A Relationship of Equal Exchange

Twenty-three-year-old Cen Xi never imagined she would walk into Zhuo Jue's office for the sake of another woman.

Her best friend, Liang Aiting, had filmed a street-racing incident during her internship: Zhuo Yue, the youngest son of a powerful family, had been speeding late at night, leaving one person dead and another injured. The video was uploaded without verification, sending Zhuo Group's stock price crashing. Zhuo Jue, the eldest son of the Zhuo family, uncovered the truth within three days and had Liang Aiting sent to the police station on charges of false accusation.

Cen Xi went to plead for mercy. She was pleading for Liang Aiting's future.

Zhuo Jue remembered her: the only girl at the group's recruitment event who had dared to argue her case with him, and an applicant who had impressed every evaluator during her two-week internship. But in the end, she had chosen the Huo family.

"Be my woman," he said, laying out his terms.

Cen Xi agreed.

For the next six months, she lived in the apartment he arranged, attended the events he selected, appeared when he needed her, and disappeared when he didn't. She never crossed the line or asked questions, always keeping the distance expected of a "business partner."

Until one night, she caught him on a blind date at a hotel. A refined young lady from a prominent family sat across from him, with a marriage alliance proposal on the table. The Zhuo family patriarch was critically ill, and his will contained just one condition: whichever of his two grandsons had the first great-grandchild would inherit Zhuo Group.

Standing at the corner of the hallway, Cen Xi suddenly understood: in this transaction, she had never been a "woman" at all, only an option carefully kept on hand until she was needed.

She turned and walked away. Her heels clicked across the marble floor, each step crisp and decisive. This relationship had reached its end.