The chemical smell of the antiseptic was the only thing anchoring me to the present. Everything else was a blur of excruciating pain and the rhythmic, terrifying beep of the monitor beside my head.

“She’s out of mortal danger,” a voice said, distant and muffled.

“A week in the hospital for observation. Contact her family to pay the fees and care for her.”

Family.

The word echoed in the numb cavern of my chest. I tried to call out, to say his name, but my throat was raw. My fingers twitched, searching for a phone that wasn’t there.

Linguan.

I fumbled for the call button, my vision swimming. A nurse appeared, her face a mask of professional indifference.

“We couldn’t reach the family member on your surgical consent form,” she stated, not unkindly.

“You… you must sign it yourself.”

She held the clipboard over me. I saw the words “Severed Artery,” “Immediate Resuscitation,” “Blood Loss.” My hand, pierced with an IV, could barely hold the pen. I signed my own life over, my signature a jagged smear of ink and terror.

And then I was alone again, listening to the drip of the IV and the frantic pounding in my ears.

Sometime later, I heard a commotion outside my door. A man’s voice, rushed and panicked. His voice. Linguan’s voice.

“Where’s the girl from the car accident?”

Hope, violent and desperate, surged through me. He came. He was here. He knew.

“You’re Jangu’s family member?” the nurse at the desk asked.

“Wait, not her,” Linguan said, his voice sharp with impatience.

“A girl named Yu Chiang. What’s her relation to the patient?”

My heart stopped.

“I’m her brother,” he said.

“The patient’s in room 303. Register here to go in,” the nurse replied, her voice flat.

“Okay.”

I heard his footsteps fade. Not toward me. Away from me.

Room 303. I was in 302. We were separated by a single, thin wall.

“Shu Linguan,” I heard the nurse mutter to her colleague.

“Strange. Not the family member in Jangu’s contact.”

“Who knows?” the other replied.

“That Jang Shu is still in critical care. No family members have come. This Guian only has minor scrapes, yet her family’s so worried. People really can’t be compared.”

Their voices faded, but the words hung in the air, sharp as glass. Minor scrapes.

And then, through the wall, I heard her voice. Guian’s voice. Weak, pathetic, and utterly fake.

“Brother Linguan, you came back…”

“You were burning up,” he replied, his voice thick with a tenderness I hadn’t heard in months. A tenderness that used to be mine.

“Why didn’t you call me immediately?”

“Auntie Shu said you were with a client. My little issue… it wasn’t…”

“Silly girl,” he cooed.

“Nothing’s more important than you. From now on, whatever happens, call me first. I’ll always be here.”

A sob caught in my throat. I tried to bang on the wall. My arm wouldn’t lift.

“But Sister Shushu is your future wife,” Guian whispered, a masterful performance of innocence.

“She’s an orphan,” Linguan’s voice was cold, sharp, and full of a venom I had never heard. “My parents took her in for their charity work. How could I marry her? A vicious woman like her, how could she ever deserve to enter the Shu family’s doors?”

Vicious? Orphan? Charity?

“Brother Linguan, I want oranges,” she murmured.

“Open your mouth,” he said softly.

I lay there, paralyzed, the monitor beeping faster as my world dissolved. He thought the accident was my fault. He thought I was the vicious one.

He was right next door, feeding oranges to the woman who tried to kill me.

The last thing I remembered before the blackness took me again was Guian’s face, illuminated by the dashboard lights, her eyes wide with a manic thrill.

“You’re so boring, Shushu!” she had giggled, slamming her foot on the accelerator. “Isn’t this exciting?”

“Guian, slow down!” I screamed, my hands gripping the dash.

“You can’t stop! We’re going to die!”

“Great!” she yelled over the roar of the engine.

And then, the sound of tearing metal and shattering glass.

I had been adopted by the Shu family for fifteen years. Fifteen years of gratitude, of service, of quiet devotion. Everyone assumed I would marry Shu Linguan, the young master, the boy I had grown up with, the boy I had loved with every fiber of my being.

But ever since Guian, our new neighbor, had appeared, everything changed.

“Hello, neighbor brother,” she’d smiled, offering him a homemade pastry.

“We’re neighbors now. Please take care of me.”

And just like that, fifteen years of my life began to unravel.

He changed. The warmth in his eyes when he looked at me frosted over. The shared secrets, the inside jokes, the promises of a future… they all evaporated.

He became a stranger, one who looked at me with impatience and annoyance.

“Shushu, why are you being so petty?” he’d snap, when Guian “accidentally” broke the lipstick he’d given me for my 18th birthday.

