Chapter 1

After I died, my childhood sweetheart bowed with every step, praying for a strand of Buddhist beads.

He became a man of pure heart and few desires.

In the mouths of Beijing’s wealthy, he became “the tycoon world’s Buddhist devotee.”

Meanwhile, I spent five hard years in the underworld cooking soup for Granny Meng.

I took on a new identity, molded myself a face that looked seventy or eighty percent like the old one, and returned to the human world.

I only wanted to sneak one last look at him.

I never expected him to notice me—to make me a substitute for myself and bring me home, keeping me like a canary in a gilded cage.

And he wasn’t nearly as celibate as the rumors claimed.

Once, when he was drunk, I asked him tearfully:

“Doesn’t what you’re doing dishonor your childhood sweetheart who died?”

He smiled indulgently.

“Are you standing up for yourself?”

My eyes flew wide.

1

I blended into the crowd as we filed into a private room.

When we stood before a group of people, the man at the head of the group began ingratiatingly introducing us.

“Mr. Shen, these are some of the new girls who’ve just joined us. They’re all clean.”

The man seated at the head of the table didn’t even bother to raise his eyelids.

The leader was a sly old fox.

His gaze swept over everyone.

Then it landed on me.

“Especially her.” He shoved me forward. “Go on, greet Mr. Shen.”

I froze, then instinctively opened my mouth.

“Shen Yan.”

…Long time no see.

The rest of the words never came.

The moment I spoke, Shen Yan, who had been looking down at his phone, abruptly lifted his head.

His deep, dark eyes fixed on me.

And I was looking at him, too.

He wore a pale blue sweater and slacks, his hair casually styled. He wasn’t wearing a suit, yet simply sitting there, he had an air of quiet authority.

The Buddhist beads on his wrist clicked softly, releasing a faint sandalwood scent as they shifted.

Compared with five years ago, his face had lost its youthful softness. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of his straight nose.

Under the flickering lights, he looked refined and wickedly handsome.

Exactly like the grown-up Shen Yan I had imagined five years ago.

“Mr. Shen!” The manager beside him saw that he wasn’t speaking. Sweat broke out across his forehead. “The new girl doesn’t know any better. Please don’t take offense…”

“Manager, are you deaf?” Shen Yan’s companion had gotten a good look at my face and frowned in displeasure. “Brother Shen hates it when people find substitutes for his sister-in-law. And you brought in someone who looks like her. Before Brother Shen loses his temper, get her out of here…”

The manager broke into a cold sweat.

He nodded and bowed repeatedly.

As he spoke, he gestured for us to leave.

I closed my eyes and sighed softly.

At least I’d seen him.

That… was enough.

I had no regrets now.

Just as I turned around, Shen Yan suddenly spoke.

“Wait.”

I stopped and glanced back over my shoulder.

Shen Yan stood up and walked over. Looking down at me, he studied my face and asked, “What’s your name?”

I thought for a moment. Before I could answer, the manager spoke for me.

“Her name is Su Ruannuan.”

“Why is she here?”

The manager answered again.

“Her father is ill, and her mother left. She needs money.”

Shen Yan sighed softly.

Then he turned on the manager, his voice sharp and impatient.

“Was I asking you?”

The manager fell silent, frightened.

Shen Yan turned back to me. For some reason, the corners of his eyes had grown a little red, and his voice trembled.

“Has it been hard?”

I lifted my head and met the complicated emotions surging in his eyes. I shook my head.

“It’s been all right.”

“Mm.”

He nodded indifferently, held out his hand, and asked, “Will you come with me?”

My eyes widened at once.

When I didn’t move, he laughed.

“You don’t want to?”

Then he added, “I’ll cover your father’s medical expenses from now on.”

2

Just like that, I followed Shen Yan outside.

He took my hand.

His palm gradually grew damp with sweat.

Embarrassed, I tried to pull away.

But he held on more tightly.

With one hand he kept hold of me, while the other picked up his overcoat.

It was late autumn. The moment we stepped outside, the cold wind swept over us.

He seemed not to feel it at all as he led me to his car.

He drove a Bentley.

But when he opened the door, the first thing I noticed was a little charm for good fortune hanging in front of the driver’s seat.

Its stitching was clumsy, and the fabric had faded.

…It was the gift I’d made for him when he got his driver’s license at eighteen.

He caught me looking at it and laughed.

“Doesn’t it look old?”

I hesitated, then honestly nodded.

He kept smiling. “Then make me another one.”

Another one?

Had he recognized me?

My mind raced.

In the briefest moment, I rejected the thought.

My old body had turned to ashes. Granny Meng and I had molded this new body ourselves.

It only looked about seventy or eighty percent like my old one.

Besides, I had a new identity, and my family background checked out. It was all more convincing than real.

So…

He could only have mistaken me for someone else.

I thought for a long time. Shen Yan, meanwhile, busied himself introducing all the new things in his car.

When I still didn’t say anything, he asked, “Is there something you don’t like? I have plenty of other cars at home. You can drive any of them.”

I shook my head.

Then I pretended to be uneasy and looked at him timidly.

“Mr. Shen, did you mistake me for someone else…?”

He stiffened at once.

I swallowed and went on.

“Are you thinking of Miss Yan Xi?”

Yan Xi.

That was the name I’d had before I died.

He said nothing, only stared at me.

A long while later, he suddenly laughed.

His composed, easygoing manner returned.

“If that’s what you want to think, then fine.”

“Do you want to come with me?”

I bit my lip.

So he really did see me as a substitute.

Hmph.

He made it sound so noble.

He was no different from any other man who let his eyes make the decisions for him.

While I was still thinking, Shen Yan interrupted me.

“You don’t want to?”

I was afraid he’d notice something was off.

Instinctively, I shook my head.

“Good.” He crossed his legs and tapped his fingertips lightly on his knee, looking pleased. “Then let me explain a few rules.”

“First: don’t call me ‘sir.’”

“Second: call me Shen Yan.”

“Third…” He paused, leaned closer, and let his warm breath fall over me. His voice was low and magnetic. “Do you know what obligations come with being kept?”

My head rang.

The blood rushed straight to my face.

My cheeks burned red.