Starting From the Day of the Broken Engagement - Chapter 1

Plotting the murder of the original female lead while riding a shared e-bike?

In September, most areas of the country had gradually entered autumn. However, Jiangcheng, being in the south, remained as sultry and humid as ever.

The night was void of moonlight, thick dark clouds cloaked the vast sky, and a torrential downpour seemed imminent. The tightly drawn curtains, however, isolated everything.

On the bed, under the soft thin blanket, a lump appeared.

The individual with fair skin and a pretty face was gripping the pillow tightly with her slender, delicate fingertips. The sweat on her forehead caused her black hair to stick to her scalp. Her eyelashes trembled, her half-closed eyes lifeless, as if tears would fall at any minute.

“Xiao Shu, I was wrong.”

“Please, no.”

The roar of a siren sounded like thunder, covering up everything. Cold handcuffs were fastened around her wrists, the chill piercing to the bone.

Heads huddled together as people whispered among themselves.

“That’s Gou An.”

“Even Miss Gou has a day like today.”

“What are you talking about? She got what she deserved—I don’t even dare to think if that happened to not be He Zong… Miss Lu is such a kind person, she almost had her life ruined by her.”

“An An!”

The figure of a mother desperately trying to rush forward got cut off by the crowd.

“Madam.” A figure held back, burying his frustration, spoke with an indifferent expression. That was Ye Lang, Gou An’s personal bodyguard.

“Mom, don’t bother about her anymore, she is no longer the An An you know, she’s not my sister!” Another tall figure held back the mother, Gou Xun, her younger brother who had lived under the same roof for eighteen years, expressed disdain, “I don’t have such a malicious and despicable sister.”

“Gou An, for the sake of our grandfathers’ friendship between the Gou and He families, I was willing to let go of your impersonation of Lu Wan, and your lie about being the one who saved me years ago; we could part on good terms.” Another familiar voice was heard, the person who stood next to Mr. Gou and supported him, was Gou An’s ex-fiancé, He Ran.

“But what did Lu Wan do wrong? She could have lived a very comfortable life with the help from He Family, yet you replaced her for so many years. She’s been diligent, hard-working, and kind-hearted, but because of you… if it weren’t for her own luck, you would have taken her life!”

“Gou An, I never thought you were this kind of person.”

“Sorry, An An, but I can’t stand by your side this time… Even though we’ve known each other for many years and have been friends for so long, the way you treated Lu Wan was too ruthless. I’m scared too… who knows, if things continue like this, I might be the next one to suffer.”

“For someone as vile as Gou An, prison is the most suitable place.”

“Quickly apologize to Lu Wan and Mr. He!”

The commotion within the crowd resembled a boiling pot. Various familiar voices caused Gou An’s headache to worsen. She raised her hand, wanting to cover her ears.

However, in the front of the crowd, there was always a man who remained silent.

The tall man in a suit and leather shoes looked down from above like a deity, casting a condescending gaze. His ice-cold eyes were bone-chilling.

It seemed as if he could not see Gou An’s wrists, which had always been pampered and delicate, now rubbed red by the handcuffs. He just slightly lifted his chin towards her; speaking calmly and indifferently to the police officers behind him: “What are you waiting for? Take her away.”

“No, don’t… Xiao Shu…”

The woman’s fragmented plea carried a sense of grievance, as a bead of sweat the size of a bean fell from her forehead.

“Xiao Shu…He Junxing!”

A real clap of thunder exploded in the sky as Gou An woke up from the nightmare, her eyes wide open.

…

The rain that had been building up all evening finally descended in torrents.

Sitting in the middle of the soft bed, Gou An clutched her aching head as her dark, round eyes, filled with lingering fear, scanned her surroundings… the soft white coral fleece four-piece bed set, the thick down comforter, and the luxurious bedroom furnishings all belonged to her own home.

The crystal chandelier hanging above her head was never turned on yet still maintained impeccably clean and quietly suspended in the center of the room. This was Gou An’s guest room.

Upon confirming that she was indeed in her familiar room, her pounding chest gradually calmed.

She had a nightmare.

Moments before, the scenes from her nightmare seeped into her mind, one after another…

All of them were about a girl named Lu Wan, who she had met just last week.

In her dream, as the cherished daughter of Jiang City’s tycoon Gou Yu and the fiancée of the He family, Gou An was always the most dazzling presence in the upper social circles of the city.

However, instead of living her life peacefully, she was constantly tormenting and oppressing Lu Wan, a girl from the lower city, as if she were possessed.

The only reason for this was that Lu Wan, by mere chance, had saved the life of the little young master of the He family, He Ran, who was kidnapped years ago, and this same young master happened to be Gou An’s fiancé.

Due to her greed at the time, Gou An falsely claimed that she was the one who saved He Ran, firmly securing her position as his fiancée. From that moment, it was as if a terrible omen had come, or a melodramatic drama had started its first episode. Whatever the case, all kinds of trouble followed.

She was malicious.
She was cunning.
She used all means to bully Lu Wan.

Consequently, her fiancé switched his affections; her relatives and friends one by one saw through her ugly face and abandoned her until she went from star of the show to being completely alienated. The worst part was that she somehow offended the actual power holder of the He family, He Junxing, all because of Lu Wan.

In the end, out of hatred for Lu Wan, she went crazy enough to drug her and cause her to unknowingly sleep with He Junxing. After learning the truth, the jealous flame in her burned brighter than the evening sky in midsummer, driving her to the point of trying to hire a hitman to hit Lu Wan with a car.

