LOVING AGAIN

YOU HAVE CHOSEN DEATH

A week had passed since Nie Lingxi had been locked inside the eerie mansion.

So far, Lord Shawn had done little more than steal brief, unwanted pecks from her lips, but Lingxi could sense that the uneasy peace would not last. Trouble lingered in the air like a storm waiting to break.

The only place that brought her comfort was the garden, it was the best she had seen. Among the blooming flowers, she could forget her prison for a few precious moments.

She crouched beside the flower bed, smiling faintly.

“Little Lily, why aren’t you growing? Rosy, don’t stay lonely—I’ll plant some friends beside you, alright? Hibi, you’re so lucky… surrounded by your family. And Sunny… it’s not always good to be so bright and beautiful. You end up attracting all unwanted people.”

As she spoke, she realized she was describing herself.

Like Lily, she was unable to grow, trapped in the same place. Like Rosy, she was painfully alone, with no one to call a friend. Unlike Hibi, she had no family to lean on, and a blissful life felt impossibly distant. And Sunny…

She let out a dramatic sigh before shouting,

“You attract stubborn bees!”

“Stubborn bees?”

The raspy voice behind her sent goosebumps racing across her skin.

Nie Lingxi froze.

“W-When did you—”

Her words never came.

Shawn caught her wrist and pulled her toward him. Before she could react, his lips crashed against hers in a fierce, possessive kiss. Her eyes widened in shock as she shoved against his chest, struggling to break free, but his grip only tightened. This was nothing like the brief pecks he had stolen before.

By the time he finally let go, she was breathless.

Lingxi stumbled back five steps, pressing a trembling hand against her lips. Her heart pounded with anger, disgust, and humiliation.

Bastard.

Kee Shawn merely grinned, looking far too pleased with himself.

“You got it right,” he said, his deep voice dripping with confidence. “I’m very stubborn… because I’m never letting you go.”

Lingxi’s eyes burned with fury.

At that moment, she wished she could tear the man apart.

...

After another exhausting week trapped inside the eerie mansion, Nie Lingxi found herself sitting cross-legged on the living room floor, absentmindedly playing a racing game on the TV.

It was well past midnight.

Sleep had become a stranger to her. No matter how tired she was, her mind refused to relax within these suffocating walls.

“Playing games again?”

Kee Shawn’s familiar raspy voice drifted through the room.

Lingxi didn’t bother turning around, nor did she answer. She kept her eyes fixed on the screen, pretending he didn’t exist.

Shawn walked to the mini bar and uncorked a bottle of expensive red wine. He poured it into two crystal glasses before raising one with a satisfied smile.

“Celebrate with me, baby. I just signed a contract worth billions.”

He lifted his glass toward her.

“Cheers.”

Receiving nothing but silence, he shrugged, dropped the glass meant for her on the table and returned to his sit. The glow of multiple monitors reflected across his face as endless lines of code scrolled beneath his rapidly moving fingers.

Lingxi’s attention slowly drifted from the game to the untouched glass of wine.

A dangerous craving stirred inside her.

There had been a time when alcohol ruled her life. She had built such a high tolerance that finishing bottles felt effortless. She had fought hard to bury that version of herself… yet tonight, the temptation was unbearable.

Just one glass, she promised herself.

She reached for it.

One glass became two.

Two became four.

Before she realized it, the bottle was empty.

Shawn looked up from his work, one eyebrow arching in surprise. He had barely finished his first glass.

“My angel can really drink,” he chuckled before walking back to the bar. “Looks like we’ll need another bottle.”

Nie Lingxi squeezed her eyes shut.

What’s wrong with me?

It was only one bottle. She wasn’t supposed to feel this dizzy. The room swayed gently, and her vision blurred until everything reminded her of the dark, helpless days when she could barely see.

She hated that feeling. She couldn't still see normally now but she usually wore contacts.

“L-Lord Shawn…” she hiccupped, words slurring together. “I don’t think… I can celebrate with you anymore…”

She pushed herself to her feet.

The moment she stood, the world tilted violently beneath her. She stumbled forward—

and landed on something unexpectedly soft.

Lingxi blinked.

She was sitting on Kee Shawn’s lap.

