Chapter 1

The boy in front of me looked so young.

His fringe brushed his forehead, and a devil-may-care smile tugged at his lips.

My first thought was: young.

So young.

I still remembered the last time I’d seen Shen Xiyan. He’d been appearing on a talk show.

By then, he was one of the country’s best-known young entrepreneurs.

In his immaculate suit, even his smallest gestures betrayed his privileged upbringing.

That cool, reserved man might have been a different person from the flippant boy standing before me.

All around us, our classmates were clapping and cheering.

Every one of them wore a blue-and-white school uniform.

They grinned with all their teeth, their faces still innocent of everything the world could do to them.

The moment I realized what year it was, the blood drained from my face.

What was this supposed to be?

Suffer more than anyone else, and your reward was to become the world’s biggest sucker?

I was still mourning when the boy before me started urging me impatiently.

“Yes or no? Say something.”

“What’s this supposed to mean? Giving me the silent treatment?”

The boys nearby burst into laughter again.

Through the commotion, I caught sight of Lu Chengyu in the corner.

He sat ramrod straight, utterly absorbed in his homework.

He radiated the saintly purity of someone convinced he could sit in an outhouse without picking up the stink.

Pretentious ass.

Scoffing inwardly, I took the pink love letter held out to me.

“Sure. I say yes.”

The noise stopped dead.

Astonishment replaced the careless look on Shen Xiyan’s face.

“What did you say?”

“You asked me to be your girlfriend, didn’t you? I said yes.”

When he failed to respond, I frowned. “Don’t tell me you were just saying it, and now you’re backing out?”

As the words sank in, his grin spread wider and wider.

Finally, he gave a little cough and tried to sound casual. “Whoever backs out is a coward!”

The bell rang.

The students who’d been making such a racket hurried back to their seats.

I set the letter on my desk.

My hands were still shaking uncontrollably.

Good Lord.

This was a handwritten letter from the future Luke.

Back then, I’d had no idea who I was dealing with. I’d torn it up without even reading it.

I’d gone looking for hardship where there was none, insisting on building a life from nothing with my ex-husband.

Now that I had another chance, I couldn’t put poor old me through that again!

I took a deep breath and opened the envelope.

I was ready to discover whatever heartfelt declaration lay inside.

Unfolded, the letter contained one meager line.

“Please say yes. Even for a day. I’m begging you.”

I had no words.

What a plain, unadorned love letter.

What a straightforward request.

Truthfully, I hadn’t thought much of Shen Xiyan before.

He was a notorious troublemaker.

A rich kid who consistently came bottom of the class.

And he had a terrible temper.

Back then, I’d been unbearably high-minded, with eyes only for Lu Chengyu, our handsome but impoverished school heartthrob.

I had particular contempt for rich people like Shen Xiyan, who enjoyed the good life without lifting a finger.

I remembered this declaration.

It had started with a bet among the boys.

Apparently, Shen Xiyan had lost a basketball game and been made to give a love letter to the hardest girl in school to win over.

That was how they’d picked me.

I’d been terrified that Lu Chengyu would get the wrong idea.

Not only had I torn up the letter, I’d said horrible things like, “I could never fall for a worthless piece of trash like you.”

It had become excruciatingly awkward.

I didn’t know whether Shen Xiyan had been humiliated by it.

But he’d never approached me again.

Not long afterward, he’d transferred schools and gone abroad.

We’d met again four years ago.

I was working at Lu Chengyu’s company.

I’d helped arrange a meeting to negotiate a project for him.

Over dinner, I’d smiled dutifully and drunk far too much.

My stomach was burning, but the other party still showed no sign of giving ground.

That was when Shen Xiyan had appeared.

Nothing like the delinquent he’d been in high school, he’d used the ready-made connections built up by his family to become someone so powerful he was far beyond my reach.

At that dinner, he’d occupied the seat of honor.

Around him sat businesspeople eager to flatter him.

He’d treated me coldly, as if I were an unimportant stranger.

Since he showed little interest, we’d ended the dinner early.

But outside the hotel, a car had pulled up in front of me.

The window lowered, revealing his finely sculpted face.

“Get in. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

I’d fallen asleep on the way.

When I woke, I was alone in a hospital room, an IV in the back of my hand.

Only the black suit jacket draped over me proved that Shen Xiyan had been there.

Unfortunately, I’d never found a chance to return it.

I was propping my chin in my hand, lost in the memory, when a folded note suddenly sailed onto my desk.

I jumped.

Then opened it.

There was just one sentence: “What are we having for lunch, wifey?”

The handwriting looked like a dog had scrawled it, exactly like the letter in my hand.

It took me zero seconds to work out who’d sent it.

After a moment’s thought, I carefully wrote back:

“Grilled cold noodles on the second floor of the east cafeteria, hot-and-sour noodles on the first floor of the west cafeteria, and a big crispy chicken drumstick from outside the school gates.”

It had been more than ten years since graduation, and I still craved that food!

Finished, I stole a furtive glance at the teacher.

The moment the teacher wasn’t looking, I tossed it toward Shen Xiyan.

Unfortunately, years without practice had done terrible things to my aim.

The note reached Lu Chengyu’s desk and came straight down.

My heart lurched. I whipped around and sat bolt upright.

Then I realized something was wrong with that reaction.

Never mind that I’d gone back in time—even if I hadn’t, we were divorced. What was I so nervous about?

The thought restored my nerve. I turned around to get the note back.

I pulled faces and tried to catch his eye for ages. He ignored every attempt.

Since class was still in progress, I finally had to give up.

At last the bell rang. I was still packing my things and hadn’t even stood up.

A tall figure appeared beside me.

“Come on.”

It was Lu Chengyu.

When I didn’t move, impatience flickered in his eyes.

“Didn’t you say you wanted all that junk food? Hurry up.”

“Just so we’re clear, you can only choose one. I need to come back and study afterward.”

I pressed my lips together. “The note wasn’t for you.”

The irritation in his eyes deepened.

“Su Li, can you stop being so childish?”

“You’re degrading yourself like this just because I didn’t vote for you yesterday?”