After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

Beneath the leather jacket was an extremely form-fitting black tank top. Her slender waist was on full display, and her flat stomach revealed clearly defined abs.

Those are the marks left from countless life-or-death training battles.

Jiang Yao lay down on Zhu Xun Chuan's lap, looking up at him. Those once aggressive eyes now held only unguarded dependence.

"Xun Chuan." She no longer called him "husband" in that sweet tone, her voice becoming somewhat ethereal. "I grew up amidst the clash of swords. When I was six, someone broke into my bedroom, the tip of a knife less than an inch from my throat."

Zhu Xun Chuan listened quietly, his large hand stroking her soft, short hair.

"From then on, every night when I sleep, I have to put a loaded gun under my pillow." Jiang Yao pulled Zhu Xun Chuan's hand and pressed it to her left side, near her heart. "Only here, only by your side, can I feel that I am not the daughter of the King of Hell in the North with blood on my hands, but just an ordinary girl."

Zhu Xun Chuan felt a surge of indescribable pity. This underworld heiress who would break someone's legs at the drop of a hat was, deep down, a child who desperately craved love and security.

Jiang Yao took Zhu Xun Chuan's hand and slowly moved it down, finally placing it on her firm, flat stomach.

Jiang Yao had practiced martial arts for many years, and her abdominal muscles were extremely elastic. Feeling the warmth of Zhu Xun Chuan's palm, her muscles, which had been tense out of instinct for defense, instantly softened completely, and she opened her most vulnerable spot to him without reservation.

"Only you can touch this." Jiang Yao's fingers slipped between Zhu Xun Chuan's fingers, interlocking with his, and she pressed hard against her lower abdomen.

Her eyes were filled with a morbid obsession and possessiveness, and her voice was soft and seductive, "From now on, I will give you a little Xun Chuan. No one can take him away from me."

Zhu Xun Chuan chuckled softly. He didn't reject this heavy, sickly dependence, and instead took her slightly cold hand in his. His warm palm gently caressed her delicate skin, tracing the contours of her abs.

The man's soothing words were calm and powerful, seeping into Jiang Yao's perpetually tense heart through the lines of her skin.

Ten minutes later.

In the dimly lit lounge, Jiang Yao took a deep breath and sat up from Zhu Xun Chuan's lap.

The vulnerability and infatuation in her eyes vanished, replaced by extreme coldness and sharpness. Like a precision killing machine that had just been fully charged, she picked up her leather jacket from the carpet, put it on, and with a "whoosh," zipped the metal zipper up to just below her collarbone.

"I'm going back to the North. I'll come back to be with you after I've smashed all those old geezers' bones." Jiang Yao put on her Martin boots and stood up.

Just as she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and turned around abruptly.

Jiang Yao strode back to Zhu Xun Chuan in her heavy Martin boots, grabbed his shirt collar with both hands, and pulled him towards her.

She stood on tiptoe, opened her red lips, aimed at the carotid artery on the side of Zhu Xunchuan's neck, and bit down mercilessly, sucking hard.

"Hiss." Zhu Xun Chuan frowned slightly, but did not push her away.

A few seconds later, Jiang Yao released her mouth. A deep red hickey, complete with faint teeth marks, was clearly visible on her fair neck. In this location, no ordinary shirt collar could completely conceal it.

"Stamp it." Jiang Yao extended her thumb, wiping the water stains from her lips. Her smile was arrogant and morbid. "Let those women outside see clearly whose man you really are. Anyone who dares to touch you, I'll chop off their hand when I get back."

Leaving behind this arrogant declaration, Jiang Yao turned and pushed open the solid wood door.

Soon, the deafening roar of engines echoed outside the resort. A convoy of thirty matte black Mercedes-Benz G-Class vehicles tore through the sea breeze and headed north.

Zhu Xun Chuan sat on the leather sofa, touched the stinging spot on his neck, and chuckled softly. He stood up, walked to the dressing mirror in the lounge, and glanced at the glaring crimson mark. He didn't bother to turn up his collar to cover it up; instead, he casually unbuttoned another button, leaving the ambiguous mark exposed to the air.

