I Want You - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A sudden midsummer downpour tore through the night sky, lashing relentlessly against the hotel’s transparent floor-to-ceiling windows and splashing into layers of water droplets.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked across.

The abrupt, piercing light left everything exposed, with nowhere to hide.

A silver-gray patterned suit and a stark white shirt lay intertwined with a vibrant red long dress, scattered in disarray from the expensive carpet all the way to the center of the massive bed.

A white lace bra had been ripped in half, hanging precariously from the foot of the bed. The air was thick with a moist, sultry fragrance.

The battle had just ended.

The handsome, cold-faced man climbed out of bed, his expression unchanged. He draped a shirt over his shoulders at some point and leaned over slightly to pick up the suit trousers scattered on the floor. His perfectly toned abdominal muscles were completely hidden by the fabric once more, and he began buttoning his shirt, one by one.

Shang Congzhi crumpled a bath towel beneath her, her long, raven-black hair draped over her shoulders. She seemed unaware of it, instead resting her chin in her hand, staring intently at the man’s back.

The man used his long fingers to untie the necktie that had been tangled at the foot of the bed, methodically knotting it back around his neck before turning around. His gaze, seemingly unfocused, landed in her direction: “Zhizhi…”

His clear, crisp voice grew softer and lower.

Shang Congzhi tried hard to hear what the man said next, but it felt as though a membrane separated her ears, making it impossible to distinguish.

Just as she tried to lean in closer to listen, she suddenly realized the man’s profound, handsome silhouette was blurring before her eyes.

Finally, it vanished into nothingness.

Only the sound of the intensifying rain remained, clear and piercing in her ears.

“Brother!”

Shang Congzhi’s eyelashes fluttered a few times. She opened her eyes, her red lips trembling slightly as she drew a faint syllable from her throat.

“Calling whom ‘Brother’?”

A teasing male voice drifted over.

Shang Congzhi slowly woke up, sat up from the sofa, and looked around to find she was in the makeup room of an awards ceremony.

The one speaking was her manager, Su Lian.

Outside, the rain was pitter-pattering.

Shang Congzhi realized that the persistent sound of rain in her dream was actually coming from here…

But that dream was so vivid, it felt as real as if it happened yesterday. Covering her heart, which was beating wildly, Shang Congzhi let out a light breath.

Midsummer is prone to showers. After the awards ceremony, they had planned to wait for the rain to stop before leaving. She had taken a short nap in the meantime, never expecting Mu Xinglan to slip into her dream.

Seeing her dazed expression, Su Lian could tell she hadn’t fully recovered.

He tapped the back of her head with a script: “Wake up. Still savoring a wet dream?”

In Su Lian’s mind, she had no siblings, and lingering on a dream like that usually meant she had dreamt of a lover.

Shang Congzhi lifted her thick, long eyelashes and gave him a chilly, icy scan: “Stop using such shameful words like ‘wet dream’ in front of a goddess. Can’t you see I’m blushing?”

The young girl lounging on the sofa had exquisite, unparalleled features, wearing a dark green silk gown she hadn’t yet had time to change out of after the ceremony.

Under the dim, warm-yellow lights, her soft lips curled into a half-smile. Like a touch of rouge, she was stunningly alluring. Even when silent, every movement and glance was vibrant and wildly charming to the extreme.

“Goddess” was fine, but… there wasn’t a hint of shame on her face.

Truly, a little ancestor who could lie with her eyes wide open.

Su Lian looked at her and slowly spat out three words: “I don’t see it!”

Too lazy to argue with him, Shang Congzhi looked out the window. The rain continued to drizzle, showing no signs of stopping. Su Lian sat beside her, scrolling through Weibo.

Suddenly, he slammed the tablet onto the sofa with a cold sneer: “You won Best Newcomer this time, and heaven knows how many people’s nerves you’ve touched. Look, the ceremony just ended, and the smear pieces are already out, claiming you suppressed others or were surpassed in beauty.”

