Thinking about how Fu Sici had left her body covered in bite marks like a dog, she didn’t dare go back to the private room for dinner. She just sent a message to her mom saying she wasn’t feeling well and would head back to the apartment first.

Liu Yingxue read the message and gave it a glance, her expression remaining calm as she spoke in a soft, gentle tone.

“Yueyue said she’s feeling a bit unwell and went home.”

“What a coincidence—Fu Sici said he has an urgent matter at the office that needs attending to.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Yingxue’s gaze drifted toward the direction where the two had been sitting just moments before, lost in thought for a while.

“Young people all have their own things to deal with. Yueyue, after such a long flight, must be tired too. It’s okay,” Yan Heng said softly, trying to comfort her.

“Mm.”

Before she even got back, her mom had already bought her a high-end apartment in the city center.

As soon as she opened the door and stepped inside, her luggage was neatly waiting in the living room. She unpacked her suitcase, pulled out her pajamas, headed to the bathroom for a hot shower, then came back to carefully put everything away one by one.

She walked over to the wine cabinet, took out a bottle of red wine, uncorked it, poured herself half a glass, and sat down on the chair by the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside, the city was ablaze with countless twinkling lights, each one warm and inviting, yet to her cold, clear eyes, it only felt icy.

Money really is a wonderful thing. She used to resent her mom, but time and again life proved to her that her mom was right.

Gazing through the transparent curtain of bustling lights, she couldn’t help but think of the cozy, heartwarming days when the three of them used to live together under the same roof.

Her father ran a decoration company. Though not as wealthy as Uncle Yan, their family still lived a comfortable life, with no worries about food or clothing, and they were all very happy. Her father loved her mom and her dearly.

But then problems arose at his company: projects weren’t getting paid, workers were demanding their wages and staging strikes, and somehow her father also got involved in gambling. Faced with enormous debts, he lost all hope and eventually took his own life.

The day her father passed away felt like the sky had fallen on her. At the funeral hall, her mom and she cried until their voices were hoarse, yet the debt collectors kept pressing relentlessly.

Her mom, her eyes swollen and red from crying, hugged her tightly and urged her to stay at school, saying that since she was in her final year of high school, she couldn’t afford to delay the college entrance exam.

To pay off the debts, her mom sold their old house and finally breathed a sigh of relief. She went to live at school, while her mom moved in with her grandmother.

After that, she didn’t know much about what happened next.

Half a year later, her mom remarried—a wealthy businessman, she said.

It was a weekend, and she moved into a luxurious large villa with her mom. There was a new “dad” in the house, a tall, handsome older brother, plus chefs and maids.

From then on, her mom stopped letting her stay at school; a driver picked her up and dropped her off every day.

Back then, she was still emotionally sensitive and timid because of her father’s passing, and she often heard the servants in the villa whispering behind her back.

They said her mom and she were just lucky to be able to live in such a big villa and enjoy all its comforts.

Those words felt like tiny needles pricking her, leaving her with nowhere to hide.

Once, the servants went too far, saying that her mom, being a second wife, wasn’t sexy enough to have caught Uncle Yan’s eye and made him marry her.

They even claimed that she, so young, already had a seductive look, trying to lure Brother Yan Yang, and that mother and daughter were both ambitious.

Those words cut like sharp blades into her heart, hurting so much that she could barely bear it. She crouched in a corner of the garden, silently weeping, her shoulders trembling slightly as she choked back sobs.

Suddenly, a tall, upright figure appeared before her. He looked at her crying without saying a word or asking why, simply sitting down beside her and quietly keeping her company, staying there in silence for a long time.

Later, she learned that he was Fu Sici, her stepbrother Yan Yang’s college classmate.

He stood at least 186 centimeters tall, with a tall, slender build, broad shoulders and a narrow waist—truly handsome, with deep, refined, and cool features.

According to Yan Yang, he was the campus heartthrob back in school, pursued by many girls.

From that day on, he began visiting more and more often.

They didn’t talk much—just the three of them sitting on the sofa in the main hall, occasionally exchanging a few casual words. Sometimes he’d bring her little gifts.

Yet there was always an indescribable, subtle air of flirtation hanging in the air. She didn’t tell anyone about it, and her stepbrother knew nothing at all.

Perhaps it was around that time that she first fell in love, completely captivated by Fu Sici’s cool, handsome exterior.

She gave a self-deprecating smile, her fingertips resting against the cold glass of her wine, watching the ruby-red liquid swirl gently inside.

End of Chapter 6: Once a Beam of Light