Today marked the tenth day Jill Wright found herself drowning in debt.
A single will flipped her life upside down—from a top student in archaeology at Jing University to the unlucky heir of a bankrupt factory with ten million yuan in liabilities.
Her parents' business went under, and in despair, they took their own lives, leaving behind a mountain of debt and one chillingly clear legal document.
The will laid it out plainly: all cash and the family’s villa were handed over to their beloved son Lucas Wright. And the mess—the failed factory and heaps of unsellable inventory? Those were dumped on Jill.
As soon as her grandparents saw the will, they quietly hid all the funds and arranged for Lucas to skip town and hide overseas from creditors.
Jill? She got left behind. Alone. Facing a mob of angry workers demanding their pay and creditors pounding on her door.
"Miss Wright, it’s not like we’re being unreasonable! The memorial period’s over—you gotta say something now, right? There are so many workers still waiting on their wages!"
"Didn’t your family own multiple villas? How come you can’t cough up a bit of salary money?"
"Exactly! Your grandpa just brought in some antiques yesterday, said they’d easily go for a few million. Don’t think you can stall anymore! If we don’t see the money today, we’re not leaving!"
Jill’s expression darkened. "Everyone, please calm down. I’ll sell off the antiques my grandpa brought as soon as I can. Once the money comes in, I’ll settle the wages. For now, please return to your posts."
"Posts? What for? All our clients have canceled orders, money’s not coming back, and we’re churning out down jackets in the middle of summer—for who, ghosts?"
"..."
There was a lot of grumbling, but since they still had a shot at getting paid, the workers gave her a temporary pass.
Once the office door shut, Jill closed her eyes.
They say people become kind just before death. But her parents, even at the end, had to drag her down with them—all to keep their darling son cushioned.
She glanced down at her phone. A fresh message from Lucas lit up the screen:
[Hey Jill, guess you got the stuff? I just took a couple hundred grand, nothing serious. The valuable factory and all those antique pieces are yours! If you manage a comeback someday, don’t forget this 'favor' I did for you!]
Favor? Yeah, right.
Jill stormed over to the pile of "antiques" her grandpa had brought that morning. One swift kick and—crash—came the sound of ceramics shattering everywhere.
Total fakes.
Those low-grade, mass-produced factory pieces weren’t fooling anyone.
And now, all the workers were expecting her to sell those 'antiques' to pay them. If she couldn’t... what then?
She’d always known her family didn’t care much for her, that they blamed her for blocking Lucas’s path. But it still shocked her, how much they truly loathed her. That even now, they'd do everything possible to ruin her.
As porcelain shards scattered across the floor, a tiny trinket rolled out—barely the size of a thumb.
It looked like a miniature doorway, like a piece from some ancient courtyard playset. The mortise-and-tenon joints were perfectly crafted.Jill Wright had nearly exploded with rage when she saw the pile of fake antiques that morning—and of course, she’d totally missed this one.
She fumbled for the small flashlight and magnifying glass in her bag, then nudged open the tiny door on the piece and hunkered down to inspect it.
Weird.
Seriously weird.
She could tell it was old, like genuinely old, but pinning down the exact era? No clue.
Even weirder—it was made from a material she’d never come across before.
Jill was lost in thought, analyzing every detail, so she didn’t notice that when she opened the little door on the object, the actual door to her office creaked open too.
In walked a teenage guy, about six feet tall, dressed in full-on historical costume and rocking an impressively pale face.
He was seriously bundled up—long black cloak, fur-trimmed collar, white jade hairpin keeping his long hair in place, even snowflakes clinging to the fur around his neck. The whole vibe screamed cold and aloof nobility.
Jill didn’t really flinch at his cosplay get-up—it’s not like she hadn’t seen hardcore ancient-style fans walking around in full regalia before.
Still, it was the middle of summer. Like, peak heat wave. What kind of maniac wore that many layers?
"Is it snowing outside or something?"
She blinked at him in surprise, then glanced over at the window.
