Love Amidst Ice and Flames

In a romantic café situated in a bustling district of Taipei, a girl with finely chiseled features and skin as smooth as ivory leans against the glass window, gazing at a building across the street.

Her fiancé of four years, Huayuan Qiang, has arranged to meet her in the café. His tone seems cautious, suggesting that he may be discussing the matter of their impending marriage.

Qiang is an admirable man—handsome, successful in his career, and tender towards her. What's remarkable is that despite four years of courtship, their physical intimacy has been limited to holding hands and simple hugs. Even their kisses are confined to a peck on the cheek. Her initial expectations of scaring away Qiang, who ardently pursued her for three years, with such requirements were proven wrong, and they eventually got engaged.

"Liāngxī." A gentle yet slightly trembling voice pulls her wandering thoughts back.

Xu Liangxi turns around, and a radiant smile graces her delicate features upon seeing the person who spoke.

"Qiang, I was just admiring your company's building across the street." Xu Liangxi rises and pulls him in. Unexpectedly, she notices a girl standing behind him, glaring at her with hostility.

Momentarily bewildered, Xu Liangxi looks at Huayuan Qiang and asks, "Qiang, is this young lady your friend?"

He hesitates for a moment, glancing at the woman behind him, receiving a stern gaze. He reluctantly says, "She is An Qiānyǎ, and she is my..." He suddenly falls silent, tightly pursing his lips.

"Qiang?" Sensing the unusual situation, Xu Liangxi discreetly retrieves a tissue and moves forward to wipe away the beads of sweat on his forehead. However, someone beats her to it, pulling him away. The woman coolly says, "Miss Xu, please don't casually wipe the sweat off someone else's husband."

"Huh?" Someone else's husband? Xu Liangxi freezes, then smiles unexpectedly. "Miss An, are you joking? Qiang is clearly my fiancé."

"Miss Xu, your eyes are indeed large and bright, but unfortunately, they seem to be quite blind! Haven't you noticed my slightly rounded abdomen?" An Qiānyǎ intentionally accentuates her subtly protruding belly, wearing a triumphant smile.

"Huh?" Xu Liangxi's gaze shifts from An Qiānyǎ' s rounded belly to Huayuan Qiang's face, drenched in cold sweat due to guilt. She signals him with her eyes for an explanation.

"I'm sorry, Liāngxī. Qiānyǎ is indeed carrying my child, and we've planned to marry at the end of this month." Huayuan Qiang bows his head, guilty and unable to meet Xu Liangxi's pale face. If it weren't for Liāngxī' s insistence on waiting until marriage before allowing any physical intimacy, he wouldn't have sought solace in a PUB and ended up in a relationship with An Qiānyǎ, let alone impregnate her.

"Is this the reason you invited me out today?" She remains unexpectedly calm.

"I..." Xu Liangxi interjects, "Miss Xu, Qiang and I are here mainly to ask for something back from you."

"Whatever it is, just take it!" Without waiting for her to finish, Xu Liangxi angrily snatches the engagement ring from her finger and hurls it towards Huayuan Qiang.

In aimless wanderings through the streets, Xu Liangxi's disoriented expression drew curious glances from passersby. Yet, she remained indifferent, her mind replaying the recent scene at the café.

However, her true anguish did not stem from Huayuan Qiang's betrayal but rather from her impulsive act of throwing the ring at him, only to have it disappear upon hitting the ground.

Whether it was picked up by someone else or vanished into thin air, despite nearly turning the café upside down in search, the result was that she must return the million-dollar diamond ring to its rightful owner on the day before their wedding at the end of this month.

So, her heartache lies in being inexplicably jilted by her fiancé and burdened with a million-dollar debt!

A million! Goodness! For someone orphaned, recently graduated, and struggling financially, this amount was astronomical. A million! Where could she possibly find such a sum to buy back the ring? Especially