“It’s just a cake, Shushu,” he’d sigh, when Guian “tripped” and knocked my carefully baked birthday cake for him onto the floor, the one he’d once said was his favorite gift.

“She’s three years younger than you, can’t you be more mature?” he’d demand, when Guian “accidentally” spilled ink all over the portrait he had painted of me years ago, a portrait I cherished more than anything.

My young love, so bright and full of hope, was brutally crushed by his casual cruelty, day after day.

And now, here I was. The Shu family was in a business crisis, a massive hole in their financing. The only solution was a marriage alliance with the powerful Lu family.

I had agreed.

I had agreed to marry a stranger, Lu Jinang, to repay the Shu family for raising me. I had agreed because it was my duty. I had agreed because it was a way out, a new life, a chance to finally let go of the past.

I just had to survive this hospital. I had to survive this betrayal.

A week later, I was discharged. Every step was a fresh agony, my ribs screaming in protest. I took a cab back to the Shu residence, the only home I had ever known.

I walked in, and the laughter from the living room stopped.

Linguan was on the sofa. Guian was curled up next to him, her head on his shoulder.

“Sister Shushu, I’m sorry,” Guian whimpered, jumping up.

“I didn’t mean to… the accident…”

“Why are you apologizing to her?” Linguan sneered, not even getting up. He looked at me with pure disgust.

“She wasn’t watching where she was going.”

He was still talking about the crash. He still believed her.

“Jang Shu, you finally came back, huh?” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Thought you’d die in that hospital.”

“Brother Linguan, don’t say that,” Guian said, rushing to his side and placing a hand on his arm.

“Sister Shushu was also injured. She’s just been pampered too much. Such a minor injury, and yet she stayed in the hospital for a week.”

Minor injury. I touched the thick bandage on my side, where an artery had been severed.

“Brother Linguan, please don’t be angry with Shushu. It’s good enough that she came back,” Guian continued, her voice the epitome of sweet reason.

“Where else could she go?” Linguan laughed, a harsh, ugly sound.

“Her parents died because of her. She has no home.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. I have no home.

“Don’t worry,” I said, my voice a hoarse whisper. “I’ll leave.”

“Leave?” Linguan stood up, suddenly interested. “Jang Shu, what game are you playing now? Another runaway act? My leaving just makes room for you two to enjoy your couple time, doesn’t it?”

“Sister Shushu, is there any misunderstanding between me and Brother Linguan?” Guian cried, tears welling in her eyes.

“I know you’re Auntie Shu’s chosen daughter-in-law. I’m sorry if it’s because of my presence… I’ll just leave.”

“No need,” Linguan snapped, pulling her behind him.

“Jang Shu, you’re just a parasite the Shu family keeps. You have no right to be jealous. Have you forgotten your place after pretending to be a lady for so long?”

“I know my place,” I said, my voice shaking.

“Since you admit your mistake,” he said, “I won’t be petty about it. Stay and celebrate Chenchen’s homecoming with me.” (He called her Chenchen. A pet name.)

“No need. Celebrate by yourselves,” I said, turning to go to my room.

“Jang Shu, what’s with that attitude?” he yelled.

“Chenchen cares for you! Don’t be ungrateful!”

Ungrateful.

I turned back, my hands clenched.

“Shu Linguan, play your games. I won’t be a pawn in your drama anymore.”

“Brother Linguan,” Guian sobbed, “what did I do wrong? Why does Sister Shushu dislike me so much?”

“Chenchen, you did nothing wrong,” he said, his voice softening instantly as he comforted her. “I’ll make her apologize to you.”

“Don’t, brother Linguan,” she cried.

“Sister Shu isn’t at fault. It’s all my fault.”

“Don’t waste your kindness on someone like her,” he spat.

I ignored them and walked up the stairs, each step a mountain. I just wanted to get my things and go.

But when I reached my room, Aunt Shu, Linguan’s mother, was waiting for me.

“I forgot to tell you,” she said, her face cold and impassive.

“Shissi just discharged from the hospital. She needs someone to care for. There’s no one at her home. From today, she’ll stay with the Shu family. You’ll vacate your room for Shissi.”

I stared at her. Shissi. Another name for Guian.

“Then where do I stay?” I asked, my voice hollow.

“You’ll stay in the storage room for now,” she said without blinking.

“This is compensation for Shissi. Remember this. This time it’s just a small warning. If there’s a next time, it won’t be the storage room. You’ll be kicked out of the Shu family.”

“Fine,” I whispered.

