The One Who Plays Black

Venomous white lotus × arrogant ambitious schemer

Dual revenge | Forbidden relationship | Power struggles among the wealthy

The first time Lin Chongan met Song Yanxin, he knew she was the perfect pawn.

He taught her to appreciate red wine, read financial reports, and navigate the world of fame and fortune.

She learned so quickly, and when she looked up at him, her eyes brimmed with cautious admiration.

But a pawn must be placed in the most crucial position.

So when she told him she loved him, he lifted her chin and smiled. "Not yet."

Then he personally sent her to his father's bed.

"Wait until I take control of Yongsheng." He gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, as tender as if he were whispering sweet nothings.

Song Yanxin believed him.

She whispered in his father's ear, easing his father's guard against him during tender nights;

She sowed discord among his siblings, making his father doubt the legitimate son he'd so carefully raised with her soft words and tender affection;

She collected secrets for him, noting every director's weakness amid the clinking of glasses.

The illegitimate son looked down on by the Lin family, with her help, stepped into the heart of power at Yongsheng, one step at a time.

Each step was perfectly placed, just as he had taught her.

He thought he had everything under control.

When his father died suddenly, he was ready to take over. He had even prepared a plane ticket to send her abroad.

A useless pawn must be discarded, just as his mother had been cast aside by the Lin family.

But on the day the will was read, the lawyer's voice struck like a slap:

"The Yongsheng Group will be inherited by the unborn child of Mrs. Lin. Until the child comes of age, Mrs. Lin will hold all the shares in trust."

In a secluded place, Lin Chongan pinned Song Yanxin against the wall, his eyes bloodshot. "Did you set me up?"

Song Yanxin stroked her flat stomach and smiled more elegantly than he had ever taught her to. "You thought I loved you?"

She rose onto her toes and whispered in his ear, "Lin Chongan, this was the look on your father's face before he died, too."

How laughable.

He taught her how to be a mistress, and she taught him what it meant to reap what you sow.

Later, the child was gone, and Yongsheng was on the verge of bankruptcy.

As she turned to leave, she heard him demand, "Song Yanxin, do you even have a heart?"

Of course she did.

It just shattered nine years ago, along with the sound of her parents falling from a building.

Years later, two legends circulated in Hong Kong:

One was how Lin Chongan had turned the tide when Yongsheng was on the brink of collapse.

The other was that the young man in power had no interest in women and was mysterious about his sexuality.

No one knew that in his office on the top floor of Yongsheng,

there sat a chess game in ruins:

White surrounded black and closed in for the kill, while black struck back and overturned the whole game.

Until, at a party in Singapore,

he finally cornered the familiar figure on the terrace.

"Song Yanxin," he clutched her wrist as she tried to escape, his voice hoarse.

"You owe me a child."

She looked at him, the corners of her lips lifting. "What, Mr. Lin wants to be fooled by me again?"

#You thought I was the pawn you carefully trained?

#No, you were the perfect prey on my path to revenge.

#When the trainer is trained, and the pawn becomes the player

[Reading Notes and Content Warnings]

1. In Go, black plays first. The male lead thinks he has the whole game under control, unaware that the female lead is the real player.

2. Neither lead is a virgin.

3. The characters are flawed. The male lead uses the female lead at first, and the female lead plays both father and son against each other for revenge. Readers with strong moral sensibilities should proceed with caution.

4. The business-war plot serves the story. Please don't take it too seriously.

5. This story is entirely fictional. All brand and place names are made up, with no real-life counterparts. Please don't read them as such.

Theme: Love is redemption