Your Love Shoots Me Down

The plane steadily rolled down the strip, slowly coming to a halt. At the gate, there were already a swarm of reporters waiting, all holding a camera or microphone of some sort. Passersby stopped to take a look at the commotion, thinking that maybe a big star was about to step out of the plane. They craned their necks and stood on their toes, eager to see who it possibly could be.

A group of people wearing black suits first came out -- they were most probably privately hired bodyguards. After which, a small, dainty figure wearing white appeared. Huge, tinted sunglasses covered nearly half of her face. The reporters clamored around her, flashing their cameras and trying to get their microphones as close to her as possible.

"Miss Xu, are the rumors true about you and your fiance?"

"Can you confirm that Mr. Ben Ming, CEO of the Ming Group, cheated on you with your sister nearly two weeks ago?"

"Miss Xu! What will happen to your wedding? Will you be cancelling the engagement?"

"What happens now, Miss Xu? Will the Xu Group and the Ming Group continue to work together despite this unexpected setback? Will this affect how the next round of directors to be chosen for the Xu Group?"

"Our sources say that your sister and Mr. Ben grew up together. Could it be possible that you are the reason why the relationship between two very prominent families has been completely destroyed? What do you have to say about all of this, Miss. Xu?"

All the voices of the reporters overlapped with each other as they threw one blunt question after the other.

The bodyguards tried their best to keep everyone a safe distance from her petite figure. Despite the uproar, the woman kept her calm.

Bystanders were quick to realize that woman who had just gotten off the plane was Armani Xu, CEO of the Xu Group.

Armani Xu had been on the headlines of countless tabloids, newspapers and magazines over the past few days. It all started when the photos of Ben Ming surfaced, showing that he was kissing Armani Xu's sister in a hotel elevator.

To make matters worse, Ben Ming came forward to make a public statement, saying that Armani Xu had actually been the mistress all this time and that she was the one who came in between his relationship with Jessie Xu

Everyone was dying to know how Armani Xu would respond to these accusations, to find out if anything Ben Ming had said was in fact true.

"Frankly speaking, I don't know much about it," Armani Xu said indifferently. "I had been busy with company finances when I was in E Country. But if all of this is true, if they truly love each other, then they have my blessing."

"So are you admitting that you had gotten in the way of their relationship?" someone continued to ask.

Armani Xu took off her sunglasses, her eyes staring maliciously at the reporter. "Do I look like the kind of person who needs to step into anything?" she countered, her pink lips arching up into a sarcastic smile.

Mary Song, the assistant who was carrying Armani Xu's bag, couldn't help but sigh.

On the other hand, all of the media reporters were taken aback by her arrogant and imposing answer.

However, after giving it some thought, they couldn't help but agree with her.

Armani was the eldest daughter of the Xu Group, a big family name in SH City. At a young age, she had become the CEO of their family's company. Ever since then, she had done nothing but make the company more and more successful. It was inevitable since she was one of the most notable alumna of the Royal Business School in E Country.

On an international scale, she was well-known not only for her business savvy, but also for her incomparable beauty.

With the media left speechless, Armani flashed a half smile, turned around and left.

A car was already waiting for them outside. As soon as they got in, Mary Song tentatively looked over at Armani. "Don't you think you were a bit too... pretentious earlier? I mean is that really the kind of impression you want to give off to other people?"

Armani sighed, "What choice do I have but to put up a strong front?"

Away from the public eye, the haughty look she had earlier was now replaced with sadness.

Of course she was heartbroken. Ben had made so many sweet promises to her. Never did she expect that he would go behind her back and hook up with someone, much less with her own sister.

Armani was abroad to attend an important meeting when he had betrayed her, betrayed their love, and put her in a place of discord.

As the car drove up the highway, her phone rang.

Seeing the name on the screen, she couldn't help but grit her teeth. "What do you want?" she sneered as she answered the phone.

After a long silence, a man's slightly hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone. "Armani, I was just confused when it happened. Let's have a talk, okay?"

"There's nothing to talk about. We need to break up." Even though the tone of her voice was cold and indifferent, her eyes were starting to turn red with tears. Without waiting for his reply, she hung up and threw her phone back inside her bag.

After some time, the car stopped at Armani's family villa.

Upon walking through the front door, the first thing she heard was her stepmother's shrill voice. "How dare you seduce your brother-in-law?" she scolded at Jessie.

"Mom, I really love him! Why can't you just understand?" Jessie cried.

Armani rolled her eyes as she was not in the mood to care about all the fake drama. With her luggage in her hand, she turned around and left. With her lips pursed, she thought for a while before pulling out her phone and dialing a number.

"K, I need to blow off some steam. Can you recommend some place to have fun?" she said as soon as the phone call connected.

"Well... that depends on what kind of fun you're looking for. Do you want to drown your sorrows with wine?" the man named K said excitedly.

