Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Miss Cheng Dongdong and Mr. Liang Jiao are a match made in heaven, living in perfect harmony. Let us take a look at the precious moments of their journey together.”

The master of ceremonies spoke slowly, while Liang Jiao held my hand in a tight grip.

His handsome features were filled with anticipation. Usually stern and stoic, his brows were now raised in a vibrant, triumphant smile.

He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “Cheng Dongdong, we have beautiful memories together, too.”

Beautiful memories?

Was he referring to the time he held my head underwater in a tank for five minutes, or the time he locked me in a cage?

After Liang Jiao fell in love with me, he ruined the families of anyone who had ever watched my performances.

He said that with him around, no one in all of Shangcheng would dare say a single word against me.

I glanced at the celebrities and wealthy socialites in attendance. Everyone had a congratulatory smile plastered on their faces, yet mockery flickered in their eyes.

How ridiculous.

Liang Jiao, the top young master of Shangcheng, was marrying a plaything who had once been locked in a cage for people’s amusement.

As the slow strains of “Love Story” began to play, Liang Jiao looked up at the screen expectantly.

Suddenly, jarring electronic music blared. What should have been our wedding photos was replaced by a video of me being abused.

In the video, my voice was hoarse from crying.

The picture was clear and the audio was loud. I really had Liang Jiao to thank for that.

After all, he was the one who recorded it himself.

The moment the video appeared, Liang Jiao’s eyes turned bloodshot. He looked like a maddened beast.

He grabbed a chair and slammed it violently into the large screen. Like a madman, he struck it again and again until the screen was smashed to pieces.

Standing on the stage, I laughed until tears streamed down my face.

I said, “Happy wedding day, Liang Jiao. This is my wedding gift to you. Do you like it?”

I clutched my stomach, laughing so hard it nearly hurt.

Not a single person in the audience dared to whisper.

Every member of Shangcheng’s elite circles knew exactly how filthy and wretched I was.

But not one of them dared to laugh at me.

Liang Jiao was trying to make amends, but I could never forget.

On my twenty-second birthday, the curtains of the cage were pulled back. I was huddled inside, having been starved for three days.

They threw a live chicken in with me.

How loudly they laughed back then. And now? Why aren’t they laughing anymore?

I was never good at school; I was a bit slow. The year of the college entrance exams, I only got into a vocational college, while my younger sister got into a top-tier university.

As fate would have it, my father crashed his motorcycle while carrying my mother, and they both died.

I patted my head and told my sister, “Sis, you go to university. I’ll support you.”

My sister cried and said she wanted to go work in a factory with me, but I scolded her harshly.

I still remember that summer in our rented room. My sister swore to me that she would make something of herself and make my sacrifice worth it.

Her tuition was three thousand yuan, plus another thousand for living expenses.

So I went to work. I took any job I could find. At first, I had no experience, so I only knew how to wait tables and wash dishes.

I didn’t earn much, so I lived frugally to save every cent for her.

Actually, eating instant noodles isn’t the cheapest way to live. Do you know what is?

It’s dried noodles. I could live off a seven-yuan pack of dried noodles for a whole week.

I’d boil the noodles and add a few drops of vinegar. While I was eating happily, my sister would call and ask, “Sis, what are you eating?”

I’d hold the video call close to my face and smile. “I’m eating Wallace! The burgers are delicious. You should buy some too!”

Wallace-where you could get three burgers for ten yuan-was a luxury for my sister and me.

When I graduated high school, I stood in front of a Wallace and paced around three times, but I couldn’t bring myself to spend the money to buy her anything.

My sister did me proud. She worked hard at university. Once, I carried bags of snacks to visit her at school. I found her in the cafeteria drinking the free soup, breaking a steamed bun into small pieces to soak in it.

My tears started falling instantly. I walked over and ordered her a plate of chicken cutlet rice.

The chicken cutlet rice cost twelve yuan, and my sister insisted she couldn’t finish it.

How could she not finish it?

The cutlet wasn’t even as big as her palm. We shared it, taking one bite each.

Later, I realized I couldn’t go on like that; I was earning too little.

I didn’t have a degree, so I thought about becoming a delivery rider. It was hard, exhausting work, but the pay was better.

Just as I started earning more, something happened to my sister.