The summer downpour lashed relentlessly at the gleaming skyscrapers of Binhai City's Central Business District, turning the bustling streets into shimmering rivers of rainwater. Su Wanwan hugged her stack of design sketches tightly to her chest, her small frame trembling as she darted through the storm like a lost fawn. Just an hour earlier, she had been unceremoniously fired from her internship at a renowned design firm—her crime, as her supervisor put it, was "being inflexible." She had refused to compromise her three-month-old original design to pander to the arbitrary whims of a wealthy client, and now she found herself adrift in the pouring rain, jobless and desperate.
The cold rain soaked through her thin cotton T-shirt and faded jeans in minutes, sending shivers down her spine. Her hair clung to her cheeks in damp strands, and her vision blurred as raindrops streamed down her eyelashes. She quickened her pace, hoping to reach the subway station before the storm worsened, but fate had other plans. As she rounded a corner, a sudden gust of wind blew her sketchbook out of her arms, scattering the delicate pages across the wet pavement.
"No!" she cried out, dropping to her knees to retrieve them. The rain immediately smudged the ink, turning her carefully crafted designs into blurry messes. Her fingers fumbled with the soaking paper, and a sharp edge sliced across her palm, drawing a thin line of crimson blood that mixed with the rainwater and disappeared into the gutter. Tears stung her eyes—not just from the pain, but from the overwhelming sense of helplessness that threatened to engulf her.
"Screech—!"
A deafening sound of brakes pierced the roar of the rain. Su Wanwan looked up in horror to see a sleek black Maybach sedan skidding to a halt just inches from her. She had been so focused on retrieving her sketches that she hadn't noticed the car approaching. Her heart hammered against her ribs as the driver's side door slowly opened, and a tall, imposing figure stepped out into the rain.
The man stood at least six feet tall, his frame perfectly sculpted in a custom-tailored black suit that looked untouched by the downpour—thanks to the large umbrella held by his assistant. His pale, porcelain skin glowed faintly in the dark night, contrasting sharply with his jet-black hair, which was styled with meticulous precision. His facial features were sharp and angular, like a masterpiece carved from marble: high cheekbones, a straight, aquiline nose, and thin, perfectly shaped lips pressed into a firm line. But it was his eyes that truly took Su Wanwan's breath away—deep, dark pools of obsidian that held an icy coldness, as if he were looking down at an insignificant insect rather than a person.
"Walking with your eyes closed?" His voice was deep and resonant, like the toll of a distant bell, but it carried a frosty edge that made Su Wanwan's blood run cold. His gaze swept over the scattered, ruined sketches on the ground, then settled on her drenched, disheveled form—her muddy sneakers, her smudged makeup, and the blood trickling down her palm.
Su Wanwan scrambled to her feet, her face burning with embarrassment and fear. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you coming—I'll pay for any damage I caused, I promise!" She patted her pockets frantically, only to realize she had left her wallet in her desk at the office. Her shoulders slumped in defeat, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "I… I don't have any money with me right now. Can I pay you in installments? I just lost my job, but I'll find another one soon, I swear!"
As she rambled on, the man's assistant, a neatly dressed young man in a gray suit, leaned in and whispered something in his ear. Su Wanwan caught snippets of the conversation—"Madam called again… urging you to confirm a marriage partner… otherwise, she'll arrange the business alliance."
The man's eyebrows furrowed slightly, a look of annoyance crossing his handsome face. He turned his attention back to Su Wanwan, his cold gaze lingering on her face. There was something about this girl—her wide, innocent eyes, her earnest expression, the way she clung to her ruined sketches as if they were the most precious things in the world—that was vastly different from the calculating, overly made-up women he usually encountered. They all wanted something from him—money, power, status—but this girl… she just looked scared and lost, like a stray kitten caught in a storm.
A ridiculous, impulsive idea suddenly popped into his mind.
"Compensation?" He took a step closer, his large hand reaching out to tilt her chin upward, forcing her to meet his gaze. His touch was cold but surprisingly gentle, and Su Wanwan felt a jolt of electricity run through her body. "Marry me, and we'll call it even."
Su Wanwan blinked in confusion, wondering if the rain had messed with her hearing. "I… I beg your pardon?"
"I said," he repeated, his voice firm and authoritative, leaving no room for argument, "sign a three-month marriage contract with me. Be my contractual wife. During that time, I'll pay you 100,000 yuan per month. When the contract ends, I'll give you an additional one million yuan as compensation. All damages caused today will be forgiven."
The rain continued to pour around them, but Su Wanwan felt as if she were standing in the middle of a desert. Her mind went blank as she stared up at the man's handsome but cold face. Marry a stranger? A man who looked like he belonged to a world far beyond her reach? It was absurd, insane even. But then she thought of her sick mother in the hospital, whose medical bills were piling up by the day. She thought of her tiny, rent-delinquent apartment. She thought of the ruined sketches, her lost job, and the seemingly insurmountable mountain of problems ahead of her.
100,000 yuan per month. One million yuan at the end. It was more money than she had ever dreamed of. It would cover her mother's medical expenses, pay off her rent, and give her a chance to start over. But at what cost? Marrying a man she knew nothing about, entering into a fake marriage that would last only three months.
The man seemed to sense her inner turmoil. He pulled a leather-bound folder from his assistant's hand and flipped it open, revealing a pre-drafted contract. "Sign here," he said, pointing to a blank line at the bottom of the last page. "Right now. And come with me tonight."
Su Wanwan's eyes darted from the contract to the man's face. His name was printed in bold, elegant characters at the top: Lu Shiyan. She had heard that name before—Lu Shiyan, the youngest CEO of the prestigious Lu Group, a man who had built an empire from scratch before the age of thirty, known for his ruthless business tactics and icy demeanor. He was a legend in Binhai City, a man who was admired and feared in equal measure.
And he was asking her to marry him.
Su Wanwan took a deep breath, her hands trembling as she picked up the pen. She knew that signing this contract would change her life forever—for better or for worse. But she had no other choice. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again, her gaze steady as she scribbled her name across the dotted line.
Su Wanwan.
Lu Shiyan looked down at her signature, a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of something crossing his eyes—was it satisfaction? Curiosity? He closed the folder and handed it back to his assistant. "Let's go," he said, turning toward the car.
Su Wanwan hesitated for a moment, then followed him, her wet shoes squelching as she walked. As she slid into the luxurious leather seat of the Maybach, she couldn't help but glance at Lu Shiyan, who was sitting across from her, staring out the window at the rain-soaked city.
Who was this man? Why had he chosen her? What would the next three months hold?
She had no answers to these questions. All she knew was that she had just signed away her freedom for three months, and stepped into a world she had never imagined possible. As the car pulled away into the night, Su Wanwan clutched her ruined sketches to her chest, her heart filled with a mixture of fear, hope, and a strange, undeniable sense of excitement.
Little did she know, this accidental encounter on a rainy night was just the beginning of a love story that would defy all odds, shatter all barriers, and change both of their lives in ways they could never have predicted.