K was a friend of hers that was very much used to the night life -- he knew all the different bars and hot spots across the city.

"Fuck off! Just tell me a place now!" Armani said crossly. All her patience had completely wavered at this point.

K quickly told her a place, and promised that he'd be there to meet her.

It was a newly opened bar that was difficult to get into. Luckily, K was able to reserve a private room for himself and Armani. As her friend, K knew how rough the past few days must have been for her. But he could do nothing helpful but find a place where she could just let loose.

As soon as they got there, Armani took one quick glance at the menu before deciding that she wanted a bottle of each kind of wine that bar had to offer. When the waiters came back with their order, the large table was filled from end to end with wine bottles.

"Hey, take it easy, okay? Don't forget to take care of yourself. Crying over a man doesn't help with anything. Besides, it's good that this happened before the marriage. At least it saved you a lot time and energy, right?" K comforted.

Armani rolled her eyes at him and said, "How could you say that? Whose side are you really on?"

Sadness just welled up and overflowed in her heart. She had just loved Ben for so such a long time. They practically grew up together and were childhood sweethearts. More importantly, they were literally about to get married! It didn't make sense at all for Armani how Ben could treat her this way all of a sudden. All her life, she had been reserved and kept her emotions to herself because she was afraid of getting hurt. And the only person she had ever given herself to wholly turned out to be the person who would betray her in such a ruthless manner.

She was nothing to him.

Armani poured herself a glass of wine and quickly gulped it down. In no time at all, she had finished nearly half a bottle all by herself. As she tried to pour herself another glass, K couldn't help but raise his hand and stop her. "Okay, okay! Take it easy now. I'll let you know that this wine is stronger than you think."

"Go away." Armani shook off his hand. Her clear eyes looked a bit hazy, and the faint flush on her cheeks indicated that she was now getting rather drunk. "There's no such thing as a good man," she mumbled. "It's so easy to say nice things and paint a pretty picture, right? Can't trust anyone anymore."

With a sigh, K patted her shoulder to comfort her, letting her pour out all her frustrations.

All of a sudden, Armani put her hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "You go find some men for me. Now."

Shocked, K felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Come on, Armani. Don't joke around like that," he said as he laughed nervously.

"What are you afraid of?" Armani said coldly, "Men can buy anything to make them feel happy. Why can't I do the same?"

Defeated, K shook his head and sighed, "Fine. I'll...go find someone for you. Stay here." Then, he stood up and walked out of the door. 'Jeez, she must be really angry to resort to this, ' K thought to himself. 'Well, it's understandable since she was just cheated on. If I don't help her get what she wants, she might just go off on her own and do something she'll regret.'

Thinking of this, he contemplated which of his friends and acquaintances were suitable enough for Armani.

After some time, Armani was starting to get impatient. K had been gone too long. "What's wrong with him?" she complained as she tapped her foot restlessly.

With a grunt, she stood up, intending to look for him. Upon doing so, she found that she was indeed a little drunker than she had anticipated as her knees wobbled weakly. But it was never Armani's nature to admit defeat. Straightening her back, she took a deep breath and went outside.

As soon as she stepped out of the door, she bumped into a tall man. At first glance, Armani thought that he was rather good looking. However, since the lights were so dim inside the bar, she couldn't clearly see what he looked like exactly.

"What... What are you doing?" The man looked at the strange and obviously drunk woman who just suddenly thrown herself at him. To his surprise, she raised her hand and ran her fingers across his chest, as if she was trying to take advantage of him...

No, she was definitely taking advantage of him.

The man's eyes lit up. 'This is rather interesting, ' he mused to himself. He didn't expect to meet a woman who dared to come up to him this strongly on his first night at QM City.

He saw the drunk woman raise her head to look up at him. It was difficult for him to see her face clearly as well, but he was still able to see that she was stunningly beautiful. The black, strapless mini dress she was wearing was undoubtedly flattering on her slender figure.

Armani stood on her toes, half of her body already in his arms. She grabbed tightly on to his tie and leaned into his ear. "Stop pretending like you don't know where this is going," she crooned before unwittingly pulling him into the room.

Jacob Mo didn't resist. He wanted to see where this was going.

He was invited by his friend to come to QM City for a visit. It was said that this city was the economical center-point of the entire country. Most, if not all, of the buildings and facilities here were very well-developed. However, in Jacob Mo's eyes, the style of the city was a combination of both rural and urban, and wasn't particularly special.

In retrospect, this woman in front of him was a lot more interesting than everything else he had seen in this city so far.

As the owner of the H.S Pictures Corporation, Jacob Mo often had women approach him like moths attracted to a brightly lit fire. He had encountered so many women in his lifetime -- some were pure, others were charming, and most were just downright lewd. They had all tried desperately to get into bed with him. Despite this, none of them really garnered his attention.

