Bitter–Sweet

It was a hot summer day in B City.

The sound of the cicadas' loud chirping was like that of a restless heartbeat.

Aria Yan was sitting in the garden of the Yan Mansion. A huge tree shielded her from the harsh sunlight, and yet her forehead dripped with sweat as she read the day's newspaper.

It crumpled under the tightness of her grip, but one could clearly make out the headline and the photo on the front page.

It was a lewd photo of a couple. And it just so happened that the woman in the picture was her.

Lennon Yan, head of the Yan family, regarded Aria as the apple of his eye. And in the eyes of the public, she was also the only daughter of Milton He, CEO of the Yan Group.

She had just come back from abroad, and already, she had brought with her a huge scandal.

But the lady wasn't shedding a tear. After she arrived at the mansion, she merely sat in the garden, lost in thought.

It had been late when the servant called Aria back to the hall. There sat Milton with an angry expression on his face.

"Aria, how did you turn out like this after just a few years abroad? When people told me that you were living a decadent life overseas, I refused to believe it. But now, look at yourself! How could you have behaved like this?" Milton scolded her. He pointed a remote at the TV and switched it on. The news was broadcasting an interview of the man on the newspaper with Aria. It was Reid Qin, the third son of the Qin family.

Onscreen, he was wearing a pair of sunglasses that obscured most of his face. And yet this didn't conceal his dignified aura. When he curved his lips into a faint smile, he gave the impression of a playboy.

"Mr. Reid, what do you make of this issue?" asked the reporter.

"I was so drunk. I didn't know how Miss Yan and I... Honestly, I don't know how it happened. Maybe she threw herself at me?" Reid's smile turned into an even wider grin, and yet no one saw the meaningful glimmer in his eyes.