Night descends, the first lights of the city sparkle.

Qiao Mu fixes her gaze on the hand resting on the seductive woman's waist ahead. The hand belongs to the man she despised.

“Lu Ziming, who is she?” Qiao Mu points at the woman next to Lu Ziming, heavily made up and scantily dressed. Her black and white eyes are full of pain.

“Oh, she is my new flame,” Lu Ziming snickers, he pulls the woman’s face towards him, landing a loud kiss on her lips.

The heavily-made-up woman glanced at Qiao Mu's cotton jacket and jeans, a disdainful look in her eyes, her face - surely filled with plastic surgeries - full of taunts.

Witnessing their contemptuous and playful expressions, Qiao Mu's heart unexpectedly becomes tranquil, a stark contrast to her previous eruption.

With a sly smile, Lu Ziming slaps the woman’s bottom, and then whistles at Qiao Mu in a provocative manner, pointing at her.

“You thought I was truly interested in you? Apart from possessing a good-look and a voluptuous body, what do you have? Look at your pauper-like appearance, it's disgraceful to be seen with you! You wouldn’t even allow me a kiss, beyond holding hands, do you think I am a eunuch, who needs to pursue a platonic relationship?”

Hearing his words, Qiao Mu raises an eyebrow, her delicate face filled with stark mockery, her eyes devoid of any warmth, “Whether you were a eunuch in the past, I am not sure, but I know for sure that you will definitely become one from now on!”

No sooner than her words finish does she swiftly steps forward, delivering a brutal kick to Lu Ziming’s crotch, who cries out in pain and clutches his groin.

Qiao Mu seizes the chance to hurl her bag heavily on his head, successfully knocking him on the ground!

Her small foot mercilessly grinds back and forth on the hand which Lu Ziming had previously pointed at her, her voice brimming with certainty, “I detest people pointing at me, who the hell do you think you are!”

Eyeing from above the man sprawled on the ground wailing in pain, she pats her bag with a disgusted expression and spits, “A bitch with a dog, happily ever after!”

She flings her bag onto her shoulder and turns to leave, as her gaze shifts, tears immediately well up in Qiao Mu’s eyes. Her short hair, tossed by the wind, screens her tearful eyes, cold tears run down her face, stinging as they meet the cold wind, causing a physical pain that mirrors her heartache.

She sniffles, choking on stifled sobs.

How does the saying go?

Before finding true love, you're bound to meet a few jerks!

Grand Era Bar.

With a worry-stricken face, Qiao Mu leaned on the bar, waving her hand, "Bartender, give me a drink... wait, no, I want beer! The cheapest one you have!"

The bartender looked at her petite and tender appearance, unsure. Their place was a legitimate bar that didn't serve minors. This girl couldn't be of age, could she?

Just when the bartender was thinking about asking her to leave, Qiao Mu dug out her student ID from her backpack, tossed it on the table, waved her hand, and demanded, "Hurry up with the beer!"

The bartender glanced at the student ID, then at Qiao Mu, and confirmed it was her. Only then did he serve her a bottle of beer, the cheapest one!

Picking up the beer, Qiao Mu took a few heavy gulps, felt a burning sensation in her throat, and her head started to spin.

Damn it! Who said she was poor? Wasn't she drinking in the best bar in Jiang City? You're the one who's poor, your whole family is poor!

Facing the heavy burden of her family, which was already suffocating her, and now being cheated on, it was like rubbing salt into the wound, completely crushing the spirit she had been struggling to maintain. She needed to vent.

Having sporadically drunk for nearly two hours, the notoriously poor drinker Qiao Mu was now thoroughly drunk, unable to tell north from south.

The bar was bustling, with the lights dazzling her eyes. She glanced around, but couldn't find the restrooms. Qiao Mu pouted, her petite, flushed face filled with disdain.

People have to drink water even after carrying heavy things, don't they?

Following the signpost, she turned and staggered towards the second floor.

After a lot of twists and turns on the second floor, Qiao Mu finally found the bathroom. As she sat on the toilet, her tense body finally relaxed.

Exiting the bathroom, Qiao Mu couldn't even tell north from south, incredibly disoriented. She couldn't distinguish the direction of the stairs, her mind cluttered with confusion, her eyes sore and swollen, everything she looked at seemed like a double vision.

