At 9:15 p.m., the car stopped in front of Building 6 of the women’s dormitory.

Because his girlfriend disliked the smell of smoke or alcohol on him, Zhong He withdrew the hand he had just reached into the storage compartment to take out a cigarette.

Neither he nor his older brother smoked regularly. They had no nicotine addiction.

His brother’s usual ways of relieving stress were running, smoking cigars, and shooting.

As for Zhong He, it was racing, rock climbing, and drinking.

He rarely saw his brother smoke or drink, and it was even rarer to see him troubled and restless because of work.

The last time had been more than two months ago.

That night, his brother had been drunk and said he had fallen for a girl ten years younger than himself—only for her to turn around and get together with someone else.

Zhong He had mocked the girl at the time, saying she was sweet-tongued but black-hearted, and that she had put a green hat on his brother.

Yet even while drunk, his brother had still defended her.

He said she was just an immature girl who lacked a sense of security, and that Zhong He shouldn’t speak ill of her like that.

Now, Zhong He finally understood how his brother had felt.

No one was allowed to slander his Xiaoyin.

She was only nineteen—five full years younger than him.

When he could casually gamble away more than a million in one night on illegal street racing, she had already lost every single one of her family members.

A simple, innocent girl, stumbling through life alone in a poor and backward mountain village—how much hardship had she endured that no one ever knew about?

She liked money. She openly admired how wealthy his family was, yet she was never greedy.

She studied hard and tried her best in everything she did.

After finishing her computer training course, she had gone from knowing absolutely nothing about computers

to now being able to use all kinds of software as skillfully as an office clerk.

And Xiaoyin hadn’t stopped learning because of that.

After she got her laptop, she even started going on forums to communicate with people from different industries…

Also, at first, Xiaoyin had been unwilling to accept the BMW he gave her. No matter how expensive it was, she had refused.

Later, after accepting his persuasion, she began planning to enroll in a driving school.

She confidently said she would pass the test on her first try.

If she could get her license before the semester started and drive on the road, she would be able to pick up her boyfriend from work.

—

Zhong He watched Yao Jiayin walk farther and farther away.

She didn’t even turn back to wave at him before entering the dormitory building.

She hadn’t been like this before…

Was she still angry after the argument just now?

That must be it.

Only after that slender, graceful figure finally disappeared completely—her light footsteps vanishing into the night—

did Zhong He take out his cigarette case.

He lit one and held it between his lips, trying to drive away the restlessness in his heart.

At the beginning, his attraction to Yao Jiayin had been purely physical.

Love at first sight. Lust at first glance. She was perfectly aligned with everything he liked.

After getting to know her, he also fell in love with her gentleness, resilience, tolerance, and understanding.

After they became intimately involved both physically and emotionally, he discovered that his girlfriend also had a bewitching, seductive side in bed—almost like a little enchantress.

Zhong He realized that at first, full of excitement, he had thought he had found his true love and first love, and had tried in every way to make her depend on him more.

Spoiling her. Treating her well. Spending money on her. Making her unable to live without his money.

But now, it had become—

Lowering himself and begging her to love him just a little more.

Beginning to doubt himself, wondering what else—apart from money—he had that could make her stay with him and love him for the rest of her life.

If he had no money, would she stop loving him?

Zhong He fell into a vicious logical loop.

Without realizing it, the obsession and possessiveness in his nature were coaxed out by a devil.

—

Inside Dorm Room 302

As usual, Yao Jiayin greeted her roommates, then went to wash up.

After returning, she sat on the lower bunk and read for a while, then did practice questions for half an hour.

When everything was done, she looked at the small mirror on her desk, reflecting the girl’s tightly pressed lips and cool, distant expression.

What should she do… she seemed to be regretting it a little.

Yao Jiayin took out a gift box she had prepared long ago from her wardrobe and gently placed it on the desk.

Inside lay a tie, quiet and still.

She stared at it for a long time.

So long that it was only when her roommates asked whether to turn off the lights that she finally snapped back to reality.

Forget it. She would wait and see.

—

The next evening

Yao Jiayin, wearing a custom-made gown from a certain brand that Zhong He had bought for her, walked into the banquet hall with her arm linked through his.

The snow-white satin was exquisitely tailored, accentuating her long neck and delicate, prominent collarbones.

Yao Jiayin knew her own strengths.

