Chapter 1

"Aiden, the press conference is about to start. Vanessa told me to keep you in check. Don't pull any of your little stunts; don't ruin her mood."

On the other end of the line, Lily’s voice dripped with her habitual, condescending tone.

I was leaning in a discreet corner at the back of the venue, staring at the photo she had just sent me. In it, Vanessa was wearing a high-end couture gown, looking exquisite and charming, smiling brightly for the camera.

"Got it." I kept my voice low, sounding almost subservient.

"Good. Don't think that just because Vanessa announced this partnership, you can climb any higher. These are influential people coming today. You are just a student, so don't embarrass her."

She hung up without waiting for a reply.

I tucked my phone into my pocket and turned my gaze toward the brilliantly lit stage.

The Su Corporation. My family’s company.

It was the global brand ambassador press conference.

I watched the host use an impassioned tone to recount the glorious history of The Su Corporation and the immense significance of this partnership.

Below the stage, the press had their flashes ready, with all lenses aimed at the stage entrance.

"And now, let us welcome with the warmest applause, the superstar and the global face of this partnership for The Su Corporation—Ms. Vanessa!"

The music swelled, and all the camera flashes focused on the side of the stage.

Vanessa lifted the hem of her dress, wearing the perfect smile she had practiced thousands of times, preparing to step onto the stage.

She even cast a subtle, warning, and showy glance in my direction.

Just as the tip of her heel was about to touch the stage.

The host’s voice rang out again, filled with a precise mix of excitement and reverence.

"Also, on this important day, we are incredibly honored to invite the helm of The Su Corporation, our Chairman! Please join me in welcoming Chairman Marcus and the executive team to the stage!"

The spotlight instantly shifted away from Vanessa, hitting the same entrance behind her.

Vanessa’s smile froze on her face.

The moment of glory she had prepared for months was abruptly interrupted.

My father, Marcus, wearing a perfectly tailored dark suit, walked steadily out from the back with his executive team.

His pace wasn't fast, but every step carried an overwhelming aura of power.

The flashes in the room followed him relentlessly, the sound of shutters echoing like gunfire.

No one was looking at Vanessa anymore, who was left frozen at the edge of the stage.

She looked like a delicate doll that had suddenly lost power, abandoned in the shadows of the stage.

My father stood in the center, took the microphone, and swept his calm gaze across the room.

Finally, his eyes landed precisely on me, and in those all-knowing eyes, there was a glimmer of amusement that only I could understand—an expression of sheer indulgence.

He gave a slight nod.

My phone in my pocket vibrated frantically, displaying two words.

Vanessa.

I calmly pulled out the phone, took one look, and pressed the mute button.

The world finally went quiet.

The conference continued. My father began his speech, his voice firm and resonant, silencing the entire hall.

And Vanessa, the once spotlighted heroine, was awkwardly ushered by staff to a seat in the front row, looking like a prisoner waiting for a verdict.

Her face was pale, and she kept looking in my direction, her eyes filled with shock, panic, and a trace of fear she hadn't realized herself.

The phone screen lit up again. It was a text from her.

[Aiden, what is the meaning of this?]

[Why is your father here? Did you know about this all along?]

[Did you do this on purpose? Are you trying to destroy me?!]

Looking at the hysterical accusations, a cold curve formed on my lips.

The game had only just begun.

Half an hour later, the conference ended, and my father left, surrounded by his executives.

From start to finish, he never looked at Vanessa again, as if she were merely an insignificant background prop.

I turned, intending to slip out through the back door, but was grabbed tightly by a cold hand on my wrist.

"Aiden!"

Vanessa’s voice was sharp and shrill, devoid of the laziness and casualness she usually displayed when speaking to me.

She stared at me intensely, her eyes bloodshot.

"Explain this to me. What is going on? Marcus... why is he your father?"

Her questioning carried an absurd sense of self-righteousness, as if I had deceived her.

I looked at her calmly. "Haven't you always known my surname is Su?"

"I thought... I thought your family was just a small supplier under the Su Corporation! There are so many people with the surname Su in the company! Who would have thought..." Her words were filled with regret and agitation.

So, in her eyes, I wasn't even worthy of possessing the same surname as her.

I smiled and pulled my hand away.

"Now you know, don't you?"

I turned to leave, but she lunged at me again, hugging me from behind, her voice suddenly softening with tears.

"Aiden, I was wrong. I really was wrong... I didn't know... Why didn't you tell me sooner? Are you angry with me? Is it because of what I said in that interview?"

She began to skillfully employ her most effective weapon—playing the victim.

"I was only doing it to protect our relationship. You know, we are a secret couple; I couldn't go public... I love you, Aiden."

I listened quietly, feeling as if I were listening to a lame joke.

Two years of affection had, in her words, turned into a "PR strategy" that I was expected to tolerate.

I didn't turn back, merely speaking faintly.

"Vanessa, do you really think saying these things matters now?"

My phone rang again; this time, it was the assistant, Lily.

I answered.

Lily’s voice carried an unprecedented tone of flattery and panic.

"Su... Young Master Su... Where are you? Vanessa, she..."

"I'm breaking up with her."

I hung up immediately after speaking.

The arms Vanessa had wrapped around me stiffened suddenly.

She looked at my back in disbelief, her voice trembling.

"What did you say?"

I finally turned around, looking at her for the first time with an entirely foreign, scrutinizing gaze.

"I said, we are over."

I watched her face turn pale instantly, feeling not a ripple in my heart.

For the past two years, I had done everything I could for her, only to be repaid with her flippant comment in a fan group: "He's just a little fan, clingy."

Now, this "little fan" didn't want to play anymore.

"No... it's impossible!" she screamed. "Aiden, you can't do this to me! We have so many years of history..."

"History?" I interrupted her, stepping toward her. "Do you mean the birthday surprise I prepared for you, which you turned around and gifted to your male best friend?"

Vanessa’s expression shifted.

"Or do you mean the times you wore the high-end couture gown I bought you to have dinner with other producers?"

Her lips began to tremble.

"Or perhaps, you mean the memo where I wrote down every detail of our two years together, which you shared with your fans as a joke, inciting them to cyberbully me?"

With every word I spoke, her complexion paled further.

Finally, I stopped in front of her, my voice as cold as ice.

"Vanessa, do you call this 'history'?"

She was rendered completely speechless, staring at me with a look of terror, as if she were seeing me for the first time.

"Aiden... you... you knew?"

"I know everything." I looked at her, saying each word clearly. "Including exactly what you promised Vice President Wang behind my back just to get this endorsement."

Vanessa’s pupils constricted sharply, and the blood drained from her entire face.

It was as if she had been struck by lightning; she stumbled back a step, only steadying herself by leaning against the wall.

That Vice President Wang was notoriously lecherous in my father's company and one of the original leads for this project.

He was also the next person on my "replace" list from my memo.

Vanessa looked at me, her lips quivering, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Fear—true, genuine fear—finally crept onto her beautiful face.

I didn't look at her again, turning to walk toward the parking lot.

Behind me came her desperate, guttural wailing.

"Aiden! Come back! You can't just leave! I love you! I really do love you!"

I didn't stop my pace.

Love?

Her love was too cheap.

And too filthy.

I opened the car door, sat in, and started the engine.

In the rearview mirror, Vanessa’s figure became smaller and smaller, eventually fading into a blurred white dot.

I took out my phone and dialed my father’s number.

"Dad."

"Mm, is it handled?" My father’s voice betrayed no emotion.