"It hurts so much..."

Gu Ansheng struggled to open her eyes, only feeling a burst of dizziness. The unfamiliar yet familiar chandelier hanging above her head felt like she was still in a dream...

Her child!

Subconsciously, Gu Ansheng ran her hand over her flat belly. She suddenly noticed that her wedding ring, which had never been taken off, was no longer on her hand...

Before Gu Ansheng could take it in, there was a hurried knock on the door outside the room. Pulling herself together, she scrutinized every detail around her.

This wasn't at home, nor was it in a hospital. But she felt as if she had been here before...

Just as Gu Ansheng was lifting the sheets, she was instantly struck dumb by the sight in front of her. The smear of bright red on the bedsheet, the bruised purples mottling her body, and the soreness from her lower body, all hinted at what had happened on this bed the previous night!

Those memories meticulously alienated were playing scene by scene in her mind. She had just graduated high school back then and went to a hotel with her classmates to celebrate. However, she ended up getting inexplicably drunk, spent the night with a man, and even had photographs taken...

When the Gu family found out, they threw her out. For the rest of her life, she was ridiculed by others. Ultimately, she was even falsely accused for the crime committed by Gu Yueli and ended up spending two years in jail...

Because Gu Ansheng's mother had once saved Sheng Luyi, the old man Sheng brought her back to the Sheng family to take care of her, even ultimately resulting in Sheng Luyi marrying her. But in the end, the blissful life she anticipated did not come her way. What awaited her was a cold bridal chamber and utmost despair!

She could still clearly feel the pain of her heart being ripped apart. Her long-awaited child was murdered by the person she once loved and trusted the most!

Before the man left, his hateful and icy gaze pierced her heart like a sharp knife!

Stumbling out of bed, Gu Ansheng rushed into the bathroom. Looking at the familiar face in the mirror, her tears instantly fell. There was no fierce scar on her face, and except for some bruising, her wrists bore no knife scars from past suicide attempts...

She had truly been reborn!

"My child, you never got the chance to come into this world, maybe... it's not a bad thing... This world is too dirty!"

Sheng Luyi, a man linked to her past, a man as ephemeral as smoke and clouds, Gu Ansheng hoped she would never see this man that brought her despair again in this lifetime!

In this life, she vows to prevent the tragedy of her past from reoccurring!

"Knock, knock, knock—Ansheng, Ansheng, hurry up and open the door!"

Hearing this familiar voice, a chilling light flashed in Gu Ansheng's eyes. She would never forget the voice of this person. If it wasn't for her, she wouldn't have ended up in such a dire situation! If she were to open the door now, there would probably be over a dozen cameras on the other side, ready to capture her in this pathetic state!

Back in the day when she woke up, she didn't know what had happened, and was filled with fear. Hearing Xia Yunxing's voice was like grasping at straws, and yet... she wasn't there to save her, but to doom her!

Suppressing the resentment in her heart, Gu Ansheng neatly arranges the quilt on her bed. Her clothes are no longer wearable since they're torn, so she changes into a bathrobe instead. Letting her hair hang loose to cover the marks on her neck, she opens her room door.

Xia Yunxing's hand, poised to knock, gets captured mid-air by Gu Ansheng's firm grip.

"Yunxing, what brings you to my room this early?"

Gu Ansheng's lips curve upwards slightly, her dewy eyes still hazy with sleep as if she was abruptly woken from slumber.

"Ansheng, why... why did you open the door so late? You were drunk last night, I thought... I thought..." Xia Yunxing's words trail off as she continues to glance inside the room, looking for that man. Why isn't he the one opening the door? This isn't what they had agreed upon!

"What did you think? I wanted to ask you too, the drink you gave me was just juice. How come I got so drunk that I fainted? I'm still feeling dizzy! Also, who are they?"

"They... they... I..."

Xia Yunxing's face is a picture of panic. She had felt certain that the plan she'd concocted with Yueli was infallible: capture some scandalous photos of Gu Ansheng and the man after a night of debauchery. But how did this happen? The man isn't here, and Gu Ansheng is playing innocent, as though nothing happened... Could there be something wrong with their plan?

Hearing Gu Ansheng's words and seeing Xia Yunxing's panicked expressions, the journalists seemed to have sniffed out a juicy scoop and swiftly turned the cameras toward Xia Yunxing.

Gu Ansheng's lips raised into a faint smile, an idea brewing within her. If someone sought to plot against her, it's only fair she retaliated right?

"Yunxing, why haven't you told me why I got drunk? You know that I don't drink. Maybe you could accompany me to the hospital to get a check-up, I'm scared."

Gu Ansheng said, her petite hand clutching Xia Yunxing's hand, looking quite pitiful.

The reporters, being seasoned veterans, quickly realized that something was amiss. Someone must be scheming against her.

"Miss Xia, didn't you tell us that Miss Gu had a one-night stand? What’s going on?"

This question from one of the reporters left Gu Ansheng with widened eyes as though she was terrified, her body starting to tremble.

"Yunxing, what's going on? You..." Gu Ansheng started, her eyes welling up with tears, seemingly wronged to the core.

Xia Yunxing, at this point, was panicking as well. Things have deviated considerably from their initial plan. When did Gu Ansheng become so cunning?

"Bam——"

Gu Ansheng slammed the door shut, leaving a nervous Xia Yunxing outside and a group of reporters looking for a good show.

Ignoring Xia Yunxing and the reporters, Gu Ansheng quickly chose an outfit for herself and freshened up. Once certain that no one could discern any abnormalities, she waited for the people outside to leave before she headed straight back to the Gu family.

Returning, she knew it was time to settle some accounts.