Shang Congzhi’s family background was illustrious; both her parents were from wealthy business families. As their only beloved daughter, she naturally had powerful backing.

In her first year since debut, she had been handed top-tier resources. Her first film project was a script tailor-made for her by a famous director. Her debut was her peak, but with it came mountains of malicious gossip: acting like a diva, having connections, bullying others—endless, baseless rumors. She had more anti-fans than fans.

If this were any other newcomer, they would likely have fallen into depression, but Shang Congzhi was different: she was passionate about driving anti-fans insane in every possible way.

“Although your acting is mediocre, this role you won Best Newcomer for—the unrestrained, arrogant heires is practically you playing yourself. How can they say you used the back door!”

Shang Congzhi: “…”

Wait. How did an “unrestrained, arrogant heiress” become playing herself? Her true nature was clearly that of a little goddess descending to earth to experience the suffering of the mortal world.

Winning an award for this role clearly proved her acting ability!

Before her father inherited the family business and became the high-ranking Mr. Shang, he was a powerhouse actor who had swept every major film award. Even her father praised her for having the same style he had back in his prime.

Shang Congzhi didn’t bother arguing with foolish mortals. She extended a fair, slender hand to pick up the tablet.

Her thick, curled lashes lowered, and she was met with a photo comparison from the awards venue:

Her photo had been deliberately darkened to make her skin look dull, while the photo of Shen Tanning, a fellow newcomer nominated for the same award, had been heavily filtered, making her skin look white and tender.

Top-tier comments: Shen Tanning is such a sweet, pure lily. This champagne-colored bow dress is too sweet, ooh, sweeter than a peach. Why didn’t our peach win Best Newcomer? When it comes to acting, beauty, and popularity, how could she lose to that ‘vase’? That ‘vase’ definitely used the back door. Hugs to our precious Ningning, you’ll have other chances.

Shang Congzhi scrolled down, her lips curling into a cold, stunning arc.

Suddenly, she set the tablet down, retrieved her own phone, opened Weibo, found the comment she just read, and hit “Like.”

“F*ck, what are you doing?”

Su Lian had just finished calling the PR department to guide the narrative—that Shang Congzhi’s award was based on merit, not back-door connections. Turning back and catching sight of Shang Congzhi’s action, he exploded.

He snatched her phone away. What met his eyes was that lit-up “Like” button.

Su Lian felt his skull go numb. Especially after seeing the post she liked: Is this a smear piece released by Shen Tanning’s camp? Putting aside acting and popularity—which are intangible—just look at the beauty. Anyone with eyes can see Shang Congzhi is ten thousand times more beautiful than Shen Tanning. The difference in their looks is like a rich peony versus a wild chrysanthemum in the dirt.

Seeing Su Lian about to “unlike” it, Shang Congzhi curled back into the sofa and sipped the warm water an assistant handed her. Her clear, ethereal voice was lovely, yet fearless: “It’s already been screenshotted. Canceling won’t help.”

“Oh, and it’s probably already trending.”

Su Lian paused, lamenting bitterly: “You really have a clear sense of self-awareness. Then you must know that with this ‘Like,’ you’re going to generate so many more anti-fans!”

He really couldn’t take his eyes off her for a second before Shang Congzhi started wreaking havoc.

Shang Congzhi was indifferent: “There are so many anti-fans already; one more doesn’t matter, one less doesn’t matter.”

She felt the comment she liked was perfectly correct. Since they were so articulate, giving it some traffic was just a small favor. Who cared about more anti-fans?

Sure enough.

The hashtag #ShangCongzhiLikesAComment went straight to the number one spot on Weibo.

Although Su Lian regretted being deceived by Shang Congzhi’s stunning beauty and signing her in the first place, as a veteran manager, he moved at lightning speed to craft a PR strategy, pivoting Shang Congzhi toward being “authentic,” “pure and unpretentious,” and “arrogant because of her beauty.”

The top PR department at Dream Entertainment, the industry’s premier media company, felt they were constantly unlocking new potentials ever since taking on this female star.

