Chapter 1

After my divorce, my older sister introduced me to a man who was divorced and had a son from his first marriage. He looked fairly ordinary, but his boy was strikingly handsome—like a little European prince from some bygone age.

There was something wrong with the boy. No one could say exactly what, only that he seemed to have suicidal tendencies and couldn’t be left without someone watching over him.

My sister said the man worked at sea and earned more than a million yuan a year. He came home only twice a year, for a little over ten days each time.

If we married, he would send all the money he earned home to me. All I had to do was take good care of his son and make sure nothing happened to him.

1

The first time I met Chu Xing was at a Sichuan restaurant downstairs from my office.

He wore a dark blue hoodie. Nearly forty, he was broad and solidly built, with a crew cut. His features were unremarkable, but he looked neat and clean.

Before I came, my sister had shown me his photo and given me the basics: thirty-eight, an annual income of over a million yuan, divorced, and a fifteen-year-old son in the tenth grade at one of the city’s top schools. The boy had suicidal tendencies.

“May I ask why you and your ex-wife divorced?”

Chu Xing smiled sheepishly, revealing deep dimples and a neat row of white teeth.

“To be honest, I’ve been married three times.”

I froze. My sister hadn’t mentioned that.

One divorce could be a matter of incompatibility or growing apart. Two, three times… that was no longer so simple.

Was he violent? Or had he refused to hand over his money after each wedding, only to trick women into coming home to look after his son?

I studied the man ten years older than me. He seemed kind and honest, especially when he smiled—there was something almost foolish about it.

“My son is from my first marriage. His mother’s family was well-off. At the time I was making just over three thousand a month, so her parents introduced her to a businessman…”

He had been forced into the divorce.

Chu Xing rubbed his hands together. His sun-browned skin had flushed red, and he stared at the dishes in front of him, too embarrassed to meet my eyes.

An ordinary man would have hated an ex-wife who treated him that way. Now that he was financially successful, he ought to feel smug, as if she had been blind to let him go.

But Chu Xing showed no resentment at all. If anything, he seemed ashamed as he told the story.

Could his two later marriages have involved his first wife, too? Were they still entangled? Had money changed hands in ways he didn’t want to explain?

“Your first wife must have been beautiful. I’ve seen your son’s picture—he looks mixed.”

I didn’t dare ask outright why his next two marriages had failed. The situation already hinted at some lingering first love, perhaps even a “white moonlight” he couldn’t forget.

Chu Xing’s smile turned a little stiff. “Everyone says she was.”

“You don’t think so?”

He shook his head. “I don’t have much of an eye for beauty. I’m a little face-blind, too. I don’t like staring at people’s faces.”

The food arrived. We ate a few bites before I asked, “And the next two marriages? Tell me what happened. I want to know whether I could accept it.”

The healthy color drained from his face. His lips trembled. He bit into a piece of meat and caught his own lip between his teeth.

“My son…”

He hesitated for a long time, then set down his chopsticks with a sigh.

“There’s no point hiding it from you. My son has… some psychological problems.”

“I know. He has suicidal tendencies, right?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “That’s why someone has to keep an eye on him. But he’s at a rebellious age now and hates being watched.”

2

Chu Xing wasn’t especially particular about women.

My sister had already told him the basics about me: twenty-eight, a fluctuating monthly income of around three thousand yuan, fond of writing, divorced after two years of marriage because my ex and I had spent too long giving each other the silent treatment. No children.

“Why don’t we try getting to know each other?”

I was fairly pleased with him. Besides making enough money to support me while I wrote at home, he seemed like the rare man who, after a divorce, could look for his own part in what went wrong. He might look a little slow, but he gave the impression of someone who could shoulder a family.

“I think you’re a good person,” he said, lowering his eyes with an embarrassed smile. “You seem grounded and steady.”

“Can you really tell that after one meal?” I laughed.

He handed me a tissue, scanned the code to pay, and explained, “Your hands are clean, and you don’t keep your nails long. You don’t speak aggressively. You can consider things from both sides. And when you said my ex-wife was pretty, you didn’t sound jealous or upset.”

Then he tilted his phone toward me. The payment screen showed seventy-nine yuan.

We hadn’t decided what we were to each other; splitting the bill was only fair. I understood without needing him to spell it out.

I pulled out my phone to add him and transfer my share, but he put his own phone away and rubbed his hands together.

“Actually, this restaurant belongs to a friend of mine. He said it’s the first time someone’s brought a blind date here, eaten their fill of Sichuan food, and spent less than a hundred yuan.”

His observations were surprisingly sharp. This man wasn’t nearly as clueless as he looked. I reconsidered him.

“How about this? If you’re open to seeing where this goes, I’ll take you home in a couple of days to meet my son first. You can decide whether you’re comfortable with him.”

He hesitated. I could tell he was nervous. His brows drew together, and then he added earnestly, “I really do think you’re wonderful. If we work out, I’ll give you a million yuan as a bride price up front, plus another five hundred thousand for the two of you to use.”

“Tomorrow, then. It’s the weekend.”

After exchanging contact information with Chu Xing, I returned to the office and told my sister what had happened.

Everything seemed fine. I just didn’t understand why Chu Xing tensed up every time he mentioned his son.

With his income, it wouldn’t matter much around here whether he had one child or two.

The boy had some problems, but he was already in high school. He didn’t need much hands-on care; at most, someone would have to keep a closer eye on him.

“Sis, what do you know about Chu Xing’s son? Does he hate the idea of having a stepmother?”

My sister knew as little as Chu Xing had told me.

“He doesn’t hate her. Just go meet him and you’ll see. He’s a little rebellious, that’s all. Don’t let him scare you.”

“Does he hit people?”

“No. He doesn’t get physical.”

