Chapter 1 — Gardenias After the Rain

After the high school reunion, I accidentally slept with a former classmate. Waking up in a panic, I grabbed my shoes and fled, only to discover later that I was… pregnant! I intended to quietly visit a clinic and get the matter sorted out, but the attending physician turned out to be none other than the father of the child. The ice-cold doctor wielded his scalpel, his voice echoing with an ominous chill:

"Miss Song, I now have reason to suspect you are deliberately attempting to murder my child."

1. My post-intoxication body felt utterly foreign, aching in every joint as though I had been run over by a freight train. I forced my eyes open, greeted immediately by a scene of absolute chaos on the floor. Clothes were scattered haphazardly, a sprawling mess of various styles and colors. I drew in a deep breath, and a faint, familiar scent instantly assaulted my nostrils. It was over, completely over. Never in my wildest dreams did I, Song Starfire, imagine I would one day partake in such a cliche as a one-night stand. The crucial part was… I had actually slept with my junior high desk-mate, Liang Haozhi. As if to verify my creeping dread, the blanket beside me began to stir. A warm hand fumbled blindly across the mattress before landing with unerring precision directly upon… my chest. Its owner then peacefully resumed his deep slumber. Covered in a cold sweat, I dared not even breathe heavily, terrified of waking him. Taking advantage of the fact that Haozhi was still fast asleep, I scrambled to dress myself. Gritting my teeth against the lingering physical pain while the sky was still shrouded in pre-dawn darkness, I dragged myself step by step out of the hotel. Seated in the taxi on my way home, I replayed the events of the previous night in an endless, agonizing loop. Where exactly had things gone wrong? How on earth could I have… how dared I… sleep with Liang Haozhi?! My liquor-addled brain felt like mush, yet fragmented memories began flooding back in relentless waves: I had been completely drunk, wrapping both arms tightly around his neck, weeping as I begged for his forgiveness. He had scowled and tried to pry my hands away, but I only clung tighter. I had even shamelessly leaned in close, planting a loud smack of a kiss right on his cheek. Under the driver's stunned gaze, I had stripped off Haozhi’s shirt, loudly proclaiming my desire to "repay his kindness with my own body." As the memories grew increasingly vivid, I wanted nothing more than to strangle myself on the spot. I began to wonder — had my mind betrayed me, or had my own body simply rebelled?

2. Haozhi and I had not crossed paths in nearly ten years. Had it not been for that damnably cursed class reunion, I could very well have preserved my maiden purity for the rest of my days. Eventually, I could have retreated to a quiet temple in my old age, becoming a nun dedicated to spiritual cultivation. Ten years after our junior high graduation, the class monitor had suddenly proposed a gathering, even tagging every single person in the group chat with the stern mandate: "Attendance is mandatory for all." By the time I slipped into the private dining room, nearly everyone had already arrived. The class monitor beamed broadly as he sauntered over with several glasses of wine, declaring it a "penalty drink" for my tardiness. Since I had never possessed a high alcohol tolerance, I tried to offer a polite refusal. To my dismay, the class monitor refused to let the matter drop.

"Starfire, I heard you opened your own company recently? Could it be that you now feel we are beneath you, so much so that you won't even grant us a single glass of wine?"

The lively, boisterous chatter in the private room died away in an instant. Every pair of eyes converged upon me, as though anticipating the spectacle of my public humiliation. Just as I raised a hand to accept the glass, a pale, immaculate hand suddenly reached out from the side, bypassing me entirely. It snatched the glass of wine and drained it in a single fluid motion.

"I'll drink in her place. Don't give a hard time to a young woman."

I snapped my gaze upward, meeting a pair of eyes brimming with amusement. He remained as gentle and refined as ever, though the boyish innocence of a decade ago had vanished from his brow — replaced now by the poise and maturity of a thoroughly grounded man. The class monitor burst into hearty laughter, throwing an arm around Haozhi’s shoulders while teasing him about playing the "hero saving the damsel in distress." The minor incident was thus smoothly brushed aside. By all rights, I should have offered him a proper word of gratitude. Yet he behaved as though we were utter strangers, completely absorbed in catching up with old friends. Finally, seizing the moment when he excused himself to visit the restroom, I slipped away and intercepted him in the hallway. He lifted his chin to look at me, his gaze entirely detached, as if studying an absolute unknown.

"Is there something you need?"

Gathering every ounce of remaining courage, I spoke:

"I just wanted to thank you for blocking that toast for me earlier."

Without sparing me even a secondary glance, he turned on his heel and walked away. Reacting on pure reflex, my hand shot out to catch his wrist. That simple action finally exhausted his patience; he ground out each syllable through clenched teeth:

"What do you want now?"

The fragile courage I had just mustered withered halfway upon encountering his weary, disgusted gaze. Before I could force another word past my lips, Haozhi wrenched his arm free. In the abrupt motion, a pack of cigarettes slipped from his pocket and hit the floor with a soft thud. The stifling silence was broken by that tiny, insignificant sound.

"You… since when did you start smoking? How come I never knew?"

He crouched to retrieve the pack, pulled out a single cigarette, flicked his lighter, and drew in a long, deep drag before exhaling a plume of gray smoke. His features blurred behind the translucent haze, much like his muffled, indistinct voice:

"There are a great many things you don't know about me." He paused, casting a sidelong glance. "Just as I never knew that my desk-mate of three whole years could harbor such a profound hatred for me."

Those words slithered through the air, piercing my ears and plunging heavily into my heart, sending dull, aching ripples radiating outward across my chest.