"Stop smashing! I'll call the police if you keep this up!" Tian Youyou stood in front of her jewelry stall, her voice laced with urgency as she watched several men scatter her creations on the ground and stomp them to pieces, their malicious intent clear as they also wrecked her stall.

"Exactly, does no one care anymore?!" "This girl must have crossed someone!" "These guys definitely don't look like good news!"

The surrounding vendors swiftly moved aside, gathering in hushed groups to whisper among themselves, yet none dared to intervene.

After all, running a small business is tough enough without courting trouble.

"Please stop, don't do this…" Tian Youyou pleaded as she reached for one of the men's arms, begging them not to destroy her handcrafted jewelry—her own designs, the culmination of her hard work.

The man scoffed and flung her to the ground with a dismissive flick of his wrist.

"The police are coming!" someone in the crowd shouted suddenly, and the distant sound of sirens became audible. The assailants quickly scattered.

Tian Youyou crouched on the ground, picking up her ruined wares, tears streaming down her face.

Was their goal truly to drive her to ruin?

Suddenly, a pair of pristine high heels entered her line of sight, starkly out of place in the grimy night market.

She slowly looked up, following the line of the shoes to their owner.

A woman stood there, clad in a classic Chanel tweed suit, her makeup flawless, a cold smile playing on her lips as she looked down.

"What's this? The young mistress of the Zhou family slumming it to experience the hardships of common folk?" the woman sneered contemptuously through her nose.

"What do you want from me? What will satisfy you?" Tian Youyou slowly stood up, her fists clenched tightly at her sides.

"What do I want? I want you to struggle wherever you go!" The woman stepped closer, her smile chilling, her tone biting as if through clenched teeth.

"Aren't you afraid I'll call the police?" Tian Youyou bit her lip, glaring furiously at Tang Wanyi.

"Haha, afraid? Oh, I'm so scared!" The woman laughed mockingly. "I'm terrified you'll end up in jail for plagiarism!"

Her eyes, sharp with hatred, scanned Tian Youyou, "The Zhou family doesn't want you, what do you think you are? You think you can compete with me? Daring to have designs on Zhou Haoyan!"

The woman glanced at the approaching law enforcement officers and walked away.

After a few steps, she turned back for one last look at Tian Youyou, her smile gleaming cruelly as if it hid a dagger aimed straight at her heart.

Hah, Tian Youyou chuckled bitterly to herself. She knew this woman wouldn't stop until she was utterly ruined... unless she returned to the old Zhou estate.

Zhou Moyan had just returned from Germany to this long-abandoned home, standing alone in the vast, empty hall, his tall, upright figure tinged with loneliness.

It had been three years. This place was always desolate, but with his brother Zhou Haoyan gone, it felt even more eerily silent.

"Moyan, you're back!" Zhou Zhicheng descended the stairs, his hands clasped behind him as he approached Zhou Moyan.

Zhou Moyan knew his father's cold nature well.

Yet seeing that his father was not greatly affected by his brother Zhou Haoyan's condition, he felt a twinge of disappointment.

Zhou Zhicheng's appearance contradicted the grief and overnight aging described over the phone by the Zhou household's servants.

"It's good you're back!" Zhou Zhicheng clapped Zhou Moyan on the shoulder, a pleased smile on his face. "Your years of training should be about enough; the future of the Zhou family now rests on you."

The expectation and satisfaction on Zhou Zhicheng's face stung Zhou Moyan.

His older brother had always been groomed as the successor; now that he was incapacitated, Zhou Zhicheng immediately turned his hopes to Zhou Moyan.

His father, true to his reputation, was indeed cold-hearted.

"What exactly happened to big brother?" Zhou Haoyan had been in a severe car accident, falling into a deep coma—a shock to Zhou Moyan.

The Zhou family's CEO position attracted extraordinary security measures annually. Their vehicles, globally limited editions, were assuredly safe, and even the driver was meticulously selected. How could such an accident happen?

"It seems to be an accident!" Zhou Zhicheng crossed his arms and looked away, pausing before adding, "Oh, I've had someone look into it. You should focus on the business; taking over the domestic enterprises won't be easy."

Zhou Moyan frowned slightly; his father's reasoning wasn't unfounded.

He had just mastered the overseas businesses, and taking over the domestic operations handled by Zhou Haoyan would be a process. Yet, he wasn't so busy that he couldn't investigate this matter himself.

"Alright, go rest a bit. You need to get a handle on domestic affairs quickly; I'm getting old!" Zhou Zhicheng turned and gave Zhou Moyan a deep look before leaving.

Zhou Moyan went upstairs to his room.

Three years, and everything remained as he had left it; not a single item was out of place.

He casually pulled open a drawer on his desk and took out a black velvet box. Twirling the box in his hands, he opened it with a hint of curiosity.

Inside lay a pair of tassel earrings studded with tiny diamonds, the pink stones sparkling brilliantly under the sunlight.

He stared at them for a moment, chuckled coldly, then snapped the box shut and tossed it back into the drawer.

"Peach Blossoms on Flowing Waters," "Endless Stream"... the image of that woman resting in his arms under the peach trees by the creek, her eyes closed and smiling softly, fluttered before his eyes, disturbing his peace.

Zhou Moyan seemed to recall something, then set off with determination.

"Second Young Master, where are you going?" his attendant hurried to keep up.

"No need to follow me!" Zhou Moyan called out without looking back, randomly hopping into a car and driving away from the Zhou estate.

He drove aimlessly for a long time before stopping outside the Tian family's villa, not far away. He could see the light in the second-floor room.

Every time he had dropped her off in the past, he would wait until he saw the light in her room before leaving.

He glanced at his watch subconsciously; it was late, and the light in that room was still off. Where was she? What was she doing?

A bitter smile tugged at his lips. Where was she, and what did it matter?

During these three years, had she ever wondered where he was, what he was doing?

Was she worth his constant remembrance?

Of course, she wasn't!

The car spun around gracefully and drove off.

Just then, Tian Youyou came by, walking disheveled to the roadside. She didn't see clearly what car had just sped past her, startling her almost to the point of screaming.

What a day of misfortune—not only had her stall been smashed, but she had nearly been hit by a car right in front of her own home.

Tian Youyou had just entered the living room when she saw her belongings being thrown out one by one, mixed with curses, "Youyou, you're back!" her foster mother, Lin Yue Rong, emerged from Tian Youyou's room, awkwardly rubbing her hands together, hesitating to speak.

"Just in time for your return, saves me the trouble of moving your things!" A girl about Tian Youyou's age stood at the door of the room, smirking with arms crossed.

Her face, popular among internet celebrities, bore a worldly weariness in designer clothes.

She hadn't always looked this way. In pursuit of marrying rich, she had spent the past two years altering her appearance, resulting in her current look.

This was Han Miaomiao, the biological daughter of the Tian family.

Due to a medical mishap over twenty years ago, Tian Youyou and Han Miaomiao had been switched at birth.