Night fell, and torrential rain poured down.
At the Kyoto Marriott International Hotel, a figure leaped from the second floor.
Wen Xuyu ran wildly barefoot through the rainy night. Her once-fair feet were covered in bloody gashes, and a piercing pain radiated from her ankles, but she paid it no mind.
Rainwater lashed across her face, blurring her vision. Her pristine white wedding dress was already soaked through, clinging tightly to her body to outline her graceful curves, its trailing hem stained black by the mud.
The sky was a dull gray, and sharp cracks of thunder periodically burst across the night sky.
Wen Xuyu did not know how long she had been running; she only felt as though her legs were filled with lead, and every breath tasted of damp rain and the stench of blood.
The roar of a car engine sounded from behind, and dazzling headlights pierced through the curtain of rain, drawing closer and closer...
Wen Xuyu's heart felt as though it might burst through her chest. She knew she could not stop; once caught, a fate far more tragic than death awaited her.
"Stop right there!"
"Miss Wen, stop running!"
The shouts behind her drew closer and closer.
Gathering her last ounce of strength, Wen Xuyu ducked into a narrow alley and hid behind a row of abandoned trash cans. She curled her legs inward, hugging herself tightly, her eyes filled with despair.
When she was twenty-one, the Wen Family found her and insisted she acknowledge her ancestry, but she steadfastly refused.
Later, the Wen Family produced so-called surveillance evidence and confronted her adoptive parents in public.
Only then did she learn that back then, her adoptive parents had deliberately swapped the babies simply because their own biological child was born with a hereditary heart condition. By trading their child into a wealthy family, the chances of survival were much greater.
True to their wishes, she had ultimately returned to the Wen Family.
Yet she never expected that Wen Qianxue—the biological child of her adoptive parents—would continually hound her, making things difficult for her at every turn and causing everyone in the Wen Family to despise her.
Last month, the Wen Family's capital chain ran into trouble. The Lu Family of Kyoto suddenly came to propose a marriage alliance, offering investment as a condition in exchange for the hand of a Wen Family daughter.
Rumors said that the Third Young Master of the Lu Family was brutally tempered, ugly in appearance, and psychologically disturbed, and that his previous two fiancées had met grim ends.
Wen Qianxue had been in poor health since childhood and was deeply in love with her childhood sweetheart, Xu Zeyan. Naturally, the Wen Family was unwilling to let her suffer, so the burden fell upon Wen Xuyu.
She knew the Wen Family did not care whether she lived or died; they merely regarded her as a burden and a disgrace, eager to squeeze out her last drop of value.
Therefore, she had to run now—run away no matter what.
"Strange, where could she have gone?"
"Search in separate directions! If you don't find her, none of you need bother coming back!" A cold shout pierced through the rumble of thunder.
"Yes!" The well-trained footsteps scattered in all directions. Wen Xuyu held her breath, not daring to make the slightest sound.
She lowered her gaze to look at her ankle.
In just a short while, a massive swelling had risen there, and the slightest movement brought excruciating pain.
Another flurry of urgent footsteps echoed in her ears, as though those men had turned back.
"Eldest Young Master, we searched the whole area and didn't find anyone..."
"Are you sure you checked everywhere?"
"...Yes." The bodyguards lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.
Wen Qianyu's expression was grim. His fingers tightened their grip on his umbrella as he scanned his surroundings. His gaze paused imperceptibly when it reached the narrow alley.
It was the height of a sweltering summer, and insects crawled and flies buzzed around the piles of trash in the alley. The place was utterly filthy and reeked of a foul stench that made it impossible to set foot there.
He looked away, his brow furrowed deeply.
If they failed to find her, the Lu Family would inevitably fly into a rage—a consequence they could not possibly bear!
Their voices were right outside. Wen Xuyu did not dare to breathe, praying incessantly that they would leave quickly.
Whether her prayers worked or Wen Qianyu simply did not want to waste time, the man lifted his foot and prepared to leave.
Just then, the unexpected happened: a rat the size of a soda can darted rapidly past the hem of Wen Xuyu's dress.
"Ah—!" She could not help screaming, her eyes filled with terror.
As soon as she realized what she had done, she clapped her hands tightly over her mouth. It was over!
*
Wen Xuyu was dragged out of the alley by the bodyguards.
Wen Qianyu stood before her, his eyes filled with utter disgust and loathing.
As the Eldest Young Master of the Wen Family, he had always held a lofty position, and at this moment he viewed her as nothing more than an ant.
"So you were hiding here all along, Wen Xuyu!" With that, he raised his leather shoe and stepped down hard onto Wen Xuyu's hand, grinding his heel into it as if delivering a punishment.
