Volume One, Chapter One: You Are My Brother’s Woman—So What Am I Doing?

“Why are you covering your face? If you’re prepared to give yourself, show some attitude—take your hands away!”

“I’m afraid...”

On the waterbed in Phoenix Women’s Prison, Yan Fengjia gazed with amusement at the beauty before him, her face hidden from view.

His right hand gently traced the sweat-soaked curve of her jawline; her skin was delicate as sculpted jade, rising and falling with each touch, soft and yielding, waves rippling beneath his fingertips.

“Wait... please!” In the dim room, the woman’s trembling hands clutched his thick, fever-hot fingers, halting his advance.

Yan Fengjia’s brow furrowed, impatience flickering across his face.

As the warden of Phoenix Women’s Prison, his power was unmatched, his connections spanning the nation—what woman wouldn’t wish to throw herself at him?

“What now?”

Her face flushed scarlet, lips bitten tight. “If I spend tonight with you, you’ll really help save my fiancé’s family from ruin, right? You’re not lying?”

“Money? To me, it’s just endless zeros—more than the imperial capital itself. What do you think?”

“Alright... then could you please be gentle? It’s my first time, I’m scared...” Qin Wanqiu endured immense humiliation, telling herself that if she could survive this night, it would all be over.

Her fiancé and two brothers-in-law had died defending their country on the battlefield; the old man had suffered a stroke and lay in the hospital, medical bills piling up with each passing day.

Worst of all, the company teetered on the brink of collapse.

Even the burial plots of her fiancé and his brothers were at risk.

Her family had once benefited from the old man’s generosity, gaining a foothold in Qinghai City. Yet her parents, ungrateful and cold, watched the Yan family’s crisis with indifference.

But she had to repay the debt.

The pale body beneath her quaked violently, beads of sweat rolling into tangled hair.

Qin Wanqiu clenched her hands, her youthful yet mature features twisted in pain.

Her breath came ragged, shame trembling in her voice as she quietly sobbed.

It hurt so much!

Not her body, but the complete collapse of her moral compass.

She should have become someone’s wife, but to protect the family she hadn’t yet married into, to preserve the old man’s last breath, she’d been led here to barter her innocence.

Everything was in chaos!

“Yan Fengjia! Where are you? Your three brothers are dead, the company’s collapsing, your father’s barely hanging on in the hospital! Where are you?!”

Yan Fengjia’s muscular frame suddenly froze. Hearing Qin Wanqiu’s mosquito-soft sobs and words, he felt as if struck by lightning.

“What did you just say?” Yan Fengjia’s mind exploded, a deafening roar in his head.

In the dim room, Yan Fengjia gasped heavily, staring at the exquisite body sprawled weakly on the luxurious waterbed.

Those long, pale legs once wrapped around his waist now curled helplessly, tinged with seductive pink.

Qin Wanqiu was terrified, thinking she’d spoiled his mood.

“Sir, I’m sorry... I was thinking about my future father-in-law’s family and lost control of my emotions...” Qin Wanqiu, tears brimming, tried to appease him again.

Yan Fengjia suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Which son of the Yan family are you engaged to?!”

Qin Wanqiu was bewildered, stammering, “I... I’m the betrothed of the third Yan son, not yet married.”

“Sister-in-law?!” Yan Fengjia recoiled in horror, springing from the waterbed and pressing himself against the cold wall.

“And you are...?” Qin Wanqiu was utterly confused.

Yan Fengjia’s fists clenched, knuckles white. “I... I am Yan Fengjia! Yan family’s fourth son!”

“What?! You’re the fourth, Yan Fengjia?!” Qin Wanqiu was thunderstruck, on the verge of collapse!

She’d just done something utterly absurd with her future brother-in-law?!

“What happened to my three brothers?!” Yan Fengjia’s eyes reddened instantly, murderous rage exploding from him.

Qin Wanqiu quickly recounted the Yan family’s month of misfortunes.

