Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I used to think that with someone as rotten as Liang Yansheng, I could walk away toward the right path without a single lingering regret once I had tried and suffered through it.

But a rotten person is most lethal when they aren’t completely rotten-when they leave behind a sliver of sincerity.

I didn’t know if he was naturally gifted at coaxing people or if he simply treated me with special favor.

Cars were gifted, houses were signed over, and countless designer presents were the norm.

I once mentioned that my family had been strict growing up and that there were many things I hadn’t experienced, like watching a sunrise or chasing a sunset.

At four in the morning, he scooped me out of bed and drove for over an hour just to stand on a mountaintop and wait for the sun to rise.

Once, while I was away on a business trip, I casually mentioned that I’d left my sleeping plushie at home and couldn’t sleep at night.

At the time, he was abroad. He laughed over the phone, the sound of him biting down on a cigarette audible. “Oh? Whatever shall we do?”

Less than two hours later, his private jet circled down and landed on the hotel rooftop.

The crew had even gone to the trouble of tying a beautiful ribbon around the old plushie, wishing me sweet dreams and a good night.

I knew this wasn’t love. Besides, a man like Liang Yansheng wouldn’t know how to love someone.

So, I indulged myself, and I was lenient with him.

Yet, I still searched for traces in the smallest details.

I tried to prove that there was at least a second or a minute where his heart beat in sync with my love.

A few days ago, at the end of a vigorous bout of lovemaking, I felt a searing heat through my grogginess.

I jolted awake, pushing against his chest. “You didn’t wear protection?”

Liang Yansheng pinched my earlobe, acting like a rogue. “I forgot. If you’re pregnant, we’ll have it. Are you afraid I can’t afford to raise a child?”

As he spoke, a flash of tenderness crossed his eyes, as if he truly looked forward to a future together.

“How could I…” I pushed him away, leaning over to find my pills.

How could I have a child? We wouldn’t last. What would a child even be to us?

Liang Yansheng’s expression darkened. As if intentionally defying me, he pinned my hand down, popped the pills out one by one, and flushed them down the toilet.

“Ranran, if I find out you’re taking pills, you’re finished.”

My heart stirred slightly; I was dazed for a fleeting moment.

But a second later, I was as sober as ice.

Avoiding Liang Yansheng, I eventually took the medicine anyway.

When I startled awake from a dream, the room was filled with silence. Liang Yansheng hadn’t returned.

My phone vibrated with a call. I picked it up.

It was my mother, harping on the same old tune. “I can’t sleep whenever I think about you…”

She didn’t know about me and Liang Yansheng. In her eyes, I had reached the age where I was practically unmarriageable.

“If you don’t look now, you won’t have any advantage in the matchmaking market in a few years.”

“Auntie Zhang’s son is in the capital. It won’t kill you to make some time to meet him…”

Back in high school, she was so afraid of me getting into a relationship that she would cut my hair into a messy disaster.

Now, she was so afraid I wouldn’t get married that she wished she could post me for sale online.

I sighed and interrupted her. “I’ll meet him.”

“It’s just getting to know each other, when you meet you should…” She paused, stunned. “What did you say?”

I repeated, “I said, I’ll meet him.”

I needed an opportunity.

A chance to leave Liang Yansheng for good.