Chapter 1: The Morning After

The afternoon sun was already blaring through the windows when I drifted awake. Every inch of my back and waist throbbed like a debt collector coming to call, and resting heavily across my chest was a massive hand.

My temples throbbed in rhythm with my pulse, reminding me of the absolute reckless streak I’d pulled off last night.

I sat up carefully. The sheet slipped down, exposing skin mapped with undeniably scandalous marks. But the physical ache was nothing compared to the brain-short-circuiting shock of looking at the man sleeping beside me.

It was him. My stepfather’s younger brother. My technically-speaking “uncle”: Pei Yuhang.

…Fuck. Liquid courage had turned straight into liquid ruin.

Whatever. I needed to bolt before he woke up.

I made it all the way to the bedroom door before pausing. Wait a second… I had a flight out of the country tomorrow morning. What the hell was I scared of?

Spinning on my heel, I grabbed a pen and paper from the living room and scribbled out a line of dramatic, flowing script:

[You were great last night. Keep up the good work next time.]

Ha! So much for the untouchable, ice-cold prince routine. The man was a total fake. Reading this would turn his face green, no doubt. Such a shame I wouldn’t be around to watch the meltdown in real time… Truly a tragedy.

I dug through my belongings and managed to scrape together exactly two thousand yuan in cash. Honestly? Considering everything, that was generous for a guy like him.

I slapped the cash and the note onto the nightstand, glanced down at the man sleeping like the dead, and pulled a petty face at him.

“Sleep tight, Uncle.”

—

The day I flew out, Pei Yuhang broke character and actually showed up to see me off.

The weather was just turning chilly. He rolled into the airport wearing a trench coat, looking windblown, exhausted, and frantic, like he’d just sprinted off an action movie set.

Both my mother and Uncle Pei were stunned.

“A-Hang? What are you doing here?” my mother asked.

“I’m her uncle,” he replied smoothly, his tone as detached as if he were reading a quarterly financial report. “It’s only right I see her off.”

His expression didn’t flicker. Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a business card belonging to a young CEO based in the city where I’d be studying.

“A friend of mine,” he said. “If you run into any trouble over there, reach out to him.”

I spun the card between my fingers, then, with practiced ease, slid it right back into his breast pocket. I stepped closer, dropping my voice so only he could hear:

“What’s the matter? Was two thousand yuan not enough? Now you’re sending a babysitter to track me?”

Pei Yuhang lowered his gaze, looking as if he were giving my words serious, solemn thought. “Whether you need one or not… that’s your call.”

I let out a cold laugh and stepped back, creating a clear line of distance between us. I obviously wasn’t taking the card. Turning on my heel, I walked away with only one thought running through my head: God only knows what kind of game Pei Yuhang is trying to play now.

—

The first time I met Pei Yuhang was the day my mother remarried Uncle Pei.

Uncle Pei had introduced him with infectious enthusiasm: “Yunhe, this is your Uncle Yuhang. He’s young, incredibly accomplished, and really only five or six years older than you. Once you take over the family business later on, feel free to ask A-Hang if there’s anything you don’t understand.”

I nodded like a good, obedient girl while secretly sizing him up from head to toe. They were full brothers, yet their vibes couldn’t be more different. One look at Pei Yuhang told me he was far from easy money.

Still, committed to keeping the peace, I put on a friendly smile and extended my hand.

He merely spared me a cool, dismissive glance. “Still just a kid.”

I swore right then and there: a fleet of semi-trucks couldn’t haul the weight of his arrogant posture. From that single second, I knew one thing for certain. Pei Yuhang was absolute bad news.

—

Time flew by like a tight corporate deadline. Three years passed in a flash.

I finally returned home. My mother and Uncle Pei threw a welcome-back dinner, though in reality, it was my formal debut into high society, a quick shove right into the networking meat grinder. Ever since my college days, I had majored in finance specifically to prepare myself to take over my mother’s company fair and square.

My mother hadn’t married Uncle Pei to climb the social ladder. She had given enough of her life to family obligations; for the rest of her days, she just wanted to live for herself. I took after her in more ways than one.

Ambitious? Absolutely.

Refusing to lose? Even more so.

My life was going to be forged by my own hands. Without real leverage and power, even the grandest dreams were just cheap talk. My immediate goal was simple: take over the company and hold all the cards.

At the banquet, glasses clinked continuously, the atmosphere buzzing with artificial warmth. Draped in an evening gown, I followed my mother around to greet each of the board members.

“CEO Ji retiring so early must mean she has high expectations for Little CEO Ji, right?”

“Though Little CEO Ji is still so young… I wonder if she has the wrist for it?”

It sounded like praise on the surface, but anyone with half a brain could hear the condescension baked into every word.

I wasn’t in a rush. Time would give them a crystal-clear answer.

After all, the game was just getting started.