“Since you’ve agreed, get your room cleaned up quickly. Make sure she can move in tonight.”

“Understood.”

As Aunt Shu walked away, Guian appeared at the top of the stairs, a smirk playing on her lips before it vanished into a look of concern.

“Sister Shushu, I wanted to move to the storage room,” she said, “but Brother Linguan wouldn’t allow it. If you’re upset, I’ll talk to him again…”

“Don’t move,” I said, cutting her off. “I’ll be the one staying in the storage room.”

I pushed past her and opened the door to my room. My old room.

The room Linguan had decorated for me when I turned sixteen. He had painted the walls my favorite shade of blue. He had built the bookshelf with his own hands. He had hung a sign over the door: “Shushu’s Haven.”

He had told me, “I’ll sleep with my door open. If you get scared, just call out to me. I’ll always respond immediately.”

He had called me his muse, his goddess. He had given me a signed copy of my favorite book.

And now, all of it was gone.

My books were gone from the shelf. My clothes were gone from the closet. On the bed, in a heap, were Guian’s things.

I turned to the trash can by the desk.

Inside, I saw it. A silver chain.

I pulled it out. It was the necklace he had given me for my 20th birthday, the one he said he designed himself. He called it “Seeking Her.”

“A thousand searches for you,” he had whispered, fastening it around my neck.

“There you are, amidst the fading lights.”

Underneath it was the signed book. And under that, torn in half, was the portrait he had painted of me.

My treasures. My life. My love. All of it, in the trash.

I sank to my knees, the cold metal of the necklace biting into my palm. He hadn’t just thrown me away. He had erased me.

I moved my few remaining belongings into the damp, windowless storage room in the basement. I sat on the cot, the smell of mildew and dust filling my lungs. I was a ghost in my own home.

Days passed. I was invisible. I ate alone, after everyone else had finished. I saw no one. I was healing, physically, but my heart was a cold, dead stone.

One afternoon, I came up to the kitchen for a glass of water. Linguan and Guian were in the entryway, about to go out.

“Brother Linguan, let’s go!” Guian said, pulling on his arm. She “accidentally” stumbled, falling dramatically into his chest.

“Ah!” she yelped, then looked at me, her eyes wide with fake fear.

“Sister Shushu, are you okay?”

I hadn’t moved. I was ten feet away.

“Brother Linguan,” she whispered, “how could you hit Sister Shushu? Even though she pushed me, it couldn’t have been intentional!”

I froze. What?

Linguan spun around, his face dark with rage.

“Jang Shu, apologize to Shissi.”

“I didn’t touch her,” I said, my voice dead.

“Apologize!” he roared.

“I’m not the one who should apologize.”

“Jang Shu, have you grown rebellious?” he snarled, striding toward me.

“You’re disobeying me now?”

“It’s impossible,” I said.

“You…” His hand came up.

SLAP.

The sound cracked through the silent house. My head snapped to the side, my cheek burning.

He had hit me.

After fifteen years, for a lie, for a woman he barely knew… he had hit me.

“Sister Shushu,” Guian cried, “you know Brother Linguan’s temper. Don’t antagonize him! Brother Linguan, don’t fight with her over me. If Aunt Shu finds out, she’ll scold you.”

“Jang Shu,” Linguan said, his voice low and threatening as he pointed a finger in my face, “now that you have my mother’s favor, you’re getting arrogant. Listen, the Shu family isn’t a place you can do as you please. Because of your mistake, Shissi got into a car accident. She didn’t blame you, and even defended you. If you act high and mighty, know when to stop. Don’t push your luck.”

I looked at him, really looked at him. The boy I loved was gone. This man was a monster.

“So,” I whispered, my cheek throbbing.

“This is how it feels when someone’s biased. Not caring what’s right.”

“Brother Linguan,” Guian sobbed, “you should go comfort Sister Shushu. Don’t stay angry. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. My existence made you unhappy. If I didn’t exist…”

“Shissi, this isn’t about you,” he said, turning to her, his voice instantly gentle.

“We spoiled Jang Shu. If not for you, I wouldn’t have seen her true colors.”

He turned back to me. “Jang Shu, aren’t you tired? Playing the innocent lamb for 15 years. How disgusting.”

“I am tired,” I said. My voice was suddenly clear. The shock was gone, replaced by a cold, sharp certainty. “Fine. I’ll go.”

“Huh? Jang Shu, the Shu family raised you for 15 years. Walk away so easily?” he mocked.

“Don’t worry,” I said, looking him straight in the eye.

