Chapter 7: Against All Odds, It’s You

No one can remain innocent forever, but remember—never forget who you were at the very beginning...

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The security guard instantly recognized Lu Huaining’s car and let it pass. The black Phantom sliced through the curtain of rain like a midnight apparition, gliding beneath the lush canopy of the avenue’s trees.

Xue Zuining, a little angry, tugged at her seatbelt. The man beside her remained silent, so she turned her head to gaze out the window at the receding scenery. The streetlights cast a hazy glow, making the leaves on the branches appear an even more brilliant green, like the finest jade beads.

The car stopped in the courtyard in front of the villa.

Lu Huaining undid his seatbelt and glanced sideways at the young woman beside him, her cheeks puffed out in anger. “If you don’t want to freeze, get out of the car,” he said coolly.

Xue Zuining stared at her own reflection in the window, refusing to reply.

Lu Huaining opened his door with a snort. “If I really meant to do anything untoward, would I have brought you here where others could see? Even a waterlogged pig’s brain is smarter than you!”

“You—!” Xue Zuining was so furious she could barely breathe. She flung open the car door, glared at the man entering the villa and, after a glance at the unfamiliar, rain-soaked darkness around her, clenched her teeth and hurried after him before the door could close.

Once inside, she realized the vast villa was already void of his presence. Only the sound of running water could be heard. Following the noise, she guessed it must be the bathroom.

“Achoo—!”

Suddenly, Xue Zuining became painfully aware of her miserable state. Her soaked clothes dripped water, which seeped quickly into the plush European carpet underfoot, vanishing before her eyes. Instinctively, she drew back, her toes curled stiffly at the threshold.

Lu Huaining emerged from the bathroom to witness her rubbing her arms in the doorway. This foolish woman couldn’t even change into slippers on her own!

“Change into these!” Lu Huaining commanded, setting down a pair of pristine white slippers and pointing. “Go take a shower! No arguments!”

“Alright.” Her reply was muffled. She changed shoes and shuffled toward the bathroom.

Once the hot water was running, steam swirled around her, chasing away the chill in her bones. Tilting her face up, she let the water wash slowly over every inch of her rain-drenched skin, rinsing the cold away.

Lu Huaining changed into his loungewear, picked out a green shirt for the girl in the shower, but as he passed the living room, the flashing screen of a phone on the coffee table caught his eye.

He picked it up. On the screen, only a single character appeared: Sang.

At this hour, it could only be her little boyfriend. With that in mind, Lu Huaining directly declined the call. As expected, a text message soon came in. The corner of his lips curled up; he set the phone down and walked toward the bathroom.

Knock knock.

“What is it?” she called warily, turning off the water and grabbing a towel to shield herself, watching his blurred form beyond the frosted door.

“I left some clothes for you outside. Remember to put them on.”

As if she would forget! Xue Zuining gritted her teeth in silence. What an odd man.

She dried her hair as she walked into the living room. Picking up her phone, she saw missed calls and unread messages from Chen Sang. She wanted to call her boyfriend, far away in Paris, but remembered she was a guest here. If she disturbed the owner in the middle of the night, and he threw her out... what then?

"Safe, don’t worry!" In the end, she simply sent a brief text, set her phone down, and looked around at the understated luxury of the furnishings, unable to suppress a gasp.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up. On the TV cabinet were several framed photographs. She walked over, scanning each one until her gaze lingered on a family portrait of three.

Wait—why did the middle-aged man in the photo look so familiar?

She picked up the frame and stared for a few moments before realizing he was the city’s renowned business magnate. She had even attended one of his guest lectures at school.

Just as understanding dawned, she gazed at the photo of the family with envy, only to notice, from an actor’s perspective, their expressions and postures were oddly stiff, almost staged.

“Who gave you permission to touch my things?!”

Crash—the frame slipped from her startled hands, shattering on the floor as Lu Huaining’s angry shout rang down from the second floor. Flustered, Xue Zuining tried to pick up the photo from the shards, but a pair of cold hands pushed her away.

Fine scratches now marred the photo. Lu Huaining glared at the last vestige of happiness, now ruined by this inexplicable girl. Rage seethed within him—why had he brought her home in a moment of foolishness?

“I…” Xue Zuining tried to explain, but his cold, furious voice cut her off.

“Go upstairs and sleep!” Lu Huaining stood up, staring at the small figure still crouched on the floor. “Do I have to say it again?”

His domineering tone made her bite her lip. As she tried to stand, numbness in her legs made her stumble and land hard on the carpet.

Lu Huaining saw her cheeks flush with embarrassment. He wanted to offer a hand, but she had already gotten to her feet and trudged upstairs. At the landing, she suddenly stopped and turned. “Which room is the guest room?”

He watched her—dressed in his green shirt, long ink-black hair tumbling down her back like a green lotus blooming in the night, innocent yet exuding a subtle allure. He coughed awkwardly. “Any room except the first on the right.”

“Okay.” She answered with a single word, obediently climbing the stairs, opening the nearest door, and shutting it quickly behind her, locking it tight.

Watching her scamper like a startled rabbit, he recalled the look on her face when she had offered him that coin. Could today’s events have truly frightened her out of her wits?

His phone rang. Glancing at the screen, he saw an unexpected number. He answered, “Yes?”

“Mr. Lu, I’ve nearly finished the private investigation you requested. May I forward it now?” The private detective’s respectful voice came through the line.

Lu Huaining’s eyes turned cold, though his tone remained neutral. “I have my laptop open. Send it to my email.”

“One moment.”

Within three seconds, thanks to the speed of the internet, the email arrived from an unfamiliar address. He entered the password and opened it.

The first three characters he saw made his mind go blank with shock—Zhong Yilan. So that was the name of the woman who had come between his parents? She was the one who had destroyed his family in a single night! And yet, how could she live at peace with her loved ones, as if nothing had happened?

He scrolled down slowly, his icy gaze boring into the gentle face of the middle-aged woman in the photograph. What a lie. What a shameless woman.

His grip on the mouse tightened. At last, his eyes fell on the family details, and a cold smile spread across his lips. So this shameless homewrecker had a daughter too.

At the end of the report was a recent photo of her daughter. But when his hate-filled gaze landed on the girl’s delicate smile, his mind went utterly blank.

It was her!

Lu Huaining snapped the laptop shut, eyes squeezed tight. After a moment, as his turbulent emotions gradually subsided, he opened the computer again. Staring at the familiar face, his helpless voice turned to ice.

"Why? Why did it have to be you!"