12
Đào Nhiên stood there, stunned.
The man with his arms around my neck had no idea what was going on, either.
I called him over, put a stack of cash in his hand, and said, “You did great. You can go now.”
“It was fake…? It was all fake?”
Đào Nhiên turned and pointed at the man walking away. “Was it fake?” she asked me.
Only then did I realize she was crying without even noticing.
I nodded and smiled. “You wanted to see if your fighting skills had gotten rusty, didn’t you?”
Đào Nhiên cried even harder. “Boo-hoo… You still shouldn’t have risked your life like that! Do you know how scared I was?”
“You silly A Thu. You should’ve told me who you were from the start.”
She didn’t argue with me. She just kept wiping her tears, but the more she wiped, the more came.
I’m an atheist, actually, but when I learned the truth, I felt surprisingly calm.
Because I know there are always plenty of things in this world that are hard to explain.
For example:
Why don’t my parents like being physically affectionate with me, but love hugging and kissing my younger brother?
Why was my childhood filled with stuffed animals, while my younger brother had our parents by his side?
Why can my younger brother wear clothes that cost thousands or tens of thousands of yuan and go to a private school, while my monthly allowance is only two thousand, and I have to rely on my own hard work to get through school?
And why did A Thu’s soul end up in Đào Nhiên’s body?
“I-I honestly don’t know,” Đào Nhiên sniffled, then continued. “After I got hit by a car and died, I woke up in Đào Nhiên’s body.”
“When I ended up in her body, she’d taken sleeping pills to kill herself because she was supposed to marry Đoàn Châu. Later, I learned from her memories that Đoàn Châu’s intended bride was you, and that he really liked you.”
I asked, puzzled, “What exactly showed that he ‘really’ liked me?”
We met through a matchmaking arrangement. We’d only have the chance to deepen our relationship after getting married.
“I don’t know about that. It was just that in her memories, she always seemed to think Đoàn Châu could see through her old green tea girl tricks. He just let her get away with it because he didn’t want to get married. But what’s more, right before he met you through matchmaking, Đoàn Châu actually warned her not to pull any stunts.”
That made sense. Đoàn Châu had been making his way in the business world since he was twenty, dealing with those old foxes every day. Đào Nhiên’s little tricks might not have fooled him at all.
But was there some connection between Đoàn Châu and me that I didn’t know about?
I decided I’d ask him when I got home.
But first, I needed to deal with the fact that Đào Nhiên hadn’t admitted who she was to me from the start.
Đào Nhiên said miserably, “How could I dare? We’d just had a fight, and then I got into a car accident. I was afraid… you still hated me, so… so I didn’t dare tell you who I was.”
I was both angry and fond of her as I patted her head. “I even saved a bridesmaid dress especially for you. Right up until the wedding, I kept hoping to hear from some silly girl.”
Đào Nhiên was overjoyed and made a fuss, insisting we go home so she could see the bridesmaid dress.
Seeing how cheerful she was made me feel a lot better.
Thank goodness she was still here.
13
After Đào Nhiên and I finally talked everything out, we were inseparable.
Which made Đoàn Châu extremely unhappy.
He just wouldn’t say it outright. He had to wait until he was drunk to get it all off his chest.
Đoàn Châu’s secretary called to say he’d gotten drunk at a party, so I hurriedly threw on a coat and went to pick up my husband.
He stood ramrod straight by the side of the road. Aside from his slightly flushed face, he didn’t look drunk at all.
But as soon as he got in the car, the truth came out.
Someone repeated the words “Honey” over and over again.
I helped him out of the car, and he immediately clung to me like an octopus. I couldn’t pry him off.
Đào Nhiên heard the commotion upstairs and came down to see what was going on. She even tried to help.
But Đoàn Châu put on a righteous air and firmly blocked her from getting near me. “Back off! This house doesn’t need you. You’re trying to steal my wife from me!”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I waved Đào Nhiên upstairs.
Then I showered and wrapped the man in a blanket. He went on and on, complaining about how I’d been neglecting him and how Đào Nhiên had stolen his wife from him.
I was at a loss, so I said, “Đào Nhiên’s vacation is almost over. I just want to spend a little more time with her. Once she leaves, I’ll do whatever you want.”
“I don’t want that.” Đoàn Châu was burning up, and kept rubbing against me. “You have to make it up to me now.”
I nodded absently.
