Five years ago, Lin Jiayu broke up with her boyfriend. He begged her to stay, but she remained unmoved.
He looked devastated as he cried. "After three years together, could you at least give me a reason why it's over?"
Incense smoke curled through the solemn Buddhist hall.
Lin Jiayu pressed her palms together as if praying devoutly. Without even looking at him, she replied in a calm, casual voice, "I don't love you anymore."
The next time she saw him was on the television news.
A young man had jumped to his death. It was her ex-boyfriend, Liang Shi.
Lin Jiayu's heart was still as water. If this counted as a sin, then she had already committed countless others.
Five years later, a college student who looked just like Liang Shi appeared before her. His build and personality were exactly to her taste, and even his cooking suited her perfectly. He was like a perfect pet born for her, custom-made to her specifications.
Pei Yun thought he was a brilliant actor. Little did he know, Lin Jiayu had seen through his act the day they met and had already investigated his background down to the last detail.
Lin Jiayu wielded immense power. If you provoked her, you were the only one who would suffer.
Pei Yun wasn't afraid of suffering. He remade himself at any cost, deliberately approached her, and endured humiliation to climb into her cage, all to avenge his older brother. When the time came, he would make her pay in blood. But later, his plans went awry.
The poison was fake, the knife was blunt, and the key to the cage was in his own hand.
He wasn't trapped. He simply didn't want to fly away.
Content warnings / notes:
1. An ensemble of women in government, entirely fictional.
2. The female lead is a high-ranking official, and not a good person.
3. No male lead, little romance. All male characters with romantic storylines involving the female lead are virgins, physically and emotionally untouched, and their love is unrequited.
4. Includes a female captor and a male canary.
Theme: Women are the strongest
