Stepdaughter of a wealthy family? The little darling of a Beijing tycoon

"Would you be willing to calm down and listen to the long-buried past between him and me?" Bai Meng's figure swayed slightly, her eyes filled with endless grievances and piercing resentment. The bitterness that had been accumulating in her heart for years had finally found someone she could confide in.

Ai Chi Xiaolongbao's heart skipped a beat. With a woman's keen intuition, she vaguely sensed that the truth the female ghost was about to reveal would surely contain a secret that would overturn all her understanding. If she missed it today, she would most likely regret it for the rest of her life, or even fall into an abyss from which she could not escape.

She took a deep breath, clenched her fists to bolster her courage, looked at Bai Meng with a determined gaze, and nodded solemnly: "I'm willing to listen. I want to know the whole story, the complete cause and effect. I must find out the whole truth."

The chat room was already tense, with messages flooding the screen.

[Here it comes, the main event is about to begin! Get ready for the scumbag's true colors to be completely exposed!]

The female lead did the right thing; she had to hear the whole story, otherwise, marrying into the family without understanding the situation would ruin her life!

[Miss Bai Meng is stuck in the mortal realm with such a huge grievance; she must have been terribly wronged by that Xiao Jun!]

Shen Jingshu sat quietly to the side, her fingertips lightly twirling as she secretly set up a soul-protecting barrier. This barrier protected Ai Chi Xiaolongbao from the vengeful spirits and resentment, and also stabilized Bai Meng's soul, making it easier for her to slowly recount the old stories.

Bai Meng's figure hovered faintly in the corner, her body enveloped in a faint white light and a lingering sense of grievance and resentment. In a slow and low voice, she recounted the love affair that had buried her life, bit by bit.

Xiaojun and I were classmates at the same university, and we were each other's first love. We lived carefree lives on campus, free from the hardships of daily life. We weathered four innocent years together, and those days were the happiest time of my life. But the moment graduation came, our ivory tower dreams shattered instantly. The ensuing job hunting, renting an apartment, and daily expenses tore our pure relationship to shreds.

I was lucky enough to receive a job offer from a reputable company after graduation, and I started working early. Xiao Jun, on the other hand, was unrealistic and overconfident. He looked down on low-paying entry-level jobs, while the large companies he admired rejected him because of his lack of experience and qualifications, leading to repeated interview failures. After several setbacks, he gave up entirely, spending his days and nights playing video games in his rented room, refusing to step outside to look for work.

The living expenses of the house—rent, utilities, and meals—all fell on my shoulders as a newcomer to the workforce. My starting salary was meager, and I had to be very careful with my money every month, barely making ends meet and daring not to splurge at all.

Every day, I drag myself home exhausted from working overtime, only to be greeted by a messy house, takeout containers and cigarette butts scattered all over the floor, while he wears headphones, puffing away, completely absorbed in his game, not even bothering to offer a word of concern.

Under the daily pressure, arguments became our daily routine. I tried my best to persuade him to cheer up, find a stable job, and share the burden of life together; but he stubbornly believed that I had become arrogant because I was making money, and that I was starting to look down on him for being unsuccessful, and that I looked down on him from the bottom of my heart. The conflicts deepened, the arguments became more and more frequent, and in the end, we couldn't even be bothered to speak, falling into a long and cold cold war.

On the day of the incident, I was working overtime until late at night. It was pouring rain outside, and I stood by the roadside for more than half an hour, but I still couldn't get a ride-hailing car. A male colleague who was also working overtime was a local, and he kindly offered to drive me back to my rented apartment since it was on his way.

My initial instinct was to refuse, thinking that I had a boyfriend at home and should avoid suspicion. However, it was really difficult to get a taxi on a rainy night, and my whole body was numb from the cold wind. After hesitating several times, I finally nodded and agreed.

That colleague came from a wealthy family and was very humble. He only chatted about trivial work matters during the ride, without saying or doing anything inappropriate. But this seemingly insignificant ride became the trigger for Xiao Jun to vent his inferiority complex and suspicions, and it also became the beginning of what led to my death.

Bai Meng politely thanked and said goodbye to her colleagues. Holding her rain-soaked umbrella, she hurried upstairs. The moment she pushed open the door to her rented room, a suffocating and bone-chilling cold rushed towards her.

Xiao Jun sat motionless on the sofa, his face clouded with rage, his eyes swirling with a twisted, vicious glint of anger. He stared intently at her as she bent down to change her shoes in the entryway. Before she could catch her breath, he demanded sharply, "Who was that man who drove you home just now? Confess! Did you cheat on me and have an affair?"

The days of working overtime had exhausted Bai Meng. She had been soaked in the cold rain, and her head was dizzy and throbbing. She really didn't have the energy to deal with his unfounded suspicions. Her tone was tired and perfunctory: "It's just a colleague from the company who was working overtime with me. It was raining heavily outside and I couldn't get a taxi. He kindly gave me a ride because he was going the same way. Don't overthink it."

"Colleague? On the way?" Xiao Jun sneered, abruptly standing up from the sofa. His tone was full of sour, self-deprecating sarcasm and twisted speculation. "I saw it all clearly from upstairs. The way you smiled at him, all fawning over him, was it because he comes from a wealthy family, better off than a loser like me who can't find a job, that you looked down on me from the bottom of your heart and couldn't wait to climb up the social ladder and dump me?"

Bai Meng felt utterly absurd. She tried to explain repeatedly, but he wouldn't listen to a word. Too tired to argue any further, she waved her hand wearily, "Think whatever you want. I'm too tired. I'm dizzy from being caught in the rain. I'm going to take a hot shower and rest. I have to go to work early tomorrow morning."

Her indifference, her apparent lack of desire to get involved, was interpreted by Xiao Jun, whose emotions were already on the verge of spiraling out of control, as a guilty conscience and acquiescence. Anger instantly consumed his remaining rationality, and he strode after Bai Meng, following her into the bedroom.

Before Bai Meng could react, he shoved her violently onto the bed. The next second, a thick hand gripped her neck tightly with such force that it almost crushed her bones.

"You shameless woman! You just think I'm useless and cheated on me behind my back! I'm going to teach you a lesson today!"

As the curses subsided, fists the size of sandbags rained down on Bai Meng's cheeks, chest, and limbs.

Bai Meng never dreamed that her first love, whom she had been in love with for several years, would suddenly turn on her with fists and feet. She struggled desperately to break free, but the difference in physical strength between men and women was too great. She was pinned down on the bed by him and had nowhere to escape. She could only beg for mercy with a sob in her voice, pleading with him to show mercy.

But by then, Xiao Jun was completely overwhelmed by jealousy, inferiority and anger. His mind kept replaying the long-standing arguments and conflicts between the two of them, as well as the heart-wrenching scene downstairs on a rainy night. All the negative emotions that had been building up for so long exploded. He vented his resentment about his unsuccessful life and his frustration at not achieving anything on Bai Meng, who was powerless to resist.