3

I wasn’t in a hurry to get married, but I was extremely curious about how a suicidal fifteen-year-old could have scared off two stepmothers.

Early the next morning, I bought a few gifts and drove with Chu Xing to the nicest villa complex in the city center.

“This is in the district for the top school, right?”

“I bought it for Leting when he was going to school. It was cheaper back then.”

“His name is Chu Leting?”

“Yeah. His maternal grandfather chose it.”

We parked in the villa’s private garage, and Chu Xing led me inside.

“It’s a little messy. I tidied up yesterday, but I’m a rough-handed man. I’m not very good at keeping things nice.”

I changed into the new pair of women’s slippers he had set out by the shoe cabinet and looked around the living room.

It was fairly clean, though the furniture was arranged haphazardly.

“Leting won’t let me hire a housekeeper. You may have to do a little cleaning. He only takes care of his own room.”

High school students didn’t get much time off. Even on a rare weekend, Chu Leting was still asleep at this hour. Chu Xing and I sat on the sofa and talked. I asked him several times about his son’s suicidal tendencies.

Chu Xing couldn’t explain them clearly. There had been no warning signs and no conflicts. Afterward, Leting refused to say anything.

“So I told him he can’t lock his bedroom door. I even removed the lock on the bathroom door in his room. There’s a camera in there, too, covering the whole room.”

He quickly waved his hand, afraid I might take it the wrong way.

“Not in our room, of course. It’s only for him.”

Even so, I felt uneasy.

A fifteen-year-old was no longer a little child. Living without any privacy, under his family’s constant surveillance, sounded suffocating.

“Doesn’t he object?”

“He’s a good kid. I only have to tell him a few times, and he listens.”

I was still wondering what trouble such a well-behaved boy could cause when slow footsteps sounded upstairs.

A student came down in a white T-shirt and gray shorts, rubbing his slightly overgrown hair and blinking sleepily.

He was just as handsome as in the photo—exceptionally so.

Unlike his father, whose skin had been browned by sun and wind, the boy had cool, pale skin. Apart from his eyes, he looked like a little European prince from a bygone era.

“Your hair’s so long you need a cut. You don’t look like a student at all.”

“I know. I’ll get it cut this afternoon.”

Chu Xing had been shy and tense around me, but with his son he immediately put on a parent’s authoritative air.

Then, realizing he shouldn’t embarrass the boy in front of me, he forced a smile and began, “This is…”

He suddenly faltered.

I rescued him. “I’m Yang Qian. You can call me Aunt Qian.”

“Hello, Aunt Qian.”

At fifteen, he was at a rebellious age, and a potential stepmother was an easy target for resentment. I had expected him to give me a hard time, or at least treat me coldly.

Instead, Chu Leting was very well-mannered, even calmer and more composed than his father. He kept looking me over, his gaze lingering longest on my face.

4

“Are you planning to marry my dad, Aunt Qian?”

At lunchtime, we booked a private room at a hotel. Chu Xing went to order, leaving Chu Leting across from me. He propped his chin on one hand and lowered his eyes toward me.

His eyelashes were long and thick, just like his father’s.

“Your dad and I get along pretty well. Today I mainly wanted to hear what you think.”

“I don’t approve. But if nobody looks after me, Dad won’t feel safe going out to sea, so I can only agree.”

“You’re very direct. You say what you think. That’s good.”

“You’d better be prepared. This is my home. I won’t change my habits just because someone else moves in.”

Without Chu Xing there, the obedient look vanished. Chu Leting was sharp and forceful.

But would that really have been enough to make two stepmothers divorce his father?

“How are things going?”

Chu Xing came back carrying three cups of yogurt and set one in front of each of us.

He looked at Leting. “Aunt Qian’s a good person. We plan to register our marriage soon. What do you—”

Chu Leting glanced at me knowingly, a faintly sinister smile on his lips.

“Seems like a very good person. People always make the wrong choice for money, suffer for it, then run away in disgrace.”

“Leting!”

“All right. I’ll stop.”

He opened his yogurt and took a sip, then suddenly held the cup he had been drinking from out toward me.

Chu Xing was about to scold him for being rude. I calmly moved Leting’s cup in front of Chu Xing, picked up the unopened one, and took a sip.

His provocation was obvious. I didn’t have to take the bait.

On Monday, Chu Xing and I hurried to register our marriage, then moved my things into our new home.

He should have gone back to sea a while ago. He had kept putting it off because he hadn’t found anyone to look after Chu Leting. If he waited any longer, he would miss the season.

“Most of the time, the ship has a signal now. There are still places we can’t reach, but I’ll let you know in advance.”

“You don’t have to worry about the rest. Leting is fine. Just check on him about once every two hours, especially at night.”

“If he gives you a hard time, tell me and I’ll call and scold him. He actually listens. Don’t be afraid of him.”

As I saw Chu Xing off, he went over everything in meticulous detail.

The heavy bags kept slipping off his shoulders. I offered to help, but he waved me away. He didn’t look at all like a man earning a million yuan a year; he was as plain and hardworking as a dockworker struggling to get by.

“I’ll remember everything you said. Be careful out at sea. I’ll keep an eye on Leting, so don’t worry.”

The fishing boat’s engine carried him farther from shore. I watched it recede toward the horizon, and a pang of sadness rose in me.

A million yuan was no small sum for people like us, who earned three thousand a month. But it was money he earned by risking his life on dangerous waters year after year.

I had peeked into his wardrobe. Every item was workwear worth a little over a hundred yuan, washed until it had faded and lost its shape. As long as it wasn’t torn, he kept wearing it.

Maybe Chu Leting had noticed all of that. That was why, rebellious age or not, he remained obedient in front of his father.

But what would he be like with me once his father was gone?

On the way home, I couldn’t help wondering.