Han Wenxue awoke groggily, unable to tell how long she had been asleep. Her throat was parched, and her head throbbed with a dull ache, much like the sensation of a lingering fever. Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself lying in an unfamiliar room.
Then, fragments of memory before she had "fallen asleep" began to surface.
She recalled Feng Kun handing her a glass of wine. After drinking it, her body grew light and unsteady, as though she were walking on clouds. A strange warmth spread through her, especially in her most sensitive areas.
She also vaguely remembered herself starting to undress uncontrollably, and the sound of an argument between two voices—one was Feng Kun's, but the other she could no longer identify.
At this thought, panic surged through her. She dared not imagine what might have happened next. Trembling, she quickly examined her clothes and body.
The results sent a wave of terror crashing over her.
Her coat was torn in several places, exposing large swaths of bare skin. Her proud, shapely chest was barely concealed, and worst of all, her undergarments were missing entirely.
It was clear that someone had dressed her in this coat afterward.
Realization dawned upon her, and her face turned ashen.
Though Han Wenxue had grown up in America, she wasn't as liberated as many American girls. Her upbringing was steeped in traditional Eastern values. While she wasn't bound by archaic virtues, she had always been taught to maintain her dignity and self-respect.
For over twenty years, she had adhered to these principles. Partly due to her upbringing and partly because she had yet to meet someone who truly moved her heart, she had never engaged in any intimate relationships. Until now—or rather, until last night—she hadn't even experienced her first kiss.
The world can be cruel. The more you treasure something, the more mercilessly it is taken from you.
The chastity she had safeguarded for over two decades—gone, just like that?
And worse, it had been stolen from her while she was unaware, by someone she utterly despised!
The first rays of dawn filtered through the window, heralding a rare, beautiful day. Yet Han Wenxue's heart was far from bright. It was shrouded in a stormy gray.
She slowly sat up, and her gaze fell upon a man sleeping soundly on the floor.
Chen Yi?
Why was it him?
A sudden wave of betrayal washed over her. She felt deceived—deceived by this seemingly trustworthy young man, someone she had once regarded as dependable.
No wonder her grandfather had warned her not to underestimate Chen Yi, saying he was far more complex than he appeared.
Complex? No, he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Without a second thought for her disheveled state, Han Wenxue lunged at Chen Yi like a tigress pouncing on her prey.
Her current state of undress didn't matter to her. In her mind, Chen Yi had already seen everything—even touched her.
Chen Yi had indeed seen and touched some parts of her, but not in the way she imagined.
Ordinarily a rational and intelligent woman, Han Wenxue was now consumed by turmoil. The loss of something so precious had left her mind in chaos, incapable of calm reasoning.
It was only natural for her to assume that the first person she saw upon waking was the culprit.
Though Han Wenxue hadn't picked up any bad habits from her time in America, she had adopted plenty of good ones. Regular exercise and a few months of Taekwondo training had kept her in excellent shape.
Now, like a furious lioness, she clawed and struck at Chen Yi with all her might. When that wasn't enough, she sank her teeth into him.
Chen Yi, meanwhile, had been lost in a blissful dream. In it, Han Wenxue was once again the alluring figure from last night—seductive and enchanting beyond measure. Feng Kun was nowhere to be seen, replaced entirely by himself.
Just as he was about to fully embrace his primal instincts, a sharp pain shattered his dream.
Chen Yi opened his eyes to find Han Wenxue, half-dressed, straddling him. But it wasn't the scenario from his dream. This woman was yanking his hair and slapping him relentlessly across the face!
Slap!
Slap!
Slap!
...
Still dazed, Chen Yi was struck four or five times before he could react.
Han Wenxue wasn't holding back. Each slap was delivered with full force, leaving his face swollen and burning.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you crazy?"
Chen Yi's grogginess vanished under the onslaught. He quickly grabbed her wrists to stop her.
"I'm not crazy—I'm perfectly sober!"
Tears streamed from Han Wenxue's reddened eyes.
"If you're sober, then why are you hitting me?"
"Hitting you? I should kill you!"
