Honey Trap

Heavy downpour came as the month of August came to an end. The whole city was blanketed with rain and darkness.

At the North Prison, the door of a prison cell opened with an echoing bang. A slender man wearing a police uniform slowly walked through.

"Don't get into trouble next time, young missy. There is nothing in this world that can't be solved with rationality. It would be a pity if you would have to spend most of your life in a place like this, especially when you're still youthful!" The man frowned and shook his head. With her head down, Joan Gu silently bit her lower lip.

She was clearly wronged, but no one believed her.

All the other prisoners, who had also been released, were picked up by their loved ones or relatives. One after the other, they left until she was the only one who remained. When the rain started to pour, Joan Gu pulled herself together and looked for some place outside the prison to keep herself dry.

The heavy rain got her clothes soaking wet, making her shiver. Her eyes strained up and down the street, hoping that someone she knew would finally come get her.

"You're Joan Gu, right? Why are you still standing here? Didn't your husband pick you up? We informed him yesterday of your release." It was time for the warden to get off work, and he was surprised to see that Joan Gu was still here. The day before the prisoners were released, the family members of the prisoners were informed so that they would be able to fetch them.

"He...he was probably delayed by something important... It's okay. I can wait."

Her heart was torn into pieces. Joan Gu felt that maybe Scott Jian had completely forgotten about her release, but then the cruel reality suddenly hit her.

'You're such a silly girl... He was the one who put you behind bars, and yet you're still expecting that he would pick you up!' she thought to herself mockingly with a wry smile.

She hugged her white coat tighter to her body, and, without a second thought, walked out into the rain. In a matter of seconds, her clothes were completely drenched, her hair plastered onto the sides of her face.

The money she had earned from the part-time jobs she worked in the jail was not enough for her to take a taxi to go home. Gritting her teeth, Joan Gu dragged her legs that felt as if they were as heavy as lead. It was supposed to be the start of summertime, and yet the weather today was as cold as ice.

From time to time, passersby who were in hurry would slow down and stare at her with judgment in their eyes, thinking that she must be crazy for walking out in the rain like that.

'A lot has changed in three years,' Joan Gu thought to herself. With her fairly vague memory, she made her way to the most prosperous entertainment zone in S City.

Meanwhile, a waiter wearing white gloves respectfully opened the doors to the prestigious club in all of S City. A tall, handsome man casually made his way outside.

When he walked past, all the women stared at him with eyes full of thirst. They whispered to each other in excitement, "Oh my god... It's Mr. Lu!"

A confident and voluptuous woman came up to him, twirling a glass of wine in her hand. She intended to introduce herself, but Darren Lu simply brushed past her, not even giving her a single glance. The woman was ashamed and annoyed, but she could do nothing. Darren Lu was always like this. No woman could win his heart.

At the street corner, the paparazzi quickly got on their feet and shot Darren Lu's every move. They hid themselves so well that no one even noticed them.

Upon stepping outside, Darren Lu saw that the valet had not yet returned with his car. Staring out, his face turned into a dark frown.

Joan Gu was walking outside the prestigious club. Being out in the rain for so long, she was starting to feel a bit feverish. With her head down, she mechanically walked around, her feet splashing puddles all around.

Just then, a drunkard accidentally bumped into her. Caught off guard, Joan Gu staggered and fell sideways. Instinctively, she flung her arms around, trying to grab onto anything for support.

In the nick of time, Joan Gu grabbed onto some man's shirt. Surprised, the man pulled back, but with the amount of force, he fell down to the ground. It was at that point that Joan Gu was lying directly on top of Darren Lu at the sidewalk.

The paparazzi quickly locked their cameras on them, clicking away at the scene. A photo like that would earn them a lot of money, and so they all took multiple shots of the little accident.

Even under his dry clothes, Darren Lu could feel how cold the unknown woman was. Disgust flashed through his dark eyes. He had always hated others approaching him without permission, let alone touching him.

"Get off me." The man's voice was low and gentle. It was so magnetic and pleasant to hear. But at the same time, there was coldness to it.

Trembling, Joan Gu tried to stand up, but she had gotten much too weak from walking out in the rain for so long. She could hear a sound coming from somewhere, but couldn't comprehend anything at the moment from the dizziness that was overcoming her. She could, however, feel a pleasant warmth from under her. Coming in closer, she laid her cheek down and savored the warmth.

With his lips pressed in a straight line and his brows furrowed, Darren Lu couldn't help but grunt in fury. 'This woman pounced on me! And now she even looks as if she's making herself comfortable on top of me like this!

Is this how desperate some women get?' Earlier, he had just successfully averted Zoey Su. And now, this happened to him the moment he got out.

"I said, get off me," Darren Lu said through his teeth.

