The first time I avoided Mr. Zhao's hand touching my thigh, I secretly called Lu Qinan.

The call was hung up instantly.

I called a few more times, but the same result.

Mr. Zhao wanted to put his arm around me, so I immediately stood up pretending to pour wine.

At this moment, Lu Qinan sent me a WeChat message: \[10 minutes\].

I felt a shiver in my heart, like falling into an ice cellar.

I almost instantly understood what was going on.

Lu Qinan is from a wealthy family and looks down on Zhao's family. Mr. Zhao, the head of Zhao's family, is also notoriously licentious, and many people in the industry disdain dealing with him.

Previously, Lu Qinan ignored Mr. Zhao's repeated invitations to drinks, but this time, for some reason, he agreed.

And he brought me along.

He just said he had something to attend to.

It was all for this moment.

Lu Qinan won't come to rescue me.

Crash—

Before I could react, Mr. Zhao had torn open my shirt!

He leered at my exposed shoulder.

In an instant, all those deliberately forgotten memories rushed back like a flood, bringing familiar suffocation and despair.

I screamed in fear, pushing Mr. Zhao's hands away repeatedly.

As I pushed him away, the door of the private room opened.

Luo Qinan's secretary, Wang, took me away.

Outside the hotel, Lu Qinan's car was parked.

The car window rolled down, revealing Lu Qinan's face.

He looked indifferent to my disheveled state.

He scrutinized me before saying calmly, "Yao Yao has suffered more than this in the past. You should be grateful that I am willing to give you the opportunity to atone. You should learn what empathy is all about."

I stared blankly at the person in front of me, Lu Qinan, my boss and boyfriend, punishing me for another woman.

Just because his childhood friend, Li Qingyao, accused me of bullying her throughout high school and being the mastermind behind her rape right before the college entrance exam.

Lu Qinan then subjected me to a series of punishments.

He called it atonement.

He said he loved me, but Li Qingyao was his most important sister, and I had hurt her, so I had to atone for it.

Only then could he be with me without any grudges.

"Get in the car, I'll take you back, take a shower, and I'll make you your favorite Huai Shan Lily Porridge."

Luo Qinan's tone softened, and there was even a touch of tenderness in his gaze.

After each "punishment," he would use this tone to coax me, and even do things to please me.

Lu Qinan was the first person to say he liked me.

He was very good to me, researching recipes to cook for me, calling to comfort me on stormy nights, and even bending down to tie my shoelaces when they came loose.

I am introverted, never had many friends, and I always subconsciously cherished any kindness shown to me.

So, I almost immediately fell for Lu Qinan's tenderness.

I thought that after all the muddy dark past, I finally had someone to love.

But when Li Qingyao appeared, everything changed again.

I explained to Lu Qinan that Li Qingyao was the bully, but he didn't believe me.

Lu Qinan said he had been childhood friends with Li Qingyao for more than twenty years, and he knew very well what kind of person she was, telling me not to use such low means to sow discord.

Many times, I thought about breaking up, but every time I remembered his kindness, the words of breaking up never came out of my mouth.

Once, I loved the way he looked at me with those eyes, as if I were a very important person to him.

But now, I suddenly found it disgusting.

"Let's break up."

It wasn't as difficult to say as I had expected.

Without looking back to see his reaction, I turned and walked away.

However, I was quickly caught up by him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm serious."

"Just 10 minutes, you won't lose anything. Yao Yao was tormented for a whole hour back then!"

"Oh, then she deserved it."

My indifferent tone made Lu Qinan deeply frown.

He looked at me with sorrow and said, "Why do you show no remorse? Yao Yao is right, you really are inherently bad."

"Then why are you in a relationship with me? What a sucker?"

Lu Qinan was stunned, his expression blank for two seconds, as I had never spoken to him in this tone before.

"Anyway, I don't agree to break up."

"Who cares."

I pushed him away, but he persisted.

"You did such awful things to Yao Yao, shouldn't you accept some punishment? I just want you to understand how Yao Yao felt back then!"

"Yao Yao has even developed depression because of you! How can you have no remorse?"

"Can you please stop this!"

...

In the struggle, a glaring light shone.

Boom—

Lu Qinan and I were sent flying in an arc by the car.

I suddenly felt a sense of relief.

It's okay if we die.

However, I didn't die, and neither did Lu Qinan, as we both crossed back to my high school days.

Ironically, Lu Qinan had become me.

And I had become Meng Yanzhi, the school geek whom Li Qingyao liked at the time.

Fate had opened a strange door.

A strange feeling welled up inside me.

I suddenly looked forward to seeing Lu Qinan's expression after experiencing everything I had been through.

Welcome to hell, Lu Qinan.