A collective gasp swept through the crowd. Pei Song's face fell, his eyes darting to He Hanchuan in confusion. "Mr. He, what's the meaning of this?" He Hanchuan slowly retracted his long leg, his gaze landing on Xiang Wan’s stunned face. A slow smile spread across his lips. "Didn't you say you were bored, Mr. Pei? Now you have some entertainment." Only the person flailing in the freezing winter water knew its true bite, but no one dared to utter a word. Everyone knew who He Hanchuan was—a man who could make all of B City tremble with a single command. The other rich kids at the party were just that—heirs, coasting on their family names. But he was the one in charge, the boss. The difference was clear in how they were addressed; they were the sons, but he was the master of his own empire. The Pei family was far from insignificant, but Pei Song knew better than to pick a fight with He Hanchuan. His gaze flickered to Xiang Wan, now sheltered in the man's arms, and understanding dawned. "Ah, so she's with you, Mr. He. My mistake, I didn't realize." He Hanchuan didn’t deny it. He glanced at the drinks on the table, casually picking one up. "What was said was all in good fun. Don't let this spoil your party. To make up for the interruption, everything tonight is on my tab." "I couldn't possibly let you do that, Mr. He." "It's your birthday. My treat. You all have fun, I'll be back in a while." With that, he wrapped an arm around Xiang Wan, ignoring Pei Song’s reaction, and turned to leave, leaving a stunned crowd in his wake, their jaws practically on the floor. It wasn't until the two had disappeared from the rooftop that the man sputtering in the pool finally dared to scream, "Somebody get me the fuck out of here!" The party quickly resumed its noisy revelry, but Pei Song stared at the half-cleared bottles on the ground where Xiang Wan had been working, his expression ugly. He Hanchuan's hand clamped down on Xiang Wan's shoulder, hauling her into the elevator. The moment the doors slid shut, he shoved her away as if she were a piece of trash. Her bad leg buckled, and she had to grab the cool metal wall to steady herself. He Hanchuan stared at her, a scornful laugh escaping his lips. "If I hadn't shown up, what was your next move? Were you going to dance for them? Hmm?" "I..." The truth was, she already knew what she would have done. He had just arrived in time to stop it. After a pause, she lowered her head. "If you hadn't come, I would have done it." He Hanchuan’s brow furrowed, his voice turning to ice. "You really have a gift for finding trouble, Xiang Wan. If I hadn't come, were you planning on seducing some other rich heir to get you out of here? Is that it?" "Yes," she whispered, her fingers twisting together, trembling slightly. "But isn't this exactly what you wanted to see, Mr. He? A woman convicted of attempted murder, abandoned by her family, shunned by her colleagues, trampled on by everyone. Being told to take my clothes off is just the beginning. This is my life now. Who can I possibly expect to save me, again and again?" Her eyes were rimmed with red as she spoke, but she didn't cry. The familiar lines of her face were etched with a kind of broken, tragic beauty. As he looked at her, He Hanchuan felt a sharp pang in his chest. It wasn't pain, precisely, but a deep discomfort. "What did you just say?" Something inside her seemed to snap. "You all say I ruined Jiang Qingran, but the truth is... she ruined me. You love her, so you find every possible way to make me pay her back. But what about me? Who pays my debt? She destroyed my entire life. If I wasn't so afraid you'd take it out on my family, I wouldn't even want to see the sun rise each day. Because... what all of you call the world is my personal hell." This was the truth she held in her heart. He Hanchuan was suddenly thrown back to the day she was released from prison, to the hollow, empty look in her eyes. A terrible thought struck him. "That day," he asked, his voice low, "if you hadn't run into me... what were you planning to do?" She said nothing. The dim light of the elevator cast long shadows, making her look so fragile it seemed she might vanish at any moment. He Hanchuan’s brow twitched. His hand shot out, his fingers wrapping tightly around her slender wrist. "Tell me!" he snarled. A sharp pain shot up her arm. She struggled against his grip for a moment before going limp, all the fight draining out of her. "I would have killed myself!" she screamed, the words tearing from her throat. "If I hadn't run into you, I would have committed suicide! Are you satisfied now?" Forced to confess the secret she had guarded for so long, Xiang Wan felt as if she’d been completely hollowed out. She slumped against the cold metal wall behind her, the tears she had fought so hard to hold back now streaming freely down her face.