Chapter 55

Chapter 55 Nightmare “What you did was attempted rape.”

The second to last day of April was Fan Qin’s engagement banquet.

Han Rao remembered very clearly, that day was a cloudless Friday.

At that time, Han Rao was filming a spy drama in Shenyang. She played the female lead, working undercover alongside the male lead in the military intelligence. For this role, Han Rao once again cut her long hair, which she had painstakingly grown out, down to shoulder length.

Her character in the play had her hair permed with inward curls to fit the era, giving her a neat and tidy appearance.

Han Rao returned to attend Fan Qin’s engagement party with this brand-new image.

She took two days off from the crew and returned to Beicheng a day early.

Zhao Jichuan actually knew she had cut her hair short; last month when he visited the film crew, he saw her like this with his own eyes. But this time, he still felt somewhat unaccustomed.

With her hair permed into curls, Han Rao could be said to be even more enchanting.

It turned out she had long, straight black hair; her charming looks, accentuated by her hair, carried a hint of pure innocence.

Especially on the day of the engagement banquet, she deliberately chose a dark green modified qipao with a landscape painting style, paired with a pair of French Mary Jane low heels in a khaki-pink shade.

At first glance, she exuded the charm of a classical beauty—formal yet not overly ostentatious, ensuring she wouldn’t steal the spotlight from the protagonist of the engagement banquet.

Han Rao and Zhao Jichuan rode together to attend the engagement banquet of Fan Qin and Li Wan.

In the car, Zhao Jichuan held her hand, his gaze occasionally falling on her hair.

In the end, he still couldn’t resist and raised his hand to touch her exposed neck, his wrist gently pressing against the collar of her clothes.

The man’s hand was warm, and Han Rao found it quite comforting. She turned her head to rest on his shoulder, grasped his other hand, and, in the light, examined the lines on his palm.

“I still prefer your long hair,” he said suddenly.

Han Rao pouted and glanced at him sideways, “Does my short hair not look good?”

“Also good-looking.”

Zhao Jichuan pinched her ear; today she was wearing pearl earrings, delicate and exquisite.

Han Rao wrinkled her nose and said slyly, “If it doesn’t look good, it doesn’t look good. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. Mr. Zhao, you don’t have to lie just to please me.”

Zhao Jichuan chuckled softly. She was still as sharp-tongued as ever, utterly irresistible. Especially when it came to her style, she carried the air of a female star, not allowing him to call her ugly. She usually pretended to respect personal aesthetic differences while simultaneously covering his mouth with her hand, threatening him to compliment her.

Of course, she wasn’t truly ugly.

Temperament is something innate; no matter how ordinary the clothes, when worn by her, they cannot conceal the natural radiance she carries within.

But Zhao Jichuan just liked teasing her, liked seeing her fierce and lively expressions, liked any sincere emotion she showed.

Only in this way did he feel that she was real, truly belonging to him.

Zhao Jichuan glanced at Wang Jie, who was driving in the driver’s seat, and through the rearview mirror, he could see Wang Jie smiling.

Their eyes unexpectedly met like this, and Wang Jie felt a bit embarrassed, immediately looking away and gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands.

Zhao Jichuan lowered his gaze, his lips close to her ear, but she whispered softly, as if afraid that others might overhear.

He said, “I like your long hair because when we’re making love, it can wrap around my hand in coils.”

The scorching breath brushed against her ear, causing Han Rao’s heart to tremble, and a flush immediately spread across her earlobes.

He really was like that—when their affair ended, he liked to hold her in his arms to comfort her. At times like this, he would usually wrap his right arm around her shoulders, twirling her jet-black hair around his fingers playfully.

Her hair was cared for year-round, with an exceptionally good texture—moisturized and smooth. No matter how tangled he made it, when she lifted her hand, her hair would effortlessly come undone and slip through his palm.

Zhao Jichuan didn’t know why, but he was especially captivated by this feeling, enchanted by the sensation of her hair slipping through his fingers.

Clearly, he could hold on tightly with his hand, but he willingly watched the hair fall, picking it up again and again.

He considered this to be his unique fetish in bed.

So seeing her with short hair felt a bit unsettling.

