In terms of looks, Sang Wan was the radiant campus belle, Lou Ye the aloof campus heartthrob—either of them could have been crowned president of the “Beauty Association.”
But by the time Lou Ye rose to fame, Sang Wan’s glory days as the belle were already behind her. That year, the reigning belle was a fair-skinned, long-legged beauty from the Foreign Languages Department.
Academically, Sang Wan was No. 1 in the Architecture Department. Lou Ye, however, also held the top spot—and rumor had it he carried a golden résumé from a prestigious overseas architecture school.
As for family background, the Sang family… best not to mention. Even marrying Lu Jinnian had been considered “marrying up” for Sang Wan; the Lou family was on an entirely different level.
But love isn’t like buying vegetables at the market—you can’t just weigh all the conditions on a scale to see if they match.
“I don’t care…” Xu Yiyi hugged Sang Wan tightly, patting her back. “In my heart, you’re the best—you’re worthy of the King of Heaven himself!”
Sang Wan’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Then… are you willing to take me in?”
Xu Yiyi: !!!
This sentiment was impossible to deflect.
Xu Yiyi’s faculty dorm was a one-bedroom layout, with a 1.5-meter bed just big enough for two. After showering, they lay down together—it was already past ten.
In the darkness, Xu Yiyi clutched Sang Wan’s arm and breathed softly. “It feels like I’ve gone back to those days… it’s wonderful.”
Back then, Sang Wan had been the cool, breathtaking campus belle and top student. Xu Yiyi, by contrast, was the rustic ugly duckling whose countryside-accented English once made the whole lecture hall laugh.
One shone dazzlingly bright. The other was painfully provincial.
The boys said she smelled like a pigsty; the girls mocked her for being hopelessly unfashionable. No one paid her any attention—except Sang Wan.
Sang Wan never minded her imperfect Mandarin, nor her patched-up old clothes. In the mornings at the pavilion, Sang Wan drilled her pronunciation, phoneme by phoneme, word by word. At night in the library, Sang Wan taught her how to use a computer, how to write applications for hardship aid and work-study programs. Her very first mobile phone was bought with money she had saved from work-study; Sang Wan helped her pick it out on Xianyu, and even accompanied her to the service hall to get a SIM card.
Everyone else was waiting for a spectacle—for the day she’d be humiliated, for the moment Sang Wan would trample her and laugh mercilessly. But the scene everyone had been waiting for never happened. She watched with her own eyes as Sang Wan grew more and more outstanding. And she herself, step by step, transformed from a rustic girl with a thick village accent into someone who spoke fluent English with a polished British lilt. After her public lectures, even the university leaders asked if she had studied abroad in the UK.
Who would have imagined that she had once walked out of a tiny mountain village carrying nothing but a striped nylon bag? Her achievements today owed more than half to Sang Wan.
“Darling, out with the old, in with the new…” Half-asleep, Xu Yiyi murmured drowsily, “You’re so good—your future will only get better!”
It surely would.
Though Sang Wan’s heart was full of uncertainty, unsure how to take the first step, she firmly believed she would only rise higher.
If she wasn’t afraid of death, what difficulty in this world could possibly defeat her? She was a distinguished graduate of the Architecture Department at Imperial University. She also had a year of work experience at the Lu Corporation. Though it was little, and though she had spent six years as a full-time homemaker, her expectations weren’t high. Finding a job as an architectural assistant shouldn’t be too difficult.
Even if the salary was modest, at least she could support herself.
First, find a job. Then rent an apartment. Life would get better, step by step.
With a rough plan in mind, Sang Wan tucked the quilt around Xu Yiyi, turned over, and closed her eyes.
Buzz. Her phone vibrated under the pillow.
Sang Wan pulled it out—Lou Ye had sent a WeChat message.
[Senior Sister, thank you for your gift!]
She stared at the message for several seconds, torn between replying and staying silent. In the end, she surrendered to the weight of those 19,999 yuan cufflinks. At that price, they probably weren’t even worthy of a place in Lou Ye’s wardrobe. And besides—he had already called off the engagement.
And the receipt was still in her hand.
If he refused, she could always take it back for a refund—the clerk might even agree. What if…?
Glancing at Xu Yiyi, already fast asleep, Sang Wan lowered her phone’s brightness and typed a reply to Lou Ye on WeChat.
[I saw the news—your engagement was canceled?]
[Mm.]
Mm? What was that supposed to mean?
Unable to bring herself to shamelessly demand the gift back, Sang Wan tried to be as tactful as possible: [Then, when you get engaged next time, I’ll send you a new gift!]
Surely he would understand what she meant.
Her phone lit up again.
Lou Ye’s new message: [I really like the gift, thank you, Senior Sister! I’ll treat you to dinner another day.]
???
So… that meant he had accepted it?
The screen dimmed, then went dark. Only then did Sang Wan come back to herself. Her heart ached, her wallet ached—she regretted it all over again. If only she had chosen something less expensive at noon.
Serves you right! That’s what you get for pretending to be rich when you’re not.
Fuming, Sang Wan finally drifted into sleep.
Meanwhile, after waiting in vain for her reply, someone leaned over to peek at Lou Ye’s phone. He abruptly locked the screen and stood up.
“You guys have fun—I’m heading out.”
“Come on, Young Master Lou, you just got here…”
“This party was thrown especially to celebrate your return to singlehood—how can the guest of honor leave already?”
“Young Master Lou isn’t sneaking off to meet some beauty, is he?”
“Bro, what kind of stunning goddess could make you dump Miss Shao? Next time, bring her out so we can pay our respects to our future sister-in-law!”
“Get lost!”
Their laughter and teasing were cut off as the door closed. Lou Ye cursed with a smile and turned to leave. He had barely taken a few steps when he suddenly froze. Looking back, he saw Lu Jinnian in the private room, surrounded by a few loud friends.
“Bro, is it true your wife’s divorcing you?”
“Divorce? Ha…” Lu Jinnian leaned back on the sofa, his expression utterly unconcerned. “It’s just because I’ve been too busy with work lately and haven’t paid her much attention… Women, what woman doesn’t make a fuss?”
No career. No property. After years of living in luxury as Mrs. Lu, Sang Wan was completely out of touch with society. Without him, what could she possibly do?
“Just wait and see…” Swirling the whiskey in his glass, eyes fixed on the amber liquid, Lu Jinnian chuckled. “Once she burns through that little bit of money, she’ll come crawling back.”
“Women—you can’t spoil them!”
“Exactly. She’s had it easy all these years, sheltered from wind and sun, living in comfort. And now she wants to stir up trouble?”
“I bet she won’t last three days before coming back. After being Mrs. Lu for so long, how could she possibly endure the hardships outside?”
“And don’t forget—there’s the child…”
Fury surged in Lou Ye as his hand tightened on the doorknob—until he heard them mention Lu Xiaomu. His anger faltered.
Thinking of Xiaomu. Thinking of the so-called ‘cooling-off period.’
Lou Ye abruptly released the handle and turned toward the bar. “Send two bottles of Lafite to Room 4. And raise their bill by forty percent tonight.”
The Ferrari roared down the street as Lou Ye entered his office. On the desk sat a palm-sized black gift box. Inside, the obsidian cufflinks gleamed under the bright desk lamp, deep and mesmerizing.
His expression softened slightly. In his ears echoed Lu Jinnian’s dismissive words: she’ll come crawling back.
In his mind lingered the gentle image of Sang Wan standing before the shop window, carefully choosing a gift.
Lou Ye dialed a number. “Deliver an invitation to the bidding conference for the East City plot to Lu Corporation—have Director Qin send it personally.”