But now was different. Since he had just closed off a deal today, Jacob Mo was in a rather good mood. Besides, no one in QM City recognized him. It was a rare moment for him to get rid of his identity as the owner of the H.S Pictures Corporation.

What was more, the woman in front of him looked quite pleasing.

After stepping into the room, Armani closed the door behind them and leaned against the sofa. Her head was spinning from all the wine she had drank. Then, she looked up at the man in front of her carefully, her big, charm eyes shining brightly against the light overhead.

From the look on her face, Jacob Mo could tell that she was pleasantly surprised by how he looked.

Physical health was an important thing for him, after all. His chest and shoulders were wide and strong. Even under his long-sleeved shirt, it was easy to see that his arms were nicely toned. Every inch of his body was perfection. It was apparent that he was blessed with his genes. Jacob Mo had a tall, straight nose, his sharp eyes slightly raised on the corners, and his thin lips seemed to always rest into a malicious smile. All of his angular features made him look a male supermodel that was always on the covers of fashion magazines.

"Do you like what you see?" Jacob Mo said as he casually sat on the sofa.

'Why does he look familiar?' Armani thought drunkenly. 'Eh. It doesn't matter. I'm probably just nervous since I don't know much about this sort of thing.'

"Yes, I do," she purred, putting her arm around Jacob's shoulder. "Take me away now."

'Take her away? Are all the women in this city so active? And so casual?'

Jacob took a glance at Armani and found that she was well-dressed. What was more, she was actually even wearing some jewelry of his own family's brand. The women usually bought these with good taste and lots of money.

Even though it only appeared that the woman in front of him was really just looking for a casual affair, he was convinced that she was interested enough in him to spend the night with him.

The only thing that was holding him back now was his identity. "I'm basically broke and can't afford anything," he lied to her, smiling wickedly.

'Broke? Is this an act? K is really good at choosing a man for me. But it looks like the fees for a handsome man like him aren't low.' Getting a bit impatient, Armani patted his shoulder and told him not to worry. "I don't care about any of that.

I don't care if you have money or not. Anyway, whatever the price may be, I can afford it. Don't ever doubt that."

Hearing this, Jacob smiled even wider and scooched in closer to her, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Then tell me, what are we going to do next?"

Armani cast a sidelong glance at him, her almond-like eyes looking at him intently. The way she looked at him made his heart beat a little faster.

"Help me to my room first." She handed a key card to him which led to a private room upstairs. Afterwards, she leaned against him and closed her eyes.

Looking at the key card in his hand, Jacob put it away with a smirk. Then, he effortlessly carried Armani in his arms and went upstairs.

A few minutes later, K had returned to the bar together with several of his carefully chosen friends. He had made sure what the situation was to them, and explained that he didn't want anything to happen to Armani. K knew that Armani just wanted to do something bad because she was sad and angry. Even so, K would not let such a thing happen to her. It was something she might end up regretting afterward, and as her friend, he didn't want that to happen.

However, upon arriving there, Armani was nowhere in sight. Cursing under his breath, he tried calling her number only to get instantly hung up.

There was a high chance that she was in a bad mood and didn't want to answer the phone. It had happened before.

K smiled helplessly and asked the men to just help themselves to the wine left on the table, promising to still pay them afterwards.

On the other hand, Armani and Jacob had just reached the room. Upon entering, Jacob threw her on the bed.

It was only then that he finally saw Armani's face clearly.

It had to be said that this was a very beautiful woman. Earlier, when they were still in the dimly lit room, she was so frivolous. Now she looked like a sleepy, naive little girl as she stretched out onto the mattress.

Carefully looking at her, Jacob was rather impressed that she wasn't wearing much makeup nor did she have any sort of strong perfume on her.

As a wine connoisseur, Jacob's sense of smell was rather sensitive. It was easy for him to tell the different kinds of notes and flavors a wine had just by its smell.

But the cost of his talent was that he couldn't stand the heavy scents people were fond of putting all over themselves. Many women would add an extra spritz of perfume before approaching him, and it just drove him away even more.

The woman in front of him, on the other hand, only had a slight fragrance coming off her skin that was both natural and pleasant.

"Why are you standing there?" Armani mumbled as she opened her eyes and tried to sit up.

"I'm just thinking about what should I do next," Jacob stated.

"What the hell is going on? Why is this idiot even here? Are good-looking people nowadays just plain brainless?"

'Idiot?' The man narrowed his eyes and looked at the drunk woman in front of him. She had no idea what kind of man she had provoked. No one had dared to call him such a thing in his whole life.

It was an unusual situation for Jacob to face at the moment, and an incalculable look flashed in his eyes.

"Do you even know how to do it?" Noticing that Jacob didn't speak or move, Armani grabbed his collar impatiently and pulled him over.

