Qiao Ruo hated her life.
She was born as the only child to a middle-income couple, who died unexpectedly in a car crash on the way to attend a wedding, when she was just five. She resented how her parents had left her behind, placing her in the care of her money-craving aunt, a widow called Yan Ning. Though she possessed a good relationship with her aunt's only daughter, her aunt had only brought her up on the account that she marry into a wealthy family, and given the chance, she would sell her to a rich old man. Yan Xiazhi, her young cousin, was a different case. She was young, refreshing and innocent.
Qiao Ruo was nothing like that. She lived a life of lies, she had to get around by borrowing from others, because everything her aunt managed to get would go to Yan Xiazhi first. Every summer holiday, she worked like a horse to raise money to give to her demanding aunt and to clear her debts.
She ended up entering a regular university on a loan she undertook to pay off herself, but the minute she received a job offer to become a reporter, she jumped at the opportunity. She took on the pseudonym Ruolan for her articles.
But only after entering the company for the first time, she realized the job was not as easy as it seemed. She put up with months of bullying, and ended up having her scoop stolen by her colleague, the scheming Wang Tong. This Wang Tong had been the very person who had bullied her and aimed to have her kicked out of the company. She firmly believed Wang Tong was in cahoots with the owner of the company, and sleeping with the owner's young son.
Her reporting boss gave her one more chance, and that was to secure a scoop which was, to follow the mysterious heir Cree Ye, a man who was said to have never had a woman in his life, to a bar downtown, and capture any juicy news of a possible scandal. Cree Ye was said to be the adoptive son of a low-profile millionaire Ye Nantian, who despite his wealth, seldom made his appearance anyway where paparazzi could obtain ample information about him. So Cree was targeted instead. And what was special about this mission? The fact that a woman had yet to catch his attention, so her boss actually wanted Qiao Ruo to go for this opportunity.
She wanted to open her mouth to argue that she was not a hooker, but her job was already on the line since she had already lost so many opportunities in the past to obtain scoop. Her boss warned her that this would be her very last chance, and she had to give it her all, or she would not be able to continue living in the city, given all her debts and how she barely made enough every month to cover all her bills and expenses.
But she hadn't expected that it would all end up being ruined by the handsome stranger who had goaded her into getting drunk, and the worst part was that she had ended up waking next to him in a strange room. She was not oblivious to what had happened, and she remembered briefly the wild events that had happened the night before, and how she had given herself up in passion to a total stranger. How could she even face the world after what she had done?
The only thing she could do was escape, but she had ended up leaving her wallet behind, and now she had no means of surviving for the rest of the month. There was nobody she could go to for help, and nobody who would care about her.
If only her parents hadn't died young.
If only her parents hadn't left her behind.
If only... she wasn't Qiao Ruo. Maybe she shouldn't have even been born in this world, if she was destined to such hardship and torment.
Maybe the society wasn't even aware of her existence.
She remembered clearly her boss' words. "You're young and beautiful. Put your assets and your looks to good use."
Initially, she was not going to give herself away without a thought, just like that. Yet, it had happened, when she was attracted by Ye Qi and had slept with him in the aftermath of their wild and hot drinking session. She had surrendered herself to him in a moment of passion, without considering the consequences, and now, she had a lifetime to regret her decisions. What if it caused her to never get married in the future? What if she would end up alone for eternity?
Back in the countryside, they looked down on unmarried women who had lost their virginities. She didn't appreciate being judged for her drunken mistake. But every feature of the handsome man, had been etched deep inside her memory.
She felt disgusted with herself, and detested herself even more for being so cheap and easy, and she sincerely hoped that she would not meet the man again.
But five minutes later, her phone rang, with an unknown number appearing on the screen of her phone. She probably didn't have to answer it, but she wouldn't give up any chances to score her scoop of Cree Ye. She had been communicating with unreliable independent sources, all for the sake of any news of Cree.
Qiao Ruo heard a woman's hideous laughter on the other side of the line, and the woman warned her that she was going to get it from her. Immediately, she recognized the voice to be that of her rival, no other than the despicable Wang Tong, the exact person who had been petty enough to even push her on the ground in the pantry at work just because she was getting coffee and the woman also wanted a drink!
What did Wang Tong want this time? She gritted her teeth and held back her tears, before turning around and looking into the face of a man with a creepy smile, who was also armed with a metal pole.
It was too late, and in a matter of seconds, he had swung the pole at her head, causing her to faint from the impact...
