Volume 1, Chapter 7: I Did Not Drug You!

Su Tingwan had loved Fu Xicheng for ten years. She was far too familiar with his scent. The moment his lips touched hers, she recognized him instantly. Her panic and fear faded, replaced only by a boundless chill.

With a face as cold as frost, Su Tingwan turned her head away in resistance, evading Fu Xicheng’s forceful kiss. Her rejection only darkened the ink-like intensity in his eyes. With a firm hand, he forced her face back and leaned in to kiss her again.

The atmosphere around Fu Xicheng was heavy, thick with an inexplicable rage. Was he here to avenge his beloved Cheng Muyan because she had been wronged at the cafe earlier? Su Tingwan’s resistance deepened. Her eyes flushed with angry red as she forced the words through her clenched teeth: "Fu Xicheng, let me go... You have no right!"

"Ha." A cold, mocking scoff escaped his lips. No right? She was his woman. If he wanted to touch her, she had no right to refuse.

Su Tingwan spoke up suddenly, "Fu Xicheng, your precious Yan has already learned that we’ve broken up. Aren't you afraid she’ll be heartbroken if you touch me now?"

Fu Xicheng paused, though he did not let her go. His voice was laced with a frigid chill. "Su Tingwan, when you drugged me and crawled into my bed five years ago, why didn't you stop to think about whether Yan would be heartbroken?"

Hearing him mention that night five years ago again, Su Tingwan felt her breath hitch. She instinctively retorted, "I did not drug you!"

"Hmph." Fu Xicheng sneered. "Do you think I’d believe that?"

He did not believe her. He hadn't believed her five years ago, either. He didn't believe her when she said she hadn't drugged him and didn't know why she had ended up in his room. Because that night, he had been drugged and delirious, while she had been perfectly conscious.

She had considered pushing him away and running. But, looking at his handsome face twisted in agony, she couldn't bring herself to do it; she had ultimately become his antidote. Her willingness had left her with no way to defend herself.

"What exactly do you want?" Su Tingwan asked coldly. At this point, she no longer wished to defend herself regarding what happened five years ago. Once, she had loved him too much and cared too deeply about his misunderstandings, always wanting to prove her innocence. Now, it no longer mattered.

Fu Xicheng’s gaze turned deep and inscrutable. "Trying a new trick? Playing hard to get?" His tone was dripping with mockery and disdain.

Just as the tension reached its peak, a familiar ringtone suddenly broke the silence. It was a call from Cheng Muyan. In the past, Su Tingwan had dreaded this ringtone, for whenever it sounded, Fu Xicheng would abandon her and Xixi without a second thought to leave with her. But now, Su Tingwan felt a wave of relief. It was difficult for a man to stop in such a moment, but for Cheng Muyan, Fu Xicheng could.

He released his grip on Su Tingwan, pulled his phone from his pocket, and answered.

"Xicheng..." As Cheng Muyan’s tearful voice echoed in the car, a surge of fury rose in Su Tingwan. She fought back with all her might. The moment his attention was diverted by Cheng Muyan and he loosened his hold, she drove her knee into him.

"Hiss..." Fu Xicheng groaned in pain. Taking advantage of his distraction, Su Tingwan scrambled away, opened the car door, and fled.

She pulled her coat tight and stumbled toward her own car, climbing inside. Only when she locked the doors did her tightly coiled nerves finally begin to unwind.

Inside the other car, Fu Xicheng leaned back against the seat, took a cigarette from his case, and lit it. His gaze remained fixed on Su Tingwan. He took a deep drag and exhaled slowly. Surrounded by swirling smoke, his expression was unreadable.

Only when Cheng Muyan’s concerned voice sounded again—"Xicheng, is everything alright?"—did he respond with a languid, "Hmm? What is it?"

The hoarse, dark timbre of his voice reached Cheng Muyan’s ears. Recalling the "hiss" she had heard just moments before, she froze. Cheng Muyan was not naive; she knew exactly what that sound meant and what he had just been doing.

An hour ago, Fu Xicheng had sent his assistant to take her home while he drove off alone. At the time, he had been draped in an icy coldness. She hadn't been able to tell if he was angry because Su Tingwan had bullied her, or because she had sought out Su Tingwan herself... She hadn't dared to keep him there. She never imagined he would go straight to Su Tingwan—and do *that* with her.

Cheng Muyan’s grip on her phone tightened visibly. Yet, she didn't let a hint of it show in her voice. She softened her tone, sounding pitiful and fragile. "I woke up and didn't see you, so I thought you were angry with me."

Seeing that Fu Xicheng didn't respond, she knew he was displeased with her actions today. Cheng Muyan was accustomed to playing the victim and immediately offered an apology. "Xicheng, I know I shouldn't have gone to find Tingwan today. But I really didn't mean to; I was just so heartbroken for Tangtang."