The luxurious hotel suite was in disarray—the king-size bed rumpled, a trail of dresses and lingerie scattered across the floor.

A young woman huddled beneath the tangled sheets, arms wrapped tightly around her knees. Her porcelain face was buried against them as she shook her head desperately, her voice a broken whisper: "I don't know... I don't know... Just leave me alone!"

A pack of reporters thrust their cameras closer, their lenses invading her space like predators circling prey. Their questions came rapid-fire, laced with venom:

"Miss Jiang, how long have you been cheating on your fiancé?"

"Is this hotel your usual spot for secret rendezvous?"

"Does Huo Chengze know he's been made a fool of?"

"Are you planning to call off the engagement with the Huo family?"

Each barbed question hammered into Jiang Yan like a nail, her fragile composure crumbling. Tremors wracked her body as tears streaked down her face. "I didn't... I don't understand how this..." Her voice shattered into gasps. "Get out! All of you—get out!"

The journalists ignored her pleas, their shutters clicking relentlessly from every angle. The camera flashes illuminated every damning detail—the telltale bruises blooming along her slender neck, her bitten-red lips, the slip of bare shoulder where the sheets had fallen away. The scene was equal parts vulnerability and voyeuristic provocation.

"Stop filming! Please!" Her cry was raw with terror, but the lenses only zoomed in tighter.

None of this made sense. Last night, she'd come here after receiving a message from Huo Chengze, her fiancé. But the moment she stepped inside, a stranger had pinned her against the wall.

The room had been pitch-black, the lights off. A man's rough kiss had stolen her breath—his scent a mix of crisp tobacco and something metallic, like blood. His strength was overwhelming; struggle as she might, she couldn't break free. She never saw his face.

And by dawn, her innocence was gone.

Later, the pain became so unbearable that she blacked out, unaware of when the man had left.

When she came to, she found a group of reporters barging into the room with a spare keycard—God knows where they got it—their cameras pointed straight at her.

"Jiang Yan!"

A familiar male voice suddenly rang out.

Jiang Yan shuddered, lifting her gaze as if spotting a savior.

Huo Chengze strode in, impeccably dressed in a tailored suit, exuding an air of aristocratic elegance. Yet his handsome face was twisted in fury.

"Chengze!" Overwhelmed with emotion, Jiang Yan tried to sit up but forgot she was unclothed. The slightest movement caused the sheets to slip, revealing the telltale bruises on her collarbone.

Huo Chengze's eyes darkened with icy contempt. "Jiang Yan," he spat, his voice dripping with disdain, "I didn’t want to believe it, but you’ve truly sunk this low."

"No! Chengze, I—I got a message from you—" she stammered in panic.

"I never sent you anything," he cut her off, his disgust palpable. "From today onward, we’re done. The engagement between the Huo and Jiang families is off."

"No! You can’t—"

"You dare tell me what I can’t do?"

The sheer loathing in his eyes was like a knife plunged straight into her heart, the pain sharp and suffocating.

...

Jiang Yan jolted awake from the nightmare.

She clutched her chest, still feeling the lingering despair from that dream.

No—it shouldn't be called a dream.

It was her past life, events that had truly happened.

After the so-called "infidelity scandal" in her previous life, the video had been leaked online, branding her as a "harlot." Paid trolls fabricated lies, claiming she seduced male classmates and juggled multiple relationships while in college.

A decent university student, she had been forced to drop out under the crushing weight of rumors.

But the nightmare didn’t end there. Huo Chengze, furious that she had "made him a cuckold" and become the laughingstock of high society, retaliated against the Jiang family.

The Jiangs only ran a small business—how could they withstand the onslaught of the Huo Corporation? Before long, they went bankrupt.

Her father fell gravely ill, and her stepmother pressured her into marrying a wealthy man in his fifties.

That old man had a penchant for abusing women. On the day she tried to flee the wedding, he caught her and beat her mercilessly—until she stumbled and fell from the rooftop...

After her death, her spirit lingered in the air, witnessing truths she had never known.

Who were the allies, who were the enemies, who had been pulling the strings—only then did she see everything clearly.

...

Jiang Yan got up and splashed cold water on her face in the bathroom.