Chapter 104: Xue Zheng, I Was the First to Truly Love You

At eighteen, he was still a callow youth newly entangled in love, scarcely understanding what love truly meant, nor the weight of responsibility. All he knew was that being with her felt wonderful.

Back then, his shoulders were slender, not yet broad or strong enough; he was not yet powerful, nor capable of protecting this pure love.

So in the end, he lost her—they were separated by life and death.

In the deep night, Xiao Xuezhen sat beneath the tree that buried their memories, leaning against its trunk. He didn’t know where he produced a bottle of strong liquor, unscrewed the cap, and suddenly poured it down his throat.

Today was the day she was born, the day she died to save him...

Perhaps only by numbing himself with alcohol could his heart ache less.

Every year on this day, the past tormented him mercilessly...

Every year, he found no peace on this day.

Before long, he had drowned himself in drink.

The liquor burned fiercely, the wind was cold, and his heart ached deeply.

“Xuezhen…”

A clear, melodious voice came from the darkness beside him.

Like a spring breeze in early summer, it was exactly the same voice as hers, the one who had died.

His tall frame shuddered violently; eyes wide with disbelief, he immediately turned to see a slender, graceful figure clad in green flash before him.

In his memories, she had always loved wearing green.

She once told him that green symbolized the color of spring, bringing joy and vitality.

“Zaozao…”

Tears blurred his vision as he rubbed his eyes and stood up in disbelief, stunned as he walked toward her.

It was really her...

He could not believe it—Zaozao was not dead... She had come back to life, standing alive and breathing before him!

Chi Wanwan watched his reaction and heard his trembling voice, a triumphant curl gracing her crimson lips.

Her arched brows reflected both the joy of a successful scheme and deep, bitter resentment.

She knew he would come here today, the day her sister had met her fate.

So she had long ago rifled through her sister’s belongings, donning the clothes and makeup her sister once favored.

As for their appearance, the sisters were naturally very alike.

She was confident that everything she had meticulously prepared would surely lure him in.

Today—no, tonight—was the best chance for her to claim him and eliminate that despicable Shi Runrun!

He still remembered his sister; she was alive in his heart. That was her greatest leverage.

As for her bitterness, Chi Wanwan hated how, even after so many years since her sister’s death, he still clung to her memory...

Someone who had been gone ten years yet still lived in his heart, never fading away!

While she, the woman who now adored him most in the world, had never captured his gaze!

Chi Wanwan seethed with hatred!

She had thought that after her sister’s death, she would have a chance—yet then Shi Runrun appeared!

She hated it so much...

The next moment, Xiao Xuezhen opened his arms wide and suddenly embraced her tightly, tears welling in his dark eyes like never before.

“Zaozao… Zaozao… you’re not dead… thank God… you’re not dead… my Zaozao…”

He murmured softly, his magnetic voice utterly captivating.

Chi Wanwan nestled in his arms, her heart pounding fiercely.

She had never known that being held by him, enveloped in his embrace and breathing in his masculine scent, could feel like this.

So blissful… truly so blissful…

No wonder her sister had once risked her life to save him…

If it had been her, she would have done the same.

Chi Wanwan’s trembling hands rose to gently stroke his broad back, then tightened, holding on firmly.

For the first time, she could hold him this intimately, embrace him…

“Xuezhen…”

She deliberately mimicked her sister’s voice to call him, over and over, drawing out his passionate hug and the sudden tilt of her chin.

The early summer wind howled past as they shared this tender moment.

Meanwhile, in the Xiao family villa, Shi Runrun tossed and turned in bed, plagued by an ominous premonition, unable to sleep.

Between opening and closing her eyes, all she could see was the strange look he had given her before leaving.

His eyes held coldness, distance, and sorrow…

What had he been thinking at that moment to show such sadness and grief…

Shi Runrun didn’t know. The more she thought, the less she could sleep, until finally giving up and getting out of bed to call him.

She wanted to ask if he would come home tonight.

She wanted to ask where he had been so late.

She wanted to ask why he acted so strangely this evening…

But all these questions were cut off by the voice on the other end saying the phone was switched off.

Shi Runrun hung up, lowering her hands, sitting helplessly at the bedside, gazing at the dark, profound night sky and the full moon, lost in thought…

She was waiting for her husband to return, with many questions on her lips, but it seemed that tonight, he would not come home…

…

In the luxurious presidential suite of a hotel.

Chi Wanwan had imagined countless times what it would feel like to kiss him.

It was thrilling, uncontrollable.

It was as if touching him would send her soaring to the clouds.

While kissing his handsome face, she reached out, unable to resist caressing his strong body.

Having lived in America for over ten years, she had restrained herself from seeking other men; nearly thirty, yet still a virgin, waiting for this very day, this very moment, to give herself to him…

At last, her wish was about to be fulfilled…

She kissed him, tears streaming down her cheeks, hot and burning, falling onto the man’s flushed, handsome face as he closed his eyes drunkenly.

She trembled, sobbing, “Xuezhen… Xuezhen… you don’t know, I was the first to fall for you!”

“At the opening ceremony of Harvard University in America, I spotted you in the crowd—so striking and upright—I couldn’t help myself, and with that one glance, I fell in love with you. Yes, that’s right, I loved you earlier than my sister…”

“Later, I told my sister that I liked someone and asked her to confess for me. I told her your name and asked her to find out about you. But I never expected that in the end, she fell for you too!”

Chi Wanwan sobbed softly, her voice faltering. She bit her crimson lips hard, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes flashing with intense hatred and venom!

“Even more shocking was that you two actually got together! She’s my own sister! How could she steal the man I loved! You don’t know how much pain and hatred I felt when I found out you were together!”