“I’ll repay the Shu family with gratitude. But our bond… it ends with this slap. From now on, our debts are settled. No more debts.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.

“Exactly what it means.”

I turned and walked back down to the storage room. I had one small suitcase. It didn’t have clothes. It didn’t have jewels. It held the only things in the world that were truly mine.

When I came back up, Linguan and Guian were waiting.

“Fine,” Linguan sneered.

“I’ll let this matter drop. Leave your luggage. Auntie will clean your room later. Change your clothes. I’ll take you and Chenchen for hot pot.”

“Right, Sister Shushi,” Guian smiled.

“Hot pot fixes bad moods. Come with us.”

“No need,” I said, walking toward the door.

“Jang Shu, I’m giving you a way out,” Linguan’s voice turned hard.

“If you don’t take it, there won’t be another chance.”

I kept walking. I passed the hall closet. The housekeeper, Honu, was there, holding a black trash bag. Inside, I saw the glint of silver. My “Seeking Her” necklace.

“Honu, where are you taking those?” I asked.

“Young Miss,” she said, looking ashamed.

“Young Master told me to trash them.”

“What? Jang Shu, what are you doing?” Linguan yelled, stalking over.

“My gifts were precious! How dare you discard them?”

I just looked at him. “How much?” I asked.

“I’ll refund you.”

“You think I need your money?” he roared.

“I gave you those treasures, and you treat them like trash! Jang Shu, have you no heart?”

“Sister Shushu, how could you?” Guian chimed in.

“If I had such a brother to give me gifts, I’d treasure them forever.”

“If you like them,” I said, my voice ice, “take them.”

“Jang Shu, how did you get so heartless and ungrateful?” Linguan shouted.

“Fine! You want to cut ties completely? Leave everything I gave you. Including your clothes! Your shoes! Fine! I’ll give you everything!”

I stopped. Slowly, I took off the jacket. I dropped it at his feet. I took off my shoes.

“Can I leave now?” I asked, standing there in my socks.

“All right, Jang Shu,” he hissed.

“You’re eager to draw a line. Open the suitcase. Let me see if anything from the Shu family is inside.”

My blood ran cold.

“Shu Linguan. Everything in here has nothing to do with your family. Don’t push this too far.”

“Unless I see it myself, how would I know?” he sneered, grabbing the handle.

“She’s acting nervous. Did she steal from the family?”

“Let go,” I whispered, my voice trembling for the first time.

“Don’t touch it.”

“Linguan,” Guian whispered, “she’s so panicked. Did she take something she shouldn’t have?”

“Shut up!” I screamed.

“You claim you didn’t steal, yet you won’t show it,” Linguan taunted.

“I’m curious what treasure is hidden in this case. No? What’s the combination?”

“Stop! Don’t touch that! Give it back!”

“Won’t talk? Fine!” he yelled, grabbing a nearby golf club.

“I’ll smash it open!”

“DON’T!”

He brought the club down. The lock shattered. The suitcase burst open.

Two small, simple wooden urns fell out, hitting the marble floor and cracking open.

A cloud of gray ash and bone fragments scattered across the entryway.

The world went silent.

“Dad… Mom…” I whispered.

The air left my lungs. I fell to my knees, my hands shaking as I tried to scoop the ashes back.

“Dad… Mom… how… ashes…”

“Shushu,” Linguan said, his voice strange. He reached down.

“DON’t TOUCH IT!” I shrieked, slapping his hand away.

“Don’t you soil my parents’ ashes with your filthy hands!”

“Jang Shu, have you gone mad?” Guian cried out.

“Brother Linguan was trying to help! Besides, the Shu family raised you for 15 years. How could they mean less than these two urns of ashes? You’re heartless!”

Heartless.

I looked at the gray dust on my hands.

“Dad… Mom… your daughter is unfilial… I frightened you… I’ll take you home. I’ll take you all home…”

“Jang Shu,” Linguan said, his voice strained.

“I’ll give you one more chance. Admit your mistake. We’ll go home. I’ll forgive your reckless words.”

“Home?” I looked up at him, my eyes blurred with tears and dust.

“Let’s go home. What home? Jang Shu, wake up. You no longer have a home.”

“I… I shouldn’t have broken your parents’ ashes,” he stammered, “but it was an accident. Jang Shu, just admit you’re wrong. I’ll find them a burial plot. Let your parents rest in peace.”

“Mom… Dad… come home.” I continued to gather the ashes, my fingers scraping the cold floor.

“Jang Shu, you’re degrading yourself,” he said, his anger returning.

“Are you trying to win my pity?”

