The dark, narrow alley.
The only lamppost flickering on and off intermittently.
Just as Wen Ning reached the entrance of the alley, she was suddenly jerked forcefully into the obscure nook.
Two drunken men, reeking of alcohol, stood by the wall. Seeing her, they immediately pounced, starting to tear at her clothes.
The overpowering stench of alcohol and the men's brutish actions terrified Wen Ning into struggling desperately.
"Help!"
"Someone, help!"
One of the men abruptly slapped her hard twice.
"Shut the hell up! You dare to scream after offending someone!"
"No one will be able to hear you even if you scream your lungs out, behave yourself, and I promise you'll feel good later."
...
Suddenly, a sleek, black Maybach pulled up at the entrance of the alley. The car window rolled down gently, revealing a pair of cold, indifferent eyes, calmly surveying the vicious act playing out in the corner.
The driver beside murmured in a low voice, "Should we intervene, Master Sanye?"
The man referred to as Master Sanye shook his head, "Drive!"
At this point, Wen Ning's clothing had already been torn apart; the sudden appearance of the car spurred her struggle to become even more intense.
"Help!"
"Please, save me!"
Seeing that she still had the strength to call for help, the drunkard raised his hand and slapped her twice more. His grip on her body became stronger, and her dress was about to be ripped off.
Just when Wen Ning was about to despair, the car that had already started suddenly stopped.
The car door opened, and two tall men got out.
The man leading was lean and slim, wearing a white shirt without any brand logos. He was cold, noble, and clean enough to seemingly glow in the dark.
He stared intently at Wen Ning in the corner, who was being bullied ferociously, seemingly trying to make out her face.
Unfortunately, the light was too dim. He could not see the girl's face clearly, only hearing her low sobs and cries for help.
The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
He squinted his eyes. A trace of emotion flickered within his cold and indifferent eyes. "Li Nan, grab something. Beat him to death!"
The two men quickly rushed towards the corner, startling the drunkard, who was in the midst of committing his atrocious act.
Hearing someone running over, the drunkard halted his actions and went to confront them.
"Dare to ruin my fun, didn't you ask who owns this territory?!"
Being beaten to the point of being dazed, Wen Ning was still able to make out the man's face.
Lu Yan Ci!
It was none other than Lu Yan Ci, the third young master of the Lu family, her nominal little uncle!
In the darkness, his cold and indifferent eyes dyed with a layer of anger, sternly fixed on her, reminiscent of a beast locking onto its prey, emanating a murderous intent.
Wen Ning's brain halted for two seconds, a profound dread arising from the bottom of her heart.
At this moment, she broke free from the control of the drunkard, after a two-second pause, she grabbed her bag from the ground and ran like a mad woman into the depths of the alley.
Intense fighting noises and the man's agonizing screams echoed from behind, but she didn't have time to care about that, she kept running forward as if a vengeful ghost was chasing her.
She didn't know how long she ran before she barreled into a food street full of lights and hustle.
As she looked at the warm and bustling scene in front of her, Wen Ning leaned against the corner, panting heavily.
Lu Yan Ci, was he back?
Wasn't he supposed to be gone for five years? How come he's back in three?
Just then, did he see her?
It was pitch-black, and she was hidden in the darkness, he wouldn't be able to recognize her, right?
However, how could the cold, indifferent, and unapproachable Lu Yan Ci get out of his car to save someone?
In her memory, even if someone died in front of him, he wouldn't even blink, how could he have such a kind heart to save her?
She shook her head. No, she had already sunk low into the dust, she couldn't let him see such a beleaguered scene.
She stood up, adjusted her clothes, and awkwardly continued forward.
Suddenly, her phone rang.
"Anning, come back to the Lu Family for lunch tomorrow. Your uncle has returned from America, and all members of the Lu family have to be present."
Wen Ning staggered, speaking in a low voice: "I have class tomorrow, I can't make it back."
The voice of her displeased aunt, Shen Lanyu, came across, "Lu Yanzi's return this time is to take over the South Wind Group and the Lu Family. His single sentence can decide your life, what class is better than marrying into a wealthy family?”
Shen Lanyu's life ideal was to squish into that noble circle. Therefore, she, who was just in her early twenties, married Lu Jingli, who had lost his wife three months ago, and became the stepmother of two teenagers.
Moreover, she moved heaven and earth wanting to bring Wen Ning into that circle.
A frown creased Wen Ning’s forehead, "Aunt, I really can’t make it back tomorrow!"
"Wen Ning, let me tell you, if you don't come back tomorrow, I will cry at your mom's grave the day after tomorrow. You handle it!”
After speaking, she hung up the phone.
Wen Ning let out a sigh, and continued to move forward.
When she returned to the rental house, she found that her mobile phone was switched to silent mode, and there were three missed calls from unfamiliar numbers.
After a moment of thought, she dialed back.
"Hello, may I ask who you are?"
There was silence on the other end before a voice replied, "So, my number is an unfamiliar number?"
It was a cool, deep voice, uncannily familiar.
It was Lu Yanci.
Wen Ning was taken aback. She had changed her phone number three years ago, how could he have this number?
She quickly forced herself to calm down and murmure: "Sir, you might have dialed the wrong number."
Without waiting for the other party to respond, she swiftly hung up the phone.
Her sleep that night was terrible. The incident from three years ago kept recurring in her dreams. Lu Yanci's bloody eyes were staring at her like a bloodthirsty beast, leaving her nowhere to escape.
The next morning, Wen Ning got up with a big pair of panda eyes.
Her phone was filled with dozens of texts from her aunt, urging her to dress up nicely and come over early.
Wen Ning changed into a light blue dress and went for minimal makeup.
She thoroughly checked herself and found that besides a bruise on her leg, there were no noticeable scars elsewhere.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief.
When she arrived at the Lu mansion, it was already eleven in the morning.
Wen Ning was standing in front of the guard room, straightening out her clothes.
The bus was so crowded that she was all sweaty. Now, the hair on her forehead was sticking to her skin, which was uncomfortable.
She had unfortunately forgotten to bring tissues, so she had no choice but to stand at the main gate and fan herself constantly, hoping to cool down a bit before going in.
At this moment, a black Maybach slowly pulled up in front of her.
The car window rolled down, and a hand stretched out from inside.
The fingers were slender, with a silver ring on the index finger that emanated a cold, luminous shine.
At the tip of the finger, there was a packet of black tissue.
It was clean, luxurious, filled with a sense of pity and charity.
Wen Ning panicked and looked up into a pair of dark, mysterious eyes that seemed as cold and desolate as a winter night sky.
Lu Yan Ci!
Wen Ning was thrown into a state of chaos!
Under the gaze of those eyes, she felt as if she had nowhere to hide. Hurriedly, she took the tissue, bowing her head and whispering, "Thank you, uncle."
Lu Yan Ci nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping past her enticing lips, a shade of darkness appearing in his eyes.
It was as if time was suddenly pulled back to three years ago.
