Late at night, in the enthralling suite of a hotel.
In the darkness, the girl fixes a pair of bewildered eyes. The formerly clear pupils seem to be clouded with haze. Relying solely on instinct, her whole body engulfed in fervent heat, she yearns for the relief granted by chilled comfort.
"Stop it! Don't play with fire!"
"You asked for this yourself!"
"Don't you dare regret it!"
In the midst of her haziness, she seemed to hear such a voice. But his voice was such that it could sink her will further, driving her to throw herself recklessly at the lifeline in front of her, wishing only to move closer to the coldness, to relieve the burning sensation in her body...
For a moment, she felt as if her soul had been whisked away. Her soft voice cried out in protest, but the man ignored her resistance. In the darkness, a pair of languishing ink-colored eyes shimmered with a gloomy afterglow. A strong arm encircled her whole body, his towering figure pressing down on her, invoking a sense of sinking. Despite not wanting it and tearfully protesting, her body seemed to contradict her heart's desires. Her consciousness gradually blurred and succumbed.
However, the night was ever so long.
……
"Miss Li, Miss Li, can you hear me?"
It seemed that someone was calling her. Li Taoxin suddenly jolted from her reminiscing. It was mid-April, just after the Grain Rain, and a heavy downpour was underway, creating a chilly ambiance. Deep in thought, Li Taoxin was startled to find herself breaking out in cold sweat. Responding after a while, she was notified by the security guard that a parent had come to pick up their child.
"Right, Gu Zi is one of our students, I'll go fetch him immediately."
After informing the homeroom teacher, she called for Gu Zi, gave him a once-over, slung his backpack on him and led him to the main hall on the first floor.
The rain was pouring outside, but as they walked out, it lessened to a steady drizzle.
Once they approached the pick-up spot, she noticed an expensive Rolls-Royce parked outside. The driver disembarked, holding an umbrella. As he opened the rear door of the car, extending the umbrella, Taoxin's eyes met with a pair of long slender legs. Trailing upwards, they disappeared under a svelte form encapsulated by a trim suit - an evident result of regular exercise. A strikingly handsome face followed, possessing breath-taking beauty that could make any woman scream. Regardless of how you described him, it seemed words would fall short when used to describe this man.
The driver followed behind him, and as he approached them head-on, Li Taohsin was slightly surprised. Could this be Gu Zitou's parents?
Usually, it was the aunt or the driver who picked up and dropped off Gu Zitou. Li Taohsin knew the driver, but this man—could he be the mythical father?
No wonder Gu Zitou, this little devil, at such a young age, possesses an attractive young face that both gods and men despise. What will happen when he grows up?
However, these two didn't look very much alike.
"Daddy!"
Gu Zitou, the little devil, had already broken free from Li Taohsin's hand and rushed to the man. Those large inky eyes were very lively, and his gaze at his father was full of excitement and joy.
It seems that children will be children. When they see their father, they are no different from their peers, unlike the mature little ones that can be particularly headache-inducing at times!
Gu Yuanhang picked up his son, looked at Li Taohsin with his obsidian-like eyes, eyes that seemed like they could suck people in, deep and filled with a kind of—
Li Taohsin didn't know how to describe this sensation. It’s as if she had many eyes on her back, giving her a prickly feeling, an inescapable sense of panic, which made her slightly flustered, and yet they seemed to have deeper implications…
Gu Yuanhang only looked at her for a few seconds, then carried his son back to the car.
By then, the rain had stopped.
The driver came over, greeted Li Taohsin, and signed his name on the leave form.
"Teacher Li, our boss had to pick up the kid due to some issue today. Apologies for troubling you to come down, see you again."
Startled by the look from the man earlier, Li Taohsin felt a bit strange. However, she quickly calmed down, exchanged pleasantries with the driver, hurried back to the class, afraid to be looked at again by that man.
Both Gu Zitou's dad and he himself exhibited an air of mystery that could be terrifying. Truly, they were like father, like son.
On her way back to the classroom, Tao Xin recalled the recent month, the night that had frequently appeared in her dreams.
She woke up that morning to find herself in an unfamiliar room, bereft of clothes, and traces of blood...
Her eyes were red as she hurriedly dressed to escape that nightmarish room. She attempted to rationalize the situation; she had been bitten by a dog, it was nothing serious. In today's society, who maintains innocence? Losing one's first time was common around the ages of seventeen or eighteen. There was no need for her to fuss over it.
Nobody would know about this....
And she really didn't need to dwell on it either. However, for some reason, that blurred memory from that night kept appearing in her dreams, making her break into cold sweats in the middle of the night.
Little did she know that she was the illegitimate daughter recognized by Li Fanxing, who had held a banquet to announce her as Li’s second Miss. She did not know who had handed her a glass of wine, but something in it made her feel drowsy. Even less did she know who had led her into a room.
She vaguely remembered stumbling into another room, but for some reason, that incident still happened...
...
Inside the Rolls-Royce.
Gu Yuanhang, dressed in a tailored, well-fitted suit, exuded magnificence. His chest muscles contrasted against his white shirt, especially with the top button unclasped revealing an intriguing inverted triangle. Merely sitting there, he was enough to make a great number of ladies swoon.
His right leg crossed over his left, emitting a regally nonchalant air. Next to him was a stack of documents, with the one he was reading resting on his lap. He held a custom-made pen in his slender and fair hand, looking particularly diligent while working.
When Gu Zitao glanced over, he saw his father's strict and serious demeanor. Being five years old, he could recognize quite a few words. He wanted to take a closer look, but his father turned to him.
His gaze was sharp and disapproving.
Realizing that his father was not pleased, Gu Zitao quickly sat properly, blinking innocently, and asked in his baby voice, "Daddy, where are we going?"
"We're going to grandma and grandpa's house."
Gu Zitao's expression immediately fell, carrying a touch of melancholy beyond his age. However, it was fleeting, and he quickly reverted to his well-behaved demeanor.