The sun was blazing; the tree leaves outside looked half-dead from the heat. The office AC was blowing full blast, trying
and failing
to keep up with the nearly hundred-degree temp outside.
If only it really were snowing—she could finally move that massive stockpile of winter coats sitting in the warehouse instead of watching them inch closer to being seized by the courts.
James Ford heard her question and opened his mouth to answer.
But the second his eyes landed on Jill’s outfit, his pale face instantly turned the color of a ripe apple.
Pretty girl, sure... but why was she wearing so little?
Bare arms and neckline, hair all loose—was she not even dressed yet?
He quickly spun around, voice flustered.
"My apologies, miss. I saw the shop was open and stepped in—didn't realize you hadn't dressed or tidied up yet."
"Huh?"
Jill looked down at herself, confused. What? Did she look like she was in pajamas or something?
Before she could say more, James had already turned his attention elsewhere. His eyes locked onto the nearby shelves stacked with coats and sweaters.
He walked over quickly and reached out, fingers brushing over the fabric.
He’d never seen clothes like these before—simple, clean design that looked incredibly well-fitted.
He had no idea what the material was, but judging by the density and feel, it looked super wind-resistant—and very warm.
Looking around, his face was full of surprise.
Back home in the northern territories, the cold lately had been brutal. It'd been snowing nonstop for over two weeks. A full foot of snow blanketed the ground, most shops were closed, and people had already chopped up doors to use as firewood.
Even like that, more and more people kept freezing to death every day.
He’d found this place at the far end of a street—literally the only place that still had its doors open.
The moment he'd walked in, the chill outside vanished. Now, honestly? He was starting to feel kind of hot.Jill Wright froze for a second but snapped back quickly. I mean, who else would show up at her run-down factory at this hour besides debt collectors?
With a forced smile, she asked, “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met. Do you have any papers or contracts? I don’t have the money right now, but my grandpa just dropped off a batch of antique stuff. If I can sell it, I might be able to pay part of the debt. But really, there’s no point coming to the factory—everything’s been stripped clean except for a pile of clothes…”
James Ford was holding onto one of the padded jackets tightly. His voice was calm, but his question was strange, “Are all these clothes for sale?”
“…What else would I do with them?” she muttered under her breath.
Everyone in town knew Wright Corp’s biggest client had bolted, leaving a whole load of winter coats stuck in inventory and the company cash flow bone dry.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, she nodded. “Yeah. They’re for sale.”
“I don’t have any contract or whatever that is... but this jade should be enough to buy your shop,” he said, pulling the ornament off his waist and setting it on her desk. Then he pointed at the rows of clothes behind her. “I want all of those.”
Jill stared at him, confused, trying to figure out if he was serious.
He’s not here to collect debt—he actually wants to buy the samples?
Her eyes drifted to the jade on the table. It was gorgeous. She reached over to pick it up, but noticed he hadn’t moved his hand away.
“Why don’t you wear those clothes yourself if you have so many?” James squinted at her, his tone slightly suspicious.
Her skin was fair and smooth—totally different from the frostbitten people he’d seen from the border towns. A spy from a rival state, maybe?
Jill looked up at him, completely baffled. “What???”
First he acted like she was underdressed, now he was mad she wasn’t wearing a jacket?
“Dude, it’s thirty-eight degrees out. There’s literally a heatwave warning. You want me walking around in a down coat to prove it to you?”
“…”
James blinked, trying to process what she just said.
Wait—did she mean today’s weather was hot?
Didn’t she know this whole street was basically a ghost town? Most people were either huddled in broken houses, frozen stiff, or taking a gamble out in the snow to find surviving family...
While he was still zoning out, Jill quickly snatched the jade ornament.
It was a beautiful piece of creamy-white jade, about the size of half her palm. Circular in shape with a dragon carved in the middle, the detailing was incredible.
Smooth, perfect texture, and top-tier craftsmanship.
With her background in cultural relics, Jill might not know the exact era this came from, but she could tell it easily started in the six-figure range.
Her eyes lit up. “You want a product demo? Sure, give me one sec!”