I stood up, clutching the broken urns to my chest.

“Don’t touch me,” I said, as he reached for me.

“Jang Shu, stop being unreasonable! Why can’t you be more like Shissi? Show some maturity!”

“Maturity?” I looked at him, at the woman smirking behind him, at the ashes of my parents on the floor.

“Shu Linguan, I wish I’d never met you. I wish I’d never been adopted by the Shu family.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

I took off the robe I was wearing over my thin clothes.

“From this moment on, our bond will be like this robe.” I tore it in two.

“Severed.”

“Severed?” he roared.

“Jang Shu, the Shu family cared for you for 15 years! Just because I accidentally broke your parents’ ashes, you want to cut all ties? You truly are heartless! Jang Shu, think carefully. If you step half a foot out this door today, there’ll be no turning back!”

He pointed at the door.

“Everyone listen! Jang Shu is no longer with the Shu family! The Shu residence gates will never welcome her again! Anyone who defies this is banished! Jang Shu, I’ll be waiting for your apology!”

I walked past him. I walked past her. I clutched my parents’ broken urns.

I opened the front door and stepped out into the cold air.

As the door slammed shut behind me, I heard Guian’s triumphant giggle.

“Jang Shu, you finally left. From now on, I’ll be the new mistress of the Shu family.”

I stood on the sidewalk, barefoot, clutching the ashes, with nowhere in the world to go.

And then, a fleet of black, shining cars pulled up to the curb.

A man in a sharp suit stepped out of the lead car and opened the back door.

“Young Miss,” he said, bowing deeply.

“We’re here to escort you.”

From the window, I saw Linguan’s and Guian’s faces, pale with shock.

“What a grand display,” Guian’s voice was small.

“Brother Lingchuan, could she be doing this to spite you? Renting an entire car fleet?”

“Let me see where this orphan can go,” Linguan muttered, but his voice was shaking. “She’ll crawl back. She’ll…”

I didn’t hear the rest. The door of the Rolls-Royce closed with a soft, expensive thud.

I was driven to a mansion, larger and more beautiful than any I had ever seen. A woman was waiting at the door, her face a portrait of elegance and kind eyes. She looked at me, at my bare feet, at the broken urns clutched in my hands, and her face crumpled in pain.

“My dear child,” she whispered, rushing forward and wrapping me in a warm embrace.

I stiffened. I wasn’t used to kindness. But she smelled… familiar. Like a mother’s warmth. I hadn’t realized I was crying until she gently wiped a tear from my cheek.

“Here, sweetie. Cry if you need to. From now on, no one will make my sweetie cry again.”

She guided me inside.

“Sweetie, your parents,” she said, her voice thick with emotion, “they were my dearest friends. When the accident happened, I… I couldn’t arrive in time. Now, will you give me this chance? To give them a proper burial?”

I could only nod, tears streaming down my face.

“Rest assured,” a man’s voice said. A younger, powerful man stood in the doorway.

“Since Sweetie has married into our Lu family, I’ll treat her as my own daughter. She’ll suffer no harm.”

“Go,” the woman said to an assistant.

“Find the most auspicious burial site. Bury the young madam’s parents with full honors.”

Young Madam?

“Sweetie, come home with auntie,” the woman said gently.

“Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out.”

I told her. Everything. The 15 years. The hospital. The oranges. The slap. The ashes.

When I finished, her face was terrifying.

“That Shu family!” she hissed.

“How dare they mistreat my Yin Yin!” (Yin Yin. My childhood name. I had forgotten.)

“The Jang family… they adopted my Yin Yin to claim the Jang family inheritance! I never confronted them, but I never imagined… Call Jinang immediately! That Shu Linguan can’t tell right from wrong! Without teaching him a lesson, I can’t swallow this humiliation!”

“Wait,” I said, grabbing her hand.

“Auntie… Aunt Shu… she did raise me for 15 years. She always treated me well… before. I’ve left. Let’s… let’s just forget the past. I just want no connection with Shu Linguan anymore.”

“Enough,” she sighed, softening.

“I respect your wishes.” She looked at my bruised cheek. “That bastard hit you this brutally. Absolute scum.”

“Madam,” an older nanny said.

“The young madam is timid. Be gentle.”

“Nanny,” the woman said, “do you remember? Our families were neighbors. We were so close. When your family… had that accident, I was overseas. By the time I rushed back, you had already been adopted by the Shus.”

“Aunt Lou,” I whispered.

“I remember. But… as an orphan, how could I…?”

“Dear, no matter what, now you’re marrying into our family. I promise, you will never suffer again,” she said.

