1 Break Off the Engagement

Nanyang was always cloudy and drizzly for days on end in May.

The rain stopped at dusk. Swaddled in a veil of white mist, even the wild roses growing in front of the hotel were dampened and downcast.

Li Qiao leaned against the wall of the long corridor at the back garden outside of the private dining hall. With a flash of impatience in her eyes, she looked at the handsome man in front of her, who was jabbering on and on.

"So, do you understand what I mean? I'm not going to like you ever, and I'll never marry you. No matter how we got engaged in the first place, I think you should drop the idea of marrying me as soon as possible."

The man who was speaking was Shang Lu. He was alleged to be a prestigious doctor.

Li Qiao didn't know much about him. Their only connection was that their marriage had been arranged before they were born.

It was quite a stale story!

Li Qiao was tired from standing. She stretched her ankle and sighed in a calm and quiet voice, "Yes, I understand."

"Besides, you shouldn't expect that... Ugh?" Shang Lu, who was still talking incessantly, was caught off guard. He hadn't expected Li Qiao to agree so readily.

A fine, misty rain started pitter-pattering again on the palm trees outside of the long corridor.

The soft and pleasant sound broke Shang Lu out of his daze. Coming back to his senses, he realized that she'd already left.

He looked around and only saw the dark green hem of her dress disappear around the corner.

...

Li Qiao strolled down the long corridor and soon arrived at a glass-enclosed conservatory that was perfect for watching the rain.

The VIP rest area on the right side was completely empty.

Li Qiao sat down and neatly tucked her dress around her knees. She stared at the gloomy sky yet felt exceptionally happy.

Today had been her first formal meeting with Shang Lu. They'd been tied together for years by child betrothal and had never played together in childhood.

The engagement was strange and mysterious from what she could see. Otherwise, her family wouldn't be obsessively secretive about it.

Therefore, breaking off the engagement now could save her a lot of trouble in the future. It was probably for the best.

Just when Li Qiao had lost herself in thought, she vaguely heard a call for help as the sound of the rain faded away.

"Help... me... "

It wasn't a hallucination!

The voice was soft and barely audible.

It sounded like a man was struggling to plead for help while being grabbed by the throat.

Li Qiao sat up straight in the high back sofa and listened carefully for a few seconds before standing up and walking toward the outdoor botanic garden not far away from the conservatory.

Dusk deepened into darkness. The rain quietly came down in thin sheets from the murky sky.

Li Qiao followed the indistinct cries for help and walked through various types of plants. At the end of the path, she gently pushed aside a palm leaf and saw a surprising scene.

Inside of an octagonal pavilion deep inside the green garden, a self-possessed man was sitting in front of a stone table.

In Li Qiao's twenty years of life, she'd never seen a man who could look so dashing and elegant in black.

The man wore a black shirt, a pair of black dress pants, and spotless leather shoes. His forearms were pressed against the stone table, his sleeves rolled up. The unbuttoned shirt collar made him seem wild and untamed.

Li Qiao could feel his imposing presence in the narrow space they were in.

"Master Yan, I know I was wrong. Please... save me..."

Li Qiao was startled by another cry for help. She turned her eyes and saw a feeble, middle-aged man lying prostrate on the wet and slippery brick floor. His face was contorted in agony.

Li Qiao realized that she'd stumbled into a place she shouldn't be at.

At that moment, the man who was called Master Yan slowly raised his hand and smoothed the wrinkles on his sleeves. His deep and soothing voice rang out, "It looks like you forgot the rules in Nanyang!"