Volume One, Chapter 16: Has the Heir of the Zhou Family Also Arrived in Haicheng?

Jiang Yao hadn’t come home all night, sending the entire Shen household into a frenzy.

Aunt Wang, never one to hold her tongue and already dissatisfied with Shen Zhaowu’s bullying, complained incessantly, “The eldest miss has been pushing her out. A Yao might not say anything, but she must be hurting inside. Poor girl treats the young masters like real brothers, yet now she’s been bullied so badly she doesn’t even dare come home…”

Hearing this, Shen Hanchuan grew even more anxious, pacing like an ant on a hot brick. His handsome, well-defined face was etched with worry as he looked at the silent Shen Yanzhou. Suddenly, he slammed a fist against the wall and barked coldly, “Big brother, say something!”

“Shut up.”

Shen Yanzhou was still in yesterday’s suit and visibly irritated. After a sleepless night, the finely tailored suit was creased, his clean-shaven jaw now shadowed with stubble, and his brows were knit into a deep furrow.

Shen Xingchen hadn’t slept all night either. But for him, whose life revolved around scientific research, staying up for experiments was nothing unusual. He’d only returned home because the lab was running out of funds, and as the crown prince of the Shen family, his colleagues had pinned their hopes on him.

He came back, lugging a burlap sack, ready to beg for money. He knew his older brothers were hard-hearted; even if he died out there, he’d never see a penny from them. After gnawing on cold buns for half a month, he finally brought his sack back home.

No money from the elder brothers? No problem!

He still had a little sister, didn’t he?

What’s wrong with relying on his sister? There’s no shame in it.

Shen Xingchen was strikingly handsome, his complexion fairer than a girl’s, with pronounced brow bones, a high nose, and lips so red and thin that at a glance, he could be mistaken for a beauty—albeit one with a slightly more rugged edge.

He sipped his tea. “If you ask me, it’s because you two have spoiled Shen Zhaowu. Now she’s learned to stay out all night, mixing with who knows what kind of crowd.”

Back when their little sister was a child, she was so obedient—never dared go the opposite direction if told to go east, and if told to eat bugs, she wouldn’t dare catch birds for play. Shen Xingchen had tormented her plenty.

Shen Yanzhou’s brows twitched. “What are you all waiting for? Get in the car and look for her. Even if you have to search every inch of Haicheng, bring Shen Zhaowu back to me.”

Meanwhile, Shen Zhaowu was having a great time.

At Blue Sea—the biggest nightclub in Haicheng—the music throbbed, laughter rising and falling as men and women in daring, revealing outfits pressed close together on the dance floor.

Shen Zhaowu ordered a glass of fruit wine and lounged lazily at the bar, which sat right beside the dance floor. The bikini-clad women were easy on the eyes, and the men—well, they were just men.

She was naturally quiet. Rather than the heat and noise of nightclubs, she preferred to spend an afternoon at a bookstore or café, letting the hours drift by—a healing balm for her soul. But after three wasted years with the Zhou family in her previous life, even that trace of bourgeois sentiment had been ground away.

Survival was all that mattered.

This was all she had left to pursue. With a bitter smile, she shook her head. As she turned, her eyes narrowed in surprise at the sight of… a familiar face in Blue Sea.

In one of the booths behind her, elegant in style yet reeking of excess, a crowd of men and women gathered, all centering their attention on a young girl. She couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen; were it not for the heavy, provocative makeup, one might question if she were even of age. Yet her round, bright eyes sparkled with spirit.

Zhou Nianian, heiress of the Zhou family.

Shen Zhaowu glanced at her and immediately felt a surge of dread, memories of humiliation and pain from her previous life flooding back. The Zhou family—she never wanted to see any of them again.

She drew a deep breath, set down her drink, and prepared to leave.

Just then, a man’s hand landed on her shoulder, forcing her back down onto the stool. He leered at her, eyes full of undisguised intent. “Leaving so soon, beauty? You’ve just arrived.”

