Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Using my looks and the persona I had invented, I met one quality blind date after another-until I met Lu Mingyu.

Lu Mingyu fit my requirements perfectly.

His father was a leader at his workplace, his mother was a homemaker, and he himself was a doctor. His family was well-off, his job was stable, and his genes were excellent.

Under normal circumstances, I never would have been good enough for him.

So I used abnormal methods.

I went through Lu Mingyu’s requirements for a partner one by one and tailored myself to them.

Being young and pretty were the only two things I already had.

As for the rest…

He wanted fair skin, so I became nocturnal and refused to let the sun touch me. He wanted someone who could cook well, so I spent two all-nighters at an internet café, learning city dishes and Western food from videos. He wanted a college degree, so I got a fake diploma and pretended to let him see it by accident. A blind date wasn’t a job interview; he wouldn’t actually check online.

His final requirement was a family background equal to his.

On that point, I chose honesty.

Or rather, honesty that was half true and half false.

After all, family background was something that could never be hidden forever.

Sure enough, he hesitated. Although he kept seeing me, his enthusiasm visibly cooled.

I didn’t cling to him. I took the initiative to break things off, then changed my number and disappeared for a full month. In his memory, I left behind the image of a strong little white flower, unstained by the mud it had grown from.

On his birthday, Lu Mingyu and I “ran into each other” by the lake. He hugged me in surprise, as if he had recovered a treasure he thought he’d lost.

At the final moment, when passion was about to consume us both, I pushed him away and sobbed that his family would never agree, so we should just forget it.

Lu Mingyu’s eyes were bloodshot as he growled, “I love you! I love you for who you are, not your family! Even if you were a beggar, I’d still love you!”

That night, when Lu Mingyu took me again and again, I felt neither shame nor grievance.

All I felt was relief.

Thank goodness I was as dark as I was.

At least I still had value.

Back in my hometown, on the classroom podium, our village teacher had taught us the principles of being a decent person in his clumsy Mandarin. He said you reap what you sow, that we had to be honest and upright, that we had to be honorable people living in the sunlight.

But without darkness, where would light come from?

In the deepest parts of the sea, where not a single ray of light reaches,

there are still creatures fighting with all their might to live.

I carried the watermelon and groceries through the door.

The moment my mother-in-law saw me, she called out in concern, “Lin Xiao, you can’t carry heavy things with that hand. Put them down, hurry.”

Ningning had just been happily handing a piece of candy to her grandmother. When she heard that, she quickly came over and crouched down, blowing on my hand again and again. Her voice was soft and full of guilt. “Mommy, I forgot your hand was hurt. Mommy, does it hurt? When Ningning grows up, I’ll be able to help you!”

I stroked Ningning’s little head, my heart calm and peaceful.

Ever since she was little, Ningning had been sweet and well-behaved.

Because of her, I often found myself loving this world a little more.

My mother-in-law watched the tender scene between mother and daughter, her eyes reddening. “It was all my fault back then. I was too impulsive. If I’d known what a good daughter-in-law you were, I would’ve been too late even if I’d sent an eight-carried bridal sedan to welcome you…”

I smiled. “Mom, that’s all in the past.”

I had no intention of telling my mother-in-law about Lu Mingyu’s affair.

Four years ago, my father-in-law was discovered to have been cheating for years with my mother-in-law’s best friend. His illegitimate son was only three years younger than Lu Mingyu. After my father-in-law insisted on a divorce, my mother-in-law fell seriously ill. From then on, she hated cheating men to the bone.

If she found out that the son she was so proud of had followed in his father’s footsteps, and that the woman he was cheating with was about her age, she probably wouldn’t be able to withstand the blow.

As for me…

Lies in exchange for lies. It was fair.

I had never been one of heaven’s favored children.

Everything I had now was merely something I had seized by force.

But in the years after my marriage,

I could honestly say I had been a considerate wife, a dutiful daughter-in-law, and a gentle mother.

I had wronged no one.

Myself included.

I studied accounting through an open university, got certified, and used my father-in-law’s connections to get into an engineering company as a part-time accountant. I only had to be in the office a few days each month, and my salary was 8,000.

When my parents tried to make my younger brother and sister drop out of school, I threw money at the problem and opposed them, taking on all their high school and college expenses myself.

My daughter, Ningning, had grown up healthy, adorable, confident, and generous-nothing like me as a child.

No matter what, I had achieved what I wanted.

Naturally, I had to accept the price as well.

Still, when it came to playing a bad hand, I had gained some experience.

I knew that sometimes you had to go for a risky win, sometimes you had to fold voluntarily.

And sometimes, you had to wait quietly.

That night,

when Lu Mingyu slid his hand under my clothes again, I pushed him away. “My period came.”

He thought for a moment. “Isn’t it still ten days away?”

“Maybe the cold medicine messed up my cycle a little.”

He frowned for a few seconds, then pressed me downward. “Then help me.”

I covered my mouth and broke into a violent coughing fit.

“Let’s not, honey. You’re so busy with work. It would be bad if I infected you.”

He panted a few times, then had no choice but to get up and take a shower.