Chapter 1

"What do I care if she's dead?"

Lucian Armstrong stood on the yacht, swirling a glass of champagne between his fingers.

Twenty-seven years of friendship, seven years of love, and my death brought him nothing but a grand sense of liberation.

He sneered at the media, "Someone like her deserves to be abandoned by everyone."

And now, I was really dead.

The whole world seemed to be celebrating my death, as if I had never been worthy of love.

Until one day, when my camera was sent to be played by a friend—

Everyone started saying they loved me, but I could no longer hear them.

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On the set of the TV show "CEO Talk".

The host tentatively asked, "Mr. Armstrong, we heard that your ex-wife, Miss Iris Chen, passed away recently due to illness."

"There are rumors online suggesting that you might have had something to do with it. Do you have any response to that?"

The camera cut to Lucian's cold profile. He scoffed, "She was just a despicable person. What is there for me to respond to?"

The audience gasped.

The host feigned surprise, "We've heard that you and Miss Chen were childhood friends. Was she always like this?"

Lucian's sneer froze on his face. He seemed to be pondering the question himself.

Was I inherently like that? Or did I change for the worse later?

"Before the show, we received an old camera from Miss Chen's friend. It's said to be one of Iris's belongings."

Lucian raised an eyebrow, "What a waste of time." He was about to leave.

The host raised his voice, "Mr. Armstrong, you wouldn't mind talking about your ex-wife on the show, would you? After all, she was quite popular when she was alive."

Hearing that I had been popular, Lucian sat back down, "Fine."

The staff brought the camera over. Lucian froze for a few seconds.

Because this camera was given to me by his mother on my eighth birthday.

When the camera was turned on, the memory was almost full.

The host smiled, "It seems Miss Chen was quite fond of recording things."

The first video clip was labeled "Our Precious Childhood" and was projected onto the big screen.

The old camera's blurry quality unfolded, accompanied by the grainy sound typical of recordings from over a decade ago.

"Lucian, slow down! My legs are so short~"

An adult's voice came from off-screen.

"Sis, the camera you gave Iris is really her treasure~"

"Hurry up, Iris, we're going to buy ice cream."

The childhood Lucian suddenly turned around, "Haha, your legs are really short."

The image suddenly tilted, showing two little heads close together, sharing an ice cream cone.

"Mom said I could marry you when I grow up if I want."

"My mom said the same thing, that I could marry you when we grow up."

"But I don't have a white dress. How can we get married?"

"It's okay, my mom has one. You can wear hers~"

Suddenly, an adult entered the frame, "You two rascals are sneaking ice cream again."

"Oh no! We've been caught~" followed by the giggling of two children.

As the projection ended, the camera panned to Lucian.

This genius known for his cold-bloodedness in the business world was rubbing his index finger—

There was a deep bite mark there, which I had deliberately made when I was five.

The host asked softly, "I heard your families have been friends for generations?"

Lucian's gaze was still glued to the big screen, "Yes."

The big screen suddenly switched to another video named "Confession".

The image was a bit shaky, but you could hear my nervous breathing.

"Lucian, don't... don't come any closer."

In the frame, a 19-year-old Lucian, wearing his basketball team uniform and covered in sweat, was smiling brightly.

"Iris." He knelt on one knee, producing a bouquet of sunflowers from behind his back, his voice rising by an octave.

"Be my girlfriend." The surrounding classmates laughed and cheered.

The camera shook a bit, showing Iris backing away.

"Are you... are you crazy?"

"Yes, I must be crazy." He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a stack of photos.

"Look, these are our photos from childhood to now. I've kept them all."

He then proudly held up his hand:

"See! I even kept your little dog tooth mark. I like you, you know that~ For a long time now."

"And if I don't confess now, I'm afraid someone else might snatch you away."

A soft voice came from the frame: "Hmph~ Then I guess I'll reluctantly be your girlfriend."

The surrounding classmates' cheers rose, and the image froze on the moment Lucian lunged forward to grab the camera.

He suddenly came close to the lens and said seriously, "Iris, I really like you."

Followed by a quiet response: "Me too."

Murmurs came from the audience, "They were so happy and innocent back then!"

"I wonder how Iris ended up doing such disgusting things later."

When the camera panned to Lucian, the man who had been sneering earlier was still unconsciously rubbing that tooth mark.

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