A Touch Of Fancy

Outside the delicate and elegant villa, a grand and extravagant wine party was being held on the spacious lawn.

It was brimming with guests-friends and family as they witnessed the coming-of-age ceremony of the Yan Family's second daughter. And as the host of the event, Nancy Yan wowed them as she was dressed in her elegant blue custom-made dress that seemed to be very expensive.

With a faint smile on her face, she greeted all the upper class socialites. She was sophisticated in every manner so as to impress her guests.

"There's Mr. Ji." Beside, her mother, Teresa Jia, came to Nancy Yan with a smile and whispered, "Nancy, go and greet him now."

"I know, Mom." Then, with a trace of joy on her delicate face, Nancy Yan immediately strode towards the door where her guest was about to enter.

"Is everything ready?" in a low voice, she eagerly asked a servant who was beside her. The servant handed her a glass of wine and then respectfully nodded.

Nancy Yan could not contain her happiness as she smiled from ear to ear. She then took the drink and walked exquisitely towards Clark Ji.

"I'm glad that you made it, Clark. Thanks for coming!" Nancy Yan got a little obsessed at this man, seeing that he was such a gentleman who was very sophisticated. In her mind, she actually doubted the existence of such a perfect man.

However, he still seemed aloof towards her. Driven to become his wife, she was forced to do something risky.

"Clark, I heard that you have transferred several shares of a couple of stores to me. Thank you. This gift is just too grand." Acting normally, she handed the glass of wine to Clark Ji. However, he only took a cold look at it but did not really make an effort to reach out his hand and take it.

"Oh, come on. I'm so happy, Clark! How could I ever repay you for your kindness?" Nancy Yan said while she looked at him with passion.

"Okay, I will be an adult after today. Don't you want to congratulate me?"

Clark Ji then lowered his head and glanced at the wine, a touch of unobtrusive aversion flashing in his eyes. Taking the wine from Nancy Yan's hand, he then said, "Yes."

On the other hand, Nancy Yan saw that Clark Ji didn't drink all of the wine, but only took a sip, which disappointed her a little.

But a sip was enough, as an invisible light seemed to have flashed right through her eyes at that moment.

"Clark, please wait for me here. I'm just going to see my Mom. I'll be back soon." Meanwhile, not so far away from where she was, she saw Teresa Jia waving at her. Teresa Jia was clearly trying to catch her attention as she wanted to introduce her daughter to some big personality. Nancy Yan was unwilling to leave Clark Ji's side. However, she had no choice but to excuse herself from Clark Ji.

Clark Ji stood still, but after a while, he felt something strange was happening in his body. Trembling, he then snuck out of the crowd and walked towards the villa behind him.

There, he noticed that his sight was getting blurry, as the scene in front of him became more and more washed-out. He began to pull his tie a little restlessly as he tried to restrain and ignore the discomfort that he was feeling in his body at that time.

Just when he stumbled into some random room, he suddenly inhaled a beautiful and aromatic scent that seemed to be the most lethal catalyst to what he was feeling at the moment.

"Who...Who are you? This is my room. Get out now!" A clear female voice echoed with coldness.

But when Clark Ji finally saw the woman's face, his last defense line had finally collapsed. What happened afterwards was all driven by his instinct.

Meanwhile, there was a low voice coming from a woman, followed by a soft struggle for mercy.

Rachel Yan felt tired as so much pain all around her body. The last memory she had was that she passed out while crying. She opened her eyes and saw the man staring at her neck without flinching, and then lost consciousness.

"Clark, what were you doing in Rachel's room?" Nancy Yan asked Clark Ji as soon as she saw him walk out of Rachel's room. Upon hearing the news, Nancy Yan came over and looked at Clark Ji in so much disbelief.

Squinting his eyes, Clark Ji gracefully put on his coat and replied, "What do you think? Shouldn't you at least give me an explanation first?"

"Wha... What do I have to explain to you?" Flustered, Nancy Yan then looked at Clark Ji with an injured look and said, "Clark! You and my sister? I can't believe this! How can you do this to me? Why on earth did you sleep with her?"

Nancy Yan was not able to help herself but breakdown in front of him. She covered her mouth and ran away with tears flowing in her eyes. Crying her heart out, she could not believe that something like this would ever happen to her.