Han Rao had already liked it when he said some coarse words, especially when he was dressed neatly and elegantly. With the appearance of a gentleman and an aloof demeanor, yet he would reveal his purest, most wild nature in front of her—it was truly intoxicating.

Perhaps it was because they were the same kind of people that Han Rao smiled with pursed lips.

However, she still glared at him, giving him a fierce look to warn him not to act recklessly; they had important business to attend to today.

Of course, Zhao Jichuan was just casually talking to her, making a joke that belonged exclusively to couples.

Immediately, the man grew serious, gripping her hand and asking questions here and there without much focus.

Han Rao chatted casually with him while studying the lines on his palm. She said, “Zhao Jichuan, let me read your palm. I heard about this from my grandmother when I was a child.”

She brushed her fingertips across his palm and pointed out, “This is the lifeline. Your lifeline is really long.”

Zhao Jichuan said nothing, quietly watching her play around.

“This one is the career line.” Han Rao clicked her tongue twice, “You’re amazing, your career line is this long.”

“What about the other one?”

Han Rao traced the line with her fingertip, half-jokingly, “This one is the love line. Your love line is a bit messy, looks like you’ve had some setbacks.”

Zhao Jichuan let out a soft “oh,” turned his palm over, clasped her hand, and teased, “Tomorrow, don’t go back to the set to act. Find a busy pedestrian bridge, set up a little bench, and do fortune-telling for people.”

“Art has always been a universal language. What you’re doing counts as performing—your old trade.”

Han Rao pouted. Why was this person’s tongue so sharp? She just said he wasn’t good, and he snapped back at her with interest.

So authoritarian—only allowed to say good things, never bad. How on earth did she put up with such an arrogant man?

Han Rao glanced at him sideways, adjusted the shawl around her shoulders, and sincerely felt that she was a person with strong mental resilience.

The car sped along the road and soon arrived at the hotel where Fan Qin’s engagement banquet was being held.

Han Rao heard from Zhao Jichuan that the Fan family placed great importance on this engagement banquet, and the interior decorations were designed by the top designers in the industry.

But as soon as Han Rao entered, she found that the design of the engagement banquet was completely different from what she had imagined. She thought that, given Fan Qin’s flamboyant and abstract personality, the engagement banquet or his birthday party would have an abstract style—like a row of gold-edged human-shaped standees—or a luxurious style, decorated like the decadent style of his company’s office.

But it was neither of these.

The engagement party was decorated in a minimalist style with blue as the main color. At a glance, it felt like stepping into an elegant art gallery, evoking a natural sense of reverence for art.

Even amidst the bustling crowd, the elegance of the scene was unmistakable.

Han Rao immediately thought of Li Wan, that woman whose every gesture exuded grace and intellect.

This was her style.

Zhao Jichuan looked at her slightly stunned expression and squeezed her hand, “What’s wrong?”

Han Rao shook her head and suddenly asked with a hint of gossip, “How did Fan Qin and Li Wan end up together?”

They were so mismatched that even an outsider would think they were incompatible.

Han Rao wasn’t usually comfortable gossiping about other people’s love stories or indirectly questioning their choices, but this time, she really couldn’t help it.

Immediately after, Zhao Jichuan led her along while half-understandingly telling her the story he knew about Fan Qin’s Li Wan.

Fan Chen and Li Wan could barely be considered childhood sweethearts. Fan Chen was five years older than Li Wan, and when they were young, Li Wan liked to cling to him, asking him to take her along to play. Over time, feelings developed between them.

It is said that when Fan Qin was twenty and Li Wan was fifteen, the two of them got together.

Later, when the Li family found out about this, Li Wan’s father got very angry and sent Li Wan abroad to study.

The two of them were essentially done.

After the break, Fan Qin began to rebel, refusing to follow the path his father had laid out for him. He started his own company, Xingyun Entertainment. In a fit of anger, his father cut off his funding. However, during the toughest times of Fan Qin’s startup, the Li family invested and became shareholders, giving him a great deal of help.

No one knew what this sum of money was about, and no one knew whether Fan Qin and Li Wan had been in contact over the years.

By the time everyone realized what was happening, Li Wan had already returned to the country and opened a studio. After that, she and Fan Qin were often seen together at various events, sparking rumors that the two were going to get engaged.