Joan Gu remained unresponsive. Losing the little amount of patience he had, Darren Lu roughly pushed her away.

The tough life in jail caused Joan Gu weak and fragile. After being exposed to the heavy rain for a long time, she couldn't help but pass out.

In the midst of the seemingly endless darkness, Joan Gu felt as if she was floating back to the day of her wedding. Hand in hand, she and Scott Jian kissed passionately, feeling as if there was nothing in the world that could possibly go wrong...

In a flash, the scene changed. Joan Gu was on her way to surprise Scott Jian on his birthday while he was on his business trip. Unfortunately, she didn't expect that her husband had a surprise of his own...

Scott Jian's voice echoed in her mind. "Joan! What are you doing here! Get out!"

With her eyes fluttering open, Joan panted, gasping out of the nightmare she just had. Her body was covered with cold sweat. In the past three years she spent in jail, she had never had a decent night's sleep.

For a while, Joan Gu tried to catch her breath, trying to compose herself. After which, she looked around, and saw that she was in a room that was not familiar to her. Judging by how the room looked, it appeared as if she was in a hotel room.

Joan Gu couldn't recall how she had gotten here. She couldn't afford it so she certainly couldn't check in by herself.

At that moment, she remembered the man she had bumped into. She started to have a bad feeling about the whole thing. Slowly, she lifted up the blanket on top of her, and saw that her clothes were no longer on her body.

'That man... must have taken me here. Did he...'

Joan Gu was restless. She had never expected such thing to happen. When she was released from prison, Scott Jian didn't come to get her. And just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, she was taken into a hotel by a strange man!

All of a sudden, the bathroom door opened. A tall man walked out barefoot, a towel hanging over his shoulder.

'He has the audacity to even take bath after taking advantage of me!'

"Bastard!" Joan Gu grabbed an ashtray on the bedside table and threw it at the man.

Even though Darren Lu reacted quickly, the blow was too sudden. It grazed his forehead, creating a small cut on his skin.

Joan looked around the room, seeing what else she could throw at the strange man in front of her. But Darren had already walked to her and grabbed her hands tightly.

"Woman, do you want to die?" Darren squinted his eagle-like eyes, looking incredibly dangerous.

"You bastard! Rapist!" She tried to struggle, but the man held her tightly, which made her unable to get rid of him.

"Rapist?" Darren asked incredulously. As he looked at Joan's angry face, he suddenly understood what she was thinking about.

The man raised his eyes and glanced at Joan's chest, which was half covered by the thin quilt. He squinted at her mischievously. "Don't think for one second that you intrigue me the least bit," he said coldly. "But if you keep seducing me with your actions, I wouldn't mind changing my taste."

Joan's face turned stiff. So nothing happened between them? But she was naked on the bed. There was no one else in the room except them. This didn't make sense.

Joan could tell from the man's teasing tone that he was looking over at her naked body. "Jerk!" she shouted at him.

She felt disgusted at the way men acted. Scott had cheated on her while they were married. And this strange playboy came out of nowhere. "Get away from me! You're disgusting, dirty man!" Joan said angrily though gritted teeth.

In the past twenty-seven years, Darren had heard a lot of praise and compliment -- this was the first time he had ever been insulted like this. Instantly, his sculptural handsome face became overcast. 'I really shouldn't have brought this woman here,' he thought.

The next second, he burst into laughter. "Playing hard to get is out of date. Last night, you bawled and practically begged me to take you home. I don't see you keeping your integrity right then."

Joan was totally confused. Did she really do that? How could it be?

As soon as he thought of what had happened last night, his handsome face darkened again.

Joan well unconscious on the ground when she bumped into Darren. Although he was very unwilling to help her, he still did. It was because it was already causing quite a scene. No matter what Darren did, Joan wouldn't let go of his clothes. What's more, she kept babbling about how he was a heartless unfaithful man who abandoned her and dated two women at the same time. If he hadn't stopped her in time, she would have said more nonsense.

In his whole life, he had never been humiliated like this.

To make sure that she wouldn't go anywhere else and continue to speak ill of him, he had no choice but to check in the hotel with Joan.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Joan snapped back.

He raised his eyes and looked at her playfully. Leaning in, he whispered in her ear. "Pretty face, fine figure. But too thin. Not really that pleasurable to touch."

Joan's face blushed. She had never been flirted like this before.

With his beautiful eyes narrowed, Darren didn't want to waste his breath, so he said, "Name a price."

What price?

Noticing the confusion in Joan's eyes, the corners of Darren's mouth lifted into a smirk. "Five hundred thousand?"

He didn't really like Joan, but he thought she was more interesting than those women who only tried to seduce him. He wanted to make fun of her to see if she could bring him any surprises.

"You bastard!" Joan yelled when she realized what he was implying.

