Eight Years, One Love — Chapter 5

So that was it.

It seemed my tiny apartment made him even more comfortable than his enormous mansion. He was so happy he’d forgotten how to get home.

I called him out. “You seem full of energy to me. You even took a cold shower in the middle of the night. What part of you is tired?”

As I spoke, I reached for his abs and traced a circle with my fingertip.

“Or are you not up to it?”

The fire he’d just put out flared in his eyes again.

He rolled over and drowned me in kisses.

The truth was, you should never casually tell a man he can’t perform.

He’ll prove with actions that he can.

When I woke the next morning, I weakly reminded him, “I still owe you 5.15 million. Also, remember to transfer me another million.”

Lu Shizi answered, satisfied, “Mm.”

A moment later, he lifted his head and whispered close to my ear, “I still want to use one more chance.”

His thoughts:

[Since I’ve already let myself go, I might as well go all the way.]

I shivered.

What a beast.

That was definitely more than “up to it.”

Saturday evening.

I went to the high-school reunion.

After entering the private dining room, I looked around. In one corner, I spotted Zhou Nian.

We hadn’t seen each other in five years. I almost didn’t recognize her.

She’d gained a lot of weight and was wearing outdated, cheap-looking clothes. She seemed exhausted, as if life had worn her down.

When she saw me, surprise flashed in her eyes, mixed with insecurity.

I greeted a few close classmates, then found a seat.

Zhou Nian was talking with the others. I leaned in to listen.

I learned that she’d started working after high school. Less than two years later, she’d married a man in a remote town. She was now a mother of two.

I stood and went over to her. “Zhou Nian, can we talk?”

“Sure.”

She got up and followed me out into the hallway.

I asked her, “Zhou Nian, you had a better option back then. Why did you turn down Lu Shizi’s confession?”

Zhou Nian bit her lip and didn’t answer.

I tested my theory. “Lu Shizi never confessed to you, did he? That love letter wasn’t meant for you?”

She suddenly looked up and said quietly, “You know? I’m sorry…”

So I’d guessed right.

I pressed Zhou Nian about what had happened back then.

Her eyes filled with tears. Gathering her courage, she confessed, “The love letter tucked inside that essay collection was from Lu Shizi to you. When you went to the restroom after class, I secretly took it and used invisible ink to change the name to mine.”

So that was what had happened.

I’d never known there was a love letter hidden in the essay collection Lu Shizi gave me.

I only remembered that after I came back from the restroom, Zhou Nian had lowered her voice and said, “Jiang Yu, I’ll tell you a secret, but you can’t tell anyone.”

“Lu Shizi wrote me a love letter. He likes me, but I want to focus on school and don’t want to date.”

Then she opened the letter in front of me and quickly waved it back and forth.

I’d caught a glimpse of Zhou Nian’s name at the top. The entire letter was in Lu Shizi’s handwriting.

When Zhou Nian injured her hand in gym class, she asked me to write a reply to Lu Shizi for her.

She dictated. I wrote.

She even pleaded, “Jiang Yu, I’m embarrassed to give it to Lu Shizi myself. Could you give it to him for me? Please?”

So I’d personally delivered her rejection letter to him.

It had all been a misunderstanding.

I thought Lu Shizi liked Zhou Nian, while Lu Shizi thought I’d rejected his confession.

Even the time I dated his roommate in college had been to make Lu Shizi jealous.

But I’d only dated his roommate for a month. We hadn’t even held hands.

Zhou Nian spoke carefully. “Back then, I really did have a secret crush on Lu Shizi. I knew he could never be with me. I was jealous of you, so I stole your love letter and made you misunderstand each other.”

“I’m sorry. I know I was wrong. I’ve been tormented by it for years. I wanted to tell you the truth so many times, but I was afraid you’d take revenge on me.”

“I hate how cowardly I was, how I didn’t have the courage to take responsibility for the mistake I made when I was young.”

“Jiang Yu, I rode the train for more than twenty hours to come to this reunion and explain everything. I hope you can forgive me.”

I looked at Zhou Nian angrily. “You think one apology can cover up what you did? I won’t forgive you.”

She wept. “I’ve already been punished. My life is terrible now. I married a gambler who’s lazy, and I’m tied down by two children. I’ll never escape this cycle.”

“But you’re different. You still have choices, Jiang Yu. I hope you can be happy.”

“If you don’t forgive me, I’ll feel guilty for the rest of my life.”

Then let her feel guilty.

I’d found the answer I came for.

I turned to leave.

Behind me, Zhou Nian called out, “Jiang Yu, are you and Lu Shizi together now?”