Her face instantly flushed with embarrassment.

“I-I…”

Before she could scramble away, Shawn sighed and effortlessly lifted her into his arms.

“Careful,” he muttered. “You’ll only fall again.”

Instinct took over. Dizzy and unable to find her balance, Lingxi wrapped her arms around his neck. The floor suddenly felt impossibly far away.

His scent surrounded her—clean, familiar… painfully familiar to someone.

Her expression faltered.

It reminded her of someone she had once loved.

For a fleeting second, memory blurred with reality. Without thinking, she leaned against his shoulder and, in her drunken haze, lightly nipped the side of his neck before immediately going still, as if startled by her own actions.

Shawn’s footsteps halted.

His breathing grew uneven as he looked down at the woman in his arms. A slow, knowing smirk tugged at his lips.

“So…” he murmured, “are you trying to seduce me?”

Lingxi was already slipping into unconsciousness.

Those were the last words she remembered before darkness claimed her.

...

It was already afternoon when Nie Lingxi finally woke.

She jolted upright, clutching her throbbing head as a splitting headache pulsed through her temples.

Shit… what the hell happened?

The bedroom was as silent as ever. The curtains swayed gently in the breeze, and there was no trace of that devil, Kee Shawn.

She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to remember the previous night.

Wine.

The endless glasses.

Then… nothing.

“Damn it!”

She punched the mattress in frustration. As she lowered her gaze, her breathing stopped. She wasn't wearing the nightwear she'd fallen asleep in.

“No… no…”

Her heartbeat quickened as she hurried to the mirror.

The moment her reflection came into view, tears slipped from her eyes.

Faint marks covered her skin.

She knew those marks all too well.

Years ago, she'd woken up in exactly the same state—confused, terrified, and unable to remember what had happened. That morning had been even crueler. Camera flashes had greeted her before she could even open her eyes, as reporters immortalized her humiliation for the world to see.

And now…

History had repeated itself.

The only difference was the silence.

Her blurry vision, worsened by the absence of her contact lenses, made the room spin as she slowly collapsed onto the cold floor. Hugging her knees, she buried her face in her arms and cried.

The missing memories hurt far more than the marks ever could.

After that day, she neither saw nor heard from Kee Shawn.

He disappeared as suddenly as he had entered her life.

Later that same day, his men escorted her to visit her biological mother—a rare act of mercy that became the only bright memory she had of that nightmare.

...End of Flashback...

“Chen Qianci?”

A woman's voice shattered Nie Lingxi's thoughts.

Her eyes snapped open.

Who is that?

Very few people knew Chen Qianci—the name she'd abandoned long ago. Anyone who called her by it was almost certainly connected to the past she had desperately buried.

She removed her old, expired glasses and rubbed her aching temples before tying her hair into a loose ponytail.

“You've mistaken me for someone else,” she said calmly.

When she finally looked up, she met a pair of striking sapphire-blue eyes.

The elegant woman standing before her trembled with emotion. Tears shimmered in her eyes as she whispered,

“Qianci… it really is you.”

She instinctively reached out.

Nie Lingxi immediately stood and took several steps back.

“Don't touch me.”

Her voice was cold enough to freeze the room.

Ever since those drunken incidents, Lingxi had developed a terrifying instinct. Alcohol didn't simply intoxicate her—it awakened a defensive state where everyone became an enemy. Combined with her impaired eyesight, the slightest touch could trigger a violent reaction.

Only one person had ever managed to calm her during those episodes.

Her mother.

Even Lingxi never understood why.

There was something strangely familiar about this woman's voice, but she refused to dwell on it.

“Stay away from me if you value your life,” she warned. “I don't want to hurt an innocent person… and I definitely don't want to end up in prison.”

She emptied the contents of her purse onto the table, scattering bills and coins everywhere before turning to leave.

The room suddenly tilted.

She staggered.

“Are you alright?” the woman asked anxiously, instinctively reaching out again.

Nie Lingxi's frown deepened.

A dangerous smile slowly curled on her lips.

“So… you've really chosen death today.”

The most frightening part wasn't her strength.

It was that once she started fighting, she lost the ability to stop. In that state, anyone within reach became a target.