Nightfall Over Harbor City

[Older man keeps his beloved in a gilded cage, powerful fatherly type x playful, enchanting temptress]

There were plenty of rumors about Song Huainian in Hong Kong. They said he had connections everywhere and no one dared cross him. But the most widespread rumor was that the bird Song kept hidden atop Victoria Peak lived in an extraordinarily beautiful estate, built just for her.

He took her in and devoted every resource to her, letting her enjoy the empire of Song Huainian.

Because of him, Shen Ning became a mystery in Hong Kong, too.

Until Shen Ning finally summoned the courage to confess her feelings, only to receive a stern rebuke: “Don’t be ridiculous.”

From beginning to end, he had regarded her only as a sister with no blood ties to him.

From Hong Kong to Shanghai, thousands of kilometers away, she left without a second thought.

Word on the street was that the Shen family had found their long-lost jewel and planned to arrange a marriage with the Lin family.

For days on end, the news was full of reports of them shopping and going on dates, intimate in every gesture.

When the news reached Hong Kong, Song Huainian saw the woman in the photos smiling brightly at someone else. His expression didn’t change, but he crushed his teacup with his bare hand.

The self-control he had always prided himself on, the boundaries he had drawn between brother and sister, shattered completely in that moment.

Not long afterward, rumors spread that Song Huainian of Hong Kong had arrived in Shanghai.

Some said it was for business, to expand his empire. Others said he had come for the bird that had flown away from the estate atop Victoria Peak.

Then, late one night, someone caught Song Huainian on camera kissing a woman by force.

She was dazzlingly beautiful, her slender waist pinned firmly in one hand. The kiss went on and on, until she bit the tip of his tongue. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. “Who gave you the nerve to sleep with me and then marry someone else?”

Shen Ning tilted her head, smiling radiantly. “If I slept with you, does that mean I can’t marry someone else?”