"Eternal Bliss" was the most renowned luxury banquet hall in City A, a dream wedding venue for countless couples. At this moment, the hall was packed with banquet tables and guests. At the end of the crimson carpet stood a refined gentleman, his eyes brimming with happiness.

This was the engagement banquet of the eldest son of the Lin family and the eldest daughter of the Gu family!

Both families were prominent households in City A, old friends for generations—a perfect match in every way. The engaged couple had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, inseparable since youth. After years of love, they had finally reached this joyous milestone!

Yet at the other end of the red carpet, Gu Xiaoxiao, one of today's protagonists, stood dazed.

As she gazed at the man waiting happily across from her, a flicker of confusion flashed in her eyes. Unbidden, the scenes from that night resurfaced in her mind...

On the eve of her engagement, her kind-hearted younger sister had thrown her a grand bachelorette party. After tonight, she would be engaged—soon to become the wife of the man she loved. This was her last wild night of freedom!

At the party, Gu Xiaoxiao indulged recklessly in her final fling while flaunting her upcoming wedding to a crowd of single friends.

Wine flowed freely, her dimples deepening with each sip. Tonight, she felt invincible—no amount of alcohol could faze her!

Yet all that bliss shattered the moment she opened her eyes the next morning.

"Ah—!" A scream pierced the sky.

Gu Xiaoxiao's eyes flew open, her mind reeling. Before her loomed a towering, shadowy figure.

"Morning, beautiful," the figure drawled, watching her every reaction with amusement. His large hand trailed over her body with unmistakable intimacy.

It was a man!

Dear God—on the night before her engagement, she had blacked out from drinking, only to wake up the next day beside a naked stranger!

"Who the hell are you?" Gu Xiaoxiao stammered, her voice trembling with shock.

The man smirked, a devilish curve playing at the corner of his lips as he leaned in, his breath warm against her delicate earlobe. "Who I am doesn't matter," he whispered, his voice dripping with seduction. "All you need to know is that I'm about to become your man..."

...

"About to—he said 'about to'!" Gu Xiaoxiao shook her head vigorously, as if trying to fling the memory from her mind.

That night, she had blacked out from drinking—something she rarely did. But the worst part? She hadn't even made it back to the room her sister had arranged for her. Instead, she'd stumbled into someone else's... and ended up in bed with a complete stranger.

Even now, she could still picture the man's knowing gaze after she'd kicked him off the bed. "A feisty one, huh? Playing hard to get?" he'd mused, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Well, woman, you've certainly piqued my interest."

"Xiaoxiao, are you alright?" Her father's voice snapped her back to reality.

The engagement party was in full swing, and she was the star of the show.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," she reassured him, forcing a smile.

Her father patted her arm affectionately before guiding her down the red carpet, where her fiancé, Lin Qingmo, stood waiting.

At the end of the aisle, her father placed Xiaoxiao's hand into Qingmo's and gave his shoulder a firm, meaningful squeeze. "Take good care of my daughter," he said, his voice thick with emotion.

"She's my princess," Qingmo replied, his gaze overflowing with tenderness as he looked at Xiaoxiao. The sheer warmth in his eyes made her heart flutter.

For a moment, all her worries melted away. She felt like the luckiest woman alive.

The projector screen played a montage of their shared memories—childhood friends, teenage sweethearts, and now, partners for life. The nostalgia was so overwhelming that even Xiaoxiao, usually so tough, felt her eyes well up.

But then—

The screen flickered. The footage changed.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

There, stumbling into a dimly lit room, was a petite woman—her face unmistakably Xiaoxiao's. Moments later, a tall, shadowy figure followed her inside. Through the sliver of the half-open door, the audience could even make out their entangled silhouettes.

An affair video—playing at her own engagement party?

Lin Qingmo was refined and gentle. The man in the footage was broader, more imposing.

Clearly, they were not the same person.

Gu Xiaoxiao's face instantly turned deathly pale. Before she could even react, Lin Qingmo's mother, Madam Lin, had already risen to her feet and delivered a stinging slap across her face.

"You shameless wretch! Is this how the Gu family raises their daughters?" The Lin family had always prided themselves on their impeccable reputation. This scandal was a slap in the face to their entire lineage, and Madam Lin's fury knew no bounds.

"Ridiculous." A scornful retort rang out before the echoes of the slap had even faded.

"The daughters of the Gu family are models of virtue and propriety. How dare you suggest otherwise?" The speaker was Zhao Zhiyu—Gu Xiaoxiao's stepmother.

With a contemptuous glance at Xiaoxiao, Zhao Zhiyu sneered, "This Gu Xiaoxiao is nothing but an adopted child. Out of the kindness of his heart, my husband took her in. And this is how she repays us—by bringing shame upon our family!"

The moment these words left her lips, every eye in the room swiveled toward the bride.

Disdain. Scorn. Mockery. Curiosity...

Gu Xiaoxiao's mind went blank, a deafening roar filling her ears. Helplessly, she turned her gaze toward her father.

Gu Yuanlu, the man who had always doted on her, was already on his feet. In a fit of rage, he struck Zhao Zhiyu across the face. "How dare you spout such nonsense!"

"Nonsense?" Zhao Zhiyu's head snapped to the side from the force of the blow. Baring her teeth, she hissed, "I'm merely speaking the truth, Gu Yuanlu. You've coddled another man's daughter like a precious jewel while treating your own flesh and blood like dirt!"

She spat on the ground. "I've spent my entire life living in White Rose's shadow. I won't allow my daughter to suffer the same fate!"

Taking a menacing step forward, she leaned in close. "Gu Yuanlu, this is only the beginning. Everything White Rose stole from me, I'll reclaim bit by bit from Gu Xiaoxiao. I'll ruin her with my own hands. I'll drag her name through the mud. I'll—"

The last few words were whispered directly into his ear. But before she could finish, the crowd watched in horror as Chairman Gu suddenly convulsed, clutched his chest, and collapsed to the ground.

"Dad—!" A heart-wrenching scream pierced the air.

Almost simultaneously, two slender figures darted forward.

One stood in a wedding dress, her eyes filled with desolation; the other was exquisitely beautiful, delicate and pitiful.

"Enough, sister! You've already made Father so angry he collapsed—what more do you want?"

Clutching their father with tears streaming down her face, Gu Yanyan shoved aside the flustered Gu Xiaoxiao, who was desperately trying to press their father's philtrum to revive him. Her voice was hoarse with fury.

Caught off guard, Xiaoxiao fell backward, landing hard on the floor. A sharp pain shot through her tailbone, making her wince. She wanted to argue, but the words stuck in her throat. Struggling to rise, she realized her legs had gone weak—she couldn’t even muster the strength to stand.

She didn’t want to cry, yet when the warm droplets slid down her cheeks, she realized her face was already drenched.

For over a decade, Gu Xiaoxiao had been the pampered darling of Gu Yuanlu, showered with adoration and indulgence. But for the first time in her life, she felt utterly powerless.

Her limbs were leaden, unresponsive. Mechanically, she turned her head, seeking help—only to meet the cold, unfamiliar gaze of her fiancé. His usually warm, doting expression had vanished, replaced by icy detachment and emptiness.

His eyes were vacant, his face expressionless, as if he didn’t even recognize her.

*Qingmo… Qingmo…*

She repeated his name in her mind a thousand times, desperate to call out—but she had forgotten how to speak.

Yet, this was far from over.