Since this situation is destined to become chaotic, let it escalate completely.

Zhu Xun Chuan pushed open the door to the lounge and walked back to the second floor with steady steps.

Just as I turned the corner of the stairs, I bumped into two people.

Su Mucheng was holding a steaming cup of milk in both hands, standing obediently in the middle of the corridor waiting for him. Xia Wanying, on the other hand, stood on the other side with a stack of newly delivered multi-billion dollar merger and acquisition proposals, her face frosty.

The two had been ignoring each other, but the air in the corridor suddenly froze the moment Zhu Xun Chuan appeared.

At the same time, I looked at that hickey!

The luxurious corridor was quiet and still.

The cool-toned marble walls reflected the dim halo of the spotlights overhead.

Zhu Xun Chuan stood in the middle of the corridor. The top two buttons of his shirt collar were undone. On the side of his neck, the deep red edge of the hickey was clearly visible.

Su Mucheng's fingers tightened suddenly as she held the glass, causing a few drops of hot milk to spill out. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she bit her lower lip in distress.

Xia Wanying stood two meters away. Her pure white haute couture suit accentuated her extremely cold and aloof demeanor.

Her gaze lingered on Zhu Xun Chuan's neck for three seconds.

Xia Wanying walked forward in black pointed high heels. The heels tapped on the marble floor, making a crisp sound.

She stopped in front of Zhu Xun Chuan, raised her hand, and slapped the beautifully bound multi-billion dollar acquisition proposal directly onto Zhu Xun Chuan's chest.

"Quite busy, huh?" Xia Wanying sneered, her sarcasm undisguised. "Just saw Miss Jiang off, and now you're sporting a 'work injury'?"

Zhu Xun Chuan did not take the proposal, letting it rest against his chest. His expression was calm, his gaze fixed on Xia Wan Ying's angry eyes.

Standing on the right, Su Mucheng took a deep breath. She walked over to Zhu Xunchuan with the milk in her hand and placed the cup in his right hand.

Su Mucheng didn't look at Xia Wanying, but turned her body slightly to the side, hugged Zhu Xunchuan's left arm with both hands, and pressed her cheek against his shoulder.

"Brother must be exhausted from filming the show." Su Mucheng's voice was soft and gentle, with seven parts obedience and three parts heartache. "Some women are just unreasonable. They only know how to take things roughly and don't care about brother's feelings at all. Unlike me, I only want to take good care of brother."

The air in the corridor suddenly cooled down.

Su Mucheng's words were a veiled attack on Jiang Yao, while also precisely sweeping across Xia Wanying in front of her.

Xia Wanying's eyes turned cold. She looked at Su Mucheng, who was pressed against Zhu Xunchuan, her eyes filled with the scrutiny of a superior towards her prey.

"Miss Su has a good singing voice, and her tea ceremony skills are even better," Xia Wanying retorted without hesitation. "However, the capital market doesn't care who's more sensible. The chips you hold can't protect what you want to protect."

Su Mucheng trembled and instinctively took a half step behind Zhu Xunchuan, but her hands clung to his arms even tighter.

Xia Wanying ignored Su Mucheng and focused her gaze back on Zhu Xunchuan's face. His aura as the richest man in North China was now fully unleashed.

She raised her left hand and shoved the milk glass out of Zhu Xun Chuan's hand. The milk sloshed violently against the glass, almost spilling.

Immediately afterwards, Xia Wanying grabbed Zhu Xunchuan's black tie with her right hand and pulled it down forcefully.

She took a step forward and, using the momentum from her high heels, pushed Zhu Xunchuan backward, pinning him against the cold, hard marble wall.

"Dinghe Group has invested one billion!" Xia Wanying tilted her head back, her breathing rapid, her chest heaving, her voice cold and domineering, "Buying out your entire schedule for the next seven days! Including the 'exclusive right' to use your nights!"