Lin Shu sat on the edge of the bed, gripping her phone until it grew warm in her hand. The screen had gone dark long ago, but she was still staring blankly.
All these years, she had cared for her daughter in every way, afraid she might be cold, hot, hungry, or bored.
After Zhou Shuang was born, Lin Shu had wanted to give her the very best of everything in the world.
She knitted little clothes and hats for Zhou Shuang, imagining what she would be like when she grew up. She spoiled Zhou Shuang like a little princess, wishing she could pluck the stars from the sky and give them to her.
The only thing she had been strict about was keeping a close watch on Zhou Shuang’s diet and health.
Zhou Shuang had been born with anemia and was allergic to longan and eggs. She also loved sweets, so Lin Shu wouldn’t let her eat too many, afraid she would become overweight or get cavities.
She kept a close eye on Zhou Shuang’s studies and made sure she practiced the violin and drawing.
She had been just as strict with Zhou Shuang as Lin Shu’s own society-matron mother had once been with her.
But she hadn’t known that Zhou Shuang didn’t like it.
It had taken less than a month for Wen Xin to win Zhou Shuang over.
Wen Xin never made her do her homework and let her eat and drink whatever she wanted.
Little Zhou Shuang had gained five pounds in just half a month. Once, she ate eggs at Wen Xin’s—not just one, either—and went into shock after she got home, scaring Lin Shu half to death.
By the time Lin Shu realized she wanted to bring Zhou Shuang back, it was already too late.
Wen Xin had a firm hold on Zhou Shuang’s heart, just as she did on Zhou Yanli’s.
They both hated Lin Shu.
Everything she had done for them was nothing more than a one-sided fantasy, an exercise in making herself feel good.
Her phone screen lit up. The photo on the lock screen had changed from the picture of the three of them together to one of Lin Shu and her mother.
Ms. Lin Yuerong had been born into one of Haicheng’s prominent families. Gentle, virtuous, and never one to fight with anyone, she had nevertheless married Lin Shu’s father—a man as callous as Zhou Yanli.
Lin Shu remembered her mother’s gentleness. She had also seen the despair in her mother’s eyes as she lay dying.
“Lin Shu, a devoted wife and loving mother never gets a happy ending. I’m proof of that.”
And yet Lin Shu still loved her mother’s quiet gentleness.
Her mother had silently supported Lin Shu’s father, a man who had climbed his way up from humble beginnings, until he rose to prominence. In the end, he kept another woman on the side and drove Lin Shu’s mother to her death.
Lin Shu had been young, but throughout her parents’ marriage, although her mother had been strict with her, and that woman had even tried to buy her off, Lin Shu had never given in or accepted her.
Unlike Zhou Shuang, who had cast her aside completely.
Thinking of her daughter, Lin Shu found herself in tears without even realizing it.
“Lin Shu, we need to talk—”
The voice from the doorway interrupted her self-pity.
The man leaned against the door, his expensive suit draped over one arm. A cigarette was held between the fingers of his right hand, unlit.
Zhou Yanli rarely smoked at home, but today he was especially troubled.
Lin Shu’s gaze passed over him. Without a word, she switched off the bedside lamp. Darkness briefly swallowed the room, and her voice seemed to drift from somewhere far away, impossible to grasp.
“Zhou Yanli, don’t waste your time. Go placate your mistress while you can. Don’t come here and—”
Her voice faltered. She forced the last three words through clenched teeth.
“—disturb me.”
Zhou Yanli wasn’t driven back by her coldness. Instead, he walked farther into the room.
Lin Shu simply buried her head beneath the covers and wrapped herself up tightly.
The soft mattress sank a little as Zhou Yanli sat down.
“Lin Shu, let’s not get divorced.”
Even hidden beneath the covers, Lin Shu could hear the hoarseness in Zhou Yanli’s voice. He sounded almost as though he were begging.
For a moment, she nearly thought she’d imagined it.
Zhou Yanli had ignored her for Wen Xin, and now that things had come to this, he was the one who didn’t want a divorce.
How ridiculous. It was absurd.
She stayed curled beneath the covers, unmoved. Any woman hearing her unfaithful husband say something like that would probably find it laughable.
Had he gotten things backwards, or was this— another trap the Zhou family had set for her?
Zhou Yanli waited a long time, but Lin Shu didn’t answer. He seemed to be talking to himself.
“We’ve been married for so many years, and we have a child. Lin Shu, do you remember? Just last month, we were talking about giving Shuangshuang a little brother, so we’d have the character for ‘good fortune’ complete. Then our life would be perfect.”
Zhou Yanli seemed so moved as he spoke that his eyes appeared to glisten.
“Complete the character for ‘good fortune,’ and then when the ‘son’ part grows up, you can hand him straight over to Wen Xin?”
Lin Shu couldn’t hold back any longer. The cold air that rushed in when she threw off the covers made her shiver. Zhou Yanli wasn’t about to miss a chance to get close to her. He leaned in, pulled her into his arms, and refused to let go.
Every muscle in Lin Shu’s body tensed.
“Zhou Yanli, don’t touch me with hands that have touched another woman.”
Light reflected off the snow outside and fell across Lin Shu’s face, emphasizing a coldness and resolve that felt like a hole punched straight through Zhou Yanli’s heart.
They struggled against each other: he tried to pull her close, while she fought to get away.
They remained locked in place, neither willing to give in.
“Lin Shu, be reasonable.”
His low voice held a trace of irritation. Lin Shu ignored his mood, the mocking curve of her lips growing sharper.
“Reasonable? Since when did President Zhou start trying to reason with me instead of telling me I was annoying?”
A week ago, she had asked him if he remembered that he had a wife waiting for him. He had called her boring and hung up on her.
And now he was back, telling her to be reasonable.
“For Wen Xin, you gave her everything I cherished most. The Old Master was willing to give up his chance at treatment to save her. Even Shuangshuang could do without me, her own mother. Zhou Yanli, you want me to be reasonable? The greatest lesson your family has taught me is that you should sacrifice others for your own sake—and that people bring their misfortunes on themselves.”
Lin Shu trembled in Zhou Yanli’s arms. She tried desperately to hold back her emotions, unwilling to let this coldhearted man see her weakness. But she still couldn’t help it—
Six years. Even if she’d been a dog the Zhou family kept, they should have grown a little attached to her by now. But Zhou Yanli hadn’t.
He had given Wen Xin all his love, taken even Lin Shu’s child from her—what affection could there possibly be?
Lin Shu’s face was deathly pale as she stared straight at Zhou Yanli.
“Did you ever love me, Zhou Yanli? I only want one answer. Did you ever love me?”
Even for a single day.
Zhou Yanli’s expression shifted ever so slightly. Even in the darkness, Lin Shu didn’t miss his subtle reaction.
Hesitation meant he didn’t love her.
There was not a trace of life in her dark eyes. She had accepted it.
Whether he loved her or not no longer mattered.
“Zhou Yanli, go. Go be with Wen Xin. I won’t call you again, and I won’t ask you to come home.”
Zhou Yanli held her cold hand and refused to let go.
After a long while, he began gently stroking her face.
“I’ll get you a glass of milk. It’ll help you sleep.”
His voice was low and gentle.
The moment he let go of Lin Shu, he felt as though the whole world had gone empty.
“Zhou Yanli, let’s divorce. Then we can both be free.”