“Come, have another drink with me. Get me in a good mood, and this watch is yours!”

He slipped off a chunky gold watch and dangled it in front of her, flashing a mouthful of yellowed teeth. “Keep me happy in bed and you’ll get a generous tip besides!”

Shen Zhaowu looked up, her beautiful, radiant eyes clouded with impatience. “Get lost.”

“Hey, got a temper, have we?”

“Dressed like that, coming to a club—aren’t you here to sell yourself? Quit pretending you’re so pure!” The scoundrel licked his lips and reached for her face.

Her alluring, fox-like eyes turned icy.

“Argh—!”

The next instant, Guang Laiqian was wrenched to the floor, his arm twisted painfully behind his back, his face contorted as he clutched his fingers, kneeling in humiliation and pain. “Do you know who I am? My father is Guang Dazhi, chairman of Guangfa Real Estate!”

He ranted and raved.

Shen Zhaowu, eyes half-lowered, revealed a slender, shapely ankle beneath her sapphire-blue dress; the black high-heeled strap clung loosely to her anklebone, an alluring sight. Without bothering to see who had helped her, she ground her heel into Guang Laiqian.

“Make another sound, and I’ll break your manhood.”

Guang Laiqian wailed, tears and snot streaming, a grown man sobbing pitifully on the floor. “I—I was just being a little lecherous…”

With a woman this stunning, who could resist? Not him, not even a saint. Unless, of course, it was that cripple from the Zhou family.

Feeling wronged, Guang Laiqian wiped his tears and took a closer look—only to be terrified out of his wits. Quite literally.

“You—you’re not that cripple…” That cripple’s henchman!

Yue Zhi said little. He signaled for two bodyguards to drag the man away, nodded politely but indifferently to Shen Zhaowu, then headed straight for the booth.

Shen Zhaowu stared after Yue Zhi’s tall figure, her heart in turmoil.

Yue Zhi, Zhou Nianian… Why were they all here in Haicheng?

Was that man—the crown prince—here as well?

Her delicate face clouded with uncertainty as she clenched her palms and tried to soothe her aching heart, gently biting her lip.

Behind her, Zhou Nianian stood hands on hips, her petulant voice carrying over, “I’m not going home! Yue Zhi, did my brother send you? Can’t you stop being his lapdog for just one day?”

Yue Zhi replied, “It’s my job. Sir said if you don’t return by tonight, all your allowance will be cut off.”

“What!…”

Shen Zhaowu didn’t listen further. She slipped quietly out of the bar.

A cold wind hit her head-on, making her dizzy. She sniffled—she must have caught a cold. Her throat felt as if scraped by a dull blade, aching and raw.

Across the street, a black Rolls-Royce was parked.

The window lowered halfway, revealing a cold, dark interior. A man sat on black leather, a pale mink blanket draped across his lap. From her angle, his features were sharply defined—high brow, straight nose, half his face shrouded in shadow, lips vivid and thin, long lashes casting a raven’s-wing shadow on his cheeks.

A face both divine and damnable in its beauty.

Shen Zhaowu would never forget that face.

The Zhou family’s crown prince, Zhou Jingdu!

He was in Haicheng too!?

Panic swirled inside her as memories of that night’s madness flashed in her mind. Her delicate, radiant face turned cold and angry, but she pretended not to notice him, keeping her head down as she walked past.

Just then, Shen Yanzhou’s Cayenne screeched to a halt at her feet.

With a stony face, he said nothing. Grabbing Shen Zhaowu’s arm in a viselike grip, he half-dragged, half-shoved her into the car. “Shen Zhaowu, I see you’ve grown bold.”

Tears sprang to her eyes from the pain.

The girl was scantily dressed, her sapphire blue sundress dotted with tiny flowers lending her an air of gentle refinement. Instantly, a bruise bloomed on her pale, delicate arm where Shen Yanzhou had gripped her, a testament to his force.

In the car, Zhou Jingdu glanced over, his gaze lingering on the girl’s face for a few seconds longer than necessary, his expression unreadable.