Unexpected Second Chance at Love

Somewhere in Imperial, the nightclub, The Focus, was alive with its usual decadence.

Heavy bass reverberated through the walls, while colored lights swept across the crowded dance floor. Laughter, music, and the clinking of glasses mingled beneath the haze of expensive perfume and alcohol.

But behind the closed doors of a private VIP room, Ji Chu Hua was in a foul mood.

She had been here almost every night since leaving the hospital, still seething from the humiliation she had endured.

She could not forget the way Grandfather Ji had dismissed her.

Nor could she forget Lu Tian’s indifference.

She had gone there expecting to see Ji Jingxu’s miserable condition and perhaps earn a little sympathy from the family. Instead, she had been treated like an unwelcome stranger.

And Yue Ling.

The mere thought of that woman made her blood boil.

Even after everything that had happened, Yue Ling still stood beside Lu Tian as though nothing could touch her. She had his attention, his affection, and the unwavering loyalty Ji Chu Hua so desperately wanted for herself.

What infuriated her most was how little effort Yue Ling seemed to make.

She did not need to fight for his attention.

She simply had it.

Ji Chu Hua tightened her grip around the shoulder of the male escort she was currently on top of.

’What makes you so special?’

Ji Chu Hua angrily rolled her hips in deliberate rhythm over the male escort.

Her breath quickened as pleasure built through her body. She was close—so close—and she chased that edge with single-minded intensity, her nails digging into his chest as the tension coiled tighter and tighter until it finally snapped, her orgasm washing through her in waves of heat and release.

She gasped, eyes fluttering open as she came down, only to find the escort’s head lolled to the side, mouth slack, completely unconscious beneath her. She scoffed—a sharp, derisive sound that cut through the quiet room where five other escorts lay similarly passed out on the velvet chaise—and rolled off him with a shake of her head, her body still humming with satisfaction even as contempt curled her lip.

She had paid handsomely for the company of several male escorts that evening, thinking it was best to enjoy herself.

They were there to distract her.

Nothing more.

But now, they were all useless after a few hours of sex.

Looking around the room, she spotted one whose features interested her the most.

She walked over to him and straddled him. She didn’t take her time, knowing he was not the man she wanted.

Reaching down, her hand reached between his legs, where he had already gone soft.

A scoff escaped her before she began stroking and once he was hard enough, she lowered herself onto him.

Her hips moved and she was determined to drown out the memories of the hospital and the resentment gnawing at her chest.

Yet no matter how much attention she demanded, her thoughts kept returning to the same two people.

Yue Ling.

And Lu Tian.

By the time the night had deepened, the music outside had become little more than a dull vibration through the walls.

The VIP room was in disarray.

Discarded clothing lay scattered across the furniture. Empty glasses and bottles crowded the low table, while the lingering scent of alcohol hung heavily in the air.

Several men lay asleep on the couches and bed, exhausted after hours spent attending to Ji Chu Hua.

She sat alone in an armchair, wearing a loosely tied silk robe.

Her hair was disheveled, and the makeup she had carefully applied earlier had begun to fade.

At least her anger had finally calmed.

Not disappeared.

Merely settled into something colder.

She reached for her phone and opened her contact list, stopping at the name ’Sun’.

The last time they had spoken, she had given him the information concerning the cosmetic surgery. Since then, he had gone completely silent.

No calls.

No messages.

Not even an acknowledgment.

Ji Chu Hua pressed the call button.

She brought the phone to her ear.

The call failed.

She tried again.

And again.

Each attempt ended the same way.

”Where the hell are you?”

Her irritation returned.

She stared at his name on the screen, her expression growing increasingly ugly.

Choi Li Sun had never been particularly easy to reach, but disappearing without a word after receiving such important information was unacceptable.

Especially now.

She needed to know what he had done with it.

Whether he had made any progress.

Whether there was something she should be preparing for.

Instead, she was left with silence.

”Damn it!”

She flung the phone across the room.

It struck the cushioned back of a couch before falling onto the carpet.

The sharp sound did not stir any of the men in the room. They were long passed out like the dead.

She rose and approached the drinks cabinet, snatching up a bottle of liquor.

After pouring herself a generous glass, she swallowed it in one go.

The alcohol burned down her throat.

She welcomed it.

For several moments, she stood motionless, staring at her reflection in the darkened window.

Her expression slowly twisted.

First Hung Woo. Now Choi Li Sun.

Ever since Red Militant had been eradicated, everything seemed to be slipping beyond her control.

She still did not know precisely what had happened that night.

Only that an entire organization had vanished from Imperial’s underworld, and the people she had relied upon were either dead or unreachable.

She had initially suspected Lu Tian.

After all, who else possessed the resources to carry out something of that magnitude?

And if he had done it for Yue Ling...

Her fingers tightened around the glass.