The three Yan brothers died heroically on the battlefield, the old man struck down in grief, the family business devoured from within and without, nearly destroyed.

Qin Wanqiu sobbed, “The old man calls your name every night. Why are you in this prison?! You have no idea how much he needs you now!”

Yan Fengjia stood rigid—he truly hadn’t known.

He was the orphan adopted by the Yan patriarch. At eighteen, his birth family found him, revealing his extraordinary origins.

He was the bloodline of the world’s apex family—the Jiang clan of Heaven Palace!

To force him to return, the Jiang family threatened the Yan family: if Yan Fengjia refused, they would erase the Yans.

At eighteen, powerless to protect the Yan family, he had no choice but to acquiesce.

In the years since, he quickly grew stronger, broke free of the Jiang clan’s control, and stayed in Phoenix Women’s Prison to atone, never daring to return home.

But now, faced with such tragedy, how could he remain indifferent?

Three brothers sacrificed for the country, his father gravely ill, and his sister-in-law forced to bear everything alone?

“I’m a beast! What the hell am I doing?!”

Yan Fengjia’s self-destructive nature ignited with fury and regret as he struck himself hard.

Bang!

The door was kicked open.

“Well, did you enjoy the woman?” A young man in a suit, accompanied by a foreign white-bearded elder, swaggered in.

The young man glanced at the disheveled, helpless Qin Wanqiu on the bed, greed flickering in his eyes, licking his lips.

“Who are you?” Yan Fengjia saw the lecherous gaze, his face calm but murder boiling within.

Was this the man who’d sent his sister-in-law to his bed?

“I am Li Ao, second son of the Li family in Qinghai City! I hear you have influence here in Phoenix Women’s Prison, know powerful people, but to get you to do anything, you must have your ‘needs’ met,” Li Ao sneered.

“This woman is the finest in Qinghai, heiress of the Qin family, the city’s most beautiful lady!”

“If you’re satisfied, isn’t it time for me to state my demands?”

“Li Ao! You bastard! You lied to me!” Qin Wanqiu screamed in rage at one of the conspirators who ruined the Yan family.

“Lied? What did I lie about?” Li Ao lit a cigarette, exhaling contemptuously.

“You said you’d introduce me to someone powerful, that if I gave myself, he’d clear the Yan family’s debts, and you wouldn’t trouble them. But you’re using me!”

Li Ao laughed wildly. “Sorry, you’re just a gift I prepared. Gifts don’t get to make demands.”

Turning to Yan Fengjia, Li Ao’s tone shifted to command:

“My Li family wants to be Qinghai’s elite. Bring us into circles we currently can’t reach.”

“If you agree, the woman is yours. I guarantee no one will trace it back to you. How about it?”

Yan Fengjia’s cold face twisted into a hellish smile. “The Li family... you have guts. Do you know who I am?”

Li Ao maintained a veneer of respect, inwardly scornful.

Just a convict in prison.

If not for rumors of his connections, would he have sacrificed Qin Wanqiu’s pristine body?

He’d played with many women, but none matched this one!

“Hah, just a prisoner, acting arrogant!” Li Ao, impatient, stepped forward. “You’ve enjoyed the woman, now get to work! Enough nonsense!”

“This is the biggest fortune you’ll ever have in this wretched prison!”

“Alright, your wish will be granted.” Without warning, Yan Fengjia’s leg shot out like a cannon!

Bang!

Li Ao was struck hard in the chest, sent flying like a broken kite, blood spraying!

“You... you dare hit me?! I gave you a woman to enjoy, you dare bite the hand that feeds you?!” Li Ao screamed in fury.

The foreign elder darkened, speaking in broken Chinese, “Sir, my young master is Li family blood. Why hurt him? Do you see me as nothing?”

“Kill him!!” Li Ao roared, eyes bloodshot.

The white-bearded elder snorted coldly, stepping forward, menacingly charging at Yan Fengjia!