Everyone sighed that Fan Qin, a man who had been wild for a long time, could be easily controlled by Li Wan. Yet few people knew that before Li Wan was even an adult, she had once risked everything to be with Fan Qin.

Everything probably cannot outweigh the cycle of cause and effect.

No one knew how many hardships they had endured before coming back together.

Han Rao listened to this heartrending love story, clicking her tongue in disbelief.

She looked at the heroine of the engagement party, Li Wan, who was wearing a white fringed dress and raising her glass towards her.

Han Rao raised her glass, a smile on her face, and clinked it with hers across the air.

She gently lifted her head, sipped half a cup of wine, and felt the sweetness in her mouth blend with the fairly sweet love stories she had heard today, leaving a rich aftertaste.

The engagement banquet that day was especially lively, with countless celebrities and dignitaries gathered together. Some of the elders, Han Rao had even seen on TV a few years ago.

She followed Zhao Jichuan as they traveled around, and the man introduced her to many people. Han Rao also drank quite a bit.

In the end, she drank until she was slightly tipsy and felt the room was stifling and unbearably hot, so she told him she was going out for some fresh air.

Han Rao walked alone to the rooftop, sat on the swing chair, and felt the evening breeze. Since it wasn’t truly summer yet, the night wind was still somewhat cool.

Han Rao shivered, her feet touching the ground, gently swaying on the swing.

This swing chair was beautifully decorated, and when the wind blew, waves of floral fragrance wafted through the air. Han Rao turned her head and realized that the flowers entwined on both sides of the swing were real.

Just with that turn of her head, she suddenly saw a familiar face, shattering her good mood for the entire day.

Han Rao trembled slightly, gripping the chair, looking at the man with deep eyes with a mix of caution and hatred.

Lin Siliang raised his glass and raised his eyebrows at her. He said, “Miss Han, I’ve been waiting for you for a long time, and I’ve been watching you for a long time too.”

Han Rao lowered her eyes, somewhat regretting having come out alone to get some fresh air.

Actually, in the second half of the engagement banquet, Han Rao saw Lin Siliang. He was wearing a pink suit today, making it hard not to be noticed.

But there were especially many people on site today, and since Han Rao kept following Zhao Jichuan, she managed to avoid him.

She never expected that Lin Siliang had been waiting patiently all along, watching for her. And when exactly he followed her to the rooftop, she hadn’t sensed a thing—she was completely unaware.

“Young Master Lin, what do you want with me?” Han Rao clenched her handbag, opened the clasp, reached inside for her phone, and took a step back to keep a safe distance from him.

“Nothing much, we’re pretty familiar with each other, just chatting casually.” Lin Siliang brushed back his hair and pointed to his forehead, “After all, Miss Han really hit hard back then, it even left a scar.”

Han Rao tugged at the corner of her mouth, a bit flustered, and nodded at the phone, “That’s what the hell you deserve!”

Lin Silang shrugged, raised his hand to take a sip of wine, gently swirling the glass in his hand. “So, after being with Zhao Jichuan for so long, he still hasn’t managed to tame your bad temper?”

“Since you know I’m with him, you shouldn’t be provoking me now. Do you think if he found out about what happened back then, he would let you off?”

Lin Silang carefully recalled the scene from that day and, frowning, seriously asked her, “Will he care?”

“Do you think he would care about some old nonsense from five or six years ago, just for you?”

Han Rao was caught off guard by the question. She paused for a moment, suddenly feeling quite uncertain inside.

Yeah, would Zhao Jichuan care?

Han Rao did not know

Way.

She actually didn’t want to open old wounds and talk to Zhao Jichuan about these messy things. She was already trying to move on and didn’t want anyone else to know.

“Moreover, what happened five or six years ago—back then, even if you reported it to the police, it was useless. Do you think there’s any evidence left now?”

“Let’s take a step back. Even if you reported to the police, a case was filed, and the police came to arrest me, what crime do you think I would be convicted of?”

Lin Siliang asked her.

Han Rao gritted her teeth and said, “What you did was attempted rape.”

“Han Rao, don’t forget, I also had four stitches on my head. By that logic, shouldn’t I sue you for intentional injury as well?”

“When the time comes, the two of us go in together; at least we’ll have each other for company.”

