“Miss, why do I always feel that Young Master Qi is so cold toward women?”

In Xiao Chun’s view, the young master of the Marquis Qi’s household was rather peculiar. She’d long heard the manor’s servants gossiping that Qi Ziyi had always avoided the company of women, preferring to spend his time with men. Over time, rumors spread that he was indifferent to women and solely focused on achieving fame and fortune.

Shen Ruoyu, upon hearing this, readily agreed. “More than just cold, Xiao Chun. Perhaps he simply doesn’t like women at all.”

In the world she inhabited, even just considering the men around her, were those with a preference for men truly so few? Even if Qi Ziyi truly preferred men, Shen Ruoyu wouldn't find it strange at all.

“By the way, Xiao Chun, has my father returned yet?”

Arriving back at the manor, Shen Ruoyu set down the jewelry and clothes she had bought that day and began to contemplate how to tell her father about breaking off the engagement.

Rong Yan’s pretense was truly impeccable. He was talented, held a high position in the court, was courteous, and possessed a handsome face. Not only had Shen Ruoyu been deceived by him, but even the worldly Grand Tutor Shen had been fooled. Every time Rong Yan was mentioned, the Grand Tutor sang his praises.

Therefore, to convince her father to agree to break off the engagement, Shen Ruoyu needed to find a justifiable reason.

Xiao Chun, while organizing Shen Ruoyu’s wardrobe, replied, “Master hasn’t returned yet. Perhaps he’s been detained by official business today.”

“Hmm, then there’s no rush. Bring Shen Xinghuai to me first.” Shen Ruoyu reclined on the soft chaise lounge, enveloped by the delicate fragrance of incense. She felt utterly at ease. Reborn once more, she surprisingly hadn't seen Shen Xinghuai yet in this life.

“Yes, Miss.” Xiao Chun nodded and went to fetch Shen Xinghuai as instructed.

Shen Ruoyu’s room was only a ten-minute walk from Shen Xinghuai’s, yet this time, Xiao Chun took quite a while.

Bored, Shen Ruoyu casually flipped through the manor's accounts from the past few months. Page after page, she continued to read. Perhaps due to recent lack of sleep, a wave of drowsiness suddenly washed over her.

Her eyelids grew heavy, too heavy to lift. After a brief struggle, Shen Ruoyu fell asleep on the bed.

“Where is this? Am I dreaming again?”

Asleep, Shen Ruoyu found herself in an unfamiliar place. Knowing it was a dream, she nevertheless felt as though she could truly smell a damp, musty odor.

She was in a dimly lit, enclosed chamber, where she could barely see anything.

“What’s going on? Am I having a nightmare?” Ever since her awakening, Shen Ruoyu had been afraid of dreaming. Her dreams were often premonitions of the future, and this time, she didn’t know what terrifying things she would see.

She tried to move forward, when suddenly, a series of panting gasps, the kind that brought a blush to the cheeks, reached her ears.

“Ah… mm… Shen Xinghuai, let me go…”

Shen Xinghuai? Why would this woman call out her younger brother's name? As if drawn by an unseen force, Shen Ruoyu walked towards the source of the sound.

Light gradually appeared ahead. On a stone bed in the chamber, a shirtless man was on top of a woman. His long, ink-black hair cascaded down his back, and the thin sheen of sweat plastered his bangs to his forehead.

The man’s body trembled slightly, his red lips continuously kissing the woman beneath him. “Sister… Sister, we’re finally together…”

Shen Ruoyu wanted to leave, but found she couldn’t move. She could only watch as the man’s thick shaft repeatedly pierced the woman’s body.

The woman beneath him was bound by chains, helpless to resist his advances. From Shen Ruoyu’s perspective, she could see their joined lower bodies. The woman’s s*x was swollen and red, the delicate flesh pulled outward with each thrust of the man’s member, only to be brutally driven back in.

Forced to endure wave after wave of cl1max, the woman moaned, “Shen Xinghuai, I hate you…”

“Shen Xinghuai?”

Shen Ruoyu stared in disbelief at the two figures still entwined on the stone bed. Although she couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, his voice and the distinctive birthmark on his waist were unmistakably Shen Xinghuai’s.

She was certain the man was her brother. As for the woman, her face was completely obscured by Shen Xinghuai, and her voice was too hoarse to be recognizable. Shen Ruoyu couldn't discern her identity in the dream, but she distinctly heard Shen Xinghuai call her “Sister.”

Could it be…?

“No… impossible… This is impossible! My brother isn’t this kind of person…” Shen Ruoyu couldn’t bear to think further. She jolted awake, covered in a cold sweat.

Just then, Xiao Chun knocked on the door. “Miss, Young Master is here.”