But Clark Ji only sneered at her actions. With his eyes filled with coldness, he said, "It seems that she might have fooled me. She really thinks highly of herself."

Meanwhile, Clark Ji waved his hand and afterwards, his assistant immediately walked up to him respectfully, saying in a low voice, "Mr. Ji..."

Coldness sparkled in his eyes as he saying, "Investigate what happened that year again. You've made a mistake once. If you make a single mistake again, you know the consequences."

Feeling the shiver down his spine, the assistant then replied seriously, "Certainly, Mr. Ji."

As soon as they finished their conversation, Clark Ji took a glance at the room behind him and left with a bleak expression on his face.

Meanwhile, Rachel Yan, who was still in bed, was woken up by a pot of cold water.

"What in the world are you doing?" She stared at the strong servants as she gritted her teeth. Seeing her awake, one of the servants sneered, "You have already made a big mistake and you are still the mood to sleep. Come with us. Mrs. Teresa wants to see you."

As she spoke, she and the rest of the servants all carried Rachel Yan up to the living room where they threw her to the ground with a loud thud.

Under the cold weather, Rachel Yan was wet all over her body as she could not stop herself from shivering. At that moment, she tried to hide her embarrassment. She then looked straight in the eyes of her foster mother and then spoke, "Mom, what have I done wrong? Why are you letting them treat me like this?"

As a cry of grief echoed in the air, Nancy pounced on Rachel Yan and fiercely beat her into a pulp.

"You fucking bitch! Stop playing your tricks and pretending innocent! I'm gonna tear you into pieces!"

Nancy rained hard fists on Rachel Yan without mercy!

Frowning and trying to hold back her tears, Rachel Yan tried her best to avoid Nancy's attacks. But when she could not bear the anguish anymore, she shouted angrily at her, "Nancy, what the hell are you doing? Are you crazy?"

However, her foster mother, Teresa Jia only slapped her hard on the face as a response.

Then, Teresa Jia raised her hand coldly, with a flicker of disgust in her eyes. "Not only did you seduce your future brother-in-law and sleep with him, but also cursed your sister! Well, well, well, Rachel... How did I raise such a shameless person like you!"

Shocked to hear what had happened, Rachel Yan opened her mouth and cried out, "Did Clark Ji take advantage of me?" Nancy screamed as she gritted her teeth,

"How dare you say that! How dare you sleep with my boyfriend? Rachel, let me remind you that you are just a dog adopted by my family! You are worthless for shamelessly seducing my man! Mom, she even gave philters to Clark! How dare you even think of such a bold scheme! What would I expect? After all, you are already so brazen. I should not be surprised that you would still deny this claim. Waah... Waah... "

"Philters?" Rachel Yan was stunned for a moment. When she recovered, she then said angrily, "I didn't do it. I didn't even know who he was at all, and it was him who found me in my room, not the other way around. Nancy, don't sling mud at me. Don't forget, Mom said that I was grounded and I didn't attend your party at all. How could I have given philters to him?"

Catching Nancy's flustered look, she sneered, "In my opinion, someone tried to give Clark philters, but little did she know that her plan was in vain. How dare you say that I am the one responsible for this mess!"

"You bitch! What the hell are you talking about?" Gnawing in pain, Nancy screamed in anger as if she wanted to tear Rachel into shreds.

Upon glancing at her angry face, Teresa already knew what was going on. Looking at Rachel passively, she then said, "You know you have done something really wrong, but you still don't admit it. How stubborn of you!"

Upon hearing what she had just said Rachel was stunned. Then, she looked at Teresa with disappointed eyes, stating, "Mom, it wasn't really me who did that. I didn't..."

"Lock her in the basement right this instant. Rachel, think deep and hard about what you have done!" Teresa ordered the servants in a cold and emotionless voice. Turning around, she then went upstairs, avoiding Rachel's eyes as if she never existed.

"What are you looking at? Do you think that Mom will be on your side? Ha ha! Rachel, that's so naive of you. Face it! You are just an adopted daughter of the Yan Family. How can you possibly compete with the real daughter such as me?" Walking over to Rachel's side with a triumphant smile on her face, Nancy then sneered in a low voice, "What do you think Mom will do? Even if you have evidence to prove it was me, so what? Come to think of it. No one in this family would believe you. The whole family is on my side! Ha ha!"