Because you never knew what angle, what direction, or what fancy way she would act out the next day.

The rain poured for several hours before finally tapering off.

Backstage corridor of the awards ceremony.

“Shang Congzhi is too much! It’s one thing to steal your Best Newcomer award, but she even ‘Liked’ that comment on purpose to get fans to cyberbully you.”

“Look at that vixen’s appearance—don’t know how long she had to sleep with some old man to get this newcomer award. I don’t covet it at all!”

Shang Congzhi pushed open the makeup room door and heard the voices of the women passing by outside.

Her exquisite brows lifted slightly.

Her assistant, Xiao Tang, heard it too. Thinking of the warning Su Lian gave before he left, she looked at Shang Congzhi, terrified that she would let her temper flare and do something earth-shattering again: “Sister Zhizhi, calm down, please calm down. Impulse is a demon.”

Shang Congzhi offered her a signature smile. She was using a wet wipe to clean off a trace of rouge that had stained her fair fingertips while applying lipstick.

“Mm, I’m very calm.”

With cool detachment, she tossed the wipe into a corridor trash bin and called out to the two women: “Shen Tanning.”

The one who had been bad-mouthing her behind her back—claiming she got the award by sleeping with an old man—was none other than Shen Tanning.

The conflict between Shang Congzhi and Shen Tanning had started the moment they debuted. Since they debuted in the same period, Shang Congzhi had swept up all the good resources, leaving Shen Tanning to pick up the scraps. Most of the malicious gossip about her originated from Shen Tanning’s team. Previously, they had published articles claiming Shen Tanning surpassed her in beauty, accused her of being a diva, and mocked her for using her background—that was one thing—but now, they dared to spread rumors that her award was won by sleeping with an old man.

Hearing Shang Congzhi’s voice, Shen Tanning froze for two seconds. But she didn’t shrink away. She turned around: “Something the matter?”

Shang Congzhi took off the shawl draped over her slim shoulders and tossed it into Xiao Tang’s arms: “Hold this.”

Xiao Tang watched as Shang Congzhi walked toward Shen Tanning in her high heels, graceful and willowy. Only four characters surfaced in her mind:

Time to hunt!

Shang Congzhi stopped in front of Shen Tanning and offered a slight smile.

Shen Tanning opened her mouth, thinking Shang Congzhi wanted to make peace, fearing that Shen Tanning would expose the fact that she got the award through the back door. Before she could open her mouth to mock her, Shang Congzhi raised her hand and delivered a slap.

The movement was fast and ruthless, showing no mercy.

“PA!”

The crisp sound of a slap echoed through the entire corridor. Even Shen Tanning’s assistant didn’t react in time, watching in shock as a red, swollen handprint appeared on Shen Tanning’s face.

Shen Tanning was stunned for a moment, then lunged forward hysterically, trying to tear at her: “Shang Congzhi, how dare you hit me!”

“Who the hell do you think you are, daring to hit me!”

Shang Congzhi’s wrists were slender, looking as soft and boneless as a willow, yet she effortlessly restrained Shen Tanning, pinning her face hard against the white wall. Her voice was as cold as if it had been soaked in icy water:

“I hit you because you deserve it.”

“Happy spreading rumors behind my back?”

Watching the scene, Xiao Tang’s heart hammered against her ribs: “Sister Zhizhi, quick, please let go—”

Oh my god, if this is filmed, we’re done for!

Sensing that Xiao Tang’s nerves were about to break, Shang Congzhi finally let go of Shen Tanning. Seeing the foundation residue from Shen Tanning’s face on her own clean palm, Shang Congzhi frowned in disgust and looked at Xiao Tang: “Wet wipe?”

“Teacher Shen!”

The stunned assistant rushed forward to support Shen Tanning, who had nearly fallen.

Shen Tanning was shaking with rage: “You, you, you…”

Hearing the commotion, quite a few people came out of the backstage area to watch the show, even people from the organizers came over. The scene was chaotic.

