Third Master, please restrain yourself. Our marriage is a marriage of convenience.

All of this was just a bet among these rich kids, a game of life.

All that tenderness and affection was just an act he deliberately put on for her.

They all stood from God's perspective, arrogantly watching her being manipulated by Zhou Yuanche little by little.

Only she, that fool, took it all seriously!

Just as Pei Jinhe was feeling utterly hopeless, her phone vibrated again.

Pei Jinhe took a while to calm down before glancing down at her phone.

It was a voice message from her adoptive mother, Wu Min.

As soon as I opened it, I heard a barrage of scolding coming from inside.

"Pei Jinhe! What do you think about what I told you? My Ji family has raised you for over twenty years, and now you won't even help me with this small favor? Have you lost all your conscience?!"

Wu Min was referring to the marriage alliance with the Shen family.

The Shen family is a top-tier wealthy family at the pinnacle of Kyoto, and the marriage partner is the current head of the Shen family—Shen Huaiyu, known as Third Master Shen.

Rumor has it that Master Shen is violent, arrogant, cold-blooded, and heartless. Five years ago, he almost beat his stepbrother to death. He is an absolute madman.

Besides these, what people find even more fascinating is the love life of this Master Shen.

Shen Huaiyu is twenty-six years old this year. Let alone a girlfriend, he doesn't even have a single woman he gets close to. All of his assistants are men, and some even suspect in private that he might be attracted to men.

Any family that truly loves its daughter would not marry her off to such a person, but the Shen family is a top-tier wealthy family in Kyoto, and there are plenty of people who want to climb the social ladder through this connection.

The Ji family was one of them. They were naturally reluctant to let their precious daughter Ji Yuyan marry such a disgraced man, but they really wanted to climb up to the Shen family, so they sent Pei Jinhe's photo over.

Among a group of socialites and heiresses, Old Mrs. Shen happened to choose Pei Jinhe.

In order to avoid being married off to the Shen family, she had a big fight with Wu Min and didn't dare to go home for two months.

The love she defended at all costs turned out to be a lie from the start.

How could the eldest son of the wealthy Zhou family possibly fall in love with an adopted daughter?

She was too foolish.

too naive.

A series of stimulating events made Pei Jinhe suddenly want to laugh.

The emotions pent up inside her were almost bursting out of her body; her chest heaved violently, and a tear fell onto her clothes, quickly spreading.

Pei Jinhe closed her eyes briefly, and when she opened them again, her eyes were filled with coldness.

She took a deep breath and replied: "I agree."

Wu Min, who was always sharp-tongued and sarcastic towards her, replied instantly: 【That's more like it. Mom knew you were a sensible and good child. This is Master Shen's contact information. You two should have a good talk. Be polite and don't make Master Shen angry.】

Pei Jinhe looked up at the sun, which had risen halfway up the sky without her noticing. Her pale face looked fragile and vulnerable in the sunlight.

She gave a self-deprecating smile.

Wu Min and Ji Zhenhua were both in good health, but for some reason, they had no children after three years of marriage. Following the advice of a master, they adopted a baby from an orphanage, who was named Pei Jinhe.

Sure enough, Wu Min became pregnant just one month after adopting Pei Jinhe. With her pregnancy, they wanted to send Pei Jinhe away, but the old lady of the Ji family disagreed.

Although Pei Jinhe stayed, she was considered superfluous in the Ji family. Only Old Madam Ji loved her. When she was fifteen, Old Madam Ji passed away, and Pei Jinhe lost the only person in the world who loved her.

Since then, the Ji family has treated her even worse, withholding her living expenses, forcing her to live in a dilapidated room, and forcing her to change her surname, forbidding her from using the surname Ji.

If it weren't for her good grades and being a key student at the school, she probably would have been forced to drop out of school by her family long ago.

Since no one loves her, she will love herself well.

Pei Jinhe called a Didi (ride-hailing service) to go back to school.

She is a senior majoring in artificial intelligence at Peking University. Because of her excellent grades, she joined a research group in her freshman year and has now become a key member of the team.

Senior year is the internship period. There are not many people in the dormitory. The members of her team either rented a house or went home to live.

She chose to stay on campus, where she lives alone. The dormitory curfew is 10 p.m., so she chose to stay at a hotel last night.

But I never expected this to happen.

Thinking of this, Pei Jinhe grabbed her change of clothes and rushed into the bathroom, washing herself from head to toe.

I dried my hair and then lay down on the bed and slept like a log.

What, Master Shen?

What kind of arranged marriage is this!

Let them all go to hell!

at the same time.

Lanting Manor.

"No results found."

The man's low, cold voice was like it was soaked in ice shards, carrying a heavy killing intent and violence.

He possessed an exceptionally striking appearance, with handsome features that were almost demonic. Beneath thick eyelashes, his phoenix eyes held a captivating and seductive charm. He had a high, straight nose and extremely fair skin, and the slightly upturned corners of his eyes made him appear even more alluring and seductive.

But few people know what kind of cruelty and ruthlessness lies hidden beneath this beautiful face.

Shen Feng shrank back, barely daring to breathe, and said tremblingly, "Third Master, one of the security cameras on that floor of the hotel is broken, and this room happens to be a blind spot for another camera, so..."

"Have you found out who drugged him?" Shen Huaiyu asked coldly.

He didn't even get a clear look at the woman's face last night. Realizing he had been drugged, he thought about going back to his room to take a cold shower.

He had just entered the room, before he could even turn on the lights, when a woman suddenly burst into the room, which wasn't fully closed.

His reason told him he should throw this reckless woman out, but for some reason, he was bewitched and spent the night with her.

"We found out," Shen Feng said cautiously. "It's Mr. Li, the one we discussed cooperation with yesterday, but he insists it was all his doing."

The curve of Shen Huaiyu's thin lips held a hint of bloodthirsty coldness: "Dispose of it."

He spoke so casually, as if he were dealing not with a living, breathing person, but with some insignificant piece of trash.

"Yes," Shen Feng replied.

Shen Yan came running in, panting, carrying his laptop. Before he could catch his breath, he hurriedly said, "Third Master, I've made a new discovery."

Shen Huaiyu slightly raised his cool, aloof eyebrows: "Speak."

Shen Yan: "There are traces of the surveillance footage being deleted."

Shen Huaiyu's already cold eyes were now shrouded in a chilling gloom: "Recover as soon as possible."

"Yes," Shen Yan said, bowing his head.

In the quiet room, the cell phone rang incessantly, breaking the suffocating atmosphere.

The call connected, and the old man's kind yet anxious voice came through.

"Huaiyu, what's your thought about what Grandma told you?"

"That girl from the Pei family has already agreed. Since the young lady has agreed, you shouldn't be so picky. Such a good girl is hard to find even with a lantern. You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you miss out..."

The old lady talked on and on, practically praising her prospective marriage partner to the skies.