Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Chen Ming and I took the college entrance exams, we both ranked in the top ten of our respective cities. After getting into a top-tier law school, our grades remained among the best in our class.

Naturally, we assumed our child would inherit our intelligence.

At first, our son didn’t disappoint. He started talking at ten months old; by age one, he was walking and speaking English. No matter what it was, he hit his milestones faster than other children his age.

We truly believed we had given birth to a genius.

That was until he turned two. He began to grow quiet, eventually stopping altogether-he wouldn’t even call us ‘Mama’ or ‘Papa’ anymore.

When we went out to play, he no longer joined the other children. Instead, he would sit silently by himself, staring fixatedly at the spinning wheels of passing cars.

Chen Ming and I took him to every hospital imaginable, both at home and abroad, before finally accepting our fate:

Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Specifically, what is commonly known as regressive autism.

Chen Ming and I had lived charmed lives until then, but having this child dealt us a devastating blow.

For the sake of our son, I was forced to quit my job at the law firm to become a full-time mother.

My life plummeted from the courtroom into the classrooms of rehabilitation centers.

Every day, I woke up to a child I couldn’t communicate with and an endless cycle of intervention therapy exercises.

The way people addressed me changed, too-I went from being ‘Attorney Zhang’ to ‘Chen Zhiye’s mom.’

Meanwhile, under the weight of financial pressure, Chen Ming went from being a relaxed university professor to a full-time lawyer who was constantly on the move.

As a man, his career was a resounding success.

Leveraging his exceptional talent and extensive network, it took Chen Ming only three years to become a partner at his firm.

During those years, I watched him leave for work every day. I watched him practice the profession I loved, easily achieving the lifelong dreams I had once held for myself.

And I was left behind in an empty house, guarding a child who didn’t even recognize his own mother.

Gradually, love curdled into envy, jealousy, and eventually, hate.

When our son was first diagnosed, we comforted each other, vowing to face the hardships together.

But later, we began to look for someone to blame.

His grandfather had suffered from Alzheimer’s in his later years, so I became convinced that our son’s condition was a result of his family’s genes.

Chen Ming would just stare at me coldly and say, “Zhang Yue, you’re acting more like a lunatic than anyone else right now.”

It took less than a year for us to go from having a rift to a total breakdown of our relationship.

When Chen Ming and I turned our ‘art of debating’-honed to perfection in our careers-against each other, those vows of shared struggle turned into piercing sarcasm.

That was why, from the moment I was reborn, I made a silent vow:

In this life, I will not be a wife or a mother. I will only fulfill my own dreams.

Following the familiar path of my past life, I studied abroad, completed my internships, and returned to the country with an even more impressive academic record and resume.

Upon my return, although I didn’t join a Red Circle Firm, I secured a position as Legal Counsel at an elite law firm.

Chen Ming, however, took a completely different path-one that read like the plot of a power-fantasy novel.

After graduating from university, he started his own business.

By the time he was thirty-three, his company had become a ‘super unicorn.’

He had completely transcended his original social circle.

Everyone thought he was just lucky, that he had simply caught the right trend at the right time.

Only I knew the truth: he had used his experience from our previous life to seize every opportunity with surgical precision.

Besides, when a man is free from the entanglements of a family, he is often better able to focus entirely on his career.

Since Chen Ming never showed up to our annual class reunions, our former classmates gossiped incessantly.

“He’s a tech mogul now, why would he still care about us?”

“It really is unexpected, though. Wasn’t Chen Ming quite the idealist back in school? I remember him wanting to go into academia.”

“That’s right. He was a famous bookworm. Back in university, he practically read every single legal tome in the library.”

“Yeah, Chen Ming used to have such lofty pursuits. He was the quintessential brilliant, noble scholar.”

“We were in the same dorm, and we used to joke that he was too refined for this world, but I never expected the guy to become so money-obsessed after graduation.”

“When he first started his business, he actually borrowed money from me. I was floored.”

“Chen Ming? Borrowing money? Starting a business? How is that even possible!”

“No, to be precise, he started changing back in junior year. Did you guys all forget?”

“In our senior year, he even went to do an internship at a corporation.”

“Right! Wasn’t he originally planning to go abroad for further studies?”

…

At that moment, over a dozen pairs of eyes at the table turned toward me simultaneously.

I sneered inwardly: *I’ve been reborn-who would ever think they have too much money?*

Zhou Kexing was the second speaker on the Debate Team back then. He furrowed his brows, which were naturally shaped like the character for ‘distress,’ and asked me:

“Zhang Yue, back when we were doing competitions, why did you two actually have a falling out?

Did you hurt Chen Ming so deeply that his entire personality changed?”

I gave a bitter, awkward smile.

“I’m being framed! He and I really were just friends!”

The crowd hissed in disbelief.

Zhou Kexing let out a cold laugh.

“Oh, then your definition of ‘friend’ is pretty loose.

I certainly wouldn’t spend the night at a small motel outside campus with a ‘friend’ on Qixi Festival.

And my ‘friend’ wouldn’t sit in the dorm staring at my photo and giggling like an idiot!”

A chorus of clicks and whistles filled the private room.

Today was both a class reunion and a welcome-home party for me, as I had just returned to the country.

In my previous life, Chen Ming and I were twenty-eight when we returned to China after finishing our doctorates; getting married and having children happened in one smooth motion.

But this time, I stayed abroad until I was thirty-three before coming back, making me an ‘old leftover woman’ by society’s standards.

It was a rare gathering for old friends, and everyone was more than happy to stir up drama.

Someone teased, “Hey, Zhang Yue, tell us the truth. Do you regret missing out on a blue-chip stock like Chen Ming?

I heard he’s about to marry a popular actress now.”

Everyone watched me with suppressed, mischievous grins.

Given the atmosphere, if I kept denying it, they would only get more worked up.

So, I had no choice but to pour myself a drink, downing it as a self-imposed penalty, and raised both hands in a plea for mercy.

“I regret it! I regret it so much!

If I had known he’d be this rich, I definitely would have stuck with him!

If that were the case, if you guys wanted to get dinner with me now, you’d have to make an appointment with our butler first:

‘Excuse me, is Mrs. Chen available?’

And then I’d have to go ask Chen Ming for permission: ‘Hubby, they want to…'”

As I was speaking, the room suddenly went silent.

Following everyone’s stunned gazes, I turned my head and saw Chen Ming standing at the door in a sharp suit.

No bodyguards, no assistants-just him, alone.

I quickly snapped my half-open mouth shut.

Having not seen him for eleven years, this man had not only become mature and steady, but his physique had improved as well.

His once thin frame was now robust and upright.

I remembered that he used to hate any kind of exercise that didn’t take place in bed.

Every time he accompanied me to the track for a run, he’d only do one lap before slacking off to read a book.

Money really is the best way to maintain one’s appearance!

Since he had never shown up to the annual reunions, Zhou Kexing and the others hadn’t even bothered to message him this year.

Thus, his sudden appearance took everyone by surprise.

Though the situation was awkward, in this life, he and I were merely former classmates.

For eleven years, we had tacitly bowed out of each other’s lives, having no intersection whatsoever.

He likely didn’t even remember who I was anymore, so I quickly regained my composure.

I stood up and greeted him as if nothing were wrong.

“Oh, CEO Chen! What a surprise. Please, have a seat!”

Chen Ming gave me a polite nod, his expression unreadable as always.

The others snapped out of it and hurriedly stood up to clear a space, inviting him to take the seat of honor.

I slipped to the side to make way for this golden boy, my heart as calm as still water.