The aftermath of their passion gradually dissipated.

Exhausted yet resilient, Bai Zhi stretched out her hand, clasping the neatly dressed man at the edge of the bed and said in a low voice, "Fu Yanling, I... I have something to say to you."

Fu Yanling, at the side of the bed, was wearing an open white shirt, revealing ambiguous red love bites underneath. His black suit trousers clothed his straight legs tightly, concealing any indication of the passionate interlude they had just experienced.

Fu Yanling didn't turn around but paused his movements and gave a slight glance behind. His cool gaze casually landed on Bai Zhi as he murmured, "Yes?"

Bai Zhi suddenly clenched her hands under the blanket, forcing a smile and said, "Yanling, we've been together for five years now. When are you planning to marry me, I..."

Before she could finish, Fu Yanling curtly interrupted her: "Bai Zhi, you're only a substitute."

Bai Zhi stiffened, feeling as though she had been doused with cold water. After a moment, she managed to regain her composure, forcing a thin smile and lifting her face to look at him, "But she's no longer alive. In the past five years, I've always been by your side. Can't our five years of feelings win me your hand in marriage? Not to mention, I've already..."

"Bai Zhi, recognize your position," Fu Yanling furrowed his eyebrows, seemingly disliking her words. Slowly but firmly, he brushed off her hand clutching his shirt and said coldly, "is it that I haven't given you enough money, or perhaps, the Bai family no longer needs my assistance? You even have the audacity to dream about becoming my wife."

Bai Zhi had loads to say to Fu Yanling but the moment she heard his mention of the Bai family, she swallowed all her words, sitting on the bed in silence, staring at Fu Yanling.

Fu Yanling took his suit from the hanger. Once he put it on, last night's traces of passion were completely disguised, and he once again became the Fu family's business empire heir, famous for his cold demeanor and indifference to women.

His expression turned colder as he glanced at Bai Zhi and indifferently said, "If you want to get married, we can end this relationship anytime. But let me make it clear, my bride will never be you."

Surprised, BaiZhi's hand under the blanket clenched suddenly. The sentence she had not spoken, "Besides, I am already pregnant," was hidden away deep in her heart along with the bitterness.

"Brr... Brr... Brr..."

At that moment, her cell phone on the pillow started vibrating, pulling her out of her thoughts. Struggling against her exhaustion, she picked up the phone, seeing a text message from her father, Bai Baichuan: Bai Zhi, I want to open a department store. I need five million for the initial funding. Send it to me before nightfall.

Five million.

Seeing this figure, Bai Zhi bit her lip tightly, clutching her phone with great force to stop herself from tossing it away.

Five years ago, the Bai family's company collapsed and the entire family fell from grace overnight. Furthermore, her father Bai Baichuan's uremia had become the last straw that broke the Bai family's back. In order to raise money for her father's treatment, she had reluctantly sold herself to Fu Yanling as his mistress, trading her body for the needed funds.

Five years had passed since then, her love for Fu Yanling had turned into a luxury she could no longer afford and her father was still requesting more and more money every day.

Five million, where would she get it from?

Suddenly, there was a slight noise from the door. Bai Zhi looked up to see Fu Yanling standing at the entrance, apparently preparing to leave.

With a deep breath, she forced herself to sit up on the exhausted and worn-out body from the bed, summoned a gentle smile, walked over to Fu Yanling, and grabbed his arm. "Yanling, could you do me a favor?" she asked.

"You need money?" Fu Yanling asked without turning his head.

Bai Zhi felt her heart drop. With her heart sinking further, she had no choice but to nod, her smile turned more pleasing than ever, she whispered. "My father wants to start a department store, and he needs five million to launch it, could you please lend it to me..."

"Bai Zhi," Fu Yanling cut her off with a cold chuckle. He finally turned to look at her, his eyes full of ridicule. "In these five years, how much money have you borrowed from me? When did you think of repaying me? If you need something, just say it, why hide it?"

"I..." Bai Zhi was at a loss for words, her embarrassment deepening, but she couldn't bring herself to leave.

Fu Yanling's smile deepened, he turned his body, lifted Bai Zhi's chin with his index finger, and sighed. "Look at you, apart from your face looking like Shen Shen, what else can compete with her? And you were dreaming of being Fu Yanling's wife."

Bai Zhi bit her lip and tried to avoid Fu Yanling's gaze, but he forcefully pulled her in front of him, looking straight into her eyes, indifferently saying, "If you want money, then do what you're supposed to do."

His words were clear and sharp, filling Bai Zhi with humiliation. She bit her lip in silence for a moment before finally stepping forward and kissing him.

Their relationship was nothing more than that of a benefactor and a mistress. The thought of marriage was nothing more than a fanciful illusion on Bai Zhi's part.

With a look of ridicule in his eyes, Fu Yanling tore open the shaky robe on Bai Zhi's body and pressed her again onto the soft bed. Without a shred of foreplay, he entered her from behind.

While he ruthlessly tormented Bai Zhi, he also embraced her affectionately from behind, whispering a name in her ear with his breathless husky voice, "Shen Shen, I love you..."

"I... am not... Ye Shen Shen..." Bai Zhi lifted her sweaty fair neck slightly, and her feeble voice mixed with gasps echoed intermittently, no matter how defiant her face was when she said these words, Fu Yanling seemed to have not heard her at all, repeating a name again and again that didn't belong to her.

Who knew how long this passionate affair lasted, when Bai Zhi woke up from the daze, Fu Yanling had already left.

There was a check for five million on the bedside table.

It took Bai Zhi a good deal of energy to struggle to sit up from the bed, she took a look at that check, the corner of her lips curling up into a derisive smile.

She didn't reach out to pick it up, instead she directly lifted the quilt, ready to freshen up in the bathroom first.

Her dear father doesn't know where her money comes from, if he knew she was mixing with the noble Fu Shao, he would definitely strip her clothes and send her to the Fu family to make them responsible for her.

After all, this is a rare opportunity to get involved with the Fu family.

However, the moment she lifted the quilt, Bai Zhi froze, why was there blood on the bed sheet?

Child!

These two words suddenly flashed in Bai Zhi's mind, only then did she feel a sharp pain in her stomach, Bai Zhi's face changed as she covered her stomach, struggling to get out of bed, she picked up the bedside telephone: "Hello? Is this 120*? My child! Save my child!"

*120 is Chinese emergency call for medical assistance.