“When you were little, you’d always pester Jinang, swearing to marry him when you grew up. That boy… he took it seriously. He’s waited all these years, keeping that promise.”

“Jinang?”

“Yes, Lu Jinang. My son. He’s on a business trip, returns tomorrow. But the wedding is all settled. Your wedding gown… he designed it himself.”

The next day, I was in a high-end bridal shop, surrounded by silk and lace.

“She’s so stunning,” one of the attendants whispered.

“Beautiful as a celestial being.”

“This gown… President Lu designed it for his wife. The measurements are so precise,” another said.

I looked in the mirror. A stranger looked back. A month ago, I was convinced I would marry Shu Linguan. Now… I was becoming someone else’s bride.

The bell on the shop door jangled violently.

“Jang Shu.”

I turned. Shu Linguan was standing there, his face a mask of disbelief and rage. Guian was right behind him, looking shocked.

“Who would have thought,” he sneered, “Jang Shu looks so stunning in a wedding dress. This gown suits you. If you like it, I’ll buy it for you. You can wear it at our wedding.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” the manager said, stepping forward.

“Our CEO designed this dress for his wife. It’s not for sale.”

“Did you hear that?” I said, my voice cold.

“Shu Linguan, we’ve severed all ties.”

“Haven’t you caused enough drama?” he snapped.

“That ‘severed ties’ nonsense… I took it as a child’s game. Come home with me now. I’ll forgive everything.”

“Linguan,” Guian whined, “she won’t go with you. Why bother? She doesn’t want you. Let’s get out of here.”

“Take your… Chenchen… and get out,” I said.

“Jang Shu,” he said, his voice dropping, “are you competing with Chenchen for my affection? Our 15-year bond… I hate to admit it, you’ve always been special to me.”

“Special? Like affection?” I asked, disgusted.

“How could you think that?” he stammered.

“Fine. Think whatever. Come home with me right now.”

“Miss,” the manager said to me, “should I call security?” To him, “Please leave the premises.”

“Did you hear that?” I said. “Leave.”

“Jang Shu! Enough!” he roared, grabbing my arm.

“Stop this act! You’ve achieved your goal. Come with me!”

“Let her go.”

A new voice, cold and powerful, cut through the room.

A man I had never seen before stood in the doorway. He was tall, impossibly handsome, and radiated an aura of absolute authority. His eyes… they looked so familiar.

“I’m sorry I was late,” he said to me, his voice softening. He gently removed Linguan’s hand from my arm.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Linguan,” he said, turning to him.

“He’s Lu Jinang. My husband.”

“Eldest Young Master Shu,” Lu Jinang said, his voice dropping to freezing.

“Coveting another’s wife isn’t a decent thing to do.”

“Another’s wife?” Linguan laughed.

“What do you mean? Jang Shu is the Shu family’s eldest daughter. She’s the acknowledged daughter-in-law. She will be my wife.”

“Your wife?” Lu Jinang raised an eyebrow.

“And this… ‘Miss Yu’… who is she to you?”

“She’s… my sister. This is a Shu family internal matter. It has nothing to do with you.”

“I can’t be bothered with your family matters,” Lu Jinang said.

“But Jang Shu agreed to marry into the Lu family. She will soon be Mrs. Lu. Harassing her in public… are you looking down on the Lu family?”

“Your Madame Lou is spouting nonsense!” Linguan yelled.

“If she were truly marrying you, how could I not know?”

“Didn’t the Shu family tell you?” Jinang smiled, a cold, dangerous smile.

“That Jang Shu and I are about to hold our wedding ceremony?”

At that exact moment, Linguan’s phone rang. He snatched it up.

“Mom… what? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”

He looked at me, his face pale.

“Jang Shu, are you still angry with me? Did you deliberately bring him for this… this charade… just to provoke me? It’s true… No! You promised to marry me! How could you break your promise? You… you…”

“Shu Linguan,” I said, “how do you manage to twist black and white? I’m not angry. Let’s go home? That’s impossible. Our paths have diverged. The Lu family is my choice. And my rightful place.”

“No, Shushu!” he begged, “I know you couldn’t be this heartless! You’re still upset!”

“Young Master Shu,” Jinang said, stepping in front of me.

“My wife has made herself clear. If you keep harassing her, don’t blame me for ignoring the Shu family’s reputation.”

“How could you do this?” Guian shrieked at me.

“He did this because he loves you! You can’t just abandon your family! The Shu family raised you for 15 years!”

“The Shu family’s upbringing, I will always remember,” I said.

