He tossed her onto a large bed and sat beside her, catching his breath. Though she wasn’t heavy, carrying her for so long had left him exhausted. He walked into the bathroom to splash some water on his face.

He had originally gone out to bring his sister home, but instead, he ended up finding this girl who had clearly been drugged. It disgusted him how many men these days resorted to such despicable acts.

He sighed, acknowledging his own good intentions. If he hadn’t mistaken her for one of his sister’s friends, he might have been tempted to take advantage of her himself.

“You’re not my type, little sprout. Just sleep it off, kid,” he muttered, pulling the blanket over her before turning to leave.

But just as he was about to go, her hand shot out and grabbed his.

“I feel so… so awful,” she murmured deliriously, sitting up on her knees and pressing herself against him. He tried to push her away, but she only clung tighter. To make matters worse, she began clawing at his skin like a kitten, her eyes glazed and her face nuzzling against him.

“Let go—” he started, but his voice betrayed him, sounding far less convincing than he intended.

“It’s so… so bad,” she whimpered, barely conscious. Though she couldn’t see him clearly, her body was burning up, as if set ablaze, especially in her lower abdomen, where waves of heat pulsed relentlessly.

He didn’t know who she was, but his own body was reaching its limit under her touch. Finally, he pinned her firmly to the bed, silencing her incoherent murmurs with his lips.

The soft glow from the bedside lamp illuminated the room, casting a warm, intimate light. The heavy breathing in the room only intensified the already heated atmosphere. She felt utterly lost, her hands alternately clutching the sheets beneath her and gripping his arm.

She didn’t know how long she had slept, but when she finally woke, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar place—and worse, she was completely naked. As the soreness in her body made itself known, fragments of the previous night began to resurface in her mind.

Oh my God!

She stood by the bed, staring at the faint crimson stain on the pristine white sheets. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over. Who was that scoundrel?

"Damn it! I, Xu Shiyuan, swear I’ll find you and make you pay for this! You bastard!" she vowed silently.

When she returned home, her aunt, Fang Yu, immediately questioned her about the previous night. Shiyuan simply said she had stayed at a friend’s place.

"Shiyuan, where exactly did you go last night? Even if you weren’t coming home, you should have called to let us know! Your uncle was worried sick about you this morning!" her aunt said with concern.

"I know, it won’t happen again," Shiyuan replied flatly before heading upstairs to her room.

She lay stiffly on her bed, staring at the ceiling, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall the face of the man from last night.

Yesterday, her best friend, Wang Ziyan, had wanted to attend a party hosted by their classmate, Han Humin. Since Ziyan’s family didn’t approve of her going alone, she had dragged Shiyuan along. Ziyan’s father was the chairman of the Wang Group, and as the youngest in the family, she was doted on. Her older sister, Wang Zimin, was already married, and her brother, Wang Zixuan, had just returned from the U.S. a month ago. Ziyan’s mother, Tan Huixian, was familiar with Shiyuan, which was why she had allowed Ziyan to go—only because Shiyuan was accompanying her.

Han Humin was the only son of the Han family, whose father was a prominent real estate tycoon and one of the wealthiest men in the area.

What was supposed to be a simple class reunion took an unexpected turn. Without any adult supervision, everyone started drinking. Perhaps because they had just graduated from high school, everyone seemed to let loose—drinking, playing cards, and even engaging in some risqué behavior.

Han Humin kept pestering Ziyan, but since Ziyan didn’t seem to mind, Shiyuan decided not to intervene. Instead, she grabbed a glass of orange juice and watched her classmate Peng Mufei compete with two others in a video game. Peng Mufei explained the game mechanics to her as he played, and after a while, she took his place and joined the competition.

"Can’t beat you in exams, can’t win in video games either. This is so lame!" the losing classmate grumbled.

"Those two are like the golden couple, the dream team. Just admit defeat gracefully," another spectator teased the loser.

"Alright, I’ll let you have it. I’m done playing. I’ll just watch," Shiyuan said, uncomfortable with the attention, and handed her spot back to Peng Mufei, sitting down to observe.

"You’re really good! I wouldn’t dare to go up against you on your first try," Peng Mufei said with a smile. Shiyuan responded with a polite smile but remained silent.

At that point, Shiyuan still didn’t sense anything amiss.

Lying in bed, she wondered, *When did things start to go wrong?*

She remembered watching Peng Mufei play for a while, then turning to see Ziyan surrounded by a group of people chatting. She had gone to the restroom, and after that, her memory became hazy.

*What exactly happened?*

*Why did I wake up in a hotel room? Who was responsible?*

She had no recollection of it at all.

"Miss," came the voice of Liu Ma, the family maid. "I’ve made some chicken soup. Would you like to come down and have some?"

Xu Shiyuan shook her head silently.

"Miss Wang Ziyan called for you this morning. Would you like to call her back?" Liu Ma added.

Wang Ziyan must have been concerned about her, so Xu Shiyuan decided to call the Wang household.

At the Wang residence, Wang Ziyan was in the living room, enduring a lecture from her parents for getting drunk the night before. Just as the scolding reached its peak, Xu Shiyuan’s call came through.

“Mom, can I invite Shiyuan over for Dad’s birthday party the day after tomorrow?” Wang Ziyan asked, her voice tinged with excitement. “She’s about to leave for the States to study!”

Tan Huixian, Wang Ziyan’s mother, nodded in agreement. However, Wang Zixuan, her older brother, chimed in with a disapproving tone, “She’s made such a big mistake, and you’re still letting her invite friends over?”

“Shiyuan is her good friend, bright and clever. Your father likes her too. Stop picking on your sister,” Mrs. Wang replied firmly. Hearing her mother’s defense, Wang Ziyan stuck her tongue out at her brother, a triumphant grin spreading across her face.

“Mom, you’re spoiling her too much. That’s why she acts so recklessly. If anything goes wrong in the future, don’t expect me to clean up her mess!” Wang Zixuan snapped, his frustration boiling over. With that, he stormed out of the living room, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.