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After the night of passion, Han Yuming sat sipping his red wine, watching the sleeping beauty beside him. He brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, admiring her delicate features and the scent of jasmine lingering on her skin. For a moment, a pang of hesitation struck him—he almost didn't want to drag her into his web of revenge.
His thoughts drifted back sixteen years.
"Are you really going to find that woman?" Inside the Han family mansion, a noblewoman in a black checkered dress knelt on the floor, clutching Han Hai’s leg so tightly that his pressed trousers were a wrinkled mess.
"That's right. You should know by now—my heart has never held anyone but Ziyao!" Without looking back, Han Hai pried her hands off his leg.
"Then why did you marry me? I don't believe you never loved me!" she screamed at the figure silhouetted in the doorway.
"I only married you to spite her. I—love—only—her!" Han Hai paused for a fraction of a second, leaving those cold words in the darkness before walking away, never to return.
After his father left, his mother drowned her sorrows in alcohol, eventually abandoning him at an orphanage. Her hatred for his father, having nowhere else to go, had been projected onto her own son.
During those months of neglect, Han Yuming’s hatred for "that woman" grew bone-deep. He knew she was the one who had shattered his family. He vowed that if he ever had the chance, he would make her pay tenfold for every ounce of pain he had endured.
The only light in that orphanage was a clumsy, adorable little girl who was always being bullied—Lan’er. His Lan’er would listen to all his hidden agonies.
"Boys aren't allowed to cry; that's the only way you can protect the girl you love. So, let Lan’er cry for you, okay, Brother Ming?" He would never forget her eyes, swollen from crying on his behalf. Whenever he thought of her, his heart found a rare sense of peace.
Later, his grandfather found him and brought him back to England. He raised and groomed him personally, never mentioning his parents. In that moment, Yuming knew his original home was gone forever. He realized that only by being strong and ruthless could he survive. He excelled at everything his grandfather demanded—partly out of gratitude, and partly fueled by the hatred in his heart.
Now, he had returned. He had successfully turned the Han Group into a titan, ranking among the top three global electronic technology firms, becoming a legend in the business world. With his empire secure, it was time to execute his revenge—and to find Lan’er.
After sixteen years of effort and a full year of investigation, he discovered that the woman from back then was Lu Ziyao. Though the exact details of her entanglement with his father remained murky, he knew she was the home-wrecker. He would not let her go—and that meant he would not let her daughter go either.
"Ugh... ah..." Yi Lanyou shifted her aching body. Suddenly realizing where she was, she snapped her eyes open, locking gazes with the man who had been watching her intently.
She shook her heavy head as memories of the previous night’s passion flooded back. Her face instantly turned crimson. Lowering her head, she clutched the quilt tightly, paralyzed by the choice between getting up or staying put. Every second felt like she was sitting on a bed of needles.
"I’ve already seen everything there is to see. Isn't it a bit late to wrap yourself up so tightly?" He swirled his wine, a charming curve touching his lips. Seeing her reaction, he couldn't help but want to tease her.
"You... I... how can you be so shameless after taking advantage of me?" Lanyou knew her grandfather must have drugged her too. Since this was a trap her family had set, she felt she had no moral ground to stand on.
"Is that so? I'd say you were the one taking advantage of me." He suddenly flipped over, pinning her beneath him as his lips drew closer to hers.
"What... what are you doing?" Her eyes widened like saucers in terror.
"What do you think, my little babe?" His large hand began to wander over her bare shoulder.
"No—!" Lanyou panicked and ducked completely under the covers, hiding her head from view.
- Writer
