Volume One, Chapter One: May I Kiss You?

In country D, the elevator of a seven-star hotel stopped on the thirty-ninth floor.

Jiang Shuwei, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, kept her head down, replying to messages from clients.

Today was her first day since arriving in country D, and also the honeymoon trip she had planned for herself.

The elevator doors slowly closed.

As she entered, she caught a glimpse of a tall figure beside her—a man with an East Asian face, dressed in a black long coat and also wearing sunglasses.

“Bang…” Suddenly, a loud explosion-like noise echoed from somewhere.

The elevator, which had been descending smoothly, suddenly jolted violently, transforming into a free fall straight down.

“Ah…” Jiang Shuwei screamed, her heart pounding wildly.

“I don’t want to die here,” she cried out in terror.

At that moment, the elevator was abruptly halted by a sudden force. Jiang Shuwei’s legs went weak, and she collapsed to the floor, unable to straighten herself, fear spreading throughout the pitch-dark, powerless elevator.

“Heaven enjoys playing tricks. You don’t want to die, yet you might still perish here,” a man’s voice came from the other end of the elevator.

“I won’t die,” Jiang Shuwei gritted her teeth and believed. “Heaven wouldn’t let a genius like me die at twenty.”

“A genius?” the man scoffed. “In what way?”

“Why would I tell you?” Jiang Shuwei was already shaken to her core and now faced mockery from a man. She didn’t want to engage.

“If we die here, what’s the one thing you’d most want to do?” After a few seconds, the man’s voice returned, no longer mocking but soft and distant.

“I… I came here alone for my honeymoon. My husband doesn’t love me. If I had to say what I want to do before I die, I guess… I want to experience what it feels like to be kissed,” Jiang Shuwei let herself go in the darkness.

“Do you want me to kiss you?” the man asked, a hint of seriousness in his tone.

“How old are you?” Jiang Shuwei answered just as seriously.

“Twenty-eight.”

“I don’t believe you. Your voice sounds like you’re in your early thirties,” Jiang Shuwei smirked.

“Is it a crime to have a pleasant voice?” the man sounded displeased.

“Are you handsome?” In the pitch-black elevator, Jiang Shuwei couldn’t see his appearance.

“What? Afraid you’ll feel inferior?” the man’s voice carried a hint of annoyance.

Jiang Shuwei answered earnestly, “Yes, I’m good-looking. Before I die, I hope to be kissed by a handsome man.”

“Then forget it,” the man refused.

Jiang Shuwei’s fear deepened inside. She realized having someone to talk to eased her pain, but the man seemed unwilling to continue.

“Hey… say something more,” Jiang Shuwei waited a minute, only to find the man as still as death, even his breathing calm. “Aren’t you afraid?”

“My people will do everything to save me. I’m not afraid,” the man said flatly.

“You have friends here?” Jiang Shuwei was surprised.

The man snorted softly, ignoring her.

Jiang Shuwei slowly crawled toward him and grabbed his leg. It was strong and long, clearly well-toned from years of exercise, giving off a sense of security.

“Don’t cling to me like a ghost,” the man’s voice was displeased.

Jiang Shuwei smiled awkwardly. At this moment, leaning on the man’s strength, she managed to stand up despite her weak legs. “Sorry, can I hold onto you? I’m really scared.”

“If I say no, you wouldn’t hold me anyway,” the man snorted lightly.

Seeing he didn’t push her away, Jiang Shuwei wrapped both arms tightly around his sturdy waist, feeling the firmness of his abdomen, clearly a product of constant training, which made her feel safe.

She hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest, inhaling the cool scent of mint mingled faintly with tobacco.

“Can I… kiss you?” Jiang Shuwei thought, since she might be dying, why bother with restraint? She’d been married three years but never kissed a man’s lips—not once. It felt like a huge loss.

The man said nothing but bent down. He was tall, around six foot two, making Jiang Shuwei, at about five foot five, seem especially petite in front of him.

She felt his warm breath, and without hesitation, her lips quickly pressed against his face.

“You kissed the wrong place,” the man reminded her.

Jiang Shuwei was clumsy but determined. She hooked her arms around his neck and slowly moved her lips to his in the darkness.

The fresh, clean breath touched his tightly pressed lips, and Jiang Shuwei stayed still against them.

“First kiss?” the man asked in a husky voice.

“Yes,” Jiang Shuwei admitted sheepishly. “But I’ve been married three years.”

