Chapter 1

With fingernails torn off by cold tweezers, she was completely swallowed up by intense pain, which was like a fierce beast with its bloody mouth wide open. A few women in prison uniforms were pressing down a struggling gaunt woman in the same prison uniform. Ling Yiran could only watch as her fingernails were ripped out one by one. The musty smell in the cell mixed with the blood flowing from her fingertips was disgusting. "The best newcomer lawyer in the past is now nothing more than a pile of mud." A cold and harsh voice sounded above Ling Yiran's head. She raised her head desperately and looked at the charming face in front of her. Who would have thought that the popular star, who those in the film and television circle believed to be more innocent than a lotus, was so vicious? "Hao Yimeng, why?" she asked in a trembling voice. "You killed my sister! How dare you ask why?" Hao Yimeng said with a sneer. With extremely vicious eyes, even the corner of her mouth revealed bone-piercing coldness. "It wasn't me... I've been wronged!" she said with difficulty, continuously shaking her head, while beads of sweat as big as beans came out of her body constantly. Her delicate and lovely face had been almost twisted with pain. Hao Yimeng, on the other hand, merely instructed the person who acted. "Continue." As soon as she finished her words, the person moved quicker. Within a short minute, Ling Yiran's nails were completely removed. Red blood was repeatedly surging out from her badly mangled wounds, incarnadining the entire ground of the prison. Ling Yiran was wincing in pain. However, she still tried her best to raise her body with her black eyes fixed on the man standing beside Hao Yimeng. That was... her former boyfriend! The man who once promised to protect her for the rest of her life. In the past, even if her fingers were accidentally pricked by a needle, he would feel distressed for a long time. But now, he just watched her nails being pulled out piece by piece. "Zi... Ziqi..." She cried almost at the top of her voice. "Please... please believe me..." He was still dressed in a suit and tie as usual, but when he looked at her with his dark eyes, all that remained were only haze and indifference. "Ziqi, you don't sympathize with this woman, do you? She's the murderer of my sister! I just want to let her rest in peace." Hao Yimeng held the man's arm affectionately. Her vicious expression turned into a touching one when she faced him. "She deserves it, so there's no need to pity her." Xiao Ziqi gently stroked Hao Yimeng's carefully maintained hair. "Do whatever you want." He acted as if the woman with blood all over her fingertips on the ground was an object that had no feelings. Ling Yiran opened her eyes wide all of a sudden! "Deserve it? "Ha!" This man, who had once treasured her as the apple of his eye, now left her with only one sentence—she deserved it. With the power that came from some unknown place, she broke away from the person who was controlling her body and then struggled to climb forward, trying to get closer to the man. "Ziqi, I don't know about the car accident... I really didn't drive under the influence that day. It was Hao Meiyu's car... that hit me..." "Pah!" Her left hand with no nails was heavily stamped on the ground by a foot, and the back of her hand was full of searing pain. However, all of these things were still not as painful as Ling Yiran's heartache at the moment. Raising her head with difficulty and looking at Xiao Ziqi, who stamped on her left hand with his leather shoes, she could not believe that he could be so heartless. There was a sharp pain in her hand. She took a deep breath and asked hoarsely, "Did you ever love me?" "What I regret most in my whole life is asking you to be my girlfriend," Xiao Ziqi said in an extremely cold voice. "Ziqi, disable her hands. This is the pair of hands that drove the car, hitting and killing my sister." Hao Yimeng's voice resounded. The next moment, she heard him say, "Okay!" Then, the sound of bones breaking could be heard while she felt such an intense pain that seemed to be exploding in her body... — "Aah!" Ling Yiran opened her eyes suddenly. Only then did she realize that she had been dreaming of what had happened in the prison years ago. She looked down at her calloused hands. After three years of imprisonment, her hands were no longer as soft and delicate as they had been in the past. Although the fingernails on her 10 fingers had grown back, her hands were still injured. At that time, the bones in her fingers were broken one by one. Although she didn't completely lose them, which was due to the bones healing themselves, the joints of her fingers looked a little distorted, and there were many fine movements that she couldn't perform very well. Her fingers hurt her more especially when it was cold or humid outside. Sometimes, when the pain became too strong, she wanted to cut off her hands to get end the pain. In the car accident a few years before, she was accused of driving under the influence and Hao Meiyu was struck and killed. Hao Meiyu was not just the lady of the Hao family, but also the fiancée of Yi Jinli, who was the most powerful man in Shen City. After that, she was