Chapter 1

I went to the hospital to collect my husband's test results.

The doctor slid the paper across and pointed at the final line.

"Mrs. Lei, given your husband's condition, his chances of having a child naturally are essentially zero."

I put the report into a kraft-paper envelope and clutched it all the way home.

I wasn't calculating whether he could have children.

I was calculating whether he'd go mad when he found out.

I'd married Lei Wanjun because he was rich and transferred money fast.

He cared about little else, but having a child mattered more to him than taking his company public. If this blow humiliated him enough to throw me out, where would I find another man who spent without blinking?

In the elevator, I prepared three versions of my speech.

The moment I opened the door, none of them was any use.

A woman in a white dress sat on our living-room sofa, both hands gently cradling her lower belly.

Bai Qingqian.

Lei Wanjun sprang out of the massage chair. His gold chain swung and clattered. His face glowed red with happiness.

"Shu Wan, Qingqian's pregnant."

"Let's get divorced."

I looked down at the envelope.

Then up at her belly.

I couldn't help it.

I laughed.

All three people in the living room froze.

The two tears Bai Qingqian had prepared stalled halfway.

Beside her stood Cui, my husband's assistant, clutching a stack of divorce papers. The occasion looked as solemn as a stock-exchange bell-ringing ceremony.

Lei Wanjun frowned.

"What's so funny?"

I hastily pinched my thigh.

My eyes reddened at once.

"I'm so angry I've lost my mind."

For realism, I clutched my chest and stumbled back two steps, landing neatly in the hundred-and-eighty-thousand-yuan massage chair.

So comfortable.

The marriage could go.

Preferably, the chair would come with me.

I'd been afraid of poverty since childhood.

Dad died young.

When I was eight, the landlord blocked our door demanding rent. Mom pushed the last half bowl of noodles toward me and gulped down two glasses of plain water.

When I was eighteen, she became seriously ill.

I borrowed from everyone I knew.

I still couldn't keep her.

After that, I made a rule.

Anything could betray me.

My bank balance wouldn't.

Three years ago, a matchmaker told me Lei Wanjun had started out buying scrap. Now he worked in recycled resources and spent generously.

Only one condition.

His wife must know her place and give him a child soon.

I checked his company, properties, and annual reports.

The next day, I went to meet him.

At our first meal, he asked, "What do you see in me?"

"Money."

He slapped the table and laughed for ages, praised my honesty, and bought me a gold necklace on the spot.

"What style do you like?"

"Heavy."

He laughed even harder.

In three years of marriage, he'd given me a house, cars, and jewelry.

Never played games over money.

I ran the household neatly, accompanied him to business dinners, and even sorted his cupboard full of floral shirts by color.

No moonlit romance here.

We each got what we wanted.

A pleasant partnership.

The only problem was that I hadn't become pregnant in three years.

I'd been tested.

Nothing wrong with me.

Last month, I suggested he get tested too.

He hadn't liked it. No man in the Lei family had ever had that problem, he'd said.

But he'd gone.

Today, the results had reached me.

On the way back, I'd wondered whether he'd take out his devastation on me and throw me out without a cent.

Instead, heaven took pity and sent Bai Qingqian ahead, claiming she was carrying his child.

With someone at fault, there was room to negotiate compensation.

When I stayed silent, his voice softened.

"Shu Wan, this isn't fair to you."

"Qingqian's more than a month pregnant. The child needs a proper place in the family."

"Name your terms. I'll do what I can."

The abacus in my head clattered.

A tear slid down my cheek.

"Three years, and you can just throw me away?"

He looked aside.

Bai Qingqian moved half a step forward, her voice dripping sweetness.

"Don't blame Wanjun."

"Love has an order. I knew him first."

"You have to learn to accept what fate brings. And to step aside with dignity."

I almost laughed again.

So gentle.

Every word aimed straight for the lungs.

I looked up.

"Are you sure the baby's his?"

Her fragile expression stiffened for half a second.

Lei Wanjun exploded first.

"What do you mean?"

"Qingqian's only ever been with me!"

I tightened my grip on the envelope and swallowed the truth.

Expose them now, and I'd get a good show.

Swallow this irritation, and I could get a lifetime of comfort.

I sniffed and slowly stood.

"Fine. We can divorce."

"I want compensation."

Cui put the agreement in front of me immediately.

Twenty million yuan in cash and a two-hundred-square-meter apartment in the city center.

I glanced at it.

My heart leaped into my throat.

The apartment had no mortgage.

At current sale prices, it was worth at least eighteen million.

I nearly lunged for a pen.

Fortunately, poverty had taught me self-control.

I could haggle half a jiao off vegetables at the market.

Accepting the first offer on a deal this big would be amateur work.