She leaned on the wall, mumbling to herself as she shuffled forward. Eventually, she couldn't hold up anymore and leaned her body against the door of a room, her little hand grasping the doorknob.

Unexpectedly, the door was not even locked, and Qiao Mu, who was unsteady, fell straight into the room.

Qiao Mu rubbed her bruised face, clumsily pulling herself up. The room was dim, but she could vaguely see a bed, "Damn, I am home so quickly!"

Using both hands and feet, she took off her clothes, spread out her arms, and jumped onto the bed.

Bang--

"Ouch ouch ouch, it hurts!"

Qiao Mu held her sore lower back, wincing with pain.

There seemed to be something under her, damn, it was killing her!

In the darkness, she reached out her hand to feel.

The area where her hand landed was hard and firm; the touch felt not bad.

She moved her hand up a bit more--

Hmm, soft and bouncy.

Finding the touch quite pleasant, Qiao Mu couldn't help but pinch it a couple more times.

And then, the originally soft thing actually grew bigger!

She muttered to herself, "What the hell?"

She wanted to explore carefully once more, but as soon as her little hand reached out, it was aggressively seized by a larger hand.

Then, she crashed into a solid 'wall of muscles', moist and delicate kisses rained down on her face.

With the rubbing of the ears and the entangling of the lips, the room temperature quickly rose.

In the early morning, sunlight seeped through the hollowed-out floor-to-ceiling window into the room, casting light on the disheveled large bed. The man's dense eyelashes quivered, slowly opening his eyes, his slender and fair fingers massaging his somewhat painful temples, a bit of laziness in his actions.

Suddenly, his deep black pupils abruptly contracted, turning to look towards the little hand gripping his arm, he found the woman sleeping peacefully by his side.

Xi Mujiao felt annoyed, his usually gentle and refined brows carrying a hint of anger. How did this woman get in? Why didn't he remember anything?

Sitting up straight, just about to vent his anger, he caught a glimpse of a coin-sized, round scar on her wrist.

His anger vanished instantly, the man's chest clenched tightly as he stared fixedly at Qiao Mu's wrist, his facial expressions rapidly changing, as if opening a cage of memories.

Before he could inspect it closely, the Qiao Mu beside him was awakened, followed by a piercing shriek.

"Ah! Damn it!" Qiao Mu screamed, tightly clutching the quilt, warily watching the man beside her.

Qiao Mu trembled incessantly, her small face pale as wax, and her mind was rapidly scouring for memories. From drinking at the bar to appearing in a man's bed…

Oh God! What... What exactly happened between her and this man?

Damn it! Qiao Mu banged her head, pulling at her disordered hair, chiding her recklessness when drunk, her virginity that she had cherished for twenty years was gone!

Xi Mujiao's profound eyes were still fixed on Qiao Mu's wrist. The round scar seemed more and more glaring. His deep voice echoed with a trace of urgency, "Show me your hand!"

How could Qiao Mu take the risk ? She didn’t know what this man was up to, what if he randomly decided to pull something on her again?

Frantically, she was shielding her body while haphazardly putting on the scattered clothes on the floor, her eyes widened in vigilance as she stared at the man across the room, "You, don't come any closer. I... I...I will call the police, I'm still underage!"

In his anxiousness, Xi Muqiao didn't care about any of that and was about to grab Qiao Mu's hand.

As the sharp-featured face neared her with a hint of urgency, Qiao Mu perceived this as a sign of ill-intent.

Oh my God! Qiao Mu was scared, so she rolled off the bed and retreated while pulling up her trousers. Luckily she had already put on her warmer clothes; otherwise, she'd be running around naked.

Seeing that Qiao Mu was about to leave, Xi Muqiao quickly put on his jacket and chased after her, scaring Qiao Mu into grabbing her jacket from the floor and bolting for the door.

"Sir, we slept together for one night, let’s just call it even! I don’t have money, I’m really poor!" she shouted as she ran, never slowing her pace.

Xi Muqiao could only look on helplessly as she disappeared from sight like a puff of smoke. He couldn't very well chase after her naked.

He took his bathrobe and put it on, picked up the phone on the bedside, his fingers tapping lightly on the screen, a hint of anxious anger in his voice, "You two better get over here right now!"