Shang Congzhi was the most composed. She took the wet wipe Xiao Tang handed her and meticulously wiped her fair fingers clean, one by one. She was a little regretful she had pinned her face—she should have grabbed her by the throat.

Wait… her neck was probably covered in foundation too.

Tsk.

To avoid blowing this up and causing a bad impact, the organizers found a conference room to resolve the matter. The room was spacious and silent. Except for a few members of the organizing committee, only the two female stars and their staff were present.

The person in charge looked left and right, then asked with difficulty:

“Could the two of you explain why you were fighting?”

Shang Congzhi couldn’t be bothered to explain. The room’s air conditioning was set high, and she had the composure to re-wrap her cotton shawl to cover the fair, soft skin of her shoulders.

Shen Tanning, whose once-innocent face was now a messy, ruinous disaster of smeared cosmetics, looked particularly pathetic: “She hit me unilaterally! I’m calling the police!”

Hearing the word “police,” the organizers hurriedly said: “Both of you are public figures. It won’t look good for anyone if this goes to the police station. Can we resolve this privately?”

Shen Tanning felt the organizers were protecting Shang Congzhi because of her powerful background. She nearly bit through her lower lip and threatened viciously: “Shang Congzhi, don’t think you can be arrogant just because you have backers. I won’t let this go easily.”

Shang Congzhi leaned lazily against the back of her chair, bathed in the room’s lights. Her long eyelashes curved as she smiled, and every strand seemed to suggest she couldn’t care less: “Oh, and how do you plan not to let it go easily?”

Seeing the organizers shielding Shang Congzhi, Shen Tanning suddenly stood up abruptly: “You wait.”

She took out her phone and dialed a number: “Cousin! Wuwuwu… are you still in Lucheng? I was bullied. The other party hit me because they have backers, and they won’t let me call the police.”

She had never suffered such grievances since she was little.

Xiao Tang stood by Shang Congzhi, trembling: “Sister Zhizhi, should we call Brother Su?” She couldn’t handle this kind of situation!

Hearing Shen Tanning’s complaint, Shang Congzhi was thoughtful. Watching her cry so hard, this cousin probably wasn’t just anybody. After a moment’s thought, Shang Congzhi reached out to Xiao Tang: “Give me your phone.”

Xiao Tang immediately handed it over: “Do you want to call Brother Su?”

This was the kind of thing a manager should handle.

Calling Su Lian is useless if they’re calling the police.

Shang Congzhi toyed with the phone with her slender fingers, her beautiful eyes swirling with emotion as she let out a soft laugh: “I’m making a complaint too.”

Competing on background? Would she lose?

“Yun Duo’er, someone is trying to send me to the police station. Ask your law firm to send over a lawyer skilled in criminal defense.” Shang Congzhi gave the address and hung up. For a small scene like this, she didn’t need to disturb her father, who was currently on his honeymoon with her mother.

After Shen Tanning finished her call, she felt a sense of security and gradually calmed down. After washing her face clean, she finally had the energy to be sarcastic: “What? Are you going to call your gold-daddy, that old man?”

She really wanted to see who this gold-daddy was that made Shang Congzhi so arrogant. Although Shen Tanning had a powerful cousin, he was, after all, just a cousin. Her own family background was ordinary, and if it weren’t for being bullied so severely today, she wouldn’t have wanted to ask him for help. She wanted to rely on herself to carve out a place in the entertainment industry—unlike Shang Congzhi, who took shortcuts by sleeping with an old man while hogging top-tier resources, acting completely shameless.

Shang Congzhi didn’t even look at Shen Tanning. She stretched her body and suddenly felt—sleepy.

The conference room fell into silence again. But it was a silence that made people’s hearts tremble with fear.

Half an hour later.

The door was knocked on, and the silence was suddenly shattered.

A young man in a suit and leather shoes walked in.

The person in charge of the event immediately stepped forward: “Mr. Shao?”

