The neon skyline of Haicheng glowed like a dream that night. In the prestigious Phoenix Crown Hotel, the ballroom glittered with the laughter of the city's elite.
At the center of it all was Zhao Yichen (赵亦辰), heir to the Zhao Group. Tonight, he was celebrated, toasted, and drowned in alcohol he couldn't refuse. By the time his assistant, Liang Chen (梁辰), led him upstairs to his private suite, his steps were heavy and his vision blurred.
The door shut behind him. Darkness, silence—except for the storm raging inside him.
---
Down the hall, Lin Wei (林薇) balanced a tray of bottled water. At only twenty, she was juggling a double life: by day, a student at Haicheng University, by night, a part-time hotel worker. She never complained; her tuition and her grandmother's medicine left her no choice.
She knocked softly.
"Room service."
No answer. She pushed the door open.
"Excuse me, sir, your water—"
In an instant, her wrist was seized, and she was pulled inside.
The tall man before her reeked of wine, his eyes clouded with a storm of grief and desire. Mistaking her for someone else, he whispered hoarsely, "Don't… leave me again…" before his lips crushed against hers.
"Wait—sir, you're mistaken!" Lin Wei gasped, struggling. But her protests drowned in the silence of the room.
That night, innocence was torn away, leaving behind a seed of fate neither could escape.
---
Weeks later.
Autumn sunlight filtered through the campus of Haicheng University, but for Lin Wei, the world was cold.
Whispers followed her wherever she walked.
"She's pregnant, did you hear?"
"Shameless. Before graduation, too."
"I bet she seduced some rich man. That's how girls like her survive."
Her hands trembled around her books. She hadn't told anyone. So how did they know?
The answer stood right beside her, smiling sweetly as if nothing had happened.
Xu Meilin (许美琳) — her best friend.
Lin Wei never noticed the envy in Meilin's eyes when the top student, Jiang Hao, once lent Lin Wei his notes, or when professors praised Lin Wei's diligence. Meilin hated it — how Lin Wei, poor and ordinary, was still adored.
And when Meilin discovered Lin Wei's secret, she didn't hesitate.
She whispered it across the campus, watching with hidden satisfaction as Lin Wei's reputation crumbled.
---
In the dean's office, the verdict was merciless.
"Lin Wei, Haicheng University will not tolerate such scandal. You are hereby expelled."
Her world collapsed. She stumbled out clutching her expulsion letter, her classmates' mocking stares cutting into her like knives. Tears blurred her vision.
---
At the gates, a sleek black car slowed to a stop. Inside sat Liang Chen, who had spent weeks searching for the girl his master had drunkenly told him never to forget.
His eyes widened when he saw Lin Wei, pale and trembling, shielding her stomach as if instinctively protecting the life inside.
It's her… the girl from that night.
He dialed immediately.
"Young Master… I've found her. The girl is pregnant. With your child."
On the other end of the line, glass shattered. Zhao Yichen's breath caught, his voice hoarse.
"She's… carrying my child?"
"Yes."
A long silence. Then, resolute words:
"Bring her to me. No matter what it takes — she will be my wife."
---
But even as fate tied them closer, danger stirred.
Su Jingyi (苏静怡), Zhao Yichen's former lover, had heard the whispers — not from chance, but from Xu Meilin herself. Meilin's jealousy of Lin Wei's popularity drove her to feed Jingyi every detail, hoping to see her so-called best friend ruined.
And Jingyi, greedy for the Zhao family's wealth, smiled coldly.
If Lin Wei stood in her way, she would crush her without mercy.
---
✨ End of Episode 1.