betrayed by all her family and friends and was kicked out of the house, and in the end, sentenced to three years in prison. After standing up, Ling Yiran picked up the cleaning tools by her side. She was wearing the bright-colored work suit of a sanitation worker with her long hair tied simply into a ponytail. Her delicate face was slightly reddish due to the cold weather, and under her Almond Eyes were a delicate nose and light-pink lips. If you were to only look at her face, you would think that she was a student who had just graduated from college. However, her eyes did not have the vitality of youth, but instead, the dullness of an old person. Today, she was on the night shift. Just now, she took a nap in the Sanitation Service Center and almost missed the time to go to work. When she was about to leave, she heard a colleague watching the news on her mobile phone. "Hey, Xiao Ziqi and Hao Yimeng are getting engaged. What a lucky girl Hao Yimeng is! As a superstar and a daughter of a rich and powerful family, now she is going to marry into the wealthy Xiao family." Ling Yiran suddenly trembled, and then she hurried out of the Sanitation Service Center. Xiao Ziqi, Hao Yimeng... Those two names represented to her pain deep down in her bones. It was cold on this January night. Ling Yiran was holding on to her broom, cleaning the road. The bones in her hands were aching because of the coldness. "Endure it, and everything will be fine!" Ling Yiran was speaking to herself in her heart. It was a luxury to take painkillers as a sanitation worker. Just when Ling Yiran was sweeping the road, suddenly, a Ferrari stopped in front of her. Three men and a woman got out of the car; they were obviously drunk. One of the men looked at Ling Yiran with a tipsy expression and said roguishly, "Oh, I was wondering who it was, only to find our Young Master Xiao's ex-girlfriend." Ling Yiran looked pale. She recognized the man in front of her as a young rich kid that she had scolded due to his improper behavior when she was dating Xiao Ziqi. "Aren't you a great lawyer? Why are you sweeping the road here?" Sun Tengyang asked knowingly. Another man on the side laughed and said, "Of course it's because she has been in prison. Can a woman who has been in prison be a lawyer again?" The woman spat at Ling Yiran. "Bah, a lawyer? Just a cleaner now!" "Your Young Master Xiao is going to get engaged to Second Miss Hao. How about sleeping with me one time? I'll pay you more than you get for sweeping the streets." Sun Tengyang went forward with a lecherous look and reached out toward Ling Yiran with his big, fat hand. The other three burst into laughter. Ling Yiran wouldn't let him succeed. She dodged desperately, but Sun Tengyang grabbed her arms and pressed her against the wall at the side of the road. It was late at night, and no one passed by this area. Seeing Sun Tengyang pull off the belt on his waist, Ling Yiran raised her foot and kicked him in the crotch. As Sun Tengyang felt a burst of pain, his hands, which had been wrapped around Ling Yiran's neck, loosened. She ran crazily, trying to escape. "Flee, flee!" Sun Tengyang's eyes turned red. Of course, he would not let Ling Yiran go. He drove his Ferrari directly behind her to chase after her. At this time, Ling Yiran ran to the other side of the road. But it was strange because it was usually a busy road here at night. Now, however, it was so desolate that there was not even one car or person. It was kind of... empty here. The four people in the Ferrari also felt that the road in front of them seemed a bit strange. All of a sudden, the woman said, "I remember that the road seems to be closed today." "Closed? Why?" "I'm not sure." "It doesn't matter. Anyway, I have to kill her today!" Sun Tengyang said harshly. He stepped on the gas pedal and the car rushed at Ling Yiran. Ling Yiran tried to avoid the car, but her body was scraped by it and she fell down. When the Ferrari stopped, the four people came out of the car. Sun Tengyang looked at Ling Yiran with a sneer. "Do you think I still love you? I just want you to be f**ked like a female dog on the main road today! Now, no one can protect you." Ling Yiran struggled to get up, but because her body was trembling due to the pain, she could not exert much strength. Sun Tengyang gave a sinister smile, and his fat body directly pressed down on Ling Yiran. Just as Ling Yiran thought that she would not be able to escape this humiliation, footsteps rang out. The sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet night. Then she saw a tall man in an old Chinese Tunic Suit whose bangs almost covered up his eyes, so his face could not be seen. As the man walked up to them, Ling Yiran opened her mouth subconsciously, intending to call for help. But then, she shut her mouth again. There was only one person coming, but there were three big men in the group; it was one versus three. If she asked for help, it would only get the man into trouble for no reason. "Piss off. Don't ruin my plans!" Sun Tengyang shouted at him. The man looked lazily at Sun Tengyang, causing Sun Tengyang's hairs to prickle in fear. His eyes were filled with cold and deathly stillness, as if Sun Tengyang were already dead.