“You wouldn’t still be a virgin after all this time,” the man teased.

“I am, but I won’t give it to you,” she replied frankly.

The man chuckled intriguingly, then with a long arm lifted her by the waist, pressing her whole body against his firm chest. His thin lips quickly claimed her tender ones.

Jiang Shuwei’s mind went blank. Surprisingly, the man’s kiss didn’t repel her; instead, it brought a warm flush that helped her immerse herself and forget her fear.

They kissed for quite a while, their breathing uneven. Her small hands boldly circled around his waist, eventually moving lower toward his solid abdomen...

Suddenly, a large hand caught hers. “You can’t touch here.”

Jiang Shuwei froze. The next second, the man’s lips attacked again. Her captured hand began to misbehave. “Just a little touch, not to feel,” she whispered shamelessly and boldly.

The man was about to let go, giving her a chance.

At that moment, the elevator doors were suddenly pried open. Outside stood twenty or thirty men in suits, all sweating profusely, shocked to see the man and woman pressed together inside. They briefly wondered if they had the wrong elevator.

“Young master…”

The men outside respectfully called out.

Jiang Shuwei felt light streaming in, then saw the path to life. She turned, pushed the man away, grabbed her bag from the floor, and rushed out.

Inside the elevator, the man’s thin lips curved into an amused smile.

***

Time passed, and three months had gone by since Jiang Shuwei returned from her trip abroad.

That night, she was tormented by a nightmare.

In the damp corner of a bathroom,

Jiang Shuwei, her school uniform torn, was forced open-armed by two girls.

The young girl’s freshly developed pale skin bore three blue characters tattooed on her chest.

The leader aimed her phone at Jiang Shuwei’s chest and snapped a photo.

“Get lost…” Jiang Shuwei, humiliated and furious, snarled like a wild beast.

“Delete it, hurry and delete it…” the leader yelled, reading the three words aloud: “He Jingcheng.”

“So shameless, so young yet already learning about love.”

“He Jingcheng is the heir of the He family. How could you possibly like him?”

***

Outside, the heavy rain pounded the windowpane. Jiang Shuwei woke abruptly from the nightmare.

That bitter crush at sixteen had made her infamous at school and had tarnished the reputation of He Jingcheng, the only son of the He family.

She wiped the cold sweat from her temple, opened a drawer, and took out her marriage certificate.

On it were the names: bride Jiang Shuwei, groom He Jingcheng.

The groom did not love the bride.

“Three years!” Jiang Shuwei pressed her head, staring blankly at the pouring rain outside.

She opened her phone and looked through a post she had made online three years ago.

On her wedding night, abandoned by He Jingcheng in the bridal chamber, she had posted a question to netizens.

She asked: If a man doesn’t love you but still marries you, is there a chance that love will grow over time? How likely is happiness? Who can give me advice to make him remember me forever?

Jiang Shuwei was surprised to find over a hundred comments. People were genuinely responding.

One commenter gave a sharp reply: A man who doesn’t love you will never grow to love you over time; the chance of happiness is zero; to make him remember you forever, hang yourself at his front door.

Jiang Shuwei stared wide-eyed, feeling as if a pair of scissors had shredded her heart.

She glanced at the time—just past four in the morning.

Unable to sleep, she decided to turn on her computer and edit some photos from the studio the day before.

Her mother, once by chance, rescued a wealthy socialite from a billionaire family. After her mother’s untimely death, Jiang Shuwei was adopted by that socialite.

Now, that foster mother had become her loving mother-in-law.

The sixteen-year-old girl who once had a mad crush and tattooed the heir’s name on her chest—He Jingcheng—was now his wife.

By all rights, she should have stepped through the door to happiness.

But after three years of marriage, He Jingcheng’s attitude toward her remained cold and distant, limited to routine interactions, never showing the affection of a husband.

Jiang Shuwei glanced again at the comments.

No chance for love to grow. No chance for happiness.

Should she continue holding on?

Her phone suddenly rang. The caller was Zhou Haixin, her partner at the studio.

“Shuwei, you should check the school network. Someone’s insulting you.”

Jiang Shuwei frowned. “What are they saying?”

Zhou Haixin said, “They’re calling you a has-been medical genius who isn’t even worthy of licking the shoes of the Su family’s eldest daughter.”

Su Mian?

Jiang Shuwei’s heart ached. Su Mian was He Jingcheng’s first love.