Volume One, Chapter 70: The One in My Heart

A cool breeze drifted quietly through the night, carrying with it the faintest trace of mint. The brisk air snapped Jiang Wan back to herself, pulling her gaze away from his jawline. She answered evenly, “No.” Her tone was so resolute, not a hint of falsehood in it.

A derisive smile flickered across Lu Wenzhou’s lips, his eyes clouded with displeasure. The shift in his mood was unmistakable. A female employee sitting beside him, emboldened by the alcohol, quipped, “Boss Lu, did you get confused? President Jiang is a woman—it’s perfectly normal for her never to have shaved.”

“Hurry up and bend your finger, it’s your turn to drink.” As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Wenzhou’s face darkened further. He picked up the beer in front of him and drained it in one tilt. With each swallow, his pronounced Adam’s apple glided up and down, starkly visible against the firelight and the deepening night.

Jiang Wan turned her head away, refusing to look at him. The game continued.

As the round neared its end, a woman’s voice rang out from nearby. “I have someone in my heart.” The words were met with a chorus of teasing. Shen Xinghe joined in the ruckus, stirring the lively mood.

Seated quietly, Jiang Wan watched them with the barest flicker of her eyes, their laughter blurring at the edge of her vision. Yet her gaze fell heavy on her own upright little finger.

Someone in your heart?

Her glance swept to the other side. Lu Wenzhou, having set down his beer, once again spread his hand open—long fingers, joints sharply defined.

Jiang Wan didn’t bend a finger. Instead, she picked up the bottle in front of her. That was her answer.

In the corner of her eye, the man stared directly at her, his gaze oppressive and unyielding. But Jiang Wan seemed impervious to the weight.

After downing several gulps, she too let her fingers relax.

The tension thickened once more.

When the turn returned to Shen Xinghe, he made his way back to his seat. “Finally, it’s my time for the big reveal! I—” As he was gathering his thoughts, a tall figure suddenly rose beside him, exuding a chill that seemed to suck the air from the room.

Lu Wenzhou stood abruptly, his face a thundercloud. The others couldn’t help but look his way.

Shen Xinghe, tipsy and confused, protested, “I haven’t even said anything yet, why are you so worked up?”

Lu Wenzhou didn’t answer. His gaze, half-lowered, lingered on Jiang Wan’s hand as she set her bottle down and stretched her fingers.

He left in silence, face grim.

The mood shifted abruptly until Shen Xinghe shrugged it off. “Forget him, let’s keep playing.”

*

After two rounds of finger-bending, the group suggested a change of games. With Shen Xinghe there to liven things up, any game was a riot.

Halfway through, Jiang Wan felt herself growing foggy. She excused herself, saying she needed the restroom, intending to splash some water on her face and catch a bit of fresh air to clear her head.

The noise faded behind her as she left the lawn, following the signs toward the restroom. The winter night wind was biting; away from the crowd, it felt even colder. The heat from the bonfire slowly seeped from her body, her temperature returning to normal, her senses sharpening.

She walked along the dimly lit path through the woods, drawing closer to the restroom with every step.

But before she arrived, she noticed a man’s tall silhouette lurking beside a small cabin along the path. Only the red tip of a cigarette glowed in the darkness, pulsing with his draws.

Their eyes met across the gloom. The poor light made it impossible to read his expression, but by his outline and subtle movements, Jiang Wan knew at once who he was and what he was doing.

Their gazes clashed for only a heartbeat.

Jiang Wan dismissed his presence, turned her eyes away, and started forward. Behind her, the red ember vanished as the man flicked his cigarette aside.

He strode toward her, long legs eating the distance. Before she could react, he seized her and pulled her into the little cabin.

He pressed her into a corner, bracing his arms on either side to cage her in. His broad frame blocked any escape.

A heavy, smoky scent filled her lungs.

“You have no one in your heart?” Lu Wenzhou’s voice was low and rough, his eyes nearly swallowed by shadow, glaring at her with the intensity of a brewing storm, ready to consume her whole.

Jiang Wan almost laughed.

“Should I?” she retorted, as though realizing something. “Oh, right, Gu—” She never finished the name. Her chin was suddenly gripped and tilted upward, Lu Wenzhou’s hold harsh and unyielding. He forced her to meet his eyes, dragging her face closer, staring as if to see straight through her.

“Answer me properly.” His voice was a threatening murmur, each word menacing. “Think carefully before you answer.”

He demanded the answer he wanted. He could not believe she no longer loved him. Her heart could only ever belong to him.

Understanding the silent command in his eyes, Jiang Wan’s lips curled in mockery.

What right did he have to believe he still had a place in her heart? Was it for disappearing without a word, abandoning her to a hellish life? Or for reappearing only to ruin her marriage, upend her world, and even—while getting another woman pregnant—demand her love in return?

“Lu Wenzhou, your greed knows no bounds.”

Her words, spoken through clenched teeth, landed like blows.

“There is no place in my heart for—” you.

But before the last word could leave her lips, the man before her seemed to lose all control.

He bent down and claimed her mouth in a fierce, greedy kiss—hungry, forceful, and wild.

Jiang Wan struggled, frustrated, reaching out to push him away. But he knew her too well, pinning her hands before she could resist, his kiss growing even more unrestrained.

“No place for me?” His voice dropped to a terrifying pitch, repeating her words as though testing them for truth.

All the feelings he’d tried to suppress erupted in a single, violent burst.

When Lu Wenzhou’s hands moved to her belt, Jiang Wan’s eyes widened in shock, realizing what he intended.

“Are you insane?!” she cried, struggling desperately to break free, her only thought to escape.

But he left her no room. Effortlessly pulling her back, he threatened her with every inch of his body.

Either she changed her answer, or she surrendered. Her body or her heart—one of them had to be his.

Right now, he was nothing but a wild beast in rut, all traces of humanity gone.

“I’ll ask you one last time.” He pinned her inside the small cabin, his cold voice pressing against her ear, chilling and close.

“Is there a place for me in your heart?”

“No—” The word barely formed in Jiang Wan’s throat before a searing pain tore it away, scattering it into silence.