In the second half of the night, the rain stopped. The air was filled with a piercing freshness, a bright moon hung in the sky, illuminating a world cleansed by rainwater. The woman had already fallen asleep from exhaustion. Sheng Qianchi brushed aside her long hair, and in the faint moonlight, gazed at her delicate face, a slight curve of a smile at his thin lips, he leaned down and kissed her cheek. She was really worn out, sleeping deeply, her pink lips slightly parted, breathing softly and shallowly, exuding a seductive allure like drifting clouds. He quietly watched her for a long while, utterly satisfied. He got out of bed, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, and saw the SUV still quietly parked outside the villa gate. He lightly raised an eyebrow and turned towards the bathroom. After a quick shower, he brought out a hot towel and carefully wiped the woman on the bed clean. The moonlight was very faint, he could only see her blurred silhouette, and as he wiped her back, he couldn’t seem to clean it, as if there were marks that couldn’t be erased. So, he turned on the bed lamp’s warm light and, under the light, lowered his head to inspect. In an instant, his pupils shrank sharply, his brows knitted tightly. The hand holding the towel suddenly clenched tightly. Her fair back was actually covered with long red scars, one after another, hideous and frightening. The scars were of varying ages, a total of seven. Sheng Qianchi’s heart suddenly began to pound, each beat admonishing deep into his soul. No wonder she insisted on turning off all the lights. He reached out to touch her scars, his fingertips couldn’t help but tremble. Although he knew these were the marks left after the wounds healed, no longer painful, he still didn’t dare to touch too hard. Who on earth? Who was so cruel to hurt her this way? He wanted to wake her up immediately, to ask clearly, as long as she was willing to tell, regardless of whether the person was as high as the sky or as deep as the underworld, he would tear that person into a million pieces. But she was sleeping so soundly. After a moment of silence, he got up again, went to the study, and called Mo Jun. Receiving a call from the boss in the dead of night, Mo Jun tensed, "Young Master Chi, what’s the matter?" Sheng Qianchi suppressed the intense emotions surging from deep in his heart, "Send more people to Suri, continue the investigation for me." Yes, he had never ceased investigating Gu Jiayin’s past seven years, and the scars on her back made him more certain of his suspicions that she was carrying a significant secret. He was urgently eager to know everything. Who could have such power to completely erase her past, while he, with such prowess, had yet found nothing? Follow current novels on NoveIＦire.net Returning to the bedroom again, the woman still slept deeply, and the SUV downstairs was gone. Sheng Qianchi suppressed the fury in his heart, patiently continued to clean her body thoroughly, then found a nightgown for her to wear. Lifting the quilt, he got into bed, and tightly embraced her in his arms. "Jiayin, I will forever be your support." Yes, what she experienced during those seven years, he couldn’t investigate for now, nor could he change it, but for the rest of her life, he would shield her from the storms, not allowing her to suffer any more. When the heavy rain had just subsided, Pei Nianchen finally stopped crying, turned the car around, and drove down the mountain. The mountain wilderness was too quiet, as if a heavy rain had washed away all the vitality. His heart, soaked through by wind and rain all night, was chilled without a trace of warmth. He went down the mountain but did not go home; instead, he drove towards the coast. After the heavy rain, the sea was even more tumultuous, he stood alone by the sea, draped in the moonlight. What replayed in his mind were the bits and pieces of his youth. Gu Jiayin had already abandoned everything from the past and started a new life, while he, no matter what, couldn’t leave those sixteen years behind. In a world dyed with the intentions of wind and rain, he was all alone, and from now on, he could only be by himself. The sea, vast, the sky, expansive, only he, so small, so desolate. Just standing quietly, facing the sea, yet never again waiting for the blossoming spring of his life. When the first ray of sunshine appeared in the eastern sky, he slowly turned around, letting the sunlight cover his face, illuminating his chest. Yet, despite the bright sunshine after the rain, it could not warm his cold and lonely heart. His love had ended, life returned to a state of solitude. Yet, he remained resentful. Because of the scars on Gu Jiayin’s back, Sheng Qianchi harbored matters in his heart and tossed and turned, unable to sleep, gradually falling asleep only near dawn, so he woke up late. When he awoke, the sunlight outside the window was dazzling. The first thing he did upon waking was to reach out to the woman beside him, however, the bed was empty. Suddenly opening his eyes, he looked around and found her standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the world, sunlight draping over her slender figure, radiant and golden. Was she thinking of Pei Nianchen? Maybe, but he no longer cared, he only felt a profound ache for her, aching for those past seven years without him by her side. He swiftly got out of bed, took large strides over, and embraced her from behind, his cheek brushing against her long hair, "When did you wake up?" The man’s arms tightly encircled her waist, Gu Jiayin naturally raised her arm over his wrist, "Just a little while ago." After last night, seeing him while she was awake, she felt a slight embarrassment. She awoke and had run to the window to look down; Pei Nianchen was already gone, but there were clear tire tracks on the ground. A corner of her heart had been cut away. The love was gone, but there was still kinship. She felt pain for Pei Nianchen. Sheng Qianchi gently kissed the hair by her ear, "Jiayin..." he wanted to ask her about the scars, but the words caught in his throat, unbearably bitter. "You want to ask about the scars on my back, don’t you?" Compared to his fluctuating emotions, Gu Jiayin was very calm. She knew he would eventually discover the marks on her back and would certainly ask something. Sheng Qianchi’s heart ached even more, holding her more tightly in his embrace, "Tell me who it is, I’ll kill him for you!" Gu Jiayin smiled faintly. The person who left these scars on her was her mother, Gu Qiyun. How could she possibly want him to kill her own mother? Yes, these hideous scars were all inflicted by Gu Qiyun with a crocodile skin whip. Seven years, one scar each New Year’s Eve, until she left Suri to return to Licheng City to search for the Blood Tears Jade, a total of seven scars. Every New Year’s Eve, while others stayed up to welcome the new year, she was crouched in a cold basement enduring a whip lash. Her mother, Gu Qiyun, personally wielded the whip, fiercely striking her bare back, leaving a hideous wound. Her mother said, "Jiayin, you must remember the pain of this crocodile skin whip to remind yourself not to forget how your brother died, and you must return to Licheng City for revenge for him."