Volume One, Chapter Seven: Your Five Elements Lack Virtue, Your Fate Is Cursed

“Speaking of which, back when Qi Qi Xu anonymously posted rumors about you checking into a hotel, it almost got you expelled! How is it that she still hasn’t learned her lesson and keeps picking on you?”

Back then, Wen Yang, Yan Chuan Pei, and Qi Qi Xu were caught in a love triangle, and she had a front-row seat to all the drama.

Unexpectedly, one day on the campus forum appeared a photo of Yan Chuan Pei and Wen Yang embracing in front of a hotel.

An insider added fuel to the fire, claiming they had stayed there for two whole days and nights.

The news spread like wildfire. By the time the administrator deleted the post, the matter had already escalated, and the school requested both sets of parents to come in.

Wen Yang had no parents to come; her mother had divorced and abandoned her, and Wen Zhe said he was busy and left the school to decide the punishment without objection.

“After that day, you transferred schools and broke up with Yan Chuan Pei.”

Over the past three years, Su Chi Yu and Mu Ran had subtly asked about the breakup, but Wen Yang always gave a simple answer: “We weren’t compatible.”

“Why did you two break up, really?” Su Chi Yu carefully asked once more.

“Except for you, he was wild and reckless back then. We all thought you two would love each other fiercely until marriage.”

Wen Yang lowered her eyes, gazing into the crystal-clear wine glass before her. The bubbles rising inside mirrored the turbulent emotions within her heart.

It had been three years. Every time she recalled the scene in the principal’s office when she met his parents, Wen Yang felt suffocated.

“Do you remember when I said my mother left me when I was twelve?”

Su Chi Yu gently nodded, her eyes full of sympathy, quietly listening.

“At that time, I hated her deeply. Growing up, I slowly came to accept it—after all, everyone has the right to choose a good life.”

When she and her mother, Zhi Nian Xu, first moved into the Wen household, Wen Zhe was still a relatively good-tempered stepfather. It was because of this illusion that Zhi Nian accepted Wen Zhe’s pursuit.

Later, when Wen Zhe started his business, his bad temper surfaced, and during his moods he would get drunk and violent. His innate cruelty became more apparent with wealth.

Zhi Nian endured the domestic abuse until she could no longer bear it and filed for divorce.

In the end, she didn’t fight for Wen Yang’s custody.

Her reason was: “A Yang, if you stay with the Wen family, at least you won’t have to worry about food or clothing.”

“I called her many times afterward, wanting to tell her I wasn’t afraid of hardship and wanted to face life with her, but she never answered.”

Wen Yang clenched her fingers. Seeing her mother standing there in the principal’s office, now as Yan Chuan Pei’s stepmother, felt unbearably ironic.

The one who had loved her since childhood discarded her without a second thought, saying she feared Wen Yang would suffer, yet she herself had remarried.

Dressed in luxurious couture, she stood there, beautiful but glaring.

Wen Yang didn’t know whether Yan Chuan Pei’s father was aware that Zhi Nian Xu had two other children.

But Yan Chuan Pei, sharp as ever, had sensed something from that meeting.

It was Wen Yang who proposed the breakup.

Yan Chuan Pei, once the favored son, looked despondent, silent for a long time, as if wrestling with himself.

Finally, he grasped her wrist and said that if it was because of Zhi Nian Xu, he never intended to acknowledge her.

He must have resented that his birth mother had died heartbroken because his father couldn’t forget his first love—who seemed to be Zhi Nian Xu.

Wen Yang looked up at the once radiant and passionate boy who had now become stubborn and awkward before her.

The warmth at her wrist felt like vines crawling up her arm and piercing her heart, sending waves of sharp pain.

She struggled to accept that the mother who had abandoned her had now transformed into his “mother,” and she hated seeing such a proud and unruly boy compromise for her.

Saying he had forgotten was a lie. Leaning back on the sofa, she remembered how she had replied:

“Whether you want to acknowledge her is your business. I’m just tired. I simply don’t want to be with you anymore.”

The noise and clamor of the bar returned to her ears.

Su Chi Yu covered her mouth in shock: “I didn’t know any of this. Aunt Xu actually…”

The painful past was unveiled at that moment, yet Wen Yang suddenly felt relieved and smiled.

“I’m not one to obsess over love. Rather than forcing ourselves to stay together and slowly grow to resent each other, I’d rather end things gracefully first.”

Wen Yang’s eyes were striking—clear and moist. Now half-closed like crescent moons, the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Instead, a flicker of fragility shimmered within them.

Su Chi Yu, filled with guilt and sympathy, gently patted Wen Yang’s back, silently scolding herself for her damn curiosity.

“It’s okay.” Wen Yang paused, thinking seriously. “You know how complicated my family is. Even without all this, he and I probably wouldn’t have made it in the end.”

Youthful love is sincere and passionate but often tinged with bitterness.

Hearing this, Su Su felt indescribable regret. Her family was modest, but Wen Yang’s was far more complicated.

She sighed, and the two fell into silence.

Wen Yang adjusted her mood and smiled wryly. “Why do you look like you’re the one who got dumped?”

She pinched Su Chi Yu’s cheek, imitating her tone: “As for me, now I just want to make big money, become financially independent, bring Xiao Jiu back, and completely break free from the Wens’ control!”

After hearing her ambitious declaration, Su Su nodded vigorously: “I’ve already decided my birthday wish this year! We’re going to make big money! And snag handsome guys!”

“To that, we toast,” they clinked glasses.

Wen Yang tilted her head back and took a long gulp. The alcohol burned fiercely in her stomach, bringing tears to her eyes.

She patted Su Su on the shoulder and stood up. “I’m going to the restroom.”

...

Wang Shuo arrived on the third floor, his gaze sweeping down the corridor until he found the familiar private room number.

He smoothed his clothes carefully and, after ensuring everything was in order, cautiously reached out and knocked on the door.

The door opened to reveal Mr. Pei’s assistant, wearing a professional smile but with a trace of subtle sternness in his eyes.

Wang Shuo nodded politely. The assistant stepped aside, beckoning him in.

Inside, a crystal chandelier cast a dim red glow, bathing the room in a luxurious yet mysterious ambiance. The artworks on the walls appeared even more exquisite under the light, enchanting and elusive.

The table was laden with untouched drinks. The room was silent, devoid of music, the air heavy and suffocating.

Yan Chuan Pei sat alone on a single sofa, a cigarette lit between his fingers. In the dim light and smoke, his expression was obscured.

Han Ting, legs crossed, had summoned a signature hostess, confidently flirting with her.

Seeing this, Wang Shuo, like a sycophant, approached with the USB drive in hand: “Mr. Pei, Mr. Han, I have the materials. Would you like me to open them and explain in detail?”

Yan Chuan Pei turned slightly to signal, and the assistant immediately produced a laptop, placing it on the coffee table before him.

Wang Shuo crouched by the table, inserted the USB drive, and found a few simple files. He opened the one named “Resort North Area.”

“Mr. Pei, we conducted preliminary research. For the resort’s northern area, we can design the zone around the theme of ‘Cool Play.’ Over twenty units fit the resort’s positioning, including the recently popular Guangyu Games…”

At this point, he faltered. The file on screen displayed only three awkward lines in big letters: “I calculate that your five elements lack virtue, your birth chart is cursed.”