Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I never expected to run into Jiang Zheng.

Inside the KTV private room, Zhu Zhu pulled me close and introduced me to him with an air of intimacy.

“Shen Tingwan, my best friend from my time in the UK. She just returned to the country.”

Jiang Zheng looked at me, a brow arching slightly as he spoke in a casual, drawling tone. “Oh? Just returned?”

My fingers tightened around my wine glass.

Zhu Zhu leaned in and shouted into my ear over the noise, “His name is Jiang Zheng, the Young Master of the Jiang Family. We’re all friends here, so if you ever need anything in the future, you can go to him.”

Jiang Zheng stared at me, his gaze deep and inscrutable.

I forced a smile and reached out my hand. “Jiang Zheng, it’s been a long time.”

Zhu Zhu was surprised. “You two know each other?”

“Yes, we do,” I said, my voice mingling with the clamor of the room. “But we aren’t that close.”

Zhu Zhu had always been a bit scatterbrained. Hearing me say that, she didn’t think much of it.

Jiang Zheng looked at me and let out a scoffing smirk.

He tilted his head back and drained his glass in one go.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed.

I used to love teasing Jiang Zheng. I would grab him and press myself against his throat, kissing and biting his Adam’s apple.

I would watch him gasp with passion before pulling away, leaving him to stare at me with misty, piteous eyes.

Jiang Zheng averted his gaze, focusing on the screen behind me with a cold, indifferent expression.

“Yeah. We really aren’t close.”

My hand remained awkwardly suspended in mid-air. Zhu Zhu quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

“Well, if you aren’t close, you’ll get closer the more you see each other!”

Zhu Zhu patted my shoulder. “Tingwan, don’t mind him. He just has a cold personality.”

I gave a soft, noncommittal hum.

Zhu Zhu wanted to say more, but she was interrupted by the people around us. “Zhu Zhu, it’s the song you picked!”

“Tingwan, come join me!”

Zhu Zhu was in high spirits tonight; it was clear she had already had quite a bit to drink.

She forcibly dragged me along.

In the corner, several girls were gathered around Jiang Zheng.

Jiang Zheng’s face was grim, devoid of any expression.

However, he didn’t refuse any of the drinks they held to his lips.

This sent the already excited girls into fits of screaming.

The laughter from that corner was far too loud.

Zhu Zhu tilted her chin toward Jiang Zheng. “Jiang Zheng’s had a change of heart today. Usually, he wouldn’t even spare a glance for people like that.”

I lowered my eyes and handed the microphone to Zhu Zhu. “Zhu Zhu, it’s a bit stuffy in here. I’m going out for some air.”

At the turn of the hallway, there was an open-air balcony.

The damp, cold air helped me clear my head a little.

Jiang Zheng had his own unrestrained life to lead.

And he and I… our paths would never cross again.

I leaned against the railing, staring blankly at a streetlamp in the distance.

The sound of rhythmic footsteps came from behind me.

I turned around.

Our eyes met.

His narrow, ink-black eyes felt like a massive net, threatening to swallow me whole.

Jiang Zheng’s voice was frigid. “Shen Tingwan, how do you still have the nerve to show your face in front of me?”