"So I will be punished, but so what? What have you got? It's such a pity that your trick didn't work and you can't be Clark's wife, isn't it?" Rachel tried to contain her grief and fury, and then approached Nancy as saying in a voice, "He slept with me, not you. Remember that."

Upon hearing those words, Nancy's face was suddenly contorted with anger. Still stunned, she stared gloomily at Rachel's innocent face and cursed, "You bitch! You deserve to die and go straight to hell!"

But before she could finish her words, Rachel went to the basement straight ahead, without looking back, leaving Nancy pissed off to death all by herself.

'Phew...... So as it turns out, it was Clark who entered my room...' Rachel thought to herself. Slowly, Rachel sat down against the wall in the dark basement. She remembered how it was like to be there since she used to come there often.

Then, sadness covered Rachel's face. Lowering her head, she could not help but laugh at herself as she realized and remembered how things turned out for her-her mother hating her so much.

"Miss, Miss..."

Suddenly, there was a tiny voice just outside the door. Hearing this, her eyes lit up.

"Hey, Eva, is that you?" Rachel responded as she whispered back to the door. Eva was also an orphan, just like her, whom the Yan Family adopted. Being adopted together at the same time, they grew up together, shared the same things, and they seemed to trust each other very much.

"Miss!" Eva was so happy as she held Rachel's hand from the small window of the door. With her eyes red with tears and excitement, she then said, "Miss, I know you have suffered a lot. Here. Take this medicine that I have just bought for you. Apply it gently on the wound. Don't worry, it won't hurt after you apply it."

Seeing that Rachel was wet all over, Eva was not able to contain her anger. Furious, she then commented, "Mrs. Teresa has gone too far this time. She shouldn't treat you like this. Not now, not ever. My Miss, hang in there. I am going to get a dry towel for you."

As hearing that, a touch of warmth flowed right through Rachel's scarred heart. She even thought that Eva might be the only reason why she was still in the Yan Family.

Meanwhile, as she was applying the medicine on her wounds, Rachel suddenly heard Eva's voice rattling in fear. A little while later, she then came back and said, "Miss, Miss! Something bad is going to happen!"

"What's happening? What's wrong?" Rachel asked with her brows furrowed in confusion.

Eva said anxiously, "I overheard Miss Nancy and a servant's conversation. She... She wanted to secretly poison you!"

Rachel was dumbfounded upon hearing what Eva had just heard. Still talking in panic, Eva added, "What should we do, Miss? What should we do?"

"Don't panic, Eva. Go to the butler's room and find the spare key to the basement. Now, all we have to do is to sneak out of here," Rachel ordered calmly. Following her orders, Eva then immediately rushed to do what she was told.

"Damn it!" Rachel could not help but curse in a hushed voice, with a cold light flashing in her eyes.

All her life, she did not expect that someone such as her so-called sister would even come up with such a vicious and savage way to completely destroy her life.

Suddenly, the door opened.

"Oh, Rachel, you look quite relaxed," Nancy said with a bit evil in her cold voice. "It seems that you have already predicted that you would not be able to escape from it today."

"Nancy, I share the same surname as you. You are my family and I belong here. Do you really think that you would not be suspected if something happened to me? Do you really think that you could get out of this mess?" With a wary look at Nancy, Rachel couldn't help but take a step back.

"Ha ha. Of course I am aware of that. As long as you are poisoned, no one will say anything about the Yan Family. After all, no one will find you once you're dumb from poisoning."

All of a sudden, there was a chill in Rachel's eyes, along with a rare feeling of anxiety in her heart. Obviously, there was no point in communication with such a crazy woman at all.

Then, two servants came down to them carrying a bowl of what was like dark medicine juice and walked towards Rachel with an obvious bad intention.

"Bang! --"

In a flash, there was a loud bang behind Nancy. There, the seemingly petite Eva dashed in with a stick in her hands and knocked the two servants aside. Anxiously she shouted, "Miss, run!"

"Eva!" Rachel screamed as she came to her senses instantly. Stunned at what was happening, she then dashed towards Nancy and gave her a hard push.

Afterwards, she grabbed Eva's hand and ran away with her as fast as they could.

"Ah! You fucking bitch! I will kill you!" Nancy fell to the ground. Pissed off, she then shouted at the useless servants, "Don't just stand there! Go and chase her, losers!"