Her youth, beauty, and purity did not need to be piled up with jewelry.

Simplicity, instead, made her seem faintly ethereal.

Zhong He was wearing a chestnut-brown suit with a subtle pattern. The dark navy tie on his chest was the one his girlfriend had bought with all the money she earned from part-time work.

It was the first proper gift his darling had ever given him.

Although it was the cheapest tie in his wardrobe, it would undoubtedly be the one he loved the most—and treasured the most.

Yao Jiayin took a small sip of champagne. The bubbles burst on her tongue, sweet and sour with a hint of bitterness.

Zhong He whispered in her ear that he was going to greet an old friend. Only after she nodded did he leave.

He had been gone for less than ten minutes—

“Jiayin?”

A hesitant, slightly familiar voice sounded beside her.

Yao Jiayin turned her head and saw Zhao Jiahao, dressed in a dark gray suit, standing a few steps away, undisguised surprise in his eyes.

Right.

Ever since he failed to confess his feelings, she had not seen Senior Zhao for months.

She had already completely forgotten about him.

Seeing him now, she finally remembered—Zhao Jiahao was Zhong He’s cousin. It was not strange at all for him to appear here.

“Senior Zhao?” Yao Jiayin gave a slight nod.

“It really is you…”

Zhao Jiahao took a few quick steps forward. His gaze landed on Yao Jiayin’s face, then swiftly swept over her from head to toe.

When he had first heard that his cousin was in a relationship, he hadn’t been curious at all.

After all, his cousin had been playing around for years. Now that he no longer wanted to play, it was time to think about settling down.

When someone said that the Second Young Master’s first love had the surname Yao, Zhao Jiahao still hadn’t thought of Jiayin.

It wasn’t until a few days ago, when Qi Xuan mentioned that Jiayin was with his second cousin, that he finally realized.

Zhao Jiahao looked at the junior girl, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes.

It seemed like nostalgia, and also like a sharp, lingering pain.

He had many things he wanted to say.

But when he saw that she was still as pure and beautiful as before, with eyes just as clear, the words caught in his throat.

“Zhao. Jia. Hao.”

A cold voice, enunciating each word, came from behind them at an angle.

Both of them turned their heads.

Zhong He was striding toward them.

There was still a trace of the cheerful expression he had worn while chatting with his old friend, but a layer of ice had already formed in his eyes.

Zhong He took Yao Jiayin’s hand, his gaze cutting into Zhao Jiahao’s face like a blade.

“I just remembered something… Zhao Jiahao, didn’t you once pursue my Xiaoyin?”

Zhao Jiahao felt extremely awkward.

It was true that he had liked her.

But to say that the feelings had been very deep—that would be an exaggeration.

He immediately explained, “Second Brother, that was all in the past. There were plenty of guys at school who chased after Jiayin.”

When Zhong He had just seen Zhao Jiahao’s back from a distance, he suddenly remembered the scene when he had once run into someone confessing to Jiayin.

That departing figure had looked so familiar…

So it had been his dear cousin.

The corners of Zhong He’s mouth curved upward in what looked like a smile, yet sent a chill through anyone who saw it.

“Ha. That’s true. I really do have to keep a close eye on her. Otherwise, all sorts of things will gather around my Xiaoyin.”

Zhao Jiahao: “……”

Damn. That was straight-up insulting.

Zhong He wrapped an arm around Yao Jiayin’s shoulders, his tone still light and smiling.

“Oh, right, Jiahao. Qi Xuan isn’t here tonight. Is she avoiding you? Aren’t you going to look for her?”

The hint to leave was painfully obvious. Anyone who still failed to understand it would be a fool.

Zhao Jiahao could only feel helpless.

As soon as Senior Zhao walked away, Yao Jiayin’s chin was caught in a large hand.

With a slight press of the thumb, she was forced to turn her head and look at its owner.

“Xiaoyin, who were all the senior guys who used to chase you?”

“Tell me—did Zhao Jiahao ever give you gifts? Did he ever touch your hand? He must have treated you to meals, right?”

A suffocating tightness spread through Yao Jiayin’s chest.

In the next second, she hooked her arm around her boyfriend’s and shot him a look.

“Are you interrogating me? Fine—then let me ask you. Which girls chased you before? Did you ever hold a girl’s hand? Did you ever treat pretty girls to meals?”