However, it was unclear whether the issue was with her brain or the hitman’s, but the guy somehow picked up a Meituan electric bike from the roadside and tried to hit Lu Wan with it.

In a shocking murder case, Lu Wan merely slipped and scraped her knee a bit due to her unstable footing.

When everything was revealed, Gou An ended up in jail with iron shackles, and the person who personally sent her into prison was none other than this supreme authority in Jiang City, He Junxing.

In the end, the Gou family, which had been successful for nearly seventy years, was almost destroyed overnight due to the loss of their daughter. He Junxing seized the opportunity and took over…

Her mother’s hair turned white overnight.

Her father, who was in his prime and should have been a model husband and successful label in the eyes of upper-class ladies, suddenly lost everything.

All this started from Gou An’s jealousy of Lu Wan.

Her brain went blank, and the feeling of hand shackles against her skin in her dream was so real that Gou An shivered.

Lifting her delicate hand to brush away the moist bangs obscuring her vision, she reassured herself that it was just a dream… She was Gou An, the daughter of the Gou family in Jiang city. How could she possibly end up in jail?

Yes, what happened in her dream was all false.

However, two things were true.

First: it was indeed Lu Wan who saved He Ran years ago.

Second: Gou An had once poured a glass of red wine over Lu Wan’s head.

The second fact marked the beginning of it all…

Last week, while working at Gou’s sixtieth-anniversary celebration yacht as a part-time job, Lu Wan, a fellow student, was assigned to take care of Gou An’s beloved pet – a golden Chinese rural cat with well-developed muscles.

As a part-timer, Lu Wan lacked the common sense needed when dealing with special clients. That night, she was temporarily reassigned to serve dishes by her supervisor and placed Gou An’s cat in a resting room filled with lily flowers…

The cat died before it could be saved due to acute kidney failure.

Gou An went crazy.

This led to her throwing a fit, pouring a whole glass of red wine onto Lu Wan’s head in front of everyone…

Shortly after, He Ran, who had learned about this incident, realized on the way home to take Lu Wan back that the poor young girl in front of him might not be his fiancée Gou An but was likely the one who saved his life years ago…

That’s when on a stormy evening, Young Master He personally went to request the annulment of their engagement.

As thunder roared and lightning flashed, the heavy rain outside seemed to remind them of something crucial.

Gou An turned her head, staring blankly at the torrents of rain pounding on the floor-to-ceiling windows at this very moment.

“…”

Could it be true?

At this moment, the bedroom door creaked open.

The round-faced maid Ade peeked into the room, wearing the black and white uniform and her hair neatly tied in a bun. She locked eyes with Gou An, who was clutching her blanket on the bed.

“An An,” the plump and maternal-faced maid hesitated as she called Gou An’s nickname, “Young Master He from the He family is here.”

Several seconds of silence passed.

Gou An blinked slowly in a delayed response, “Ah…”

It couldn’t be, right? It just couldn’t be…

“Please, no, please, no, please, no!”

“My dear little ancestor!” Ade stammered, “Young Master He seems to look a bit pale, and his body is all wet from the rain, did you guys…get into a fight?”

“……”

“Yes, An An?”

“I’m here.”

“Um, that—”

“Never mind, I’m not here.” Gou An took a deep breath, a look of indifference on her face. “Go tell He Ran that I’m dead, and if he needs anything, please wait till the Qingming Festival half a year later and communicate with me by burning joss paper.”

“……”

Author Commentary:

1: Every time I write a story about CEO types, I always feel like something is off. I’ve seen many pitiful female protagonists who don’t talk much and are overshadowed by others, and I’ve never seen one from her perspective, so I’m breaking the mold.

2: The main idea is to have fun and not think too hard about it. Don’t take it too seriously; after all, even I find it quite enjoyable.

3: In the original plotline, the male lead and the original female lead didn’t have any hard feelings towards each other.

4: There’s a standing rule for writing: press your claws and send out red packets! Press to send, sending love all around, seeking flowers, love you all!

Translator Footnotes:

有事燒紙 (Yǒu shì shāo zhǐ): Is a phrase commonly used in Chinese culture, especially during funerals or certain festivals. People would burn joss papers, also known as ghost money, in the belief that the deceased would receive it and use it in the afterlife. In this context, the phrase is used to express a sense of impending disaster or misfortune.

小叔 (Xiǎo shū): in Chinese society, this term is used to address the younger brother of one’s parent, thus translating to “uncle” in English. In this context, considering the characters are of similar age, this may indicate a close kinship or form of address in their relationship.

賀總 (Hè zǒng): “He Zong” denotes a respectful way to address a high-ranking official or important person in the organization, in this case, it refers to He Junxing, the CEO character of the novel.

美团 (Meituan): A Chinese company that operates a variety of services including food delivery service. In the context, Meituan electric bikes are widely used for food delivery in China.

清明节 (Qīngmíng jié): Also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival where people honor their ancestors by cleaning their tombs and making ritual offerings.

烧纸 (Shāo zhǐ): Joss paper, also known as ghost money, are sheets of paper that are burned in traditional Chinese deity or ancestor worship ceremonies during special holidays.

红包 (Hóngbāo): Red packet, also known as “red envelope,” are a traditional Chinese gift often filled with money that are given during special occasions to wish good luck.

And… Please! I’m begging!!!
Comment below what you think about this chapter, this history, the characters… or just send a hi, but please, let me know you guys are alive!!!

I love ya (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