Rachel was only a few steps away from the gate, but the voice behind her and Eva was getting closer and closer every second.

Right at that moment, Rachel felt more anxious in her heart. As she was trying to think of a way on how to escape, Eva suddenly shook her hand off and pushed Rachel to the door. "Run, Miss! Run for your life! Don't worry about me! Run as fast as you can!"

At that point, Rachel was not able to do anything but look at the heroic Eva, a skinny young girl who ran back as she tried to stop those people from chasing her.

As soon as they had the chance, the servants then kicked Eva to the ground and started beating her with their hands and feet, kicking and punching her body hard.

Rachel's eyes were filled with tears as she saw it happening. But there was nothing she could do but run out without looking back while she wiped the tears off her eyes.

She knew that she could only save Eva after she ran away.

Meanwhile, the puddles in the streets glistened after raining hard and Rachel ran as if she did not know where she was heading.

She wore thin and dirty clothes, which attracted a lot of attention. But she did not care about what other people thought of her as she continued to run forward recklessly.

"Mr. Ji, could you please tell us your plan about the acquisition?"

"Mr. Ji, I heard that the senior executives of the Ji Group have not been affected by the financial crisis this time. Is any of that true?"

"Mr. Ji, when will you marry Miss Nancy?"

A large group of people in front were setting their eyes on the man in a dark grey suit. With a composed expression on his gentle and elegant face, he then answered the journalists' questions one by one, except for the last one.

However, someone from an unknown media repeated the question.

Then, a hint of coldness flashed across the corners of Clark's mouth. In fact, during that time, his assistant was about to stop the topic when he heard a commotion among the crowd.

Simultaneously, a clear and confirmed voice came through. "I am his fiancee."

Everyone was stunned and excited at the same time upon hearing this. Eager to know more about it, all of them suddenly turned around to see whom the voice belonged to.

It was a thin figure appearing in front of the dazed Clark. With his dark eyes narrowed, he then spoke, "You..."

"Please...Please help me,"

Rachel whispered as her soft lips imprinted on Clark's.

With her body trembling, Rachel kissed Clark unskillfully as she was afraid that he would push her away any second.

But Clark suddenly felt something strange at the bottom of his heart. He acted on it, reaching out his hand as he held her slender waist.

Speechless, Rachel opened her eyes and saw Clark's deep-set eyes that shone as dark as the night sky. Meeting his eyes, she could not help but be at a loss for words.

She soon panicked, and later loosened her grip on him. Seeing this, some of the reporters from the major media were shocked. Blushing, Rachel then claimed, "I am Clark's lover, and the eldest daughter of the Yan Family, Rachel Yan."

Creak! Creak! Creak!

Excited to hear such groundbreaking news, the reporters took photos of Rachel and Clark nonstop. Upon seeing how the media were acting, Rachel already knew that this would be the headline of all the major media tomorrow.

She finally felt relieved as she believed that Eva would be saved soon, a glimmer of hope shinning in her eyes.

However, she suddenly felt a cold gaze being thrown at her.

"My lover?" Glancing at Rachel, Clark didn't feel amused at all. "Since when did I have a fiancee? Why don't I know anything about that?"

Rachel had a sudden blush on her face. She then turned her eyes away as if she were shy and then said, "But last time... That was actually my first time. So you should be responsible for me."

As soon as she finished her words, Rachel wanted to kill herself in embarrassment. With her face turning red, she realized that she had ever considered virginity as a valuable thing. However, she had to do that in order to save Eva.

After a moment of silence, Clark nodded in agreement and said, "You're right. I should be responsible for you."

Rachel shot him a strange glance after hearing what he had just said, and asked, "Are you a virgin, too?"

After all, she didn't want to be responsible for any man.

The assistant, who just stood beside them, immediately stared at her in horror. Giving off an overwhelmed expression, he could not believe what this strange woman asked just now.

Blue veins suddenly came popping out of Clark's forehead. Clenching his teeth, he then whispered, "Shut up!"

Without hesitation, Rachel immediately followed his order. All of a sudden, she felt a hand behind her. But before she could do anything and react to it, she had already fallen into Clark's arms.

"You!" Tensed, Rachel watched him get closer and closer to her. As soon as there was only an inch space between them, Clark tilted his head a little, and she felt him bit her hard on the left side of her neck.

