Thunder cracks.

I kneel in the mud.

My knees ache sharply.

Before me is Xie Wang's car.

A black Maybach.

Like a dormant beast.

The window slides down halfway.

Revealing his cold profile.

And that hand playing with a lighter.

"Beg me."

The voice is soft.

But like an ice pick.

Piercing my eardrums.

I look up.

Rain blurs my eyes.

I can’t see his expression.

I only smell blood.

From my tightly clenched fists.

Nails digging into flesh.

It hurts.

But not a ten-thousandth as much as my heart.

Three days ago.

My stepmother sold me to that old pervert.

For fifty thousand.

To buy a wedding house for my brother.

I ran.

Covered in scars.

At a dead end.

I could only find Xie Wang.

The craziest "Yama" of the Beijing circle.

And the first love I once dumped.

"Xie Wang."

I call his name.

My voice is terribly hoarse.

"I want money."

"I want my life."

He laughs.

The smile doesn't reach his eyes.

The lighter clicks.

A flame leaps up.

Reflecting in his pitch-black pupils.

"On what grounds?"

He asks.

Nonchalantly.

Like asking about today's weather.

I take a deep breath.

Rainwater floods my nose.

Suffocation spreads.

"Because I'm pregnant with your child."

A lie.

Blurted out.

A gamble.

Gamble that he still remembers me.

Gamble that even if he hates me.

He won't let his bloodline wander outside.

The air freezes.

The sound of rain seems to stop.

Only the heartbeat remains.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Deafening.

Xie Wang narrows his eyes.

His gaze shifts instantly.

From playful.

To sinister.

To a kind of shivering feverishness.

He pushes the car door open.

Leather shoes step into a puddle.

Splashing mud.

Landing on my pale face.

He doesn't wipe it.

Instead, he reaches out.

Pinching my chin.

The force is immense.

The bone creaks.

"Lin Ting."

He speaks through gritted teeth.

"You're getting bolder and bolder."

I meet his gaze.

Don't dodge.

Don't retreat.

"Whether it’s true or not."

"You'll know once you test it."

I provoke him.

My whole body trembles.

But it’s a mask.

Inside, I’m scared to death.

But he doesn't know.

He stares at me.

For a long time.

Suddenly, he lets go.

I slide from the mud.

Pathetic and wretched.

He turns.

Sits back in the car.

"Get in."

Two words.

A death sentence.

And a lifeline.

I crawl up.

Pull the door open.

The car interior is warm.

Filled with the scent of cedar.

His usual fragrance.

Familiar.

Yet strange.

He doesn't look at me.

Just instructs the driver.

"To the private hospital."

"For an exam."

I lean against the seat back.

Close my eyes.

Tears finally fall.

Mixing with the rain.

Salty and bitter.

I know.

This hurdle.

I’ve passed it.

But I have completely fallen into his palm.

A man like Xie Wang.

Vindictive to the core.

Since I’ve provoked him.

Don't even think about getting out whole.

The hospital.

Fluorescent lights are blinding.

The doctor holds the report.

Looking strange.

Xie Wang stands aside.

His back is tall and straight.

Yet radiating a suppressed storm.

"How is it?"

He asks.

His voice taut.

The doctor pushes up his glasses.

"President Xie."

"Miss Lin is not pregnant."

"But..."

The doctor pauses.

"She is malnourished."

"Severely anemic."

"And..."

"There are many old bruises."

The air goes dead silent.

Xie Wang slowly turns.

His gaze falls on me.

In that moment.

I see hell.

He doesn't speak.

Just walks toward me, step by step.

Every step.

Feels like it’s treading on the tip of my heart.

He raises his hand.

I thought he was going to hit me.

I close my eyes.

The expected pain doesn't come.

Instead.

A cold, trembling embrace.

He presses me into his arms.

With such force it feels like he wants to crush me.

"Lin Ting."

He whispers in my ear.

His voice husky.

Carrying a vulnerability never seen before.

"You’d better pray."

"That you never think of escaping my hands in this lifetime."

I freeze.

Then.

A bitter smile curls on my lips.

So.

Hate to the extreme.

Is also possession.

I wrap my arms back around him.

Where he can't see.

I open my eyes.

My pupils are crystal clear.

The hunter and the prey.

Who captured whom.

Is yet to be known.

Love is not salvation.

It is sinking together.