Cony Yinxie had remained untouched in her third year of university last life. Though she possessed a delicate beauty, in the prestigious Duzhou University where goddesses were as common as leaves on a tree, she was but an unremarkable sparrow among swans—so much so that people had openly sneered at her like this: "Even if we gathered all the beauties of the campus, she'd still be the last one picked." Ning Yunhuan, who had once been her closest friend, had taken offense to these slurs and had more than once thrown punches on her behalf.

This same Ning Yunhuan had become the woman's lifeline when tragedy struck. With a mother requiring kidney transplantation and two young siblings depending on her, Cony's financial struggles were dire enough to make her seem like the archetypal struggling heroine from a soap opera. It was out of this compassion that Ning Yunhuan introduced her into his family business in senior year—a decision that would prove catastrophic.

The moment she stepped through those doors, it felt as though she had invited a tiger into the house without realizing its nature. That fateful night when she first met Ning Yuncheng by accident marked the beginning of Ning Yunhuan's tragic saga. The memory was imprinted in her mind with surgical precision because this single event had rewritten her entire life trajectory.

Now, what was happening? In both this story and her previous existence, Cony Yinxie's maidenhood had belonged to Ning Yuncheng—setting the foundation for Ning Yunhuan's inevitable position as the suffering side character. But why did things feel different now? Was it because of her rebirth that she had unconsciously entangled herself with Lan Lingyan in some unspoken way, and this connection was altering the fate of Cony's innocence?

Ning Yunhuan barely suppressed a sigh when an arm suddenly coiled around her waist from behind. The familiar warmth against her back instantly silenced any protests forming on her lips. However, the subtle shift in her breathing pattern had already thrown off the rhythm between the lovers inside. A female gasp pierced through the air:

"Don't... not there! It hurts..."

Curiosity warred with propriety within Ning Yunhuan until Lan Lingyan turned her around, clamping a hand over her face to block her view. "Little deceiver," the man's voice growled between ragged breaths as he shifted above his partner, "is that all you feel?"

A shiver crawled up Ning Yunhuan's spine at this crude dialogue. When Cony Yinxie finally emitted a death-rattle sigh and the room fell silent, Lan Lingyan emerged from behind the rosebushes like a venomous serpent coiling around half the spring breeze itself. Through the tangled leaves, Ning Yunhuan glimpsed his cold, calculating eyes trained on her former position before he casually plucked a blooming rose from the thorns.

"Bang!"

The mock gunshot rang out with chilling finality. Though Lan Lingyan's lips curved in a pleasant smile, lethal intent radiated through every nerve of his body. The man who had just experienced an intense physical encounter flinched violently as if truly shot, his limbs trembling so badly he nearly collapsed into the grass.

Lan Lingyan chuckled softly before gently pressing the thorn-free rose against Cony's ear and striding off with her cradled in his arms. When Ning Yunhuan finally climbed into the air-conditioned car after him, she exhaled a breath that felt like it had been held for an eternity.

"Did you enjoy the show?" Lan Lingyan asked as he adjusted the temperature controls, running a hand through her dampened hair. "I told you I'd be here in ten minutes."

"I just wanted to take a walk on campus," Ning hesitated before adding, eyes darting toward his outstretched arm which still held traces of Cony's scent.

"The same woman from yesterday." He pulled her closer, tracing the line where her neck met her shoulder. "The one who looked like she'd rather die than acknowledge her own name."

His fingers lingered there even as he spoke into the phone to raise the cabin temperature. Ning Yunhuan noted with a pang that this was already his second attempt at ensuring her comfort since their meeting last night.