His voice was so low that it was almost drowned out by the wind outside the window.
But every word fell clearly into Jiang Liuyue's ears.
"You know about my mother. She was a hugely popular movie star back in the day. Then she met my father, gave up her career for him, and willingly stayed at home."
"Later, I came along, and she poured all her attention onto me."
His breath brushed against her collarbone—warm and steady.
Yet the words he spoke carried a bone-deep chill.
"I love my mother deeply, but I also resent her."
"Maybe it's because she gave up her own career too early. My father's company was on the rise, and he was absent from home a lot, so all her focus landed on me."
"She wanted me to be perfect. She wanted people to praise me and say, 'What a worthy son of you and Song Tianqi—truly outstanding.'"
Jiang Liuyue felt she finally understood why Song Hanzheng had seemed so put-together when she first met him.
That composure wasn't a deliberate act—it was a reflex trained into him since childhood.
A shell shaped by his mother's expectations and his father's absence.
Song Hanzheng let out a bitter laugh, muffled in the curve of her shoulder, carrying an unspeakable sorrow.
"In a way, I can understand my mother's behavior."
"This way, she could prove to the world that giving up her career to marry my father wasn't a mistake—that her sacrifice was worth it. Until..."
His gaze turned gradually darker.
"Until one day, my mother caught my father and Lin Mei together in secret. She realized that the nights he didn't come home weren't about business dinners at all—he was with his mistress."
"I can understand the feeling of giving up everything for someone, only to be completely betrayed in the end."
"And then... my mother went mad."
His voice was calm as he said this, as if stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.
But Jiang Liuyue could feel his arms tighten around her waist.
Tight enough to feel like he wanted to press her into his own body.
As if only that could prove that the person in front of him was real, was warm, would not leave.
Jiang Liuyue met Song Hanzheng's light brown eyes.
Those eyes were fixed on her with a near-insane possessiveness, like a beast claiming the borders of its territory.
He lowered his head and spoke slowly, word by word, his voice low.
"So, Liuyue... you won't leave me, right?"
"You belong to me alone!"
Jiang Liuyue nodded heavily, wrapping her hands over his shoulders, her tone firm and clear.
"Of course, I'm yours."
"But..." Her tone suddenly paused, a hint of dissatisfaction rising at the end.
"When will you finally come to love me?"
Song Hanzheng looked down, silent, his lashes hiding the emotions in his eyes.
Jiang Liuyue guessed the answer in her heart.
Maybe it was because his mother's example was bloodily vivid—that marriage which began with giving up everything ended in betrayal and madness.
So he wouldn't rush to hand over his true heart.
He feared he'd get betrayal in return, feared repeating his mother's fate.
Feared that after giving everything, he'd end up with nothing at all.
Damn!
Jiang Liuyue curled the corner of her mouth behind his back.
A trace of helplessness flashed through her beautiful almond eyes.
It seemed that in this world, she couldn't freely enjoy handsome men.
This man's defenses were thicker than she'd imagined—too impatient, too forced, wouldn't work.
The next morning, when she got up, Song Hanzheng had already left on a business trip.
She rushed to the film set. As the second female lead in this drama, her scenes were almost finished.
Finally, she wouldn't have to put up with that insufferable Li Feile anymore.
Today's scenes were all with other actors—no scenes opposite Li Feile.
But Li Feile was still there, sitting in a corner on a lounge chair, wearing an air of arrogance.
During a break, Jiang Liuyue walked over with an iced coffee in her hand, her face wearing a perfectly appropriate smile.
"Sister Feiyle, I really didn't mean it yesterday. It was all for the sake of the scene."
"How's your face? Sorry about that. This coffee is my apology."
She spoke with a smile, standing there looking so sincere it was flawless.
Li Feiyle, irritated, sat on the lounge chair. Seeing her male assistant standing there like a wooden post, her anger flared up instantly.
She couldn't help scolding:
"Liuyue personally came to apologize and bring me coffee—go on, take it."
The male assistant stared at the iced coffee, hesitated, and glanced up at Jiang Liuyue.
Maybe remembering the incident with the spit in the coffee last time, his eyes were uneasy.
He rubbed his fingers against his pants and finally didn't dare reach out.
Then he heard Jiang Liuyue say slowly:
"Don't worry. It's not from that shop last time."
"Sister Feiyle doesn't like their iced coffee—I remembered that."
Li Feiyle shot her a sideways glance, eyes sharp with condescension, her tone defiant as if tossing alms:
"Fine. Smart move!"
Only then did the male assistant hesitantly take the coffee and hand it to Li Feiyle with both hands.
Li Feiyle didn't drink it. Instead, she lifted the coffee high in front of Jiang Liuyue, made an exaggerated motion, and then flipped her wrist, dumping it heavily onto the ground.
With a sharp crack, the cup shattered, and pale brown coffee spread across the floor.
Some splashed onto Jiang Liuyue's skirt.
Li Feiyle lowered her voice, tone hostile:
"Don't get cocky. We'll see."
"Sooner or later, I'll catch you slipping up."
Jiang Liuyue smiled, amiable and innocent, tilting her head. Her almond eyes brimmed with perfectly feigned confusion.
"What are you talking about, Sister Feiyle? I don't understand."
"We're such good friends that we even eat together privately. You're not being two-faced, are you—one face in public, another in private?" She was knowingly provoking, provoking openly in a way no one could pin.
Li Feiyle let out two cold laughs, carrying a grudging hatred that had built up:
"How long have you even known Brother Hanzheng? You really think you can hold him in your palm?!"
Jiang Liuyue nodded slowly at that, deliberate and composed.
Then she smiled and spoke, her tone filled with an infuriating calmness:
"I can't compare to Sister Feiyle."
"You've known him so long now, but you haven't even touched his sleeve, right?"
She paused deliberately, letting her gaze sweep over Li Feiyle's ashen face, then added one more jab:
"Oh, I've got to go now. We're about to start shooting."
"When this is done, I have another new drama as the female lead—just so busy."
She took a few steps, then stopped, as if a fun thought struck her. She turned around and smiled sweetly at Li Feiyle, radiant but light:
"I heard you begged for the female lead role in this drama."
"But for this one... my female lead role was delivered by Song Han himself."
“Who’s the one who can’t keep a tight grip after all?”
The smile at the corners of her lips slowly unfurled.
Jiang Liuyue met Li Feiyue’s eyes—which nearly blazed with fury—and her smile only widened.
Ah, she was truly wicked.