“But what does that have to do with Shu Linguan?”

“You’re utterly heartless!” she spat.

“Master Lu, don’t be fooled! She’s deceptively cunning! She abandoned her childhood sweetheart for power and status! She’ll discard you, too! How can a gold digger like her ever deserve you?”

“Is that so?” Jinang asked, looking amused.

“Absolutely!” Guian insisted.

“I won’t,” I said, looking at Jinang.

“You heard it,” Jinang said, smiling at me.

“My wife said she wouldn’t. And if that day comes… if she abandons me for power… I’ll only blame myself. For not working hard enough to give her a better life.”

I stared at him. For the first time, someone had defended me.

“Shu Linguan,” I said, turning to him.

“Haven’t you said enough?”

“Get them out of here,” Jinang said to the security guards.

“Let me go! Don’t touch me!” Linguan yelled as he was dragged out.

“Jang Shu, except for the Shu family, no one will treat you this well! You’re digging your own grave! You’ll regret this!”

The door shut. The shop was quiet.

“Jang Shu,” Lu Jinang said, turning to me, his eyes serious.

“If you regret marrying me, it’s not too late to back out.”

“Mr. Lu,” I said, “I don’t know why you want to marry me. But I promise you, I won’t regret my decision. Are you… are you still willing to marry me?”

“I do,” he said, a small smile touching his lips.

In that moment, I knew. To have met him in this lifetime was my greatest fortune.

I learned later what happened after Linguan was thrown out of the shop. He went home, raging.

His mother, Aunt Shu, was waiting.

“Kneel down,” she commanded.

“Mom, what…?”

SLAP. She struck him, hard.

“How did I end up with such an unfilial son?” she wept.

“Auntie Shu, what did Linguan do wrong?” Guian cried, rushing to his side.

“This doesn’t concern you! Get lost!” Aunt Shu roared.

To Linguan: “Do you know what you did? The Lou family told me! When Shushu was here, you didn’t cherish her. Now she’s engaged, you make a scene! Don’t you deserve this?”

“Auntie,” Guian pleaded, “it’s Jang Shu’s fault! She’s a social climber! She heartlessly betrayed us!”

“Do you think the same way?” his mother asked him.

“Yes,” he spat.

“She’s marrying whoever she wants! How can our family save face?”

“Face?” his mother laughed, a terrible sound.

“If the Shu family goes bankrupt, would that be honorable? Bankruptcy, Mom? What’s going on?”

And so, she told him. The financing crisis. The billion-yuan hole.

“The Lou family stated,” she said, her voice trembling, “that if Shushu agrees to the arranged marriage, they’ll fund us. They’ll save the Shu family.”

“An arranged marriage? With… her?”

“You only have eyes for this shameless woman!” his mother screamed.

“How did I give birth to a son who’s both blind and foolish? You’ve mistaken a fisheye for a pearl!”

“An orphan,” he muttered.

“Why would the Lou family help us because of her?”

“Orphan? How dare you call her an orphan!” his mother cried.

“We adopted her, yes, but we also received the funding from her parents’ inheritance! Without that, the Shu family would still be a small-time business! We raised her, but it’s because of her that our family reached this level!”

She threw a suitcase at his feet.

“Open it.”

Inside was my diary. The one he had given me. He read it. He read about the lipstick. He read about his birthday cake, the one I made, the one he gave to Guian. He read about the portrait. He read fifteen years of my love, and his casual, brutal destruction of it.

“No,” he whispered.

“It’s fake. It has to be fake.”

“And this,” his mother said, holding up a phone.

“This arrived from Lu Jinang. It’s the car accident footage.”

He watched it.

He saw Guian behind the wheel. He heard her laugh.

“Doesn’t that feel thrilling?” He heard my scream.

“We’re going to die!”

He saw the crash. He saw Guian, with her “minor scrapes,” pull her phone out and call him.

“What stupid things have I done?” he whispered, his face ashen.

“Room 302… Room 303… they were just on the other side of the wall. I… I deserve to die. Guian… it’s all your fault.”

The next day, Linguan hosted a banquet. He invited Guian and her entire family.

“Brother Linguan,” she cooed, “thank you for this.”

“Today,” he announced to the crowd, “I’m here to announce something important.” He presented her with a glittering diamond crown.

“Do you want to wear it?”

“I do!” she giggled.

“Do you even deserve it?” he snarled, smashing the crown on the floor.

“I’d rather smash it than let trash like you benefit!”

He played the video. The car crash. For everyone to see.

“What… what nonsense…” Guian stammered.

