"Hanshi, will we be together forever?" Eighteen-year-old Qiao Yu, her cheeks flushed, curled up in Bo Hanshi's arms, her gaze brimming with an adoration that consumed her. "Always." The man’s voice was a firm, single word. His gaze, deep and searing, was fixed on her bright, beautiful face as his powerful hips thrust down— Pain! Qiao Yu’s back arched with a shiver, her fingers digging into the hard muscle of his arm. Though the pain was sharp, Qiao Yu tilted her head back and curved her lips into a sweet smile. "Bo Hanshi, I love you." The man gently kissed the tear from the corner of her eye, then held her with a possessive strength, his voice a low, dominant whisper against her ear. "Yuyu, you're mine... you always will be." Qiao Yu wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, a little mermaid in his embrace, tasting the thrill of passion for the first time, her smile as radiant as a blossoming flower. But Qiao Yu would later learn that their "forever" was nothing more than a word for the heat of the moment. And that "I love you" would ultimately be no match for "I hate you." ... In the solemn gravity of the courtroom. "Witness Qiao Yu, on the night of June 6th, were you with the defendant, Bo Hanshi, the entire time?" "Yes." June 6th. It had been her eighteenth birthday. She’d spent it not with her family, but curled up with Bo Hanshi in his small rental apartment for the entire night. It was an all-consuming passion she would never forget. It had been her first time. Bo Hanshi had been tender with her, yet in his lack of control, he had hurt her more than once. She slowly lifted her eyes to Bo Hanshi, standing in the defendant’s box. He wore a blue prison uniform, his handsome face etched with fatigue, his dark eyes threaded with red. Yet, when he looked at her, a flicker of gentleness softened their depths. He had lost weight during his week in custody, leaving him looking somewhat disheveled, but his striking presence still held Qiao Yu’s gaze captive. Bo Hanshi. A brilliant double major in Finance and Law from Imperial Capital University. Despite his poor background, his future was limitless. His mentor once said a talent like Bo Hanshi came along once in a century, with an almost preternatural gift for law and a lethally sharp instinct for the stock market and venture capital. He should have had a magnificent future, but now... A sharp pain pierced Qiao Yu's heart. "Witness Qiao Yu, at ten p.m. on the night of June 6th, are you certain you saw the defendant driving a black Mercedes with the license plate Jing A66888, and that he struck and killed the plaintiff, Liu Ping?" The courtroom fell silent. A minute passed. Then two. Three… *Crack!* The judge struck his gavel. His brow furrowed as he asked a second time, "Witness Qiao Yu, please answer the question!" That night, June 6th, her half-brother, Qiao Zi'an, had been the one driving that black Mercedes. He had hit and killed someone on a remote road on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital and fled the scene. Her father, Qiao Fan, in order to protect his only son, had framed the son of his driver to take the fall. When Bo Hanshi was arrested and refused to confess, Qiao Fan had threatened Qiao Yu with her own mother's life. Less than half a year after Qiao Fan's first wife, Wen Qing, fell down the stairs and was left in a vegetative state, he had immediately brought home his mistress, Ding Xuemei, and her son. Ding Xuemei's son, Qiao Zi'an, was only a year younger than Qiao Yu. Ding Xuemei had held a knife to Wen Qing’s throat, ordering Qiao Yu to immediately identify Bo Hanshi as the driver. Xizhou was a prefecture-level city under the Imperial Capital's jurisdiction, and Qiao Fan was its governor. He had a hundred ways to collude with the Xizhou courts to ensure Bo Hanshi was imprisoned. Qiao Fan was ruthless. If she refused, her mother and Bo Hanshi would likely suffer an even worse fate. She truly had no other choice... Qiao Yu took a deep breath, looked up at the judge, and answered, her voice steady, each word a betrayal. "Yes. At ten o'clock on the night of June 6th, I was sitting in Bo Hanshi's passenger seat. I saw him hit and kill a man with my own eyes." In the defendant's box, a violent tension seized Bo Hanshi’s frame. The light in his eyes instantly extinguished. "Defendant Bo Hanshi, do you have anything else to say?" The man’s eyes were frigid, like a frozen cavern. A scarlet rage bled into the whites as he stared at Qiao Yu, a desperate, hateful sneer twisting his lips. He said, each word deliberate, "I... have nothing to say." The girl he had cherished, had placed on a pedestal, now stood against him, ruthlessly framing him as a murderer. The whole world could betray Bo Hanshi, but why... why did it have to be Qiao Yu? *Crack!* The gavel struck again. "The defendant, Bo Hanshi, having violated Article 133 of the Criminal Law, causing the death of the plaintiff, Liu Ping, is hereby sentenced by this court to three years imprisonment and a fine of five hundred thousand yuan." The trial was over. The bailiffs led a uniformed Bo Hanshi away. He looked back, just once, his gaze locking with hers. It was a torrent of unquenchable hatred. Qiao Yu knew. He hated her with every fiber of his being. She had personally destroyed the brilliant, spirited Bo Hanshi who should have had the world at his feet. Her delicate fingers dug into her palms, nails breaking skin until they dripped with blood. ... Three days later. Qiao Yu managed to secure a visit with Bo Hanshi. They faced each other through a pane of glass, speaking over a phone. "Hanshi, I'll find a way to get you out of here. I'll do it fast!" A cold, thin smile touched the man’s lips. "Qiao Yu, we're done. Don't come here with your fake sympathy. From now on, you can go back to being the great Miss Qiao, and I'll be a prisoner." "Hanshi, I'm so sorry..." Tears welled up, flowing from her eyes straight into her heart until it hurt to breathe. "A prison is no place for the likes of you!" Bo Hanshi pulled a small notebook from the pocket of his uniform and brandished it at her. It was the sketchbook she had used to secretly draw portraits of him. Every page was filled with his likeness. Bo Hanshi had once treasured it like a priceless artifact. He smiled, a cold and dark expression, and his long fingers tore the sketchbook to shreds, scattering the pieces in the air. "Qiao Yu, there is no more 'us'! And it's all thanks to you!" Bo Hanshi’s finality was terrifying. *Thanks. To. You.* The words were four daggers, plunging deep into Qiao Yu's heart. The visiting time was over. The guards came to take Bo Hanshi away. He rose, and with every step, he trampled on the scattered fragments, grinding her heart into dust. "Bo Hanshi...!" she cried out, her voice breaking. But the man never looked back. Qiao Yu pressed a hand to her mouth, sobbing uncontrollably, her words a choked whisper. "I'm pregnant... Bo Hanshi... we have a child." Perhaps the emotional turmoil was too much. A sharp, dragging pain seized her lower abdomen. She instinctively clutched her stomach, her gaze falling downward... A hideous, bright red stain was already spreading across the white fabric of her pants...