Xu Sangwan sat on the express train heading to Shengshi, staring blankly out of the window at the pitch-black scenery. It must be going through the rural countryside since it took quite some time before a few shimmering lights could be spotted, indicating that the train was indeed moving.
She thought about her father who had remarried and hadn't so much as inquired after her for the past sixteen years, but suddenly decided to fetch her home in the dead of winter. Funnily enough, it struck her as both comical and sorrowful.
Her mother was the daughter of the Xu family in Shengshi. She was betrothed while she was still a child due to an arranged marriage, a laughably traditional custom seemingly highly valued in high society.
Now, she was actually required to go to Shengshi personally to break off the engagement she could otherwise disregard!
The one who came to fetch Xu Sangwan was Lu Guoqiang, an assistant to her father, Xu Zhenhua. Wearing a western suit and leather shoes, he stood in her small house of less than 40 pings, seemingly confident that she would adjust well. He bluntly said, "The Yuan family is a prestigious clan in Shengshi; especially their young master, who stands above the rest. Young Miss, you've been staying away too long and probably haven't seen much of the world. Won't it be embarrassing for you to marry into the Yuan family?"
Pretending to consider Xu Sangwan's feelings, Lu Guoqiang added, "The Yuan family is reputable. If you want to call off the wedding, just take the token with you."
Nice words indeed!
No matter how nicely spoken they were, it still felt like trying to cover one's ears while stealing a bell. If Mrs. Yuan were truly honorable, she should have invited Xu Sangwan to marry their young master, not to break off the engagement.
However, Xu Sangwan didn’t mind. She promptly packed some clothes and boarded this express train with Lu Guoqiang.
She hadn't met the young master of the Yuan family and wasn't about to tie her future to an agreement made by their elders. Moreover, with free love being advocated in the country now, why should she have to marry someone she didn't even know?
Xu Sangwan smirked a little. The reason she agreed to go to Shengshi was mostly for her late mother's company shares. That was what her mother had left for her - no way she'd let others get their hands on them!
She also had to settle her grievances with the Xu family once and for all!
She pulled out a semi-ring tied to a black string around her neck. It only looked like half a ring, resembling a cluster of wild, growing thorns just at its base. This ring seemed to be strangled, suppressing any hint of vitality, and looked strange and repressive.
It was said that Mrs. Yuan had this ring specially cut when the child betrothal was arranged.
The cut edge was finely polished so it wouldn't hurt the wearer. But because of this, the two halves of the ring could never be joined again, as if fate had decided this marriage would never consummate.
Lu Guoqiang lived next door, within the same train compartment. She was alone in the carriage. Xu Sangwan tucked the ring into her clothing and closed the door.
The train was slightly swaying as it moved. As she lay on the bed, she gradually started to feel sleepy.
Her eyelids were getting heavy, as if unable to bear the burden, seemed to close in the next moment...
Suddenly, she felt a slight chill coming in, and Xu Sangwan eyes jolted open. She remembered that she had closed the door. How did...?
Before she had time to ponder its cause, in the next instant, a figure quickly entered the carriage, closed the door, and his hand, carrying a chilly desolation and a faint smell of blood, covered her mouth.
"Quiet," His cold voice, deliberately suppressed, carried a mysterious magnetism. His tone was very dominant, not allowing Xu Sangwan to comment.
The man acted swiftly. Xu Sangwan only felt a black shadow sweep past her field of vision, before being pushed onto the bed. Then a large hand violently ripped open her shirt.
Coldness swept over her. Xu Sangwan shiver slightly. The hand that was covering her mouth was released, and he gravely commanded, "Scream!"
