curry favor with in business, was among the guests.

As the adopted daughter, Eno only needed to make a brief appearance downstairs. She watched the guests dance and sing, ate a small piece of cake, and was about to return to her room for rest when Yi Xinyan stepped in her path, holding a glass of red wine. She insisted Eno finish the wine before leaving.

Yi Xinyan was her adoptive father’s biological daughter, spoiled and indulged from childhood. Though older than Eno by a few years, she was proud and competitive, always striving to win. Eno had long since grown used to yielding to her in daily life. Without thinking much about it, she took the glass and drained it. The chilled wine slid down her throat, and at once her head began to spin and the room reeled around her.

Could it be something was wrong with that glass of wine?

Why would Yi Xinyan want to harm her?

While Eno was sunk in thought, a voice behind her asked, “What do you want from me?”

Yan Ze was already sitting up, leaning against the headboard. He shook a cigarette from its pack, put it between his lips, and with a click, lit it. He took a shallow drag, then bent down and blew a ring of smoke gently toward Eno’s face.

The thick smoke made Eno cough uncontrollably.

“Don’t be so petty. I never wanted anything from you,” Eno glared at Yan Ze, her heart aching with grievance. She still hadn’t figured out what had happened; how could he so casually assign motives to her?

“Oh?” Yan Ze eyed her suspiciously. That answer was not at all what he had expected. Hadn’t this adopted daughter of the Yi family schemed her way into his bed for money and status? Or perhaps her adoptive father wanted to gain some benefit through him?

He rolled out of bed, found his clothes on the floor, and started dressing. “It’s fine if you haven’t made up your mind yet. Come find me when you do. Since it was your first time, I don’t plan to take advantage of you. I’ll pay what I owe—there’s nothing else you could want.”

Eno, her body aching, pushed herself up and followed him out of bed. She picked up her dress, underwear, and panties from the floor. Her eyes inadvertently caught the crimson stain on the bed sheet, and her heart clenched. She had never imagined her first time would be given away in such confusion.

“Mr. Yan, how did we end up in this room? And how did we start… doing those things?” Eno had held the question back for a long time, but finally had to ask.

Yan Ze was tucking his shirt into his pants and, hearing her question, chuckled. “You ran in here yourself and insisted we do it. Have you forgotten?”

He saw the shock on Eno’s face. “Don’t try to deny it. My reputation is in your hands now. Besides, I’d been drugged and couldn’t control myself, so everything just… happened.”

Hearing that it was supposedly her initiative, Eno was mortified, refusing to believe it. But then the word “drugged” caught her off guard.

Did that mean the wine had been drugged as well?

If so, it explained why she remembered nothing after her mind went fuzzy. But why would Yi Xinyan go to such lengths to harm her?

Her hands shaking, Eno struggled to zip up her dress. The zipper refused to budge. The knowledge of Yi Xinyan’s scheming only frayed her nerves further. “Mr. Yan, please forget what happened tonight. Let’s both… let’s both pretend nothing ever happened.”

Nothing happened? Yan Ze glanced at her pale face, then at the crimson on the sheets, and shook his head helplessly. Young women these days, so unrestrained—chastity meant nothing anymore.

Suddenly, a sharp knock sounded at the door outside. “Mr. Yan, are you in there? Mr. Yan?”

Both of them jumped in fright.

Eno’s half-zipped dress caught again, refusing to move no matter how hard she tried, sweat beading on her brow. When it rains, it pours.

The knocking grew louder and more insistent.

She recognized Yi Sicheng’s voice, and looked anxiously at Yan Ze.

Yan Ze fastened his belt and walked over to the door.

Eno, unable to finish zipping her dress, grabbed his hand in a panic, shaking her head desperately, her eyes full of fear.

“Please… don’t…”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“I…”

She looked around—the entire room contained nothing but a large bed and a few simple pieces of furniture. There was nowhere to hide.

A pair of white curtains hung over the window. Eno hurried over and pulled them aside, discovering a glass door and, beyond it, a spacious terrace. This was the second floor of the annex, quite close to the ground, with a lush green lawn below. Eno felt as if she had glimpsed salvation.

Outside, the knocking grew more urgent, mingled with the noise of several voices; clearly, there were quite a few people out there.

Yan Ze watched as Eno darted to the terrace. Her figure was slender, and in her haste the zipper at the back of her dress had snagged halfway, revealing a patch of snowy skin. He started toward her, but stopped when he saw Eno climb over the terrace and land safely below with fluid grace. He was left dumbfounded.

Eno hid behind a large tree and fixed her dress. The tree stood right across from the second-floor terrace; by raising her head just a little, she could clearly see inside the room. The curtains had been drawn, but several shadows moved behind them—indeed, a crowd had gathered. Fortunately, she had escaped quickly; if she’d been caught, she had no idea how she would ever explain.

She had no time to think, only to zip up her dress and get away from this cursed place. She was determined to forget everything that had happened tonight. From now on, she and Yan Ze would go their separate ways, as if nothing had ever occurred between them.

“So? Did you get the video of Eno sleeping with that man?”

It was Yi Xinyan’s voice.

Eno’s heart skipped a beat. She turned reflexively, peering through the branches.