The Cold King Of Shanghai

From the towering skyscrapers to the luxurious hotels lining the city streets, everything seemed to shine with wealth and power. Expensive cars rolled past the grand entrance of the Li International Hotel, where the most influential people in the city had gathered for one of the year's most exclusive business parties.

Tonight, everyone wanted to be noticed.

Everyone wanted to impress someone.

And everyone wanted to catch the attention of one man.

Ethan Li.

At twenty-eight, Ethan was the youngest and most feared billionaire in Shanghai. As the CEO of Li Group, he controlled a business empire that stretched across several industries. His name alone could silence a room, and his cold stare was enough to make even experienced businessmen reconsider their words.

Handsome, wealthy, and impossibly arrogant, Ethan was the kind of man people admired from a distance.

Nobody dared to get too close.

Not because he lacked charm, but because he had no interest in making people comfortable.

He preferred silence to conversation, work to friendship, and control to uncertainty.

And he hated being touched.

Ethan was a strict germaphobe. He disliked unnecessary physical contact and could barely tolerate people standing too close to him. His personal space was a boundary few people dared to cross.

Unfortunately for everyone around him, he had no intention of changing.

"Mr. Li, the chairman of Shen Corporation has arrived," his personal assistant, Daniel, informed him.

Ethan barely glanced up from his phone.

"Then he can wait."

Daniel swallowed. "But, sir, he's been waiting for almost fifteen minutes."

Ethan slowly raised his eyes.

"Did I ask you to tell me how long he's been waiting?"

"No, sir."

"Then stop talking."

Daniel immediately fell silent.

That was Ethan Li: cold, impatient, and completely unmoved by other people's feelings.

Yet behind the expensive suits, powerful connections, and carefully controlled expression was a boy who had never truly recovered from the night his childhood ended.

At seven years old, Ethan had witnessed the murder of his parents.

The murderer was his own uncle.

Ethan had seen enough to know the truth, but his uncle had never discovered that the little boy had witnessed what happened. Instead, the man had played the role of a loving guardian, hiding his cruelty behind a false smile.

Ethan's aunt's wife had made his childhood even more miserable, treating him like an unwanted burden whenever nobody important was watching.

But Ethan had endured it.

He studied relentlessly, built his strength, and eventually became the powerful CEO everyone feared.

He had one purpose: to uncover the truth and make his uncle pay for what he had done.

There was only one other thing Ethan had never forgotten.

A little girl.

A rainy night.

And a piece of candy.

But that memory belonged to another time, and Ethan had long ago convinced himself that the past had no place in his future.

He was wrong.

Because somewhere in the same hotel, his forgotten Star was about to walk straight into his life.

And she was going to ruin his expensive suit.

The Girl Who Didn't Know Who He Was

"Xiao Xiao, you're going to be late!"

Xiao Xiao hurried through the hotel corridor, clutching her small handbag while checking the time on her phone.

"I know! I know!" she muttered. "You don't have to remind me every five seconds!"

She had already spent too much time sorting out an issue earlier that evening. Now, she was rushing to get where she needed to be, and the last thing she wanted was another problem.

Unfortunately, the universe seemed to have other plans.

As she turned the corner, she collided with someone.

The drink in her hand flew into the air.

A second later—

SPLASH!

The liquid landed directly on a beautifully tailored black suit.

Xiao Xiao stumbled backward, losing her balance.

Before she could hit the floor, a strong hand caught her by the waist.

For one brief moment, everything stopped.

She found herself staring into a pair of dark, striking eyes.

The man holding her was breathtakingly handsome. His perfectly styled black hair, sharp jawline, and expensive suit made him look as though he had stepped straight out of a luxury magazine.

But his expression?

It could freeze an entire ocean.

Xiao Xiao blinked.

He stared back.

One second passed.

Then another.

Neither of them moved.

Finally, Xiao Xiao regained her balance and stepped away from him.

"I'm sorry," she said, quickly checking whether she had damaged anything else. "I didn't see you coming."

The man's eyes dropped to his stained suit.

His expression darkened.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?"

Xiao Xiao frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"Can't you see where you're going?"

His voice was low, sharp, and filled with irritation.

Several people nearby turned to look.

Xiao Xiao glanced at the stain, then back at him.

"I already said I was sorry."

"Do you have any idea how much this suit costs?"

She looked him up and down.

"Do you want me to guess?"

His jaw tightened.

Daniel, who had been standing nearby, nearly forgot how to breathe.

Nobody spoke to Ethan Li like that.

Nobody.

"Miss," Daniel began, stepping forward, "you should be more careful about how you address—"

"Daniel."

Ethan's single word stopped him.

Daniel immediately closed his mouth.

Ethan turned his attention back to Xiao Xiao.

She wasn't trembling. She wasn't apologizing repeatedly. She wasn't desperately trying to impress him.

In fact, she looked more annoyed by his attitude than frightened by his presence.