"How dare you try to escape your wedding? Who gave you the gall?"
The world went dark before Wen Xuyu's eyes, and she collapsed flat onto the ground. Her phone slipped from her grasp.
It hurt—it hurt so much!
She curled her other hand into a fist and shoved desperately against his shoe, as though doing so might ease the pain even a fraction.
Anyone witnessing this scene would have taken them for mortal enemies rather than biological siblings.
Tears welled in Wen Xuyu's eyes, mingling with the rain as they streamed down her face. Her breathing was ragged, yet she remained fiercely stubborn.
The screen of the phone on the ground lit up with a notification, but Wen Xuyu lacked the strength to look.
Meanwhile, a bodyguard beside them answered a phone call and then murmured softly in Wen Qianyu's ear.
Wen Qianyu let out a derisive laugh. He lifted his foot and kicked her mud-stained hand as if kicking a piece of trash. "I wondered how you dared to run—turns out you had a backup plan after all. But virtue is a foot tall, while the devil is ten: Dad already made arrangements!"
Wen Xuyu's heart went cold; she knew her escape had failed.
"I... will never... marry... into the Lu Family...!"
Ignoring her words, Wen Qianyu turned to the bodyguard beside him.
"Throw her in the trunk. Don't dirty my car!"
"Understood, Eldest Young Master!"
Just as several bodyguards rudely hoisted the woman up from the ground, the dazzling headlights of a car cut straight toward them through the curtain of rain.
The bodyguards instinctively scrambled out of the way, showing not the slightest concern for the life or death of the woman on the ground.
Wen Xuyu's pupils contracted, her lovely eyes reflecting stark terror.
As the car bore down on her, she instinctively closed her eyes.
At that moment, she could not even move—how could she possibly dodge this colossal vehicle?
Yet, unexpectedly, the screech of sharp braking pierced the air. Opening her eyes again, Wen Xuyu saw that the car had stopped a mere meter in front of her.
How close—just a fraction more, and she would have lost her life...
In the blinding glare of the headlights, Lu Zhao stepped out from the driver's seat with an umbrella and opened the door. A tall figure emerged from the back.
He walked with absolute steadiness, stepping closer and closer to the disheveled and wretched woman on the ground.
Bian Xunzhou squatted down, his slender fingers hooking under the woman's chin and forcing her to look up.
Wen Xuyu raised her eyes and met a pair of deep, fathomless pupils.
He was a man of breathtakingly stunning appearance.
He possessed exceptionally fine features: a deep brow bone, a high-bridged nose, and a jawline as sharply chiseled as if carved by a knife. His peach-blossom eyes were as black as ink, the outer corners upturned slightly with a natural air of haughty detachment.
His thin lips pressed into a cold, stern line, and his pale, porcelain skin emitted a jade-like luster under the lights. He looked like a meticulously stroked ink wash painting—cold, aloof, and stunning.
Yet, strangely, his face was deathly pale, as though he had suffered some excruciating agony.
"Who are you?"
Wen Qianyu looked at the sudden appearance of the strange man, hostility flashing in his eyes.
He vaguely felt the man looked a bit familiar, though he could not place where he had seen him.
"You aren't even worthy of knowing my name!" A low, chilling voice cut through the rain, carrying an added layer of callous detachment.
Such an arrogant man!
A surge of secret resentment rose in Wen Qianyu. As a future heir of the Wen Family, no one had ever dared to speak to him like that.
Could this man's family background be even more formidable than his own?
Yet the scene that followed filled him with absolute panic.
Bian Xunzhou scooped the person on the ground right up into his arms and shoved her into the car.
His movements were slow and gentle, completely at odds with his arrogant and unbridled face.
Wen Xuyu had no energy left to investigate the man's identity; her most urgent priority was to escape the prison that was the Wen Family.
"Put her down! What right do you have to take Wen Xuyu away?"
Wen Qianyu tried to step forward and block them, but Lu Zhao intercepted him.
"What kind of piece of trash are you to try and block me?" Wen Qianyu shoved the man in front of him, and the bodyguards behind him stirred into motion.
"Lu Zhao. Two minutes. Deal with it."
There was that same unhurried tone again.
"Understood, sir!"
Lu Zhao loosened his wrists slightly, and the next second he grabbed Wen Qianyu's arm and threw him over his shoulder in a classic judo toss.
Immediately after, he swiftly dispatched the rest of the lackeys.
It was done with blinding speed—not even two minutes had passed.
Wen Qianyu's expensive suit was smeared with mud. He angrily shook off the bodyguards who rushed to help him up and glared with a gloomy expression at the departing car.
He would never let Wen Xuyu and this strange man get away with this!