"You ungrateful woman! If it weren't for me, you'd—ow! What the hell, are you biting me now?"
With her hands restrained, Han Wenxue didn't hesitate to use the most primal weapon at her disposal—her teeth.
"Ow! Let go, you lunatic! You're going to bite my arm off!"
Han Wenxue clamped down with the tenacity of a snapping turtle, refusing to release her grip. It seemed she wouldn't be satisfied until she tore off a chunk of his flesh.
Chen Yi was at a loss.
He couldn't hit her—that wasn't his style, and besides, she was the granddaughter of Old Master Han. If he laid a hand on her, his days would be numbered.
But not hitting her meant enduring excruciating pain. He'd been bitten by the neighbor's dog as a child, but even that hadn't hurt this much.
This woman in her frenzy was fiercer than a rabid dog!
Left with no choice, Chen Yi used one hand to push her head away and the other to pry her mouth open.
Finally, the piece of flesh in her jaws was freed, though not without leaving behind a bloody wound. But before he could catch his breath, Han Wenxue's now-liberated hands resumed their assault.
She scratched, clawed, and slapped with a ferocity that defied reason, employing every tactic in the book.
Han Wenxue's combat prowess was so impressive that she seemed wasted as a landscape designer. She should have been a self-defense instructor, teaching women how to fight back against their husbands.
Chen Yi, fortunately, had some skills of his own. Thanks to a survival technique he'd recently learned from Wang Wu, he managed to seize an opening. With a desperate roll, he escaped her clutches, grabbed his shoes, and bolted barefoot out of the room.
He didn't stop running until he reached the hotel lobby. Only after confirming that the crazed woman hadn't followed him did he dare to put on his shoes.
The receptionist from the previous night hadn't finished her shift and burst into laughter at the sight of Chen Yi's pitiful state, clearly reveling in his misfortune.
Ignoring the curious stares of early risers, Chen Yi fled the hotel, his face burning with embarrassment.
After walking several miles, far enough that the hotel's sign was no longer visible, he finally stopped at a roadside stall for breakfast.
The freshly fried dough sticks and steaming soy milk looked enticing, but every bite stung his wounded lips, making him wince in pain.
"D*mn it. Never again will I get involved with that crazy woman."
Back in the hotel room, Han Wenxue collapsed onto the bed and wept bitterly. Exhausted from crying, she eventually fell asleep, not waking until noon.
When she did, she fished her phone out of her bag, intending to call her grandfather and tell him she was returning to America. But halfway through dialing, she hesitated and hung up.
She couldn't let Chen Yi off so easily. She would stay, stay by his side, and torment him until he broke.
As she packed her belongings, her gaze fell on her favorite set of lingerie, which now filled her with disgust. Seeing it reminded her of Chen Yi's filthy hands undoing it.
The garments seemed tainted with his presence.
With a surge of revulsion, she grabbed the lingerie and tossed it into the trash.
Thud!
Amid the discarded clothing, a black phone caught her eye.
It looked familiar—wasn't it Feng Kun's phone?
How had it ended up in her bag?
Puzzled, Han Wenxue tried to recall the events of the previous night but could remember nothing.
Hesitating briefly, she picked up the phone, intending to check its contents. But it was out of battery. Without giving it much thought, she placed it back in her bag.
Perhaps Chen Yi had stolen it from Feng Kun when he came to find her and, in his haste, had stuffed it into her bag.
As for why Chen Yi had brought her to a hotel afterward, the answer seemed obvious. He must have been overcome with lust.
The fact that she had woken up dressed was even simpler to explain. Chen Yi, fearing the consequences of his actions, had hastily clothed her before pretending to sleep on the floor.
This explanation seemed perfectly reasonable.
But why had her undergarments been placed in her bag?
Could Chen Yi have some twisted fetish, wanting to steal her lingerie along with Feng Kun's phone?
The thought made her stomach churn, and goosebumps rose all over her skin.
A woman's imagination knows no bounds, and Han Wenxue quickly "pieced together" the entire story in her mind. Convinced that Chen Yi had violated her, she remained oblivious to the truth—that the man she now loathed was the one who had saved her from Feng Kun.