A Secret Relationship

In Shi Shu's mind, Shen Qinglan was powerful and influential, tender and affectionate. She was ruthless and decisive with everyone else, but saved all her gentleness for Shi Shu alone. The woman taught her to eat and write, carefully bathed her and dried her hair. Whenever Shi Shu got into trouble, Shen Qinglan stood up for her, cherishing her like a treasure in the palm of her hand. Until Shi Shu discovered that this woman was the real culprit behind the Shi family's bankruptcy. She was just a hostage Shen Qinglan used to keep the Shi family in check and prevent them from rising again. Shi Shu instinctively tried to run, but Shen Qinglan caught her and forced her to become the woman's most obedient pet. Those gentle hands no longer wiped away her tears. Instead, they gripped her slender throat, harder and harder... “Shi Shu, don't even think about leaving me.” - Shi Shu was never going to be a meek little canary. Shen Qinglan wouldn't let her drink, so she got dead drunk. Shen Qinglan wanted her to stay home and go nowhere, so the very next moment, Shi Shu was on her way to a foreign country. But if she ran, she would be caught and dragged back. If she resisted, the woman would take even more terrible revenge on her in bed. And there was no one around her she could trust completely. Perhaps only death could let her escape the woman's clutches for good. So Shi Shu staged her own death. Rumors spread that Shen Qinglan, the head of the Shen family, had fallen gravely ill over a young woman. She refused to believe Shi Shu was dead and seemed to have lost her mind. Free again, Shi Shu devoted herself to her studies, made friends, and enjoyed herself. Her soul was free and full of life. Then, after Shi Shu had disappeared for several days, a friend spotted the ambiguous red marks all over her neck beneath her scarf. That night, unseen by anyone, the familiar woman kissed her neck and caressed her intimately, her voice sharp and impossible to resist. “Shi Shu, do I have to lock you up before you'll behave?” *Sweet-faced but secretly wicked woman x spoiled little troublemaker *Older top / 12-year age gap / dominant top and submissive bottom *Huge difference in status / classic melodramatic angst Theme: Striving for a better life