Chapter 1

The royal castle stood tall and proud inside the forest at the edge of the city, gloriously magnificent without compare . Furthermore, it carried a sense of mystery that drew people in .

The castle’s turrets reached high up into the sky, coming close to the horizon . Under the outline of dusk, it appeared even more distant and unreachable .

Hot .

Very hot . So hot it made one breathless .

On the large, English-style bed, a young girl slept soundly . A luxurious white muslin was draped over her sylphlike, delicate body . Many fine droplets of sweat slowly dripped down her delicate and pretty face and settled in the corners of her thin lips .

The sweat on her arms had already soaked through the white muslin, forming a picture of temptation .

“Nn . So hot… . . ”

Shi XiaoNian made a sound of slight protest as she woke from her deep sleep in a daze .

Her eyes took in the luxurious yet unfamiliar room . A 14th century oil painting on the wall swayed in her hazy vision .

Where was this?

She looked at her surroundings in confusion .

She saw that there was a man sitting on the L-shaped sofa in the corner . His fair, thin fingers were just gracefully swirling a glass of red wine .

Who are you? Why is it so hot here? Can you shut off the heater?”

Upon uttering her first sound, Shi XiaoNian discovered that her voice sounded very weak as if she’d just suffered from a bout of a severe illness .

It was too hot .

“Woman! If you still didn’t wake up, I would have raised the temperature to 88 degrees (~190F) and cook you alive!”

A male voice echoed throughout the boiling hot room . His arrogant, urbane, and violent tone was terrifying .

Cooked alive?

What did he mean cooked alive?

Shi XiaoNian’s mind was a mess . The sweat ran into her eyes, muddling her vision .

She heard the sound of steady footsteps nearby .

She lifted her hand to wipe off the sweat around her eyes, revealing a delicate collarbone . When she looked forward again, her eyes met a falcon-like gaze .

The man stood in front of her bed, his legs long and straight . His spotlessly white shirt accentuated his tall and straight physique . From his collar, two buttons had been loosened at the swell of his throat . His face was so handsome that it could make people choke . His features were carved like gems into his face with straight eyebrows and deep-set eyes . Under his straight, well-defined nose, his thin lips were slightly apart . He was so sensual that it could kill .

The room was clearly hotter than hell, but there was not a trace of sweat on the man’s graceful and calm face .

It was as if he had just walked out of a pictorial . He was young—probably no older than 29 .

Eh? Why did he seem so familiar?

Where had she seen him… . .

Due to her long-term occupational habits, Shi XiaoNian was a person whose mind easily wandered . As she pondered, she really did start staring at the man in a daze, but, very quickly, she came back to her senses because the man took out a silver pistol .

And the muzzle of that pistol was pointed at her .

Huh? What was going on?

“What are you doing? Who are you? What do you want?”

Shi XiaoNian who was sitting on the bed was shocked into scooting back, but the man stepped closer to her . The ice cold pistol muzzle was pasted against her heat-flushed cheek .

She had a face that could be said to be fresh and pure . Her features were refined yet not flamboyant . They were not aggressive but rather comfortably beautiful .

The muzzle of his pistol slowly slid down towards her lips, her pointed chin, then towards her delicate collarbone .

It felt warm–as if he were using his fingers to gently caress her .

Shi XiaoNian unconsciously braced herself . The white muslin had pretty much fallen off her body . Her sweat-covered body immediately turned ice cold .

“Woman! Where is the child you carried for me?”

Gong Ou stood in front of her . His voice was cold and severe as his gaze softly ghosted across her faintly discernable curves underneath the white muslin .

“What?”

Shi XiaoNian stared blankly .

“Three years ago, you carried my child . Where is the child now?”

Gong Ou asked, pausing between each word . With a light movement from his white hands, the muzzle of the pistol drew circles over her chest .

“Child?”

Shi XiaoNian was at a loss . After a long pause, she slowly calmed down . “I say… . did you make a mistake? I don’t know you . I’ve never been pregnant… . ”