With his handsome face so close to hers, Armani was left in awe. Then, she started to have some doubts whether or not she should continue with what she was doing. At that moment, she suddenly remembered the photo of Ben and Jessie making out in a hotel elevator. The anger in her heart surged up again in an instant.

Since Ben had betrayed her, she had nothing to lose at this point. Gritting her teeth, she bent over and kissed Jacob's lips.

It was so astounding for Jacob for such a beautiful woman to be so straightforward and initiate the kiss.

Her breath smelled faintly of the wine she had been drinking. As she pressed her lips against his, tears started to form in her eyes, making them look larger and more doll-like.

There was no way to explain the feeling of a broken heart.

"Why? Why did this have to happen to me?" Armani began to mutter. All of a sudden, Jacob felt a pain on his lips and instantly pulled back. 'Did she just...bite me?'

Armani suddenly raised her hand weakly and hit him on his chest. Shocked, Jacob held her in his arms to make her stop.

Seeing her like this, Jacob felt as helpless as he did when he was young and his mother was killed.

Squinting his eyes, Jacob raised his hand and gently wiped off Armani's tears. "If you're doing this for revenge, you have to stand up for yourself," he whispered in her ear.

"What?" Armani asked in a daze.

"I'm sure you'll understand soon enough." Then Jacob kissed her on the lips.

After a long sleep, Armani woke up with a splitting headache.

She stretched herself sleepily and tried to recall what happened last night. Suddenly, she opened her eyes wide and immediately sat up from the bed. She saw a man sleeping with his back to her. His body was covered with a thin blanket. Faint love bites were scattered across his shoulders.

'Did I...do that?' Armani slightly moved her body and felt a bit sore on some areas of her body. Blinking her eyes in surprise, she did not expect that she would do something so bold.

However, there was no regret in her heart as she had conscientiously chosen to do this.

After all, she was an adult, and she was responsible for all her own actions. Besides, it was just a one night stand.

After changing back into her dress from last night, she saw that there were also some love marks on her shoulders. Looking around, she saw the man's suit jacket at the foot of the bed and decided to wear it for herself. Although she didn't know what kind of jacket it was, she could tell from the feel of the fabric that it was very high quality.

Then, Armani took out a stack of cash from her bag and put it on the table as payment for his services and a little extra more for the jacket she had taken from him.

The moment the door was closed, the man who was sleeping suddenly opened his eyes. His long and narrow eyes were bright and wide awake.

Immediately, he stood up from the bed, wanting to see what the woman was up to.

As the young master of the Mo Group, he had seen all kinds of tricks. If this woman knew his identity and deliberately tried to get into bed with him with a hidden agenda, he would not show mercy.

However, he did not expect to see a stack of money lying on the table. Seeing this, his face turned livid with anger.

This was more unacceptable than being tricked.

Last night, he thought that it was a rather interesting encounter. The woman's fairly innocent demeanor was enough to distract him a little even now.

It did not occur to him that she would in fact treat him like a man who got paid for having sex. The money on the table was nothing but a pure insult to him.

At this time, someone knocked on the door.

Jacob quickly went over to open the door. A man in a sharp suit and leather shoes stood outside. When he saw Jacob's face, he raised an eyebrow at him.

"I heard some people talk about it last night. But I never really expected that you would actually sleep with someone!" The young man in front of Jacob burst into laughter. "So how was it? Do you think the girls here are better than those you have back at home?"

Before Jacob even got to QM City, he had a habit of calling it a worthless place. In order to prove him wrong, this man had deliberately arranged for a few women to come and entertain Jacob. He didn't expect that Jacob would actually take the bait. However, he didn't know that Jacob didn't actually sleep with any of the women he had called for.

"I need you to find out who that woman is," Jacob said flatly.

He wanted to see what kind of woman was so bold to think that he was a prostitute.

Wearing the suit jacket, Armani rushed out and immediately drove her car home.

A fairly elderly woman opened the door for her. "Where have you been? You didn't come back last night," the woman asked worriedly.

After Armani's mother's death, Aunt May was the one who had been taking care of her. Although Aunt May worked in the household as a servant, Armani never really treated or saw her as such. For her, Aunt May was like her own elder.

Seeing that she was so worried about her, Armani smiled and held her hand. "Aunt May, I'm fine. I just went out with my friends."

"Lady Edith and Miss Jessie haven't got up yet," Aunt May whispered.

Armani nodded. It was a good thing that they were still asleep since it would definitely raise some questions if they saw her wearing a man's coat. Going up to her room, she took a nice long shower and rest.

As she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, Armani looked at herself, recalling the steamy night she had.

She patted her face with cold water and pointed at herself in the mirror. "Armani, you should be rational. It was just a one time thing so you can vent out all your emotions."