The woman in front of him was like a lion whose sensitive spot was poked. Their faces and bodies were so close to one another's. The heat of her words was lingering around his neck.

"Are you saying that you bumped into me by accident? That you were not just trying to play hard to get?"

The man straightened up, looking down at Joan. His voice was relatively mild, but Joan truly felt the wild and arrogant tone behind it. Only people with big egos could have this kind of attitude.

Joan tried to catch her breath, trying to calm down. Thinking of the heavy rain and everything that had happened yesterday, Joan could not help but feel sad. She lowered her eyes and said, "Yesterday... Yesterday was really... I have my reasons."

Her long eyelashes couldn't hide the pain in her eyes. Darren was touched by her expression.

In fact, as soon as he brought Joan back to the hotel, he had already known that the woman had a very high fever and that she had been talking nonsense. She hadn't stopped mumbling to herself until Darren had asked a waiter to change her clothes and get her some medicine. Even when she was fast asleep, her pale face was filled with pain and sorrow.

His grip on her wrist was starting to hurt badly. Joan only wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. After some wriggles, he didn't seem to loosen his grip at all. "Let go of me. You're overthinking too much. I'm not interested in a man like you at all!" she said in an irritated tone.

A hint of coldness flashed through his eyes. If he saw it right, there were disgust and contempt in her face. 'Does she really think she could easily say that without getting away with it?

She's too bold,' Darren sneered.

Before he could say anything, his phone rang. He cast a warning glance at Joan and let go of her hand, walking over to his phone on the table.

The man stood by the window, his slender figure appearing to be even more profound in the shadow of the light. Pulling out a cigarette on the window sill, he lit it with his slender fingers, smoking rising up and wafting out.

"...... Darren, are you still thinking about that name -- "

"Enough. I don't want to hear about it anymore. I will bring you a daughter-in-law as soon as possible," Darren interrupted in a low voice. He knew what his mother was talking about, but he didn't want to hear that name. And he was even afraid of hearing it.

Mrs. Lu called to urge him to get married as soon as possible. Yesterday, he left the Su family's daughter, Zoey, behind. Zoey's mother just came by toady to scold him.

Darren frowned and rubbed his temples. He suddenly remembered that there was another person in the room. Covering the phone with his hand, he whispered loudly at Joan. "I'm warning you. I can pretend as if nothing has happened as long as you get out of this room and keep your mouth shut. And stop blurting out things that you shouldn't say! There is nothing between us."

But Joan made no answer. Darren waited for another few seconds, and still there was no response.

"What tricks are you playing this time......" the voice on the other end of the phone asked. Darren suddenly stopped speaking. He squinted his eyes, his face sullen.

He walked to the bed and pulled the quilt aside. Joan was nowhere to be found.

How could she run away like that? !

Darren's face darkened as he abruptly ended the call. In a few minutes, he discreetly went downstairs to the underground parking lot, wearing nothing but a bathrobe, and got inside his car.

'That woman will pay for this! She came and crawled into bed, only to yell at me and steal my clothes!' A friend of his came to his car with a fresh set of clothes. The moment he saw Darren, he started bawling with laughter.

"I never thought that the dignified Mr. Lu would be eaten up and thrown away by a woman one day. Hahaha!"

Darren glared at Henry Su, his lips pressed into a fine line. 'The next time I see that girl, I won't let her go easily.'

The rainstorm from yesterday went as quickly as it came. There was not a cloud in the sky as the sun shone brightly overhead.

Joan pulled her clothes tighter. The man's shirt was too big for her slim body, but she had no choice. Her clothes were all wet and thrown haphazardly into the trash bin. Joan couldn't help but curse that strange, tall man in her head again and again.

Although she was no longer feverish, she still felt pretty weak. Slowly, she made her way to her villa. As she walked towards the door, she was surprised that it looked a bit unfamiliar to her. Three years had passed, and she didn't know if this house looked the same as before.

Just as Joan was about to set foot on the stairs, the door opened all of a sudden.

"Honey, be careful on the way. I will wait for you at home with the baby." The woman in a red housecoat reached out to hold the man's strong waist, and the two looked at each other shyly.

That woman, Jean Bai, was the one who got in between Joan and Scott's marriage. But most importantly, she was one of the reasons why Joan got locked up in jail.

A sharp pain came to Joan's heart. She was so painful that she could hardly breathe. When she was released from prison, Scott didn't even bother to come pick her up. Instead, he was fooling around with his mistress, Jean Bai. What's more, it seemed that during the three years when she had been in prison, they were living a happy and full life!

"Scott..." said Joan in a trembling voice.

The two people who were about to kiss were froze. When they turned their heads and saw the person standing in front of them was Joan, they were both stunned.

