A_Ray_of_Light

Years later, the people of Yucheng still regard the bygone scandal of the aristocratic family as an after-dinner topic.
A cunning woman of the streets ascended to the summit of society, becoming the esteemed lady of a high-priced aristocratic family. 
She was addicted to gambling, once accumulating millions in debts.
Her demeanor was worldly and vulgar, known as a prominent socialite.
Yet, Gu Hansheng still favored her.
Until, this femme fatale of the century dug her own grave, causing the demise of Mr. Gu's beloved, the White Moonlight.
Henceforth, she vanished from Yucheng without a trace.
People say: "Blood debts must be repaid with blood, and death settles it all."
No one knew that night became a thorn in Gu Hansheng's heart.
On the snowy streets, a woman wrapped in a coat stood trembling beneath neon lights, delicately reaching for the car door.
The window lowered, a man gazed at her, softly laughing: "Madam Gu, there is no one in this world more cold-hearted and ruthless than you."
She grasped the door handle, lips pallid, face filled with grievance, "Hansheng, I'm cold."

The dead are colder than you.

The black silhouette departed into the night.

In the rearview mirror, snowflakes fluttered like tattered fragments, nearly engulfing the woman's shoulders.

In later recollections, in the midnight reveries, Mr. Gu could always hear her saying, "Hansheng, I'm cold."

The most missed when departing

Liang Shu closed her eyes, her teeth trembling. She had no time left; she couldn't linger here. She must devise a way to earn money.

This time it was Aunt Mei's photo. Who knew what it would be next.

She felt a sense of resignation to fate. "I choose private settlement."

A fleeting expression flickered in the man's eyes, then he said, "Private settlement, and do you really intend to compensate with the blood flowing in your body?"

"How then do you propose we settle privately?"

Gu Hansheng merely stared at her, his eyebrow raising slightly, a hint of indifference in his demeanor.

"I have no money. Can we sign an IOU?"

"If you owe it for a lifetime, does that mean you have no intention of paying it back?"

She scoffed, "I already owe much more. Can I still shirk this little bit?"

Finally, she added, "I'll repay you within a month."

When assistant Ji Chen handed Liang Shu the IOU, she was stunned by the amount on it. "One million five hundred thousand, are you insane?"

With a forced effort, she pressed her thumb onto the ink pad. Ji Chen, standing nearby, somewhat sarcastically reminded her, "Miss Liang, in the future, please refrain from such impulsiveness. Smashing things isn't what young ladies should do, and that's also Mr. Gu's opinion."

With her thumb stained crimson by the ink pad, Liang Shu looked up at Ji Chen and said, "Can we consider this matter settled then?"

Ji Chen sneered coldly, holding her finger and pressing it down. Above her name was a round fingerprint.

As Ji Chen left, Liang Shu heard her voice from behind, "If you ever need more of my blood, just ask. I'll give you a discount..."

During the day, Liang Shu received an unfamiliar email. She opened the file briefly, didn't download the attachment, and deleted it directly.

The sender persisted annoyingly, so Liang Shu simply blocked them.

In the evening, she went to find Qian Hui.

Qian Hui was working as a hostess at a nightclub. When she saw Liang Shu, she poured her a drink.

Liang Shu got straight to the point. "Qian Hui, could you lend me some money?"

"Selling me wouldn't even cover a fraction of that. Leave."

"Then could you use your connections to contact your benefactors for me?"

Qian Hui brought the glass of liquor in front of her and drank it herself. "You want to hook my men?"

Liang Shu pursed her lips. "I mean, could you help me borrow money?"

"Twenty million? No man is that generous, and I can't borrow that much either."

"I'm really at my wit's end." Liang Shu pinched her fingers.

Qian Hui suddenly laughed. "Come work with me, with your looks and figure, you'll make money much easier. It's just a matter of time."

Seeing her silent, Qian Hui reached out and covered Liang Shu's hand with her palm. "Aunt Mei doesn't manage things anymore. Whatever you do, she won't know. Liang Shu, you shouldn't be swayed like this by just anyone, but, dear, those debts on your shoulders are no joke. They can drive people to their deaths. You're still young. It's better to live with your debts than to die trying to escape them. We'll work for a few years, and if we're lucky, we might meet someone who likes us. That'll be fortunate."

"Worst case scenario, at least someone paid for your university education. Finding a stable job won't be difficult in the future. When the time comes, we'll move elsewhere, and no one will know whether we're the cat or the mouse."

Chapter 18: Qian Hui