Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Wait, what?

I chose 2, didn’t I?

How did it turn into 1?

System, are you still there?

You’ve got the wrong person!

The hospital room was terrifyingly quiet, with only Lu Tinglan’s low, heavy breathing left in the air.

Two grown men crammed into one bed was unbearable.

Almost my entire body was trapped in his arms. I couldn’t move at all.

“Hey, I’m the patient here. Can you get off?”

Lu Tinglan pressed his forehead into the hollow of my neck, his voice exhausted.

“Be quiet. Let me sleep for a bit.”

“I’m being loud? Bro, I jumped off a building and didn’t die, but now I’m about to get crushed to death by you.”

The arm wrapped around my waist tightened a little.

The next second, a sharp pain stabbed through my chest, and I screamed.

Lu Tinglan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a vicious motion, his voice trembling.

“Jiang Yao, if you dare mention jumping off a building again, I’ll break your legs and make sure you never get out of bed for the rest of your life.”

I am the True Young Master of a wealthy family.

But everyone loved the fake young master who died.

He was smarter than me, more obedient than me, more likable than me.

The day I came home, he died in a car accident.

So no matter how hard I tried to please my parents, all they ever did was sigh and wonder why I hadn’t been the one to die.

I studied day and night, trying to become outstanding, only to get one sentence from my older brother: No matter how much you imitate him, you’ll never be Mumu.

To protect my younger sister, I was stabbed four times by a group of thugs, but she didn’t shed a single tear.

“If Brother Jiang Mu hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have been so upset that I ran out drinking, and I wouldn’t have been in danger!”

“Give my brother back to me, okay…?”

Actually, my mission was very simple. If I could earn one family member’s sincere love, I would succeed.

But I worked hard for ten years and gained nothing.

No matter what I did, it only made the whole family hate me more.

So I gave up on the mission. I ate alone, watched basketball games, and traveled.

After finishing my bucket list, I jumped from the twenty-fourth floor.

And my current situation was:

I failed to die.

The doctor said that when I jumped, I happened to land right in front of Lu Tinglan.

At first, I didn’t even have a heartbeat.

Lu Tinglan kept performing CPR until the ambulance arrived, then knelt down and begged the doctors to try one more time.

Somehow, by sheer dumb luck, I was actually saved. My vitals recovered especially well. It was practically a medical miracle.

The System was probably helping.

But still.

During the rescue, my family wouldn’t answer their phones. It was Lu Tinglan who paid my medical bills in advance, signed the critical condition notice, and stayed by my side for three sleepless days.

To save me, he donated 600cc of blood like he didn’t care whether he lived or died.

Were we really that close?

Looking at the sleeping Lu Tinglan, I was just about to speak when my phone rang.

“Jiang Yao, didn’t you jump off a building? If you can still answer the phone, does that mean you didn’t die thoroughly enough and you’re waiting for someone to pity you?”

Jiang Yan’s cold voice came through the receiver, dripping with sarcasm.

“Just because I didn’t go to Los Angeles with you over summer break to watch that game, you had to make trouble on Mumu’s memorial day and take revenge on our whole family? Are you disgusting or what?”

“Ever since you were little, you’ve loved scheming and competing with Mumu for attention. Sometimes I even wonder if you’re secretly in love with me. You’re as dramatic as a woman.”

My heart clenched sharply.

All my grievances finally turned into deep, burning rage.

“Fuck your mother, Jiang Yan, I don’t-mmph!!”

My furious curse cut off abruptly.

A pair of large hands clamped around my waist, pressing hard against a sensitive spot and kneading ruthlessly.

A wave of heat rushed over me, leaving my limbs weak. My phone slipped to the floor, and a layer of mist clouded my eyes.

“Jiang Yao, what was that sound? Who are you with? Talk to me!”

“Jiang Yao, I order you to speak!”

“So noisy…”

Lu Tinglan’s hoarse, deep bass voice sounded like it had been steeped in strong tea and harsh smoke, making the tips of my heart go numb.

Jiang Yan’s furious shouting gradually faded away.

All that remained was Lu Tinglan’s handsome face, magnified countless times before me.

And his fierce kiss.