"Joan?" Scott exclaimed, not believing what he was currently seeing. Then, the expression on his face turned blank and flat. "So I see that you're already out of jail."

The man was dressed in a well cut and handmade suit, accentuating his well-toned body. He looked like a dressed statue, giving off a cold and haughty air. Beside him, Jean Bai snuggled up closer as he tightly hugged his arms.

But this man was Joan's husband... This was her home!

"Why... Why is she here?" Joan asked in a trembling voice, stretching out her hand and pointing at Jean Bai.

A flicker of awkwardness flashed across Scott's eyes, and the woman beside him seemed to be frightened by the malicious look in Joan's eyes. She then once again shrank back in his embrace. With her petite figure, Scott had the urge to protect Jean Bai. It was at that moment that he remembered what Joan had done to Jean Bai, making the guilt in his heart vanished in an instant.

"I asked her to stay here. She is weak and needs to be taken care of." Scott said coldly at Joan, "You almost killed her because of what you did. I thought that you would at least apologize to her. It seems that I've expected too much from you."

Joan trembled and looked at him in disbelief. She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. For a while, the pain in her hands overcame the agony in her heart.

'Apologize? Why should I apologize! I was totally wronged and innocent! Everything was Jean Bai's ploy. I had nothing to do with what happened to her!' she screamed in her head.

Joan shook her head and opened her mouth to try and explain, "Three years ago, it was--"

"Enough! I don't want to hear anything about it anymore," Scott interrupted coldly.

He didn't even give her a chance to explain. Three years ago, when the incident happened, she also didn't get the chance to share her side of the story. In a heartbeat, Scott sided with Jean Bai.

Joan glared at Jean Bai. As she hid in Scott's arm, Jean Bai flashed a smug smile, as if mocking Joan for losing the battle.

Jean Bai opened her mouth slightly and mouthed to Joan, "Go away, trash."

Finally, Joan couldn't control her grief, indignation and anger anymore. She rushed in front of Jean Bai, pulled her over and slapped her across her face.

Slap!

It all happened so quickly that Jean Bai and Scott were in shock. Immediately, sharp pain spread to her fair and tender face, the shape of Joan's hand clearly imprinted on her cheek.

"What are you doing, Joan?!" It was rare for Scott to be infuriated. He pushed Joan away and pulled Jean Bai into his arms nervously. When he saw Jean Bai's face, he frowned as he gently caressed her with a gently finger.

"Don't forget, Scott," Joan said with a cold sneer. "You're still my husband. As long as I'm around, you can't have a mistress."

When Scott was about to say something, tears suddenly fell down from Jean Bai's face. She choked with sobs. "Scott, let me go. I... I shouldn't have been here. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. I just feel sorry that our baby won't even get a chance to meet his father..."

"Jean, no. Shh... Don't cry. What you need to do now is to take good care of yourself. It's not good for the baby." Scott lovingly rubbed Jean Bai's stomach. Then he glared hatefully at Joan. "Three years..." he said scornfully, "Three years in prison and you still haven't reflected on your evil deeds? You are still as vicious as before!"

How could he say that she was vicious? Why did he still defend Jean Bai like this? Joan's heart broke. The three years she spent in prison was a living hell for her that she wouldn't be able to forget. She was thrown into jail because of these two!

She remembered how she saw Scott in bed having an affair, and yet he kicked her out without any sense of guilt whatsoever. The moment Joan was sent to jail, Jean Bai happily moved in the next day. All of the anger that was pent up inside was too much for words, and so Joan couldn't help but attack Jean Bai.

Jean Bai was a conniving woman. She had caused a scene all by herself by pretending to fall down the stairs and blaming Joan. With realistic tears in her eyes, Jean Bai cried about how she lost her baby, and blamed Joan for attempted murder. Scott had believed what Jean Bai had said without any hesitation, and at last, he had put Joan behind bars, sentencing her to three whole years.

Noticing the visible bulge on her belly, Joan raised her eyebrows. "Are you pregnant again? Then you'd better be careful. It won't be easy for a woman to give birth to a healthy baby, especially when she had a miscarriage before," said Joan sarcastically with her cold eyes. Because of her attempt to frame Joan, Jean Bai had risked the life of her unborn child.

Without waiting for their response, Joan pushed them away and went straight into the house.

Tears welled up in Jean Bai's eyes. With a pitiful look, she glanced up at Scott. "Look at her. She... she's..."

"Jean Bai, as long as I'm still in this family, you have no right to flirt with my husband. You'd better get half a brain and figure out who is the real hostess here."

Joan caught a glimpse of the woman's dresses scattered on the sofa in the living room. She grabbed them and threw them out of the room.

At this time, Scott was turning red with fury. His booming voice echoed in the house. "How dare you!"