After their confessions were rejected, they regretted it for the rest of their lives.

Chapter 91 Dreams and Freedom (First Update)

Closing the notebook, Ke Yuexuan sat up from the bed like a puppet, mechanically moving her body to sit on the edge of the bed. The dim environment cast a shadow over the girl's face, making it impossible to see her expression.

Beneath her black gauze nightgown, her fair legs were slightly pressed together, her bare feet resting on the plush carpet that Ke Yueci had deliberately laid out. Her soft, long hair cascaded casually over her snow-white chest and shoulders, her breasts rising and falling slightly, and her faint breathing was exceptionally clear in the quiet room. "What time is it—"

Her murmurs were devoid of emotion, and no one responded.

For this girl, the concept of time seemed to have long since become blurred. Every night she would wake up once at a set time, but only for a few minutes. Then, she would stare blankly at the photo on her bedside table, or hug the "pillow" on the bed, using self-deceptive fantasies to make her constantly sinking spirit and repressed heart feel a little better. She was sinking lower and lower—

Every time Ke Yuexuan regained consciousness, she could feel her mental state plummeting instantly, as if it would never reach its bottom.

But one day, it will be smashed to pieces.

Beyond redemption.

She didn't know whether, after falling to the bottom, she would suffer a mental breakdown, allowing "Ke Yueci" to completely replace her, or whether she would be unable to hold on and end the long nightmare while still carrying the shell of "Ke Yueci"...

The best outcome would be for her to become like Ke Yueci, managing everything for Duan Rong flawlessly.

But Ke Yueci is another girl...

A jumble of emotions gradually welled up inside me.

Ke Yuexuan should close her eyes again and wait until she wakes up the next day to let Ke Yueci continue to take over everything. This would delay the process of her mental breakdown.

The girl didn't do that. The room was equipped with smart temperature control, which would keep the bedroom at a comfortable temperature. Even so, the girl sitting on the bed was still shivering. Her body was cold, but her palms were sweating.

Ke Yuexuan picked up the photo album from the bedside table and looked at the man in the photo, as if it had all happened yesterday.

Her delicate toes curled tightly as she stepped onto the plush carpet, her pink lips parted slightly, and her breathing gradually became erratic.

Ke Yuexuan felt a little dazed, then as if she had been choked, her body stiffening. She put down the photo frame, took a medicine bottle from the bedside drawer, opened it, and the pills rolled out instantly, some even sliding down the girl's fair skin to the floor. Without water, she forced herself to swallow the pills—

A few minutes later, the girl's breathing gradually stabilized, but the feeling of weakness in her body remained. She had no intention of getting up, but instead lay back down on the bed, hugging the pillow that Duan Rong had woven by hand to her tightly. She curled up in the blankets, and her soft sobs, intermittent and faint, became the only sound in the room.

It seems she should never have had any expectations of her own happiness—

So much so that now, the excruciating pain overwhelms her.

A canary that is raised in a cage from birth, even if it is later released, can only enjoy the "freedom" outside by relying on someone else's hands.

If a canary leaves the person it depends on, it will be unable to spread its wings and will only fall to the ground and be swallowed by the cold mud.

Because of the special status of her parents' direct lineage, Ke Yuexuan was like a canary carefully protected by her family from birth. At that time, the Ke family had not yet become the behemoth it is today. However, due to the inherent evils of capitalism, it would use all available resources to climb to the top.

After Ke Yuexuan turned 16, she became a tool for the Ke family to show off their status.

Etiquette, manners, interpersonal skills, and excellent grades are all things that Ke Yuexuan must do. The girl likes banquets because after the banquet, the adults in the family will discuss some business, and she will not be taken away by the housekeeper early, and will have some relatively free time. Although there will be conversations from peers during this time, Ke Yuexuan will cleverly avoid them and find a quiet place in the banquet hall, such as the small garden in the banquet courtyard, or some less crowded rooms.

Until one day, in a garden after a banquet, "Young Lady Ke, hello."

This was the first thing Duan Rong said to her.

The gentle tone and casual smile led Ke Yuexuan to categorize the other person as a second-generation member of some family. Although she was somewhat annoyed that her free time had been disturbed, she returned the smile out of politeness. Just as she was thinking about finding an excuse to leave, the other person spoke again: "I want to discuss a collaboration with you."

"?"

doubt.

This was Ke Yuexuan's first reaction. She thought she had misheard. After all, many guys like him would say something like "I want to be friends with you" after greeting someone. Ke Yuexuan could also give a formulaic reply to such a question, politely declining the conversation.

"If it's a business collaboration, sir, you can find my uncle and grandfather on the second floor of the banquet hall—"

You may have misunderstood.

The handsome man in the black suit shook his head and explained softly, "I have no intention of cooperating with the Ke family. My only target for cooperation is Ke Yuexuan."

After speaking, the girl received a business card from the other party, which read "Duan Rong" followed by the title of director at a film company.

Looking at this information, a sense of absurd and bizarre coincidence arose spontaneously.

