Charity Dinner.

The hotel shone with gold, its splendor hard to look away from.

The metallic doors in front of her slowly opened. As she stepped into the hall, her body turned rigid. She fixed her eyes on the two people on stage, who were sharing a laugh. It felt like her blood was flowing backward.

Shen Shengsheng... and Zheng Ting.

Both of them were mesmerizing in appearance and made a stunning pair standing together. Particularly, Zheng Ting's face, without a single flaw to be found in the light.

People turned their heads towards the door. For a moment, all the eyes in the room were fixated on her.

Shen Shengsheng held the microphone and said with a sweet smile, "Actually, the reason we invited everyone here today is not only to celebrate the success of this fundraising event but also to introduce a special guest. This guest is a girl my dad helped ten years ago. She's now a senior in college with excellent academic performance. Yu Yue, please come up."

Memories abruptly took her back to that freezing night. The ceiling in her home suddenly collapsed and shattered. Her mother was severely injured and the hospital's corridors were filled with sobbing and wailing. Reporters had the hospital surrounded...

The real estate developer who built that house was the Shen's.

Yet, the Shen family didn't come out to soothe. They sent a lawyer to resolve the matter, promising to sponsor all her tuition fees until she graduated from college, as long as the family refrained from speaking a word about the house incident.

Her father was led into the adjacent sickroom by the lawyer. When he returned half an hour later, he was holding a nondisclosure agreement. Each signature was inked with pain and blood.

Yu Yue suppressed her urge to run away. Amid the applause, she lifted her head and looked at Zheng Ting.

His eyes were emotionless. He glanced at her, then averted his gaze again, as if his attention to her was just an illusion.

After a long while, Yu Yue pursed her lips and slowly stood up under the watchful eyes of the crowd. Her legs felt heavy as lead. Each step felt like stepping on a blade, piercing her feet and hurting her to the core.

She closed her eyes, lowered her head, and the moment she stepped into the limelight, her dignity was already crushed to pieces on the ground.

"Miss You." Shen Shengsheng suddenly turned his head, spoke softly with a smile, in a voice that only two of them could hear, "You look so stiff, it won't look good if the media captures this... Won't you smile?"

His gentle and calm voice pierced deep into her heart.

You Yue clenched her lips, her lips trembled slightly, and she forced a weak smile, still with a downcast gaze.

A wave of applause erupted from below the stage.

Shen Shengsheng curved his lips in satisfaction, his gaze swept across Zheng Ting's body. Seeing that he did not have any expressions, he felt relieved.

"Miss You, you've come this far with the help of the Shen family, is there anything you'd like to say to them?"

The media scrambled to hold up their microphones, not wanting to miss this chance to make news.

You Yue kept her head down, biting her teeth and staying silent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen." Shen Shengsheng steps forward with a smile, seemingly afraid that pushing too hard would make You Yue say something she shouldn't, "There's another thing, I choose to announce it today. The fifteenth of this month is our wedding date, and I hope you all can do us the favor by attending then. The wedding invitations will be sent to your homes.”

The fifteenth... Wedding date...

She slowly turned her head, her gaze sweeping over everyone on stage, and finally settling on Zheng Ting's face.

She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but Zheng Ting seemed to be looking at her.

You Yue's breathing became labored, her hand squeezed into a fist as she turned and walked away slowly amid a chorus of exclamations, gradually leaving the grand hall.

The noises behind her faded, she ran a few steps, leaned against a wall, and took deep breaths, until the lights in the banquet hall dimmed, she absently lifted her gaze to the sky.

The deep of the night.

A faint gasping sound suddenly filled the air, the touch of cold skin immediately causes an uncontrollable shudder.

Yu Yue bit her lip, gently turned her head to look out the window, suppressing the desire that was about to overflow from her throat, she couldn't help but glance at the man on top of her. When her gaze touched his firm chest, her body shuddered once again.

"Zheng Ting, can we... not do it tonight?" She suddenly looked up and asked, her face showed a hint of tentativeness.

Zheng Ting's movement paused slightly, the light highlighted his increasingly delicate and compelling profile, his eyes alone could make her lose herself.

He turned his head, his dark pupils devoid of any emotion, his expression extremely cold. He lowered his head and spoke, word by word, "Yu Yue, you are here to sell, you have no right to say no."

A single sentence, instantly chilled her to the bone.

Yu Yue’s body tensed, and before she could react, her arm was suddenly yanked and pinned above her head.

“Wait! I have something to tell you…” Her fingers recoiled slightly at her side, her brows hardened by a fraction. She was about to open her mouth when Zheng Ting's movements turned violent again.

Pleasure bit by bit invaded her nerves, completely crushing her, leaving her shivering and unable to speak.

The panting sound gradually increased, intertwined with moans and screams, spreading throughout the air.

She covered her stomach with her hand, straining to raise her eyes in the midst of trembling. The words on the tip of her tongue shattered, her mind began to disintegrate…

After an unknown amount of time, there's another person lying next to her, a pleasant scent flooding her nose.

Yu Yue slowly opened her eyes, her forehead already somewhat sweaty. She blurredly looked at the person beside her, her gaze fixed on his flawless profile, almost unable to look away.

Without a doubt, Zheng Ting was the most handsome man she ever saw.

No matter where this man went, he was always the focus of the crowd. Furthermore, being the well-known illegitimate child of Zheng family in City A and one of the heirs to the Zheng Corp… Such status only made him more elusive and untouchable.

You Yue closed her eyes, sighed lightly, her fingers once again reaching her lower abdomen as she spoke softly. "You're going to marry Shen Shengsheng...right?"

Zheng Ting did not respond. He remained silent, his expression never changing.

She turned her head to look at his facial features for a few seconds, then slowly raised her body and put on the clothes by the bed.

"You're very talkative today," Zheng Ting suddenly broke the silence. His hoarse, deep voice lingered in the air, hitting her eardrums. It was neither hurried nor slow, but it always carried a deep chill.

You Yue pursed her lips, her fingertips trembling slightly. Her gaze slid once again over her lower abdomen. Then, she composed herself and said, "I just wanted to confirm the status of our relationship, if there is any need to continue."

Zheng Ting shifted a little. The crease between his brows flickered as he lazily turned his head, his eyes still closed. "If I didn't say it's over, we don't have to end it."

No need to end? She paused.

Seven years... She'd been with Zheng Ting for seven years. Initially, she was at a dead-end. The astronomical cost of her father's cancer treatments left her with no other choice but to exchange benefits and her body.

But now, she couldn't quite define her feelings for this man. Perhaps it was submission or maybe... things were not the same as before.

Thinking about this possibility made You Yue's breathing quicken for a moment. Glancing again at Zheng Ting, she stood up.