An Ruo poured the remaining black tea into the sink, watching the rushing water as she bit her lip.
Even though the world had never been kind to her, she didn’t want to harm an innocent person just to protect her brother.
Suddenly, she felt utterly helpless. What could she do to both shield An Che and avoid hurting this man?
Fortunately, Shen Tingfeng had given her a slow-acting poison, not something that would kill immediately.
Every day, she took one pill and dropped it into the toilet, letting the water sweep it away, making Shen Tingfeng believe the man was taking it regularly.
Lying in bed, An Ruo couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. She had thought escaping the An family would make life easier, but she never expected the Shen family to be an even deeper quagmire.
From the moment she stepped through this door, she had been dragged into this family feud. Whether she stayed out of it or not, death was her inevitable end.
An Ruo let out a faint sigh. An arm reached around her slender waist, followed by the enveloping presence of the man’s pure masculine aura, full of a sense of security.
She instinctively closed her eyes, her body stiff, afraid to move. The man leaned closer, his chin resting on her fluffy hair. “You seem troubled?”
Her back pressed against his chest, and even through their pajamas, she could clearly feel the powerful thumping of his heartbeat…
But no matter how close they were, a vast chasm still lay between them.
“Just thinking about work…”
His voice was light and magnetic. “Want to tell me about it?”
“…” How was she supposed to say it?
Could she just come out and say the reason she couldn’t sleep was that she wanted to poison him, but at the critical moment, something in her wavered, and she didn’t want him dead anymore?
An Ruo had no choice but to lie. “Just some boring trivial stuff. Forget it, let’s not talk about it. Let’s sleep.”
She didn’t want to open up to him, nor did she want to share the secrets buried in her heart.
Shen Xiaoxing’s deep eyes glimmered in the darkness. “If something’s on your mind, remember to tell me. Even though my legs aren’t good and I rely on others for care, I think… I can still help you figure things out.”
In the night, the girl bit her curled index finger, trying her best not to let the man notice anything unusual about her.
Sometimes, she really, really wanted to tell him everything—to warn him to be on guard against Shen Tingfeng’s malicious intentions.
She also wanted to confess the truth about the substitute marriage, not hoping for his forgiveness, but just to find some peace in her heart.
Shen Xiaoxing looked down at the top of her head, feeling her body tremble slightly from tension, and pulled her closer.
Earlier, when she went into the bathroom to shower, the bottle of pills had already been swapped out for vitamin tablets that looked identical. He just wanted to gamble—to see if this girl would soften. If he had drunk that cup of tea today, he would have cut off this budding relationship without hesitation, and then… killed her.
But at the critical moment, the girl saved herself, and she also saved the ruthless side of him that was about to be awakened by hatred.
She had softened. She didn’t want him to die.
Shen Xiaoxing gently pressed his thin lips to the back of her head, his movements careful, as if afraid to disturb her sleep.
He wouldn’t let her regret the choice she made today.
…
The contestants for the new product endorsement selection arrived one by one at the hotel under the Lan Zhen brand.
Since they needed to take makeup photos, the entire studio was buzzing with busy staff. The filming equipment was high-end and advanced, showing how much Gu Chao valued this new product launch.
Some female celebrities acted diva-ish, throwing all sorts of tricky demands at the staff.
Of course, where there were many women, there was plenty of drama. Some even argued fiercely over trivial matters.
Sure enough, no sooner had she stepped into the makeup room than she heard shouting inside.
Everyone in the room gathered around to watch the spectacle. The popular young star Pan Zhiyao was furious, pointing at a woman sitting calmly in front of the LED lights, her face indifferent, as if she didn’t care at all, still applying her makeup with composure.
“Song Weiwei, you shameless bitch!” Pan Zhiyao screamed in rage. “Jealous that my figure is better than yours, so you come up with such a despicable trick!”
Her face was red and swollen with anger, clearly at her breaking point. “I don’t care—you have to compensate me with an identical one today! Otherwise, don’t even think about leaving this door!”
Song Weiwei glanced lightly at the dress Pan Zhiyao claimed was “worth millions,” her tone neither servile nor arrogant. “Miss Pan, if you’re going to slander someone, at least have solid evidence.”
“Evidence?” Pan Zhiyao shot her a contemptuous glare. “Who in the industry doesn’t know you’re jealous that I’m prettier and have better legs than you, and you want to win this competition to land the lead role in the movie *Daylight*?”
The feud between these two went way back.
She let out a cold laugh. “My figure is ten thousand times better than your beanpole frame. Why would I be jealous of you?”
“You…” Pan Zhiyao was so angry she nearly popped her contact lenses out.
Her agent tugged at her, signaling her to control her temper in front of so many people—the persona the company had built for her was about to crumble.
Pan Zhiyao had long despised Song Weiwei. Originally, the hit drama *Phoenix Mountain* had her as the internal pick for the second female lead, but just before filming started, the director insisted on replacing her with Song Weiwei!
“Ha, your figure is good, no wonder Director Su took the risk of losing funding to choose you as the lead back then. I bet you put in plenty of effort behind the scenes, huh? Just lie down in bed, and those directors, screenwriters—they’re all wrapped around your finger. That’s something we really can’t compete with.”