That thought should have frightened her.

Instead, it only made her desire for him more difficult to suppress.

A man capable of destroying an entire organization for the woman he loved.

A man who could command such power without ever needing to raise his voice.

And yet he continued looking at Yue Ling as though no other woman existed.

Ji Chu Hua’s jaw tightened.

”One day, you’ll look at me that way.”

She set the empty glass down.

Just then, a faint vibration interrupted her thoughts.

Her phone.

She turned toward the couch.

The screen glowed against the carpet.

For a brief moment, she thought Choi Li Sun had finally returned her call.

She hurried over and picked it up.

But the name displayed on the screen made her pause.

’Gui Ting Fei.’

Her expression changed.

She had almost forgotten about him.

After the media leaked photographs of the two of them naked running out of a hotel, Gui Ting Fei had disappeared from Imperial to escape the scandal.

Their faces had been plastered across entertainment headlines, and the incident had become a favorite topic of gossip among the city’s wealthy circles.

Although the uproar had eventually subsided, Ji Chu Hua had been left to endure much of the humiliation alone.

Now, apparently, he had decided it was safe to return.

She answered.

”Hello?”

”Babe.”

Gui Ting Fei’s familiar voice came through the receiver.

”My plane just landed.”

Ji Chu Hua glanced toward the clock.

”You’re back?”

”Mm. I just arrived in Imperial.”

She said nothing.

”Did you miss me?”

His playful tone made her lips twitch.

”After disappearing for so long, that’s the first thing you ask me?”

Gui Ting Fei chuckled.

”Come on. You know why I had to leave.”

”Of course I do.”

Her voice carried a faint edge.

”While you were hiding, I was the one left dealing with everyone.”

There was a brief silence.

”Babe, the situation was complicated.”

”Was it?”

”Don’t be like that. The scandal has finally died down. That’s why I came back.”

Ji Chu Hua rolled her eyes.

How convenient.

He had waited until the attention had shifted elsewhere before showing his face again.

”Where are you now?” she asked.

”Still at the airport. I’m waiting for my luggage.”

”I see.”

”I wanted you to be the first person I called.”

A faint, humorless smile appeared on her face.

”How thoughtful.”

”Are you home?”

Ji Chu Hua’s gaze swept across the room.

The men she had hired were still asleep.

One lay sprawled across the couch, another had fallen asleep near the foot of the bed, and the others were scattered among the cushions.

Clothing remained strewn across the floor.

She looked down at her loosely tied robe.

”Not yet.”

”Can you come pick me up?”

”I’m out with some friends.”

”At this hour?”

”Is there a problem?”

”No, no. I was just asking.”

He paused before continuing.

”I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

Ji Chu Hua considered his words.

”Fine. Call me when you’re free.”

”Alright. Get some rest, babe.”

”Mm.”

She ended the call without another word.

For a moment, she remained standing in the middle of the room, staring at the darkened screen.

Gui Ting Fei had returned.

The timing was almost amusing.

While one man had vanished without explanation, another had reappeared the moment it became convenient.

She tossed her phone onto the bed.

”Bastard.”

Her voice was filled with disdain.

Ji Chu Hua walked toward the dressing area and retrieved her clothes.

She removed the robe and dressed, smoothing the fabric of her dress before checking her reflection in the mirror.

Her lipstick had faded.

She reapplied it carefully, then fixed her hair until she once again resembled the elegant young lady who had entered the nightclub hours earlier.

The woman staring back at her looked composed.

Untouched.

As though the evening had been nothing more than an ordinary night out.

She collected her handbag, jewelry, and phone.

Before leaving, she glanced at the sleeping men.

None of them stirred.

Ji Chu Hua opened her handbag and withdrew several bills.

She placed them on the table beside the empty liquor bottle.

A generous tip.

Payment for their discretion as much as their company.

Then she picked up her coat and headed toward the door without another glance back.

The moment she stepped out, muffled music immediately grew louder, accompanied by the distant laughter of patrons still enjoying the night.

A staff member stationed outside straightened upon seeing her.

”Miss Ji. Are you leaving?”

”Yes.”

”Shall I arrange your car?”

”Do that.”

”Of course.”

Ji Chu Hua slipped on her coat and walked down the private corridor.

By the time she stepped outside, the night air was bitterly cold. She drew her coat tighter around herself as her car approached.

Her phone remained silent in her handbag.

No message from Choi Li Sun.

No explanation.

Nothing.

Ji Chu Hua’s expression darkened once more.

Whatever he was doing, she intended to find out.

And with Gui Ting Fei back in Imperial, she would have to decide what use she could make of his return.

She entered her white Mercedes and drove away from the nightclub.

Her anger had subsided.

But her resentment had not.

And somewhere beneath it, an unsettling sense of impatience kept growing.