My cold body was completely enveloped in his warm embrace. The man's heavy arms pressed against my chest, making it almost impossible for me to breathe properly, and I was powerless to break free from him.

All I could hear was his heavy, short breaths, and his deep, powerful heartbeat, which shook my back with each beat.

At this moment, his possessiveness towards me, so intense it borders on the pathological, gives me the illusion that I've returned to the time before our divorce.

After the divorce, he always ignored me.

Before, when I "dated" Song Sinan, he was indifferent, unlike before when he would go crazy if Song Sinan put a coat on me.

I realized in an instant that this wasn't possessiveness; he was just driven by lust.

Realizing I was in a precarious situation, I patted the back of his hand and said resolutely, "Fu Yanshen, you have a girlfriend, let me go."

He loosened his grip on me slightly, but his nose brushed against my earlobe almost imperceptibly, his hot breath teasing me intentionally or unintentionally.

“Jin’er is not in good health and is very averse to that kind of thing. I understand her and never force her…” the man said slowly.

Upon hearing this, I froze.

It took me a while to understand what he meant.

Shi Jin is averse to sex, and Fu Yanshen has been abstaining from sex for her sake. Now, he can't hold back anymore and wants me to be Shi Jin's substitute again.

He used it as a tool for sexual release.

I lowered my head, and inadvertently glanced at the business card in my breast pocket, and twitched the corner of my mouth.

This is the man I once loved without hesitation, the man I never completely gave up on even after dying once... What's the difference between him and those scoundrels who kick me when I'm down, take advantage of my misfortune, and trample on me?

No, there are still differences.

Because he was the one who "threw me into the well," and the one who hurt me the most.

I swallowed my tears with all my might, without struggling or cursing, and calmly began to speak:

"I don't want to."

Behind him, his hot breathing clearly stopped, and after a long silence, he let out a hissing sound from his nostrils.

He let go of me.

I immediately left his embrace and sat down in an empty seat next to him.

"Call me when you've thought it through."

The man leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest. His restrained and abstinent black and white suit made him look very aloof. He spoke in a calm tone.

consider?

I'm not foolish enough to believe that I can coax him into being happy and let the Sheng family off the hook.

I would never be a third party, not even for a few days.

"Please pull over," I said politely, picking up the walkie-talkie that connected to the driver's cab.

At that moment, Fu Yanshen snatched the walkie-talkie from my hand, "Go to Mingdu Garden."

I was taken aback.

Mingdu Garden is the residential complex where I currently rent.

Is he going to take me back?

How did he know where I live?

I turned my head to look at him.

He was resting with his eyes closed, exuding an aura of indifference and aloofness.

Half an hour later, the car arrived at the entrance of my residential area.

I wanted to park, but the driver insisted on taking me to the apartment building.

To make commuting easier and to be closer to my parents' home, I rented an apartment in a mid-range residential complex within the Second Ring Road. The environment is decent.

But compared to before, it's a world of difference.

Seeing that I'm now renting in this kind of neighborhood, Fu Yanshen must be laughing at me again. He brought me back, probably just to see how pathetic I am now.

After the car stopped, I got out without saying goodbye.

The building is four stories high and there is no elevator. I was climbing up the stairs holding onto the handrail when the motion sensor light suddenly went out. This happens often.

I'm terrified of the dark, and this really terrifies me. I'm always afraid a thug will suddenly jump out and do something to me.

I climbed to the sixth floor in one breath, my heart pounding with anxiety. Once inside, I turned on all the lights and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After calming down for a while, I walked to the dark window, opened it, and took out the clothes that I had hung out to dry that morning.

By chance, I discovered that Fu Yanshen's car was still downstairs.

In the quiet winter night, under the streetlights, a figure stands with a faint, crimson light that flickers up and down.

The figure seemed to be looking in my direction.

With a "whoosh," I slammed the window shut and drew the curtains.

The next day, as I was wondering how to tell my mother about it, she came to my office excitedly.

"Qiaoqiao, I heard that Fu Yanshen specifically asked you to go see him, and he said he would consider letting the Sheng family off the hook! My judgment was right after all; you really matter to him!"

My mother took a bowl of bird's nest from the thermos and said to me with a big smile.

I frowned. How could my mother have received such a message?

I only realized after asking that Fu Yanshen had deliberately spread such false information in an attempt to persuade my family to give in to me.

"Mom, do you know his conditions?" I murmured.

"W-what conditions?" Mom's face darkened, and she frowned.

I told my mother the whole truth, and she turned ashen-faced.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I really want to do my part for the family... but I'm powerless. Fu Yanshen has a girlfriend now. If I become his mistress, wouldn't I be a homewrecker?"

Seeing my mother's disappointed and disheartened look, I felt utterly helpless.

"Qiaoqiao, Mom doesn't blame you. We raised you to be a pampered socialite. How could you lower yourself to become a mistress? Mom can't bear to let you do this!" Mom hugged me and cried.

Listening to her words, I felt both moved and guilty.

They supported me for over twenty years, and I watched helplessly as they were about to go bankrupt, unable to do anything about it.

As the year draws to a close, while other company executives are busy celebrating, only my father is still struggling to raise funds. He has traveled all over the country to banks, only to be met with repeated setbacks.

The only bank willing to lend to Shengshi was blocked by Fu Yanshen on the very day my father went to sign the contract.

The father was so angry that he suffered a heart attack on the spot. Fortunately, he was taken to the hospital in time and was saved. He is out of danger.

"Qiaoqiao, with this bank's loan, we can still keep up with the funding for our real estate projects, and Shengshi still has a glimmer of hope. It's all because of that Fu Yanshen, who cut off our lifeline at the last minute!"

In the hospital room, my father said to me with great emotion.

His lips were pale and purple, his fists were clenched tightly, and as soon as he finished speaking, he turned his head away, his shoulders visibly twitching.

Dad cried.

My heart skipped a beat.

In despair, he finally saw a glimmer of hope, only to have it extinguished. I can understand how he felt.

“Dad…” I hesitated, unsure how to comfort him.

In this situation, no amount of comfort will help.

...

After leaving the ward, I walked to the window at the end of the corridor, took out my phone, and dialed the number I knew by heart.

The other party answered almost instantly.

"Fu Yanshen, do you still stand by what you said before?" I asked bluntly.

"Of course, if you agree now, I'll get the bank to release the loan immediately, how about it?" The man's deep voice came through the phone receiver.