"Ah, that hurts!" she cried out in pain and covered her neck, while she tried to push him away. "What are you doing?"

Was he just a man with a strange hobby to suck others' blood?

Clark suddenly licked his thin lips with a snicker and said, "This is your first wish. Don't worry. There are two more."

"What?" Rachel was stunned as she stared at the man's delicate profile without understanding what he meant.

"Your birthmark is so ugly, yet unique," Clark said right before he turned around and left.

Rachel watched as his slender figure disappeared in front of her. Under her breath, she couldn't help but mumble, "He's good-looking, but so weird."

Following behind, the assistant was obviously shaken upon hearing this. Handing over the ointment to Rachel with a trembling hand, he wiped off the cold sweat off his forehead and said, "Miss Yan, this is the medicine the doctor prescribed for you. Please take it."

"Oh, thank you." Rachel looked at him with gratitude and then asked herself doubtfully, "But how did Clark know that there is a birthmark on my left neck?"

"Keep an eye on her and don't let anything happen to her," Clark ordered a bodyguard beside him.

"Roger that, sir."

Lowering his head, Clark subconsciously touched the awful scar on his wrist. He muttered coldly to himself, "It's you."

Meanwhile, in the middle of the night, the Yan Family's house was still brightly lit.

"Go beat her hard! She deserves that!" "Bitch! How dare you go against Miss Nancy!" "How many lives have you got? You really want to die, huh!"

The servants shouted as they swung the whip furiously at the dying Eva.

"Slow down. Don't beat her to death just yet. I think she could still be useful to me," Nancy said in a heartless tone as she drank her coffee gracefully.

"Yes, Miss Nancy."

"Stop!"

Suddenly, a gentle voice echoed, and Rachel rushed to them in a fast speed and slapped away the whip.

"Rachel, how dare you show your face in front of me? Catch her!" Stunned, Nancy then smashed the cup on the ground and stared at Rachel with a killing intent.

"Catch me, really?" Rachel sneered, "If you want to catch me, then you'll have to ask for Clark's permission!"

Astonished to hear such audacity, Nancy could only ask with a frown, "What do you mean by that?"

"Haven't you heard? I'm going to be Clark's wife. He said he wants to marry me because of what he did to me that day." With a malicious look on her face, Rachel relayed the message word by word. "So don't you dare lay a finger on me. Do you think that Clark will easily let go of the woman who tried to give him philters and catch his fiancee?"

"Rachel Yan!" Furious, Nancy then screamed out loud, "You damn bitch! I'm gonna kill you!"

"What are you all doing here so late at night?" Suddenly, Teresa appeared at the door. Glancing at Rachel coldly, she asked, "Shouldn't you be locked in the basement? Why did you come out without my permission?"

"Mom, Rachel went to ask Clark to marry her. What should I do now? I should be his fiancee!" Nancy shouted and cried after seeing Teresa.

Teresa was obviously stunned at first, but frowned afterwards. With a hint of disgust and coldness flashing in her eyes, she then asked, "Did you really do it?"

"Mom, I had no choice. They hit Eva so hard. If I don't save her, then she will eventually die..."

"Eva is one of the servants of the Yan Family, which makes her life our property. If she committed a mistake, then she should be punished for it. It will never be a problem even if she were mercilessly beaten to death," Teresa interrupted Rachel coldly. Then she continued harshly, "Look at you! Have you ever treated us as your family? Now, you even want your sister's man! How ungrateful of you!"

Rachel stared at her in disbelief. Then, with pain engulfing her heart, she spoke, "Mom, am I such a bad woman in your eyes? I feel deep gratitude to the Yan Family ever since I was a child. Moreover, I have never complained about anything. But no matter how hard I tried, you don't ever believe me!"

Teresa, however, just sneered and replied, "That's because you are not a child of this family, and your background is disgusting."

"Mom..." Surprised, Rachel opened her mouth, but no other words came out of it as she did not know what to say next.

"Now get out of my sight! Get on your knees until the rain stops. Otherwise, I'll throw this lowly servant out," Teresa said coldly and then left.

On the other hand, Nancy snorted venomously and proudly, as she followed suit.

Meanwhile, the rain poured heavily outside, just as the sky was almost lighting up. However, the rain was not getting any lighter at all.