A Torrent of Passion

A powerful daddy versus a money-loving college girl

Chen Zhiyi was poor for 20 years. After getting into film school, she thought she finally had a good chance to climb the social ladder.

She worked hard to get a part-time job at an upscale Western restaurant, but at the last moment, she couldn't stand a customer's wandering hands, and all her effort went to waste.

When a whole plate of ketchup landed on the lecher's head, she botched the job but successfully caught a man's attention.

Through a screen of gauzy curtains, Gu Huaizhi looked at her with an equally tender gaze. Chen Zhiyi caught the scent of his wealth and power, and noticed how openly he was attracted to her.

*

The second time they met, Chen Zhiyi wasn't so disheveled. Dressed up on purpose, she looked like a beautiful flower bud about to bloom.

"Let's talk, Mr. Gu. Do you need me to keep you company for a few years?"

Chen Zhiyi didn't beat around the bush. She knew perfectly well that she loved money and needed it. Looking at the man's deep eyes and impossibly handsome face, which could unsettle anyone, she was willing to lose herself in that body if he could give her what she wanted.

"Would you marry me? Become Mrs. Gu." Gu Huaizhi lightly tapped his knee with his fingertips, his gaze seemingly able to see right through her.

He had a smile on his face, but there was still the sternness of someone used to being in power. Chen Zhiyi took a breath and nodded.

Before coming, she'd already learned that the man sitting across from her was the most powerful figure in Beijing's elite circles.

*

Chen Zhiyi was surprised. She'd thought Gu Huaizhi would keep her confined for the rest of her life, but he only offered her a four-year marriage contract. Once she graduated, he'd let her fly free?

Chen Zhiyi didn't ask any questions. She signed the terms, received the huge lump-sum payment they'd agreed on, and tucked it away in her private stash. Then she patted herself on the chest with both hands, smiling with satisfaction.

Inside the car, Gu Huaizhi flicked ash from his cigarette and rolled up the window.

*

After four happy years together, Chen Zhiyi had earned a great deal of money and taken excellent care of Gu Huaizhi. But with the contract nearing its end, Chen Zhiyi knew when to leave and had made plans well in advance. Then the man blocked her at the door.

"Would you consider renewing the contract?"

Chen Zhiyi shook her head. "Sir, I'm not greedy."

A few days later, Chen Zhiyi moved out. Gu Huaizhi spent the whole night smoking alone in the empty house.

*

Months later, when they met again, Chen Zhiyi had successfully landed a job with a dance company. Onstage, she danced like a beautiful swan.

When she saw Gu Huaizhi, she greeted him with open delight. "Mr. Gu, you're here!"

She was still warm toward him, but the tenderness was gone.

In a deserted place on a snowy night, Gu Huaizhi's black coat covered Chen Zhiyi's shoulders. His usually calm eyes were filled with turbulent emotion he could no longer suppress.

"Zhiyi, what else can I offer you besides money to make you stay?"

Chen Zhiyi blinked and gently pushed him away. "Sorry, Uncle Gu. It seems money is all you have to offer!"

And now she had plenty of money.

Chen Zhiyi loved money, but she wasn't vain. She knew when to stop taking. She couldn't stay with him anymore, so she wouldn't take Gu Huaizhi's money either.

Watching the woman's figure disappear into the wind, Gu Huaizhi wished for the first time that she really were as greedy for his money as everyone said. Then he could use it to keep her by his side forever.

*

Later, in the dim, hazy light, Chen Zhiyi leaned against Gu Huaizhi's leg like a tender little cat.

The man's years of self-discipline and restraint had long since been utterly undone by their reckless passion.

As he looked at the woman before him, the possessiveness in his eyes was unshakable.

He lifted her chin with his fingers. Warm light flowed along the line of his jaw.

"Chen Zhiyi, can this body keep me by your side?"

The man who had once calmly surveyed the chessboard was now willing to lose everything and stake it all on loving Chen Zhiyi.

Theme: A sense of security comes from harmony within and without