Lu Chen's earth-shattering, soul-piercing words detonated like a depth charge against Jiang Wanxing's heart—long frozen, proud, and unyielding. Her phoenix-like eyes, beautiful enough to make any man lose himself, shimmered now with a thin, crystalline veil of tears born from an emotion so fierce it threatened to overwhelm her entirely. Beneath that watery haze lay not the usual ice-cold detachment, but a dormant volcano erupting without warning, spewing molten passion that could melt the world…
She felt stunned, bewildered, incredulous—and a shiver raced through her limbs, as if her most secret shame had been laid bare.
"Y-you… who are you, really?!" For the first time, Jiang Wanxing's voice cracked with a raw rasp and tremor. The slender jade fingers gripping her glass quivered uncontrollably, sending ripples through the blood-red vintage wine pouring over the back of her pale, veined hand.
Lu Chen knew the moment had arrived.
He forced himself to endure the agonizing pain surging through his brain like a tidal wave—brought on by overdriving the "Heart Hunter's Chronicle"—and the nearly overwhelming exhilaration of dismantling this "Venomous Queen's" defenses. Yet his face betrayed a heightened excitement at having unearthed the truth, mingled with apprehension. He took a single step forward, narrowing the chasm between them. With his advance came a subtle undercurrent of youthful masculinity—sun-warmed, sweat-tinged—slipping into Jiang Wanxing's numb senses like the most intoxicating poison.
Her supple curves trembled reflexively. The long, elegant legs sheathed in black fishnets instinctively drew together, as though resisting an unknown, primal pull that made her both fearful and… oddly thrilled.
"It matters not who I am, Ms. Jiang," Lu Chen said, his voice soft yet charged with magnetic seduction. "What matters is that I may be one of the very few in this world capable of truly understanding the pride… and loneliness… that lurk deep within you."
"Loneliness?" She laughed, but it was a cold, bitter sound, laced with self-mockery and sorrow. "You dare call me… lonely? I possess boundless wealth, command a vast empire, and have countless men vying for my favor—some willing to sacrifice everything for a moment in my bed. And you… you tell me I'm lonely?"
The last words cut through the room like ice, her phoenix eyes blazing with lethal intent, ready to tear him apart.
Lu Chen recognized her defensive armor snapping back into place—her queenly poise, her frosty words, all a façade to conceal the raging storm within. To falter now would render all his efforts meaningless.
"Yes, lonely," he replied, his gaze as clear as a star-filled sky, warmed by unwavering conviction. He met her lethal stare without flinching. "Your wealth, your power, the men fawning at your feet—they satisfy every material desire, feed your vanity. But, Ms. Jiang," he murmured, voice tinged with heartbreaking regret, "they can never fill the hollow in your heart—the void left by a lack of… true understanding and acceptance."
"Silence!" Her face drained of blood in an instant, as pale as freshly fallen snow. She sprang to her feet from the leather throne that symbolized her supremacy, sending a sculpted silver ornament crashing to the floor. Rage and a flicker of unacknowledged fear made her body quake, the silk of her black dress stretching taut across her curves, threatening to tear under the strain of her heaving chest.
Lu Chen could almost hear her heart pounding like a wild stallion against her ribs, echoing the turmoil inside her.
"Lu Chen!" she hissed, voice edged with hysteria. "Who do you think you are?! Who gave you the right to meddle in my life?! I could have the guards throw you out like a rabid dog and see to it you never set foot in Star City again!"
A blatant threat—the true face of the notorious "Demon Queen" Jiang Wanxing.
His heart clenched, as if gripped by an invisible hand. He stood at the precipice, knowing one wrong move would be his undoing. Yet the very agony wracking his mind lent him an unexpected clarity.
He refused to retreat. Instead, he stepped even closer, so near that he could smell the intoxicating blend of bespoke perfume and mature womanhood rising from her heaving bosom.
"By all means, summon the guards," he said softly, his tone eerily calm. "Have me erased from this world, if you wish. But if you do… the regrets you harbor over the Starry Cup—and your twenty-year-old admiration and guilt toward Teacher Gu—will remain unavenged, won't they?"
"'Starry Cup'… 'Teacher Gu'!"
The names, long buried in her memory, slipped from his lips like a curse. Her phoenix eyes, once ablaze with fury, froze as if crystallized by celestial frost. Her face, flushed and fierce just moments ago, went as white as an A4 sheet, translucent and terrified. She staggered back, catching herself on the mahogany desk, legs trembling.
"How… how do you know these things?!" Terror and disbelief laced her every word. The haughty glare was gone, replaced by eyes like extinguished stars.
Lu Chen knew he had won. His "Heart Hunter's Chronicle" had not merely cracked her icy defenses—it had detonated them from within.
Twenty years ago, a young, unknown design graduate named Jiang Wanxing entered the Starry Cup National Young Jewelry Designers Competition with an anonymous piece titled "Ephemeral Blossom." Its breathtaking creativity and masterful craftsmanship stunned the judges, marking her as the dark horse favourite. Chief judge Teacher Gu, a titan in the jewelry world, defied the panel to champion Jiang Wanxing, even offering to take her under her wing.
But on the eve of the final, Jiang Wanxing's masterpiece vanished, replaced by a crude forgery—an act of betrayal born of family intrigue and corporate sabotage. Accused of fraud, her entry was disqualified and she was banned from the industry for life. Teacher Gu, implicated by association, retreated into obscurity and soon passed away, her hopes extinguished.
That scandal left an indelible scar on Jiang Wanxing's soul—the driving force behind her exile, her vow to conquer the business world, and her promise to avenge Teacher Gu's ruined legacy.
She believed no one but herself could know these secrets. Yet here stood a seemingly insignificant young man, speaking them with calm certainty. It was more terrifying than witnessing the apocalypse.
Gently, Lu Chen brushed a stray lock of hair from her brow, eyes alight with pity. His voice was softer than a lover's whisper, yet carried undeniable power: "Ms. Jiang, the past cannot be rewritten. But we can mend the regrets of the future… together. Tell me—what is the true desire buried in your heart? Or… allow me to help you achieve it?"