A sea-view villa in City A.
Nan Zhuoyuan stood in front of the French windows, staring at the churning sea outside.
He kept lighting cigarettes, one after another, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting a cold light in the dark night.
Li Xue stood on the stairs, watching his lonely silhouette, step by step she moved to his side, and plucked the cigarette from his hand.
"Zhuo Yuan, stop smoking."
Nan Zhuoyuan snapped back to reality, saw it was her, and his icy eyes finally showed a hint of disarray as they settled on her in confusion.
"Li Xue, I was wrong," he said. "I thought by taking the report back home, mom and dad would realize that Xiao Yu was their real daughter. It was my arrogance, underestimating Nan Qingqing."
"Nan Qingqing came home early today and told mother about it as if she were lodging a complaint. Because mom believes she is her biological daughter, she trusts her unconditionally, and won't believe me or Xiao Yu at all."