“And this,” Linguan said, as police officers entered the hall.

“The Gu family… ‘Goose Food Co. Limited.’ Using rotten meat, spoiled meat… passing off inferior goods. You two, come with us.”

Her parents were arrested.

“Linguan,” Guian shrieked, “I know I was wrong! Please, spare my parents! It was all my fault!”

“You want me to spare them?” he said, his voice dead.

“Fine. Kneel before Jang Shu. Apologize to her. If she forgives you, I’ll help.”

“Apologize to her?”

“If you don’t agree, there’s no other way.”

So she ran. She ran from the banquet hall, straight to my wedding.

The Marriott Hotel. I was in the bridal suite. Aunt Shu, Linguan’s mother, was combing my hair.

“Shushu,” she said, her eyes wet.

“I’m sorry. Auntie found out too late. I let you endure so much.”

“Auntie, it’s all right,” I said, squeezing her hand.

“It’s all in the past.”

“I’ve always treated you as my own daughter,” she wept.

“I know. You’ve always been family to me.”

The music started. Lu Jinang, my husband, was waiting.

We walked down the aisle. We stood before the officiant.

“Through life and death, I make this vow with you…”

“STOP!”

Guian, disheveled and frantic, ran into the ballroom. She fell to her knees in front of me.

“Miss Jang! Miss Jang, I was wrong! I truly know my mistakes! I’ll kowtow! I beg you, show mercy! Save my parents! It was my shamelessness! I seduced Young Master Shu! I framed you! I lied! I’ll return Shu Linguan to you! Please, forgive me!”

I looked down at her.

“Are those crocodile tears? This no longer concerns me.” I turned to the guards.

“Take her away.”

“No! Miss Jang!”

“Sorry, Shushu,” Jinang whispered.

“I failed to handle this trash.”

“It’s fine,” I said.

“Let’s proceed.”

“JANG SHU! YOU CAN’T MARRY HIM!”

A second voice. Shu Linguan.

He ran in, pushing past the guards. He was holding something. The “Seeking Her” necklace.

“Jang Shu,” he panted, holding it out. ”

It’s yours. I retrieved it for you.”

I looked at him. The man I had loved for fifteen years.

“Linguan,” I said, my voice clear and carrying through the silent hall.

“Something you’ve given to others… why would I still want it?”

“You find it objectionable?” he said, desperate.

“It doesn’t matter! I’ll make you a new one! What I rejected… was never the object.”

“Today is my wedding day,” I said, turning to him, to the crowd.

“I’ll be clear. Linguan, I used to believe I’d marry you. But… it wasn’t Guian’s fault. Without her, there would have been a Jang Chen, or a Lien. Why do you always blame others?”

“You took advantage of my affection. My dependence. You thought I couldn’t live without the Shu family. You thought you were in control. But now, I’ve broken free. And you finally panic. You start regretting. But even now, you can’t reflect on yourself. You still blame her.”

“She has faults,” I said, “but she didn’t truly hurt me. The person who truly broke my heart… is you.”

“Stop talking!” he cried, falling to his knees.

“I was wrong! Scold me! Hit me! I can’t live without you! Just come back to me! I’ll do anything!”

“Stop deluding yourself, Shu Linguan,” I said. I took Lu Jinang’s hand.

“My husband is right behind me. From now on, for the rest of my life, he will be with me. I hope you never appear before me again. Stop interfering with my life.”

“Shushu… is there no room…?”

“See Young Master Shu out,” Jinang said.

The guards dragged him away, his cries echoing.

The wedding resumed.

“And now,” the emcee announced, “CEO Lu has a gift for Mrs. Lu. The Heart of the Ocean.”

A box was opened. A stunning blue diamond necklace.

“The Heart of the Ocean,” the emcee said, “symbolizes an irreplaceable love.”

I remembered, suddenly, Linguan complaining in my old room.

“Valentine’s Day… I wanted to bid for the Ocean’s Heart to give it to you… but someone anonymously bought it.”

I looked at Jinang. He smiled.

And then, I remembered.

A childhood memory. A boy with kind eyes.

“Eat your carrots.”

“Carry me.”

“Brother Jingchan, when I grow up, will you be my bride?”

“I’ll only be Brother Jinchan’s bride.”

I remembered.

“Brother Jinchan,” I whispered, my eyes filling with new tears.

“I remember now. Thank you… thank you for waiting for me all this time.”

He took my hand.

“Mrs. Lu,” he said, his voice full of a love I had waited a lifetime for.

“For the rest of our lives, let’s walk this path together.”