Yan Fengjia calmly lit a cigarette. “Sister-in-law, close your eyes. Once I deal with these two scoundrels, I’ll take you home to set things right!”

Qin Wanqiu obeyed, shutting her eyes tightly.

A sharp, sickening crack sounded.

Yan Fengjia struck like lightning, mercilessly snapping the elder’s neck, tossing the body into the corner like trash!

“How... how is this possible?! Aren’t you just a connected prisoner? How...” Li Ao’s face turned paper white, terror overwhelming him.

That old man had been imported for a fortune as a bodyguard, and this “prisoner” killed him in a single blow?!

Was he even human?

“What’s your relationship with the Yan family?!” Li Ao suddenly realized—he’d called Qin Wanqiu sister-in-law.

Yan Fengjia’s indifferent voice was like a death sentence. “Yan family’s fourth son, Yan Fengjia. From this moment, your Li family will disappear.”

Without hesitation, Yan Fengjia’s hand clamped Li Ao’s neck like an iron vise!

Crack.

The sound of bones breaking was piercing! Li Ao’s neck was snapped, his corpse flung out the door like a dead dog.

“Send the body to Qinghai’s Li family! Tell them, anyone who troubles the Yan family should prepare to die!”

Yan Fengjia’s voice was icy cold.

Outside, the sound of high heels clicked crisply in the dark corridor.

Soon, the woman in heels dragged the corpse away like a dead dog.

“Sister-in-law, we’re going home.” Yan Fengjia looked at Qin Wanqiu, curled under the covers, his eyes filled with remorse and resolve.

Now, she need never fear oppression again. For Yan Fengjia was leaving prison!

......

Qinghai City, outside the intensive care unit.

“Fengjia, go in. The old man will be so glad to see you,” Qin Wanqiu said softly.

Yan Fengjia stood before the door, his legs leaden, unable to summon the courage to enter.

Beside him, Qin Wanqiu’s beautiful eyes brimmed with tears, her hand gently patting his taut, muscular shoulder.

Yan Fengjia’s eyes were bloodshot.

Years ago, to spare his father worry, he’d hidden his troubles, spoken rebellious words to drive his father away, hoping he’d hate this “ungrateful son.”

But five years had passed, and the once strong and dignified father now lay on the sickbed, frail as a candle in the wind.

“Dad... your son returns, unworthy... I’m home...” He finally pushed open the door he’d never dared touch, dropping heavily to his knees, his forehead pounding the floor.

“Fengjia... is that you?” On the bed, Yan’s father weakly opened his clouded eyes, recognizing the unforgettable voice.

“Dad! It’s me! I’m back! Your fourth son has returned!”

Yan Fengjia crawled to the bedside, clutching his father’s cold, aged hand, his voice choked and broken.

Yan’s father wept, his dry lips trembling, “Home... home at last... Fengjia... have you found your family... are they good to you...?”

Yan Fengjia turned away sharply, holding back tears, unwilling to speak of the Jiang family’s sordid past.

“Dad, it’s alright! I’m home now, I’ll take care of you from now on.”

Smack!

Suddenly, a loud slap sounded from outside the door!

Followed by Qin Wanqiu’s muffled cry of pain and the thud of her falling.

“You can’t go in, Yan’s health isn’t restored yet,” Qin Wanqiu, ignoring her burning cheek, rose to block them.

“Qin Wanqiu, you haven’t officially entered the Yan family, don’t pretend to be virtuous.”

“Get out of the way, I’m here for the old man. Don’t make me hit a woman again.”

A man in a slick suit and oily hair adjusted his collar, swaggering in arrogantly.

But when he saw Yan Fengjia at the bedside, his smiling face froze.

“Yan... Brother Yan, you... you’re back?”

Yan Fengjia’s face was icy, having witnessed everything.

“Su Chen, before I left, I trusted you as a brother to look after my parents—is this how you fulfill that trust?”