Chapter 6: Selling Myself

The little girl sat up straight in front of the piano. I leaned over to adjust her posture and hand placement. Moments later, the bright, crisp notes of *Minute Waltz* fluttered from her tiny fingers. The morning sunlight streamed through the tall glass windows, bathing her puffy princess dress in a warm glow.

Outside the music room stretched a sunlit greenhouse filled with blooming crimson roses. Amid that sea of vivid red, I spotted Xie Yun. Standing in the sunlight, he casually plucked the most stunning dark rose from a bush and meticulously trimmed away every single thorn along its stem. Then, catching my eye, he held the blossom up and gave me a faint, knowing wave.

My mind went blank for a second. By the time I snapped back to reality, the little girl had long stopped playing. Restings her chin in her hands, she gave me a cheeky, dimpled grin. “Miss Lu, I bet Uncle is gonna give you that flower!”

I gave her head a gentle tap. “Focus on your scales, small fry. You sure know a lot for your age.”

Sure enough, after the lesson wrapped up, Xie Yun was waiting with the rose. He handed it to me in silence.

It was December. Cultivating an entire garden of roses in the dead of winter probably cost more than I made in a year. The ultra-rich really had the most baffling hobbies. He refused to hand over hard cash, but had no problem gifting me something I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sell, and couldn’t use to pay my electric bill.

The second I stepped out of the gated estate and passed a street trash can, I casually tossed the rose inside. It was freezing cold out, and I was three days away from having my heating shut off!

Unfortunately, my bad luck didn’t stop there. Not only had I failed to squeeze a single cent out of Xie Yun—I almost lost my damn life in the process.

A few days later, Xie Yun showed up at the high-end French restaurant where I worked my night shift. Carrying a bottle of vintage red, I stood by his table, rattling off the menu description I’d memorized so thoroughly I could recite it in my sleep. Mid-pitch, Xie Yun suddenly stood up, his elbow accidentally brushing against my serving tray.

Splash.

A full glass of cabernet sloshed directly onto his tailored black suit.

I froze. Horrifying memories from five years ago replayed in my mind like a slasher film, and the faint scar on my cheek began to throb in sympathy. Only one thought echoed in my head: I should just quit on the spot. The pay here was great, but with Xie Yun haunting the place every few days, six months’ wages wouldn’t cover the dry cleaning for that damn jacket.

Xie Yun grabbed my wrist. “Lu Yingying. You ruined my clothes.”

I calmly rolled my eyes, picked up the fruit knife from the table, and handed it to him with seasoned efficiency.

“I don’t have any money. Why don’t you just slice me up a bit and call it even? Cut wherever you like.”

Ever since I got tangled up with him, all the other rich heirs avoided me like the plague; nobody dared lay a finger on “Xie Yun’s girl.” My shortcut to getting rich had been completely blockaded. Meanwhile, that suit on his back easily carried a six-figure price tag; selling my organs wouldn’t cover the damages.

Xie Yun didn’t take the knife. He just stared at me, his eyes dark. “Add me on WeChat. Transfer the money.”

I choked. I literally just told you I don’t have money! How many times do I have to say it for it to sink into that thick skull of yours?!

I slammed the serving tray onto the table, completely done playing his twisted cat-and-mouse game. I was just a gutter rat trying to scrape together a living, doing my best to stay in the shadows whenever a billionaire walked by. Why did he keep dragging me back under the spotlight?

Just yesterday, I got kicked out of my rental because I was short on rent. I’d spent the night huddled in a freezing hallway, shivering in the dark while New Year fireworks exploded outside, lighting up the sky as if trying to tear through the night. Too bad only a sliver of that light filtered through the cramped hallway window. In the twenty-degree cold, I’d curled up like a boiled shrimp, only to crawl out the next morning and head to work like nothing happened.

And the first thing I saw at work was his face.

Every ounce of suppressed humiliation and rage erupted at once. I gritted my teeth, my voice dripping with venom: “What the hell do you actually want from me? Haven’t you played enough? People pay for theater tickets, but you get to watch me struggle for survival every single day like a free circus act. Is it really that entertaining?!”

Xie Yun flinched, looking genuinely taken aback. “That’s not what I meant—”

“Then what do you mean? You just want to sleep with me again?!” I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. “Fine! Pay up front. I’m begging you, Xie Yun — that night five years ago was forced on me. I never did anything to wrong you. Can’t you just let me go? Either hand over the cash or get the fuck out of my life!”

Before meeting him, my life was rough, but at least it was stable. He was the one who blew it all to hell. Maybe this was cosmic retribution for trying to sell myself cheap for an easy life in the first place.

I offered a self-deprecating smile. “My luck really is rotten to the core. Meeting you was the worst curse of my life.”

In the end, Xie Yun chose option one. Figures. All he ever wanted was my body.

That was the day I moved into his penthouse. At the very least, I never had to worry about a landlord throwing my belongings onto the curb again.

—

Steam blanketed the floor-to-ceiling glass in the master bathroom, which was larger than my entire old apartment. My palms pressed against the freezing, foggy glass, catching a hazy reflection of our figures.

Xie Yun stood behind me, his fingers lacing tightly through mine, his voice low and raspy against my ear. “Say my name.”

I closed my eyes, dutifully playing along. “Xie Yun… Xie Yun…”

(Hey, saying a name doesn’t cost me a thing. As long as the direct deposit hits!)

He pulled me tighter against his chest, his hot, heavy breath dragging me down into a dark abyss. That familiar, raspy voice whispered against my ear: “Sweetheart, I told you never to show your face in front of me again. Why didn’t you listen?”

When had he said that again? Ah, right. The very first time we met.

The blade dripping with blood, the bright crimson staining the memory until everything turned a deep, visceral red. So many details had faded over the years, leaving behind only the frantic thumping of my heart against my ribs. I couldn’t tell if I was thrilled to have caught his eye, or utterly terrified out of my mind. Probably both.

That single moment had accidentally sparked a five-year toxic obsession. And as for Xie Yun… it seemed like he had never managed to walk away from that night either.