Ke Yuexuan was stunned. She didn't know how the other party knew she liked movies, or why they wanted to collaborate with her on this. Even so, Ke Yuexuan still politely declined, saying, "My family is not involved in the film industry. If you are planning to raise investment, I cannot make that decision."

"No, what I want are qualified actors who can go on stage and perform in movies."

Ke Yuexuan fell silent. Perhaps she could sense the other person's sincerity, or perhaps something deep within her heart had been touched. A hint of hesitation appeared on her pretty face, but she quickly suppressed it due to her surroundings. Ke Yuexuan forced a smile and said, "I'm sorry—because of my family, I can't—make such a choice."

"So, Miss Ke, you mean if the family allows it, then that's fine?"

"No...that's not how it is, and Mr. Duan, what you're saying is very strange to me..."

"We will meet again."

""

Duan Rong's last words were met with no response from the other party; after nodding, the other party turned and left.

This was our first meeting.

This brief conversation, although it touched a long-suppressed emotion in Ke Yuexuan's heart, was ultimately not enough to ignite her innate desire for freedom. In the following week, the girl did not see Duan Rong again and seemed to gradually forget about the incident, categorizing it as some kind of special "training".

Ten days later, the girl, who was practicing piano at home under the supervision of a private tutor, was suddenly summoned by her own uncle.

Do you know a man named Duan Rong?

"Duan Rong?"

Seeing the other person's puzzled face, Ke Yuexuan was slightly taken aback, and the piano music stopped abruptly.

"I met him once before at a banquet."

"It's like a toad trying to eat swan meat."

"?"

Just as Ke Yuexuan was wondering about this, her uncle, who was the heir of the family, called her out without warning, saying that he needed her to come out and discuss a business deal.

The girl had no power to refuse. It was her first time in the company's conference room. Duan Rong, dressed formally, sat in the main seat without any hesitation, still with the same gentle smile and calm tone as when they first met: "Just as I said last time, we meet again."

"Forehead..."

For a moment, Ke Yuexuan felt as if she had forgotten all the responses she had learned before, and she almost couldn't speak. It wasn't until her uncle behind her smoothed things over and the butler in charge of reception gently tapped her back that the girl's blank expression returned to her gentle smile.

Just as she was about to speak, Duan Rong turned to the girl's back and said with a smug tone, "I only want to talk to Miss Ke now, and then I would like Mr. Ke to ask that anyone unrelated to this matter, including Mr. Ke himself, to leave. Thank you."

'

'

This was the first time Ke Yuexuan had heard someone say such a thing to her uncle. If it were a transaction, she should be the one who shouldn't have been left behind.

As he watched his uncle leave, a hint of helpless disgust flashed across his face. This man had actually made his uncle, who was always assertive in business negotiations, temporarily back down.

This made the girl curious about the man in front of her.

"Excuse me..."

"Now that we're meeting, besides being a director, I should also be one of the shareholders of your company, though not a very big one."

"?"

"However, that's not important. I'm planning to invest in a film studio recently. If you, Ms. Ke, are willing to become an actress, I can give you a share of the shares."

Duan Rong spoke very quickly; this didn't seem like a business meeting at all, but rather...

illustrate?

"Shares...?"

In Ke Yuexuan's memory, these kinds of people are basically the type who cling to their interests and won't let go. Even a fraction of a percent of the shares in a small company is enough to cause family members to turn against each other. Duan Rong's words left this girl, who knew the dangers of the adult world, with no explanation, but the contract was right in front of her.

The other party intended to make a deal with her, a figurehead who had no say in the family.

Why?

"Because I like movies just like you..."

66

'

This special negotiation was a turning point in Ke Yuexuan's life. The two talked for quite a while. Later, the girl's grandfather's intrusion made Duan Rong restrain his originally gentle aura, and the transaction with her turned into a business negotiation that Ke Yuexuan was familiar with.

Later, she learned from her family that Duan Rong had invested in a project under the Ke family, and then used reverse mergers and acquisitions and financing to increase the project's profits, becoming the major shareholder of the project. Subsequently, he reverse-merged into the group, swapping shares with some of the Ke family group's minority shareholders, and became a registered shareholder of the group.

Ke Yuexuan didn't understand what her family was saying about leverage or short selling. She only knew that her uncle said, "Since that kid is so stupid, just take the shares that were given to the family for free, and then transfer them back home later..."

Ke Yuexuan didn't do that. Instead, for reasons unknown, she told Duan Rong about her family situation, saying, "You'd better take back this contract..."

"Hahaha----"

What he received in return was the man's barely suppressed laughter. He tapped the table and said, "Very good. It seems that Miss Ke does have a conscience after all."

"This is clearly meant to be malicious, so why are you laughing?"

"So you would do that?"

Duan Rong's question left Ke Yuexuan stunned, her delicate fingers gripping the contract in her hand until they turned slightly white.

She was silent.

Duan Rong's voice echoed in the girl's mind.

"This should be the only chance in your life to pursue your dreams and freedom."

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