Volume One, Chapter Five: Destruction

Lu Wenzhou reacted swiftly. He turned his head to avoid her slap, yet the sharp prong of the diamond ring on her middle finger still left a faint red mark on his cheek. His black eyes, sharpened by clarity of mind, grew colder and colder.

Jiang Wan had already pulled away from him, putting distance between them. Her chest heaved violently with anger, and she wiped her lips with the back of her hand, as if with enough force she could erase the traces of his kiss.

“Shameless!”

After casting an angry glare at Lu Wenzhou, Jiang Wan spat out two words of contempt and left the private room without looking back.

She strode toward the elevator. In her haste, she rounded a corner and collided with a woman.

Just as Jiang Wan was about to apologize, a familiar voice slipped into her ear.

“Jiang Wan?”

The woman before her was about her age, clad in a Chanel haute couture suit. Her shoulder-length black hair was cut cleanly, her features chill and refined, marked by those signature fox-like eyes that now curved gently as she smiled at Jiang Wan.

It was Lin Zhi, Jiali Ji’s stepdaughter.

“You’re back in the country?” Jiang Wan blurted out.

After her mother married her father, Lin Zhi, like Jiang Wan, had chosen to study abroad. The difference was that Lin Zhi had returned two years ago, having dropped out. She was now pursuing graduate studies.

“Yes, I graduated early and came back,” Lin Zhi answered with a polite smile. “I wanted to attend your wedding, and—”

“My boyfriend’s here, I’m eager to see him.”

Her answer made Jiang Wan’s heart skip a beat.

Since becoming “stepsisters,” their meetings had been few and far between. Unlike Jiang Wan’s resistance toward her mother, Lin Zhi had no objections to her father’s remarriage, even though her own mother had passed away less than half a year before. They maintained a distant, courteous relationship, never interfering in each other’s affairs, never sharing personal matters—barely acquaintances.

“What about you, what brings you here?” Lin Zhi’s question snapped Jiang Wan’s thoughts back. Her fingers unconsciously curled.

“Meeting a client,” Jiang Wan replied without hesitation.

She dared not speak the truth, fearing Lin Zhi might discover Gu Huaixu’s reckless behavior. Fortunately, Lin Zhi didn’t probe. She nodded and, by mutual unspoken agreement, they parted ways, each walking away in opposite directions.

But Jiang Wan had only gone a few steps before she stopped, anxiety welling up as she turned to look—

Lin Zhi walked purposefully, heading straight for the private room Jiang Wan had just left.

Jiang Wan froze, her fear dissolving in an instant, leaving only emptiness—as if she stood in a vast, barren desert, endless and devoid of life.

Lin Zhi’s boyfriend was Lu Wenzhou?

*

The next day. As planned, Jiang Wan and Gu Huaixu arrived at the dress studio for the final wedding gown fitting and last-minute adjustments. Guided by the staff, they entered the VIP fitting room.

Jiang Wan stood atop a circular lacquered platform, changing into her dress. The wedding gown, chosen by Gu Huaixu, was extravagantly designed with a grand sweeping train and adorned with tens of thousands of fine crystals.

“Miss Jiang has such a wonderful figure. You’ve slimmed down so much for the wedding!” one staff member gushed as she helped Jiang Wan into the gown. “But your bust hasn’t shrunk at all, in fact, it’s grown. Is there some secret?”

Jiang Wan smiled but said nothing.

Another staff member chimed in from a different angle, continuing the praise. “You two must have such a good relationship. This gown’s craftsmanship is so intricate, all hand-sewn—it took over half a year—”

Her words were interrupted by Gu Huaixu’s voice from outside, speaking into his phone.

“What’s wrong with getting married after three months of dating?”

“If you’d met my darling, you’d want to marry her the very next day.”

“She’s a super gorgeous knockout! Gentle, considerate, and sensible—and the key is, she’s a virgin!”

“I know, I know, I’ll definitely come to the bachelor party tonight.”

His voice faded as his footsteps receded.

The air in the fitting room seemed to be sucked away with him. The staff’s smiles froze, their unfinished sentences vanished. They stood awkwardly, sweating nervously.

But Jiang Wan remained calm. She lowered her eyes with a quiet smile and brushed the skirt of her gown.

“You can all go now. I’d like to be alone for a bit.”

The staff responded in unison, rushing out, exchanging glances of blame and regret as they left.

Jiang Wan caught their reactions in her peripheral vision.

Once they were gone, she stood alone before the mirror, lifting her gaze to the image of herself in the wedding dress.

The woman in the mirror was stunning—her features, already extraordinary, became breathtaking with a touch of makeup, her figure proud and alluring. All innate advantages.

It didn’t matter for whom Gu Huaixu had prepared this dress.

What mattered was that she could use it to reclaim the Jiang family.

Her expression became resolute.

At that moment, the fitting room door was opened from the outside.

As the lock clicked shut, a tall figure entered her field of vision.

Jiang Wan instantly concealed the sharpness in her eyes, letting them glisten with gentle light as she softly spoke,

“Does it look good?”

Before she could turn and show herself, the reflection in the mirror shocked her—her eyes widened.

The visitor was not who she had expected.

Jiang Wan forgot to breathe, her heart leaping in her chest.

“Does it look good?” Lu Wenzhou’s lips curled slightly, his tone mocking and dangerous.

Jiang Wan’s legs went weak; her hands clenched nervously. “Why is it you…”

“You’re a virgin?”

The man in the mirror’s black eyes were sharp, staring at her with displeasure.

“How come I didn’t know?”

He spoke as he climbed the steps, pulling up the curtain behind him.

The once spacious room was now cut off by the floor-length fabric, creating a confined, private space—like a cage.

He trapped Jiang Wan inside.

Anger radiated from him, his powerful presence pressing down on her like an invisible net.

“This is how you tricked him into marrying you?” Lu Wenzhou’s voice was deep; every word carried an innate authority.

He kicked aside the heavy train behind her, advancing step by step, finally standing behind Jiang Wan atop the platform.

Their eyes met in the mirror.

Jiang Wan composed herself, her gaze regaining its edge.

“I didn’t trick him,” she replied coolly.

Her unflinching demeanor made the man’s face suddenly darken.

He seemed to realize something, his voice dropping to a terrifying growl.

“You had surgery?”

His displeasure was as if he meant to tear her apart.

Jiang Wan’s silence answered him, provoking him further.

She watched his eyes change.

Almost simultaneously, the laces on her back were loosened.

In the instant he yanked the dress down, Jiang Wan was shocked.

She scrambled to catch the slipping gown, but couldn’t match his destructive speed.

“Lu—”

She panicked, but the syllable stuck in her throat.

Along with it, bright red droplets of blood fell onto the wedding dress at her feet.