Chapter 1: Six Years Loving the Wrong Man

As I entered my sixth year with Chu Yusen, I happened to overhear a conversation between him and his secretary.

“How is she? Still mad?”

“Miss Jiang has a fiery temper. It may take a while to calm her down.”

Chu Yusen gave a derisive laugh.

“However hot-tempered she is, she’s nothing compared to Qin Sang back then.”

“She used to be so headstrong, never willing to give an inch. Now I can tell her to go east, and she wouldn’t dare go west.”

The secretary laughed along. “Exactly. Who could have imagined that Miss Qin would grow up to be so gentle and obedient?”

Chu Yusen frowned. “She’s obedient, all right. But she’s become so boring.”

I stood frozen outside the door, my whole body rigid as a statue.

I was Qin Sang.

The girl Chu Yusen had just been talking about—the one who used to be stubborn and strong-willed, but had now become so obedient she barely recognized herself.

Their voices continued to drift through the half-closed door, rising and falling.

I reached for the handle, about to push it open, when I heard my name.

“I think she only acts that way because she knows I indulge her.”

“Hot-tempered?” Chu Yusen scoffed. “Even at her worst, she wasn’t half as bad as Qin Sang used to be.”

The others in the room hurried to chime in.

“Miss Jiang is still young, after all. She won’t turn nineteen until after the New Year.”

“A little willful and childish—that’s perfectly normal.”

“Qin Sang was about that age back then, too.”

Chu Yusen fell quiet for a moment, as if remembering the past.

“You all saw how overbearing she was.”

“And now I can tell her to go east, and she wouldn’t dare go west.”

Laughter rose around him again.

“That’s right. Who could have guessed Miss Qin would become so sweet and obedient?”

Someone else joined in. “I still remember it clearly. Miss Qin really did have a temper. If I hadn’t dodged, the ashtray she threw would’ve split my head open.”

Chu Yusen laughed, too.

“She’s a little older now, and she’s mellowed out. A little too much, maybe. She’s lost all her spark.”

“Looking at Jiang Chi now, I can see a little of the old Qin Sang in her.”

Then he turned to his secretary. “Book me a flight.”

“The one tonight. I’m going back to Beijing.”

“You’re going back to Beijing in person to make it up to her?” His secretary sounded surprised.

Chu Yusen didn’t deny it. “Grandpa’s not feeling well. I want to check on him. As for Jiang Chi, I’ll be there anyway.”

“There aren’t any flights left tonight. The earliest is at three in the morning. Would you like me to look for—”

“Book the three a.m. flight,” Chu Yusen cut him off.

I slowly let go of the handle.

The conversation continued behind the half-closed door, but they had moved on to some other, equally tedious subject.

I didn’t go in.

I just stood there, stiff as a wooden statue.

Only when the harsh light overhead began to hurt my eyes did I blink and slowly turn toward the elevator.

The Qin Sang Chu Yusen had been talking about was me.

I used to be stubborn to a fault, a girl with a backbone who wouldn’t bend for anyone.

I’d turned down his grand, relentless pursuit more than a dozen times.

I used to shout things like, “You can’t buy me with riches or bend me with power,” like some naive teenager going through a rebellious phase.

And now I’d become so gentle and obedient that I could hardly recognize myself.

As I stepped into the elevator, Chu Yusen called.

“Why aren’t you here yet?”

“Something came up. I’m not coming over.”

“That’s fine. We’re about to wrap up here. I’ll be home later.”

His voice was as gentle as ever.

“Tangtang, be good and wait for me at home.”

But he didn’t come home when he said he would.

After showering, I still wasn’t sleepy. I sat on the living-room carpet, staring blankly into space.

It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that rain began to fall outside.

The lock clicked, and the door swung open.

Chu Yusen strode in, carrying the chill of the rain with him.

“You’re still awake?” He looked a little surprised.

For an instant, a trace of guilt flickered in his eyes.

Then it was gone.

He came over, bent down, and caressed my cheek before pressing a kiss to my temple.

“I have to go back to Beijing.”

“Grandpa isn’t well. I’m worried about him.”

He spoke quickly, his voice low and slightly hoarse. His brows drew tightly together, a shadow settling over his face.

Once, seeing him like that would have broken my heart.

Now, as I watched his face and every tiny shift in his expression, all I felt was how ridiculous it was.

Was he going back to Beijing to visit his grandfather, and merely taking the opportunity to comfort Jiang Chi?

Or was visiting his grandfather just an excuse to go comfort Jiang Chi?

Perhaps even Chu Yusen couldn’t tell the difference anymore.

But right now, he was acting so convincingly that he’d managed to fool even himself.

“Chu Yusen, it’s raining outside.”

I pointed toward the window.

Lightning flashed, followed by a roll of thunder that tore through the pitch-black night.

It was a stormy night—the kind of weather I feared most.

The same kind of night, six years ago, when he and I first fell in love.

“I’m scared.”

I caught the hem of his shirt. My lips, pale with fear, pressed into a thin line.

I lifted my face and looked into his eyes, at the tiny reflection of myself in his pupils.