They hadn’t expected that the person Shen Tanning invited was actually the Lucheng tech upstart, Shao Yuan.

“Cousin!” Shen Tanning ran over excitedly, tears streaming down her face, looking particularly pitiful. She didn’t expect Shao Yuan to stand at the door without coming over to comfort her.

Instead, he respectfully extended an arm, inviting the person outside to enter: “Mr. Mu, please.”

Hearing this title, Shang Congzhi, who had been resting her eyes, suddenly opened them and turned toward the sound.

Mu Xinglan was wearing a simple shirt and trousers today, the top button still fastened meticulously to the very top. Under the blazing lights of the conference room, his skin was a stark, cold white. His facial contours, from his brow bone to his jawline, were like a divine painting meticulously carved by a master artist—not a single detail more or less. His thin lips were pressed into a faint arc, radiating a gentle, refined, and upright handsomeness.

Mu Xinglan. It really was him.

Shang Congzhi looked over from afar.

As if sensing it, the man lowered his gaze, meeting Shang Congzhi’s eyes exactly. His gaze was clear and transparent, as if he could see through everything.

Shang Congzhi’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t deliberately look away. Instead, a scene from her dream two hours ago flooded her mind. No, that wasn’t a dream; it had happened for real one year ago. She still remembered the sentence Mu Xinglan didn’t finish clearly: Zhizhi… I will marry you.

She looked away first and took a sip of the tea, which had long since gone cold, suppressing the faint emotion in her heart.

Just as Shen Tanning thought this man who appeared so refined and poised was a friend of her cousin’s coming to support her, she saw the man sit down gracefully on Shang Congzhi’s side. Several elite figures in sharp suits crowded behind him.

His stance was very clear.

Seeing this posture, Shen Tanning was dumbfounded. This man, who even her cousin respected so much… what was his relationship with Shang Congzhi?

Shang Congzhi was playing with her phone, her eyes lowered, ignoring the handsome man with the strong presence beside her.

On WeChat: ZhizhiNotZhiZhi: “I asked you to find a lawyer, is Mu Xinglan a lawyer?”

YunDuoIsAMachoMan: “Zhier, Mu Xinglan is your actual husband. Your own husband cleaning up your mess—isn’t that a matter of course? Don’t be polite, enslave him!”

Before Shang Congzhi could reply, another message came in: “Before you were married, didn’t you love clinging to my brother, calling him ‘Brother’ sweeter than I, his own biological brother? How come now that you’re married, you’re so distant?”

Shang Congzhi’s fair fingertips trembled slightly. They stopped above the screen, and she didn’t reply to him.

Inside the conference room, the two sides sat facing each other, one more formidable than the other. The organizer cleared his throat and explained the situation clearly, finally adding: “We suggest a private settlement.”

Shen Tanning tried her best to ignore the two people opposite her, who looked exceptionally well-matched in beauty. This man could not possibly be Shang Congzhi’s gold-daddy. Her gold-daddy was clearly an old man. How could it be such a young, handsome man? He must be the Mr. Mu that her old man invited to help support the scene.

Shen Tanning felt relieved after seeing them act like strangers, without even making eye contact, not looking like lovers at all. She raised her brow at Shang Congzhi: “I…”

She had just prepared to denounce her, but before she could say more than a word, she was blocked by Shao Yuan. Her cousin didn’t know Mu Xinglan’s identity, but he knew it perfectly well. Since it was clear that the “Young Master Mu” intended to protect this female star, he wouldn’t deliberately look for trouble. Shao Yuan looked at Mu Xinglan and waved his hand very generously: “It’s just a little tiff between children; we won’t pursue it.”

Just as he thought Mu Xinglan would go along with it and turn the page, after all, his cousin was the one who had been hit.

To everyone’s surprise, Mu Xinglan’s thin lips remained in a faint, cultured smile, as gentle as jade, but the tone that drifted out carried a cold, sharp edge: “Your sister maliciously slandered and disparaged my ‘little one.’ Mr. Mu intends to pursue this to the very end.”