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第一章：进入迷宫

Chapter 1: Into the Maze

The night was as dark as ink, the bustling city shrouded in shadows, with only the flickering neon lights illuminating the cold, indifferent world. Xia Weiwei stood on the rooftop of a skyscraper, her hair tousled by the breeze that carried a hint of chill, as if reminding her of the danger she was in.

"Am I really going to do this?" She repeatedly questioned herself, her fingers clenched tightly, turning white. She was no longer the young girl who had just entered the workforce, full of dreams. Since she stepped into Gu Ziqian's world, everything had become complicated and blurred. Her life, her dreams, even her moral compass, had begun to shift under the influence of this man.

Gu Ziqian, a man desired by countless women, cold and inscrutable, was not only a business mogul but also a ruler of the underworld. His appearance, like a meteor, shattered the calm life Xia Weiwei once knew. But what he brought was not just light, but also danger and the unknown.

"You don't have to be afraid. As long as you're with me, you'll never be in harm's way." Those were the words Gu Ziqian had once said to her, his voice deep and magnetic, almost carrying a kind of magic that made one subconsciously want to rely on him. But Xia Weiwei knew what it meant to rely on him—it meant losing herself, becoming a part of his world.

She shook her head, trying to dispel these chaotic thoughts from her mind, but those dark eyes lingered in her thoughts, impossible to shake off. She remembered the first time he looked at her, those cold, sharp eyes that seemed to pierce through her soul, seeing into her deepest secrets. And in that moment, she felt something she had never felt before—a mixture of fear and an inexplicable attraction.

Xia Weiwei couldn't help but smile bitterly. How could she develop feelings for such a dangerous man? Knowing full well it was a game, she still fell into it without hesitation.

"Gu Ziqian, what do you really want?" She silently asked herself, but only the sound of the wind answered her.

A week ago, Xia Weiwei was still an editor at a well-known fashion magazine, living a busy yet fulfilling life. But an unexpected interview completely altered her fate. That day, she was assigned by her magazine to interview a mysterious business tycoon—Gu Ziqian. Descriptions of him were always incomplete; he was a business genius, as well as a ruthless mafia boss. When Xia Weiwei finally met him, she realized that none of the descriptions could capture the complexity and depth of this man.

The details of that interview had long faded, leaving only the memory of Gu Ziqian's eyes, eyes that seemed to see through everything. What she couldn't forget even more was the sentence he whispered to her as the interview ended—"We will meet again."

Sure enough, in the days that followed, Gu Ziqian became an inescapable part of her life. He would appear in the most unexpected places, whether it was a café or a street corner near her office. Every encounter was so coincidental, yet so unsettling.

Finally, on a dark and stormy night, he appeared at her doorstep, smiling as he said, "Miss Xia, I need you to do something for me."

From that night onward, Xia Weiwei's life went off track.

She was forced into Gu Ziqian's underworld affairs, becoming a pawn in his carefully laid plans. What disturbed her even more was that she found herself increasingly dependent on him, even beginning to anticipate each of their meetings.

"How did I become like this?" Xia Weiwei often asked herself in the dead of night.

She was no longer the girl who pursued fairness and justice in all things; she had begun to learn compromise, to find her own way in the darkness. She knew that if she didn't make a decision soon, she would be completely lost in Gu Ziqian's world, unable to escape.