The hope on that girl’s face—the last fragile thread of it—made me want to cry.

Six years of love weren’t so easy to let go of.

I told myself: If he stayed, if he was willing to stay…

“Tangtang, I have to go.”

Chu Yusen gently pried my fingers from his shirt, one by one.

His tone was gentle, but his decision was cold and final.

“You’ve always been so understanding. What’s gotten into you tonight?”

With that, he turned and headed for the bedroom, shrugging off his rain-damp coat.

“Come help me pack.”

“I’ll be there for at least a week.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t miss your birthday.”

“Or our anniversary.”

He glanced back at me. His fringe was slightly damp, falling neatly across his forehead, and his deep, dark eyes looked unusually tender. The sharp arrogance he usually wore was nowhere to be seen.

I stood up and smiled.

Then I walked past him and into the dressing room.

I pulled out the largest suitcase.

Chu Yusen laughed. “You don’t need one that big. I’ll be back in a few days.”

He had a point, I suppose.

Why take old clothes to see someone new?

A girl with Jiang Chi’s fiery temper probably wouldn’t be able to stomach that.

I packed only a few essentials.

All the while, Chu Yusen kept checking his watch. Impatience had begun to fill his eyes.

My heart sank, slowly and heavily, like a stone settling at the bottom of a lake.

There were no crashing waves.

Just a few tiny bubbles quietly rising to the surface.

So that was all it took to let go of six years of love: one heartbeat.

Chu Yusen left.

The heavy rain stopped, too.

A pale strip of light appeared along the horizon beyond the window.

The weather forecast said it would be sunny today.

I began packing my own things.

I put everything I needed into the biggest suitcase. The rest went into cardboard boxes, and I called a moving company to take them away.

Before I left, I slipped off the ring I’d worn on my left hand for six years.

Chu Yusen had put it on my finger himself.

He’d told me it was a family heirloom of the Chu family, passed down only to the woman who married into it.

But the Chu family would never accept an ordinary girl like me.

Of course they would never give me their heirloom ring.

I’d always known it was only a look-alike Chu Yusen had bought to make me happy.

Back then, I’d loved him so deeply that I’d been willing to let him placate me with it.

The ring had cost a fortune.

But a fake was still a fake.

I opened the door and dragged my heavy suitcase outside.

I never looked back.

Just as I hadn’t looked back all those years ago, when I chose to walk toward Chu Yusen.

I’d made my bet. I was ready to accept that I’d lost.

Three days after returning to Beijing, Chu Yusen’s grandfather was found to be in no serious danger and was discharged from the hospital.

Chu Yusen had also managed to soothe Jiang Chi until she was sweet and compliant again.

His old friends in Beijing arranged one party after another to welcome him back.

His schedule was packed.

It was only during a rare quiet moment, when he suddenly heard Qin Sang’s name, that he came back to himself.

Three days had passed.

He hadn’t received a single call from Qin Sang.

Not even one message on WeChat.

He frowned without meaning to.

He remembered leaving that night, while a storm raged outside.

Qin Sang was most afraid of rainy nights.

Her father had died on a night just like that.

It was a nightmare she would never escape.

A pang of regret came over him, along with a trace of guilt.

Why hadn’t he waited until morning to leave?

It would only have been a few more hours.

Jiang Chi’s sweet laughter rang out. His childhood friends were teasing her the way people might tease a little pet.

Chu Yusen suddenly remembered something.

Years ago, when he was pursuing Qin Sang, he’d finally managed to get her to meet him.

Then a group of rich playboys had disrespected her and her roommate.

Qin Sang had been furious. She flipped the table on the spot and used her sharp tongue to leave the young masters with no way to fight back.

The irony was that Chu Yusen had been right behind her, cheering her on.

The men had been so angry their teeth nearly cracked, but they could do nothing. They’d even had to apologize to Qin Sang and her roommate.

Even now, he found the memory both funny and fascinating.

Over the past few years, his relationship with Qin Sang had gradually faded.

He often used visiting his grandfather in Beijing as an excuse, then stayed to have fun and seek out other women.

But those women came and went. Before long, he was bored with them.

Until he met Jiang Chi.

But why did Jiang Chi remind him of Qin Sang?

Qin Sang would never sit obediently while other people teased her like that.

She would never just blush in embarrassment at a dirty joke, either.

When Qin Sang got angry, her eyes would blaze.

She’d plant her hands on her hips and lift her small chin with pride. With a naivete that was almost comical, she’d tell him:

“Don’t think you’re so impressive just because you have a little money. Ever heard the saying, ‘You can’t buy me with riches or bend me with power’?”

Chu Yusen suddenly couldn’t help laughing.

He picked up his phone, intending to call Qin Sang.

But the call wouldn’t go through.

He lit a cigarette and stood on the balcony for ten minutes.

Then he called one of his subordinates in the city Qin Sang lived in.

Half an hour later, the subordinate called back. His voice trembled with nerves.

“Miss Qin has moved, sir.”

“All her things have been taken away by the moving company.”

“There’s only one ring left on the coffee table.”