In a cafe situated in the heart of Jiangcheng's bustling downtown district. Lin Ruan wore a black slip dress under a tan blazer. The delicate straps left her shoulders bare, and under the cafe's soft lighting, her skin seemed to glow. The man sitting across from her stared, his eyes practically glued to her. The lecherous expression on his face made Lin Ruan’s stomach turn. His name was Zhou Haishan, one of Jiangcheng’s most notorious second-generation heirs. He had beady eyes, a face full of fleshy jowls, and a body that packed over two hundred pounds onto a five-foot-nine frame. But his money was a powerful magnet, and women threw themselves at him. He wasn’t picky, taking whatever came his way. Rumor had it he’d even picked up a nasty little STD last year—all in all, a truly repulsive specimen. And this man was the blind date her dear stepmother had arranged for her. Lin Ruan found it almost amusing. Her stepmother adored playing the part of the virtuous, gentle matriarch in public. Why drop the act now? But Lin Ruan was in no mood for games. She pulled her blazer tighter around herself. "Mr. Zhou, I presume?" she said, her voice crisp. "Let's just end this blind date here. We’ll split the bill." The implication of splitting the bill on a blind date was something only a fool would miss. Apparently, Zhou Haishan was that fool. As Lin Ruan stood to leave, he shot up to block her path, his pudgy hand grabbing her arm. "Don't be in such a hurry, Miss Lin. Let me take you somewhere more fun." He punctuated the offer by rubbing his thumb suggestively against her skin. Lin Ruan’s gaze dropped to his trespassing hand, her expression hardening. She yanked her arm free with a sharp tug. "Mr. Zhou," she said, her voice laced with ice, "let me be blunt. This isn’t happening." Zhou Haishan just laughed, an arrogant eyebrow raised. "A cripple like you?" he sneered. "I’m being generous by not holding it against you, and you’re telling me there’s no chance?" Lin Ruan had a limp. That was a fact. And it was why her stepmother could set her up with a man like Zhou Haishan without fear of being badmouthed behind her back. When Lin Ruan returned to the Lin family villa, she spotted a familiar car in the driveway: a top-of-the-line Bentley Mulsanne with a license plate ending in five eights. In all of Jiangcheng, a plate like that—screaming wealth and influence—could only belong to one person: Gu Minxing. As she walked up from the parking area, a housemaid intercepted her. "Eldest Miss," the maid said nervously, "there are guests in the living room. Perhaps you should wait in the side lounge for a bit." Lin Ruan shot the maid a look but didn’t say a word, her stride unbroken. She walked straight to the living room and pushed the doors open. The room was filled with people: today’s star, Lin Shanshan, and her leading man, Gu Minxing, along with both sets of parents. Her entrance was anything but quiet. Because of her limp, her high heels struck the polished floor with an uneven, percussive rhythm, loud as a hammer driving nails. As all eyes in the room turned to her, hers were fixed on one person: Gu Minxing. He returned her gaze with a look devoid of any warmth, a cursory glance that slid away almost immediately, as if they were strangers. None of the elders acknowledged her. But her sister, Lin Shanshan, played her part perfectly. With a concerned pout of her red lips, she asked, "Sister, did your date go well today?" Lin Ruan’s smile was far more beautiful than her sister’s. "It couldn’t have gone better," she replied sweetly. "Zhou Haishan said he’s willing to pay any bride price our family asks, as long as I agree to marry him." "It sounds like you were quite pleased, sister," Lin Shanshan said. Pleased, my ass. A cold sneer touched Lin Ruan's lips. "Oh, but he also mentioned he has a… condition. If we were together, we’d have to use IVF for children. He said it’s fine to infect the girls he fools around with, but not me. After all, my only purpose in marrying him would be as a broodmare for his family. Isn’t that right, Mom?" Lin Ruan turned to her stepmother, Ge Wei. Color drained from Ge Wei’s face, but with the Gu family present, she couldn't afford an outburst. She forced a strained smile. "Ruanruan, what nonsense are you talking about? How could I possibly throw you to the wolves like that?" Lin Ruan's eyes curved into crescents. "I knew you loved me, Mom. I knew you didn't have the heart. That’s why I turned him down flat. So, when the Zhou family comes knocking, I’ll have to trouble my dear mother to handle them for me." With that, Lin Ruan turned and walked upstairs, completely ignoring the ugly, strained expression on Ge Wei’s face, which was crumbling under the pressure. In her bedroom, Lin Ruan took a shower. She wrapped a towel around herself, leaving her hair to drip onto her shoulders. She picked up her phone and snapped a few pictures. Her face, still flushed from the steam, looked tantalizingly dewy. She chose her favorite shot and sent it to the contact saved as 'ATM,' adding a single line of text: 'Miss me?' After a long moment, a reply came back. A single, simple word: 'Yes.'