It was strange.

Most people became nervous the moment they realized who he was.

This woman didn't even seem interested in finding out.

"Do you know who I am?" Ethan asked coldly.

Xiao Xiao raised an eyebrow.

"Should I?"

Daniel stared at her in disbelief.

Ethan's eyes narrowed.

"You really have no idea who you're talking to?"

"Look, Mr. Whoever-You-Are," she replied, folding her arms, "I made a mistake, and I apologized. I didn't deliberately pour a drink on you. So why are you behaving as if I've committed a crime?"

Ethan said nothing.

She continued before he could interrupt.

"You're standing here shouting at me over a suit. If it's ruined, tell me how much it costs, and I'll replace it. But don't think your expensive clothes give you the right to speak to people however you like."

For the first time that evening, Daniel saw something unusual happen.

His boss was speechless.

Ethan studied the young woman in front of him.

She had expressive eyes, a confident posture, and a face that seemed incapable of hiding what she thought. She wasn't trying to flatter him or soften her words to protect his pride.

She was simply telling him exactly what she thought.

And somehow, that irritated him more than the stain on his suit.

Or perhaps it didn't.

Perhaps he was irritated because, despite himself, he wanted to hear what she would say next.

Xiao Xiao reached into her handbag and pulled out her phone.

"Fine. Scan my WeChat."

Ethan stared at her.

"What?"

"My WeChat." She held up her phone. "I'll pay for the suit. Send me the bill, and I'll see what I can do."

Daniel looked as though he had just witnessed someone challenge the emperor in the middle of his palace.

Ethan didn't reach for his phone.

He simply watched her.

"You think you can afford it?"

Xiao Xiao's smile disappeared.

"Don't worry about my pocket. Worry about your manners."

A few guests nearby exchanged startled looks.

Someone even covered a laugh with a cough.

Ethan's expression became dangerously calm.

Xiao Xiao, however, seemed to have reached the end of her patience.

"If you don't want me to pay, that's your problem. I've apologized, and I've offered to take responsibility. What more do you want?"

She lowered her phone.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be."

And just like that, she turned around and walked away.

No bow.

No nervous smile.

No desperate attempt to make peace with the most powerful man in the room.

She simply left.

Ethan watched her disappear into the crowd.

Daniel slowly approached him.

"Sir?"

Ethan didn't answer.

"Would you like me to find out who she is?"

Ethan looked down at the stain on his suit.

Normally, he would have demanded that the entire outfit be replaced immediately. He might even have left the party to change.

But now, his attention was fixed on something else.

The woman had looked him directly in the eyes and told him he had no manners.

And for some reason, he could still hear her voice.

Worry about your manners.

"Mr. Li?" Daniel tried again.

Ethan finally turned.

"Find out who she is."

Daniel nodded quickly. "Yes, sir."

"And don't let her know you're investigating her."

"Understood."

Ethan looked once more in the direction Xiao Xiao had gone.

He had met countless beautiful women. Women who wanted his attention, his money, his influence, and the privilege of being associated with his name.

But Xiao Xiao had looked at him as though he were just another arrogant man who needed to learn how to behave.

It was insulting.

It was irritating.

And, strangely, it was interesting.

Ethan Li did not believe in fate.

He did not believe in love.

And he certainly did not believe that a woman could walk into his life and change anything.

Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen something familiar in her eyes.

Something he couldn't explain.

Something that belonged to a rainy night twenty-one years ago.

The Memory He Never Forgot

That night, long after the party ended, Ethan stood alone in his penthouse, looking out at the lights of Shanghai.

His black suit had been replaced, but his thoughts remained fixed on the woman who had dared to challenge him.

He loosened his tie and walked toward his bedroom.

Inside a locked drawer beside his bed lay a small box containing a few things he had never been able to throw away.

Among them was an old candy wrapper.

It was faded now, its bright colours almost gone.

Ethan picked it up carefully.

For a moment, he was no longer the cold billionaire feared by an entire city.

He was seven years old again.

He could almost feel the cold rain against his skin. He could remember the loneliness, the tears he had tried to hide, and the tiny hand that had reached out to him.

"Here. My mummy made this candy. She says it makes people happy. I hope it makes you happy too!"

Then came the little girl's smile.

"My nickname is Star!"

Ethan closed his fingers around the wrapper.

He had searched for that girl for years, but the search had led nowhere. He didn't even know her full name.

All he had was a memory.

A sweet voice.

And a nickname.

Star.

He looked out at the city again.

"Where are you?" he whispered into the silence.

He had no idea that the girl he had been searching for was closer than ever.

He had no idea that her name was Xiao Xiao.

And he certainly had no idea that, before long, the conditions in his parents' will would force him to consider marriage—the very thing he had never wanted.

The cold king of Shanghai had finally met the woman who could challenge him.

But would he recognize the girl who had once given him hope?

Or would his pride blind him to the one person his heart had never forgotten?