☆, Chapter 1: First Meeting

In early autumn, the nights are chilly and the leaves are falling.

The pitch-black night surrounded the entire city like a huge dense net, but the Li Garden at the foot of the mountain north of the city was brightly lit.

Shu Wanning fell onto the carpet, his gaze fixed on his bound hands and feet, his eyes calm and composed.

Yan Hao stood aside, hesitating for a long time before speaking: "Ms. Shu, your father owed gambling debts and refused to pay them back, so he sent you to the casino.

Shu Wanning: "Yeah, I know."

She lowered her head slightly and responded softly, her tone calm, as if she had already anticipated what was happening.

Her calmness was surprising. The man sitting on the sofa put down the documents in his hand and slowly turned his gaze to Yan Hao with confusion and inquiry in his eyes, as if he wanted to figure out what was going on.

Yan Hao glanced at the person on the ground and said reluctantly, "Miss Shu's father owed a lot of money. This evening, he sent the unconscious Miss Shu to our place, saying that he would pay off the debt with her."

His voice stopped abruptly, and the person on the sofa looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yan Hao lowered his head and continued, "Her father said that Miss Shu is engaged and that she can be redeemed by her fiancé. But I haven't been able to contact her fiancé."

The person on the sofa had his legs crossed, his shirt unbuttoned, leaning back in his chair, his fingers tapping his knees absentmindedly, his cuffs rolled up, revealing a black watch.

Wen Yuci glanced at Shu Wanning calmly, his eyes fixed on the restraints on her wrists and ankles. He then raised his hand and gestured, "Untie them."

Upon hearing this, Yan Hao immediately untied the rope. Shu Wanning touched her red wrists and gently brushed off the dust on her skirt.

Wen Yuci picked up the phone beside him, handed it to her and said, "Call and ask your family to redeem you."

Shu Wanning paused slightly, then took the phone, dialed the number in front of Wen Yuci and pressed the speakerphone button. The other end answered quickly, and the noisy music made Shu Wanning hold the phone farther away.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Dad, it's me, Shu Wanning."

"Awake? Since the Shu family has raised you for so many years, you should stand up and repay them when they are in trouble."

Shu Wanning hung up the phone in silence, and Yan Hao looked at her with sympathy.

Suddenly, Wen Yuci chuckled: "I have no intention of raising a daughter for someone else."

Shu Wanning finally looked up at him and said softly, "Then can you let me go?"

"cannot."

"Will you kill me then?"

"Won't."

"Oh, then where do I live?"

Wen Yuci raised his eyebrows, lowered his crossed legs, leaned forward slowly, raised the corners of his lips slightly and asked her, "Are you not afraid?"

Shu Wanning shook his head and said calmly, "I'm not afraid."

"Shu family? Adoptive father?"

Shu Wanning nodded: "Yes, I was adopted when I was ten years old."

Wen Yuci looked at the people around him and asked, "How much money does his father owe?"

Yan Hao glanced at his phone and replied, "Over 80 million. I checked the companies under his name, and the funds are indeed insufficient. He said he would use his body to pay off the debt, and we can kill or cut him up as we please. The people under him didn't dare to deal with it privately, so they sent it to me."

Wen Yuci looked at her quietly for a while, then stood up, buttoned his suit and said, "You stay here first. I will contact the Shu family to pick you up."

Shu Wanning did not respond because she knew that those so-called "family members" would not care about her life or death.

Yan Hao walked up to Shu Wanning, handed her a business card, and said in a deep voice, "Ms. Shu, please stay here for the next few days. You can call me if you have any questions."

"OK, thanks."

Wen Yuci raised his foot to leave, Yan Hao immediately followed, and the person who had been waiting on the side helped Shu Wanning up.

She said, "Hello, Miss Shu, I'm Aunt Jing. You can choose any room on the second floor."

Shu Wanning thanked him, took the business card and went upstairs. After a while, he opened a door at the end of the second floor.

Inside the car, Wen Yuci leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest. Yan Hao, who was sitting in the passenger seat, couldn't help but turn around and ask, "Boss, what should we do about this matter with Miss Shu?"

Wen Yuci raised his eyelids to look at him and said calmly, "Let her father take her away. I don't have the right to use her to pay off debts."

Yan Hao nodded, then glanced at the phone in his hand and sighed, "When her father sent Shu Wanning to the scene, he said he'd just pretend he had never raised this daughter. That's too cruel! It's lucky we're here. If it were somewhere else..."

Yan Hao hesitated to speak, after all, that was not something pleasant to hear.

Seeing Wen Yuci remained silent, Yan Hao continued, "What I mean is, his father really gave up on him. This guy...what should we do?"

Wen Yuci smiled slightly, and her dark eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses slowly looked at Yan Hao: "How about I be your wife?"

Yan Hao shook his head: "Boss, please stop joking."

Suddenly, Yan Hao's phone rang. He answered it, and on the other end, Shu Wanning stood by the window, looking around the unfamiliar courtyard.

"Hello, Mr. Yan. As a hostage, could you please go back to the rental house and get my change of clothes?"

Yan Hao turned his head again and spoke cautiously: "Boss, Miss Shu wants to go back to get her clothes."

Wen Yuci leaned back in his chair, slowly fiddling with his phone as he looked at him: "Yan Hao, whose hostages can come and go freely?"

Yan Hao turned around with a bitter look and said to the phone, "Give me the address and I'll ask someone to get it for you."

After hanging up the phone, Shu Wanning blacklisted the Shu family's contact information, sat on the edge of the bed, and wiped the blood from his ankles caused by the rope.

The house was empty, but soon there was a knock on the door and Aunt Jing was standing at the door holding a quilt.

"Ms. Shu, there are toiletries in the bathroom cabinet. If you need anything, please tell me and I will bring it to you."

"Thank you, sorry for the trouble."

Yan Hao returned to Liyuan late at night. Hearing the sound, Shu Wanning hurried downstairs and saw two suitcases next to Yan Hao.

Yan Hao: "Miss Shu, I see you don't have much, so I brought them all to you."

Shu Wanning took the suitcase and thanked him. She looked up and asked tentatively, "If no one in the Shu family takes care of me, do I need to stay here all the time?"

Yan Hao looked down at her thin figure, a trace of pity flashed through his heart. He shook his head and apologized in a low voice: "Sorry, I don't know this either."

Shu Wanning nodded and used all her strength to pick up the suitcase. She had a thin figure, was wearing a white long dress, and her hair was a little messy. She stubbornly struggled with the stairs.

Yan Hao shook his head helplessly, but finally kindly helped her take the box upstairs.

When Wen Yuci returned, Shu Wanning had just finished her shower and was sorting out her clothes. Hearing Aunt Jing calling her, she grabbed a shawl and went downstairs. She paused when she saw the people at the dining table.

Wen Yuci saw her out of the corner of his eye, but he didn't look up. Shu Wanning sat down in a corner of the dining table very quietly.

She lowered her head to eat. Her speed was not slow, but her movements were elegant. Only the occasional sound of cutlery colliding with plates could be heard. After a moment, she gently put down her knife and fork, stood up, and quickly went upstairs.

Wen Yuci looked up at the person going upstairs, then looked away and put his phone aside.

He glanced at the person beside him and said, "Aunt Jing, I won't be back recently, so I'll leave the garden to you."