Chapter 2
I’d known Liam since I was a little girl.
I followed him around like a shadow for years, and we finally became a couple in college.
But just a year into our relationship, I unilaterally broke up with him.
There were no cheesy love triangles, no dramatic betrayals, no tragic illnesses forcing us apart.
If I had to pick a reason for our breakup?
I was just… bored. I didn’t want to be with him anymore.
That day, Liam came to confront me, holding a photo of me and Alex that someone had taken.
He asked if I’d betrayed him.
I wanted to break up, so I didn’t deny it. I just admitted it directly.
At first, Liam didn’t believe me. He hugged me tight, kissing me everywhere, his hoarse voice repeating, “I don’t believe it… I don’t believe it…”
I struggled, tearing free, and slapped him across the face.
“Liam, you don’t actually think I liked you, do you? Do you even know who the Wens are? What my family’s status is?”
“I just found you somewhat interesting back then.”
That slap shattered over a decade of his fierce pride, and it tore apart the tender affection we’d shared for just as long.
Youthful impulsiveness, mixed with my own self-importance, pushed me to an irreversible point.
Liam grew up with just his mother, and his family wasn’t well-off.
But as a teenager, his back was always straight; he had his pride.
And that slap from me? It crushed his dignity completely.
He was right to hate me.
Now, eight years later, we met again.
Love and hate, joy and sorrow, a tangled web of desires, twisting people into grotesque versions of themselves.
I was powerless, only hoping he’d finish venting and maybe, just maybe, show me a little pity.
My father’s exorbitant medical bills, Linghua’s startup capital.
Before these things, my dignity was worthless.
I’d spent three years researching an algorithm that could profile user groups for businesses. It was faster and cheaper than any other algorithm on the market.
I was confident it would be a huge hit.
But without enough startup capital, Linghua couldn’t even see the light of day.
The two biggest investment firms in the country were Capstone Capital and Chuyan Corp, Liam’s own company.
Capstone Capital showed great interest in Linghua, but they wanted to buy out all its ownership.
“Look, Aria,” the Capstone rep said, “five million for the full buyout of your algorithm? That’s not a bad deal at all.”
If I hadn’t been absolutely desperate, I wouldn’t have come begging to Liam.
Life had pushed me to the edge of a cliff; I had no way out.
I raised my hand and slapped myself hard across the face. The sharp sound echoed in every corner of the private room.
“I apologize to Mr. Shen for my foolishness back then. As long as you can calm down and help me, I’ll do anything you ask.”
Liam seemed surprised I’d hit myself and froze for a moment.
When he reacted, he grabbed my hand, stopping it from falling again.
A flicker of annoyance crossed Liam’s handsome face, quickly replaced by a smirk.
“Anything I ask? How about you spend a night with me, Miss Wen? I’ll consider it.”
Liam let out a short, mocking laugh, dripping with ridicule.
“Okay!”
I said it, devoid of any emotion.
My fingers curled behind my back, my palm aching.
Liam’s malicious amusement hadn’t faded. He seemed surprised I actually agreed.
Then he teased, “Looks like Miss Wen’s preference for rich men hasn’t changed all these years? Now you’re even willing to throw away your pride.”
Pride? Did I even deserve to talk about pride anymore?
Society and reality’s first lesson is to crush a person’s spirit and ambition.