Chapter 1
The writing style is sometimes manic-I’ve already been sent to the little black room three times.
(Brain Storage)
Pure-love purists beware.
(Female leads: ex-girlfriend’s mother, Female Boss, landlord’s daughter, top movie star, idol singer, older female cousin, younger female cousin, queen of an island nation, etc…)
(Female supporting roles: ex-girlfriend’s best friend, high school homeroom teacher, idol singer, university professor, married neighbor, etc…)
Main Characters in the Early Stages
The story takes place on Blue Star in a parallel universe.
Daxia Country
Xiguan City
In a thirty-square-meter rental apartment, Wang Ming sat on the sofa and took another swig of forty-two-degree baijiu.
“Darling, please, just meet me once. I’ll come to you, okay?”
“Get lost! I told you not to call me again. If you keep this up, I’ll block you! We won’t even be friends anymore!”
“My boss is giving me a five hundred yuan raise next month. I can take you to Haidilao.”
“Stop making empty promises. Every time we meet, it’s seven times, and after every time, you just take me out for a ten-yuan big bowl of spicy hot pot! I’ve had enough!”
“Mengmeng… listen to me…”
“Listen to what? It’s been four years, if not three thousand times then at least over two thousand. I don’t owe you anything! Stop pestering me, you ultimate loser!”
“Fuck your mother!” Wang Ming, humiliated and angry, cursed out loud under the influence of alcohol.
A loser is a loser, but “ultimate loser”?
Zou Mengmeng hung up.
She had no idea that Wang Ming’s curse would become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When Wang Ming called Zou Mengmeng again, all he got was a busy signal.
He opened his social app and sent Zou Mengmeng a message: [See me one last time.]
A red exclamation mark stunned Wang Ming on the spot.
His girlfriend had blocked him.
Two lines of silent tears streamed down his cheeks.
After being dumped unilaterally for half a month, he had been crying silently for days.
“Zou Mengmeng! How could you do this to me!”
“What’s wrong with spicy hot pot! What’s wrong with seven times! You don’t know how lucky you are!”
“Ah!” Wang Ming slammed his fist on the table and took another big gulp of baijiu. The burning liquor and the pain in his heart made him cough violently. “Cough, cough…”
Wang Ming, who usually didn’t drink, had been drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day lately.
Half a month ago, his ex-girlfriend Zou Mengmeng broke up with him.
The two had just graduated from college six months ago, having dated since freshman year.
Wang Ming’s parents died young, and he grew up at his uncle’s house in the countryside. During college, he worked part-time to support himself, spending any spare money on Zou Mengmeng.
In the past six months of work, his monthly salary was four thousand. After rent and daily expenses, almost all the remaining money went to Zou Mengmeng.
There really wasn’t much left, but he had already tried his best to treat her well.
But his efforts couldn’t compare to someone else’s casual flirtation.
Having entered society, Zou Mengmeng saw through the rules of the game: money is king.
Others would take her to fancy restaurants and upscale entertainment venues at the drop of a hat. She was unwilling to marry someone as ordinary as Wang Ming.
She had the looks and the figure; if she could cry in a luxury car, she would never giggle foolishly on the back of a bicycle.
Besides, sitting in a luxury car didn’t necessarily mean she’d cry-maybe her future partner would be a real prince charming.
Wang Ming’s gaze fell on the keys on the table-Zou Mengmeng’s spare keys, which she had left and forgotten to take back.
He picked up the keys, his purpose clear: “If you won’t see me, then I’ll go see you!”
Fueled by alcohol, he went downstairs. His ex-girlfriend’s home was in the same city; during college, he commuted there every day.
Wang Ming pulled out his phone, called a ride, and set the destination-Jade Huating Area A.
Wang Ming’s mind was already hazy as he got into the ride-hailing car, his head filled with Zou Mengmeng’s resolute words from the past half month.
Scenes of their time together, those sweet memories, flashed before his eyes one after another.
The lights outside the car window sped by in a blur.
Yes, in today’s society where there are more cars than people, he still couldn’t afford to buy a car of his own. No wonder Zou Mengmeng looked down on him more and more.
He could only blame his humble origins, and the fact that his design major had now become a sunset industry, making it hard to find a job that matched his training.
When he arrived at Jade Huating Area A, Wang Ming staggered out of the car.
Jade Huating Area A was a mid-to-high-end residential complex with strict security.
Zou Mengmeng’s key had an access card.
Wang Ming entered the complex smoothly.
At midnight, the community was silent. The streetlights gave off a dim yellow glow, stretching his shadow long across the ground.
He tried hard to clear his head as he walked to Building 2, which had only one unit. After swiping his card, he walked straight into the lobby.
At the door of 1101, his fingers, clumsy from alcohol, struggled for a while before finally getting the key into the lock.
Opening the door, a familiar yet unfamiliar scent washed over him. The room was pitch black.
Wang Ming was becoming more and more confused, his steps unsteady. In the darkness, he stumbled, first bumping into the wall with a dull thud.
Then he banged into the corner of a table, but felt no pain, and continued to stagger toward the bedroom.
He opened a bedroom door, mumbling, “Zou Mengmeng, I’m trying so hard. Give me some time, and I’ll buy a car to take you for a drive.”
With that, Wang Ming collapsed onto the bed.
The woman on the bed was startled by his sudden movement and let out a scream, instinctively sitting up.
She realized the person who had flopped onto her was only holding her tightly, not doing anything further.
Assuming it was her daughter, drunk and in the wrong room, she still had her sleep mask on.
These days, the neighbors upstairs had started renovations early every morning, so she’d deliberately worn earplugs and hadn’t heard Wang Ming’s drunken words.
“Naughty girl, coming home so late. You must have had a lot to drink.”
The woman on the bed didn’t lift her eye mask, just muttered a gentle complaint, then fell back onto her pillow, ready to sleep again.
Wang Ming’s arm was around her waist, his breathing heavy with drink, his alcoholic breath warm against the nape of her neck.
The woman simply lay with her back to Wang Ming, as his arm tightened around her, his consciousness fading further and further.
He fought the pull of sleep, and in his last moment of clarity, kissed the back of her neck.
“Broke up, huh? No one to kiss, no one to hug… sigh…” the woman grumbled.
She’d been woken suddenly from deep sleep, her mind still fuzzy, so she didn’t sense anything amiss. She just sighed quietly to herself, letting her “daughter” hug her waist.
The woman’s scent was clearly different from Zou Mengmeng’s, but Wang Ming was so drunk he didn’t even notice.
He started snoring first, and the woman’s earplugs were so effective she could only faintly hear his heavy breathing.
And so the two of them fell asleep like that.
The sun rose, its light streaming through white gauzy curtains.
Today, there was no sound of jackhammers from upstairs; it was exceptionally quiet.
It wasn’t until nearly nine o’clock that the woman slowly woke.
“Girl, get up now.”
She touched the arm draped across her. This hand… seemed a bit big.
Why does her “daughter” feel… not quite right?
She reached a hand behind her.
Ah! Something’s wrong!
This… this is…