I pushed the agreement back.

Tears came on command.

"Is that all three years are worth?"

Lei Wanjun grew anxious.

He cared most about appearances. Now he was rushing to marry his pregnant old flame.

The last thing he wanted was a reputation for mistreating his ex-wife.

Bai Qingqian grew anxious too.

"You can't be so greedy. Wanjun's money is for his child. Taking so much—can you sleep at night?"

I clutched my chest and cried harder.

"Three years with him. Medicine and injections trying to get pregnant. And you call me greedy?"

"If that's what you both think, forget the divorce. I'll die holding on to the title of Mrs. Lei."

Her expression changed.

She caught his sleeve.

"Wanjun, the doctor said I mustn't get upset. The baby's due in a few months. Surely the child won't be left without a household registration?"

Nothing got through to him faster than "the baby."

He gritted his teeth.

"Thirty-eight million eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand in cash. The apartment's yours. So are the cars and jewelry bought during our marriage."

"Shu Wan, that's enough to keep you comfortable for life."

I added it up.

Cash.

Apartment.

Cars.

Jewelry.

Nearly sixty million yuan.

As long as I stayed out of casinos and didn't fund some man's startup, I couldn't spend it all if I lived to a hundred.

Still, I lowered my eyes and said nothing.

Lei Wanjun paced around the living room twice.

Then pointed out the window.

"The yacht at the marina too!"

My shoulders shook with sobs.

Actually, I was holding back laughter.

That yacht made him seasick. He'd only taken it out twice.

Even secondhand, it would fetch more than five million.

Bai Qingqian's breathing went uneven with pain.

Her mouth kept performing.

"Money can't fill the emptiness in your heart. No matter how much you take, it won't buy true love."

Through my tears, I nodded.

"You're right. Add another ten million in cash."

At last, she couldn't keep it up.

"Shu Wan, this is robbery!"

"You just said money didn't matter. Ten million less won't affect your love."

She choked, her face turning red.

Lei Wanjun rubbed his brow and told Cui to revise the agreement.

Forty-eight million eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand yuan in cash.

The apartment.

Two cars.

The yacht.

Every piece of jewelry he'd given me during our marriage.

A final division of assets, with neither side pursuing the other afterward.

Lawyers came that night to check every clause.

The source of the money.

The property's status.

The agreement's validity.

Everything was clear.

He transferred a deposit on the spot. The balance would be handled at the bank the next day.

I had to see the performance through.

I cried over our wedding photograph for half an hour, had the massage chair sent to my new apartment first, and finally took his hand.

"Will you regret this someday?"

His eyes reddened.

His voice was unusually gentle.

"Shu Wan, you're a good woman."

"If you ever need help, come to me."

I remembered that.

He kept his word.

After the paperwork the next day, Bai Qingqian messaged me.

[Thank you for stepping aside.

I'll take good care of Wanjun and give the Lei family its true heir.]

I read "true" three times.

Then smiled and put my phone away.

Outside the registration hall, Lei Wanjun handed me tissues.

I took them, wiped away nonexistent tears, and checked my balance.

Forty-eight million eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand yuan.

Paid in full.

My legs felt a little weak.

Bai Qingqian waited below the steps. Seeing us, she came forward, supporting her waist.

"Wanjun, the baby just kicked."

I wasn't sure whether a baby a little over a month along could kick.

Lei Wanjun's heart was certainly pounding.

He hurried to support her and asked whether she needed the hospital.

I admitted I was vulgar.

But I'd never deceived him.

He'd cheated during our marriage.

I took the money and left.

No one needed to lecture me about nobility.

Before getting into the car, I found the kraft-paper envelope in my bag and handed it over.

"Nearly forgot. Your report from last month's checkup. I picked it up on my way yesterday. Haven't read it. Have a look."

## 2

He took it and passed it behind him without looking.

"Cui, put this away."

Bai Qingqian leaned against his shoulder and smiled.

"We have a baby now. What do we need test results for?"

"You're so healthy."

He stroked her belly.

"Exactly."

"Hospitals love writing up little problems to scare people. I don't feel unwell anywhere."

Cui tucked the envelope into his briefcase.

Watching it disappear, I felt a little guilty.

I'd given him the chance.

He'd chosen not to open it.

He couldn't blame me.

The first thing I did in my new apartment was spread the money among different accounts and have a financial adviser draw up a conservative plan.

Fixed-term deposits.

Government bonds.

Two shopfront properties in prime locations.

And enough ready cash to use whenever needed.

I loved money.

I respected it too.

Letting it run wild was like leaving a child on the beach.

Irresponsible guardianship.

Once I was done, I stretched out in the massage chair and ordered rice noodles with double beef.