I paused and left her with one answer: “We’re together. And we’ll stay together.”

She wiped her tears and murmured, “That’s good. The two of you were always meant to be together.”

Outside the restaurant, Lu Shizi’s Rolls-Royce was parked by the road. He was leaning against the door, waiting for me.

I walked over and hugged him.

He froze, then asked with both joy and concern, “What’s wrong?”

My nose stung. “Nothing. I’m just a little cold.”

Nothing was wrong. I just wanted to hug him.

Lu Shizi took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders. Then he opened the car door for me. “Get in. It’s warmer inside.”

When we got back to the apartment, the moment the door closed, I threw myself into his arms.

Lu Shizi responded eagerly, thinking:

[Am I dreaming?]

[Wifey, bite me so I’ll know I’m awake.]

[My wife is being so forward. I love it.]

[I planned to save the four chances I had left and use them slowly, but I don’t think I can hold back tonight.]

The next day, we slept until the sun was high.

Lu Shizi’s thoughts woke me:

[There’s only one chance left.]

[It’s my fault I lost control last night. I really couldn’t hold back.]

[Starting today, I have to abstain. I absolutely can’t touch my wife.]

[As long as I don’t use the last chance, my wife can’t kick me out.]

[Even if she does, I’ll shamelessly refuse to leave.]

I opened my eyes and said to Lu Shizi, “Lu Shizi, let’s get married.”

He was overjoyed. “Do you mean it?”

I nodded seriously. “Mm.”

Afraid I’d change my mind, Lu Shizi immediately pulled me tightly into his arms. “All right. Let’s go register first, then I’ll make it up to you with a grand wedding. How does that sound?”

I smiled. “In such a hurry?”

He was honest. “Of course I am. What if you change your mind?”

I nodded. “Okay. We’ll do it your way.”

“There’s something even more urgent I want to do right now.” He leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Can I have one more chance?”

Who was the one who’d just sworn he’d abstain starting today?

It had only been a few minutes.

“Mm.” I nodded shyly. “You don’t have to hold back anymore. Any time you want.”

He was ecstatic and finally stopped restraining himself…

I heard his thoughts:

[At last, my hard times are over.]

[What abstinence? I can’t manage it at all. The harder I held back before, the more I’ll indulge myself from now on.]

[I hope my wife won’t get tired of me. I’ll think of new ways to win her heart.]

Lu Shizi gave me 220 million yuan as a betrothal gift.

After we married, I moved into his mansion.

On our wedding night, lying in his arms, I asked, “Hubby, why did you give me 220 million yuan as a betrothal gift? Was it because you wanted to make it an auspicious pair?”

He explained, “Before you agreed to marry me, I went to see your father and offered to lend him 220 million yuan to help the Jiang Group recover.”

“Since you agreed to marry me, you don’t have to repay that money. Consider it your betrothal gift.”

So he’d thought I’d married him for the money.

Lu Shizi’s thoughts rang out:

[Jiang Yu, even if you don’t love me, even if you married me only for the money, I’d still accept it.]

[We have a long time ahead of us. Someday, you’ll love me.]

[When Jiang Yu was fifteen, she filled her diary with “Jiang Yu hates Lu Shizi.” I hope she’ll like Lu Shizi before she turns twenty-five.]

I looked up at him.

Had he seen that diary?

So it wasn’t only the love letter we’d misunderstood. We’d misunderstood the diary, too.

He didn’t know that the person you hate can also be the person you love.

That sworn enemy can become your husband.

I didn’t have to wait until I was twenty-five to love him. I’d loved him for a long time.

I said seriously, “Lu Shizi, I didn’t marry you for the betrothal gift. I had no idea you’d gone to see my father.”

“Then why did you marry me?” he asked.

I explained slowly, “I want to walk the road ahead with you.”

“Last night, I met Zhou Nian. She told me that she secretly took the love letter hidden in the essay collection and changed the name to hers.”

“The rejection letter I gave you was one I wrote for her. I thought she was the person you liked.”

“It had all been a misunderstanding.”

Lu Shizi’s expression was a tangle of emotions. He asked seriously, “Jiang Yu, do you like me?”

I took the essay collection from the shelf at the end of the bed and handed it to him. “The answer is on the last page. Open it yourself.”

Lu Shizi turned to the final page:

[Jiang Yu likes Lu Shizi.]

At the end, I’d written the date, too.

At last, after eight years, he saw the confession that had come too late.

Lu Shizi’s eyes reddened. The book slipped from his hands and fell to the floor as he pulled me tightly into his arms.

The night was long, but our happy future had only just begun.

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