Han Rao knew that Lin Silang was as disgusting as a fly. With so many people at the engagement banquet today, and Zhao Jichuan still present, there was no way he would dare to do anything to her.

To put it bluntly, if he had dared to act, he would have had plenty of opportunities during the four years she was blacklisted. But he never did, which shows that this illegitimate son of the Lin family still had some fear and didn’t dare to make a big fuss.

Today, he was holding in that anger on purpose, deliberately standing out to disgust her, just like on Su Wan’s birthday when he insisted on shoving the first slice of cake into her hands.

Han Rao didn’t want to be led around by him, nor did she want to say another word to the beast, so she turned to leave.

Seeing this, Lin Siliang suddenly called out to her. He changed to a slightly calmer tone and said, “Han Rao, don’t rush off. I have something important to discuss with you today. Let’s talk.”

Han Rao let out a light, mocking laugh. Could she believe his nonsense?

“The day you die, then come settle the matter with me.”

She lifted her leg to leave, but Lin Silang grabbed her wrist.

The moment the skin was pasted on, Han Rao broke out in goosebumps all over from head to toe; she felt her scalp tingle and a physiological wave of nausea.

She looked at him with rejection, struggling to break free while raising her other hand to slap him.

Lin Silang met her gaze and suddenly, at just the right moment, let go.

He shrugged, “I really have something to tell you.”

Han Rao raised her hand to touch her exposed arm, rubbing it repeatedly.

She couldn’t help but think back to that day, the man drunk but frighteningly strong; she had refused, yet he insisted on holding her and trying to kiss her.

She struggled fiercely, kicking and thrashing, but couldn’t break free. He pinned her against the cold bathroom stall wall and raised his hand, splashing red wine onto her face.

Han Rao’s vision immediately blurred; it was this one intrusion that he took advantage of, and all she heard was the sound of fabric tearing.

Han Rao just felt her teeth beginning to chatter.

Taking this opportunity, he stood in front of her, the green light casting an eerie hue on his face. “Can you please stop bullying my girlfriend?”

He said in a careless manner, no matter how you look at it, it doesn’t seem like he’s trying to seek justice for his girlfriend.

“Wanwan has a bad temper and doesn’t understand social niceties. How did she offend you? You could have been a bit more tolerant; there was no need to scare her at the airport.”

“She is currently at the peak of her career, and this relationship can’t be made public. After all, Miss Han, you should understand that. When you scared her like that, she was on edge all day, afraid that tomorrow you would reveal our relationship to the paparazzi.”

“Miss Han, please have mercy, will you?”

“Everyone online says you’re a kind person; you can’t just ruin your own image, can you?”

Han Rao laughed out loud. Lin Silang and Su Wan really are a pair, each one more dramatic than the other.

She shook her head, suppressing the unpleasant memories, too lazy to argue with him. Just as she was about to leave, a warm breeze swept in from behind.

Zhao Jichuan naturally wrapped his arm around her waist. In that moment, the familiar scent lingered nearby, and Han Rao suddenly felt very, very at ease, her previously anxious heart settling calmly.

The man lifted his eyes to look at Lin Silang, a chill flashing through his gaze. He let out a light snort and said, “Matters between women, Young Master Lin, isn’t it a bit inappropriate for you to interfere?”

Lin Siliang cleared his throat; he was somewhat afraid of Zhao Jichuan, a man notorious for his ruthlessness. He had heard about it ever since being brought back to the Lin family.

And a few years ago, he was just fooling around, causing a bit of a commotion and disrupting his birthday party. He flew into a rage, told his father, and as a result, he was locked up in confinement for a long time.

“That is true.” Lin Silang showed an expression of respect towards Zhao Jichuan.

Actually, what he wanted to say was, last time when Su Wan hit Han Rao, weren’t you also abusing your power?

But he didn’t dare. There was no way around it; there is always someone stronger, and when under someone else’s roof, you have no choice but to bow your head.

Lin Silang understood this truth from a young age. His status as an illegitimate child destined him to be bullied and looked down upon by his older brothers at home.

Lin Silang showed a flattering smile and looked at Zhao Jichuan, “President Zhao, you have a point. It’s just that I think Han Rao is a kinder person…”

Zhao Jichuan impatiently cut him off, lowering his voice, “Who do you think you are, to even have the right to judge her?”