But that only made Đoàn Châu more eager. He braced both hands on either side of me. There wasn’t a trace of drunkenness in his eyes; he was completely sober.
Toward the end, I had only one thought left:
What on earth had the internet taught this clueless idiot about love…?
14
The day before Đào Nhiên left, my mother-in-law invited the three of us to the old family home for dinner. My father-in-law was there, too.
Watching how Đoàn Châu’s parents treated each other, I finally understood where he’d learned his politeness.
My mother-in-law served my father-in-law some food. He accepted it and said, “Thank you.”
My mother-in-law offered my father-in-law some fruit. He accepted it and said, “Thank you.”
My mother-in-law changed the TV to a channel my father-in-law liked. He said, “Thank you.”
Now this was what it meant to treat each other with respect.
My mother-in-law treated me well, but I worried she might be unhappy.
She seemed to read my mind and laughed heartily.
“That’s just how he is. He likes being polite; he brought that habit home from the business world. But look—the food was cooked by him, and your father-in-law peels most of the fruit, too. And I’m always the one with the TV remote. He’s absolutely crazy about me, you know.”
It must be wonderful to have someone say with such certainty that he loves you.
My mother-in-law went on, “My precious daughter-in-law, are you and Đoàn Châu getting along these days? I heard from Đào Nhiên that the boy takes you straight home as soon as he gets off work, and won’t even let her see you.”
From across the room, Đào Nhiên gave me an awkward smile.
No wonder my mother-in-law had felt comfortable letting someone who’d once had designs on her son stay by our side. It turned out she’d sent Đào Nhiên to keep her informed.
“I-I’m doing well. I didn’t expect us to like each other this much.”
My mother-in-law clucked her tongue twice and continued, “You two are even holding hands now. That’s more than just liking each other—you must be in love.”
I was shy, so all I could do was blush and nod, unwilling to say anything more.
Seeing me like that, Đoàn Châu immediately tightened his grip on my hand.
Something funny was playing on TV, and the whole family burst out laughing.
With everyone getting along so happily, I suddenly felt that maybe I was pretty lucky, too.
When I went back to my parents’ home after getting married, they hadn’t even kept a room for me.
That night, I slept at a hotel.
I’d always thought that after my family cast me aside, I’d be like duckweed drifting aimlessly.
I’d have no sense of belonging anywhere.
But now, I’d found that sense of belonging here.
15
The day Đào Nhiên left, she hugged me and cried for a long time.
I told her it wasn’t as if we’d never see each other again, then reminded the silly girl to be extra careful whenever she crossed the street.
But the moment she turned away, tears silently slipped down my face.
Sigh, in the end, I just couldn’t bear to let her go.
Beside me, Đoàn Châu snorted. “Good riddance. Now I won’t have to compete with her for my wife.”
As I watched Đào Nhiên walk away, something suddenly occurred to me, and I asked, “Don’t you think Đào Nhiên has changed a lot?”
She used to make Đoàn Châu the center of her world every day, but now she didn’t pay him any attention at all—instead, she was always clinging to me.
I couldn’t believe the Đoàn family hadn’t noticed that something was off.
Đoàn Châu said seriously, “That doesn’t matter. All we need to know is that she’s Đào Nhiên, the adopted younger sister entrusted to our family by one of Dad’s brothers-in-arms.”
On the way home, Đoàn Châu told me many more things.
When the Đoàn family company was on the verge of bankruptcy, Đào Nhiên had been responsible for half of its debt.
She’d been conned, and that was what had landed the Đoàn family in such dire straits.
So, really, if it weren’t for Đào Nhiên’s father’s status, the Đoàn family would have kicked her out long ago.
It was a good thing she’d turned out this way now.
The reason behind it didn’t matter anymore.
When we got home, the vast villa felt empty with one person gone, and I couldn’t help feeling a little hollow inside.
But as soon as I opened the bedroom door, I saw that the room had been decorated in a dreamy, romantic style.
I stared at Đoàn Châu, bewildered.
“Happy first wedding anniversary, honey!”
He took a jewelry box from behind his back. Inside was a sapphire necklace.
I recognized it.
It had been up for auction not long ago, and was said to symbolize “boundless love.”
They said whoever wore it would be happy for the rest of their life.
In the end, a man bought the necklace for thirty million. News reports everywhere said his wife must be incredibly happy.
But I never expected that man to be my husband.
I felt terrible that I’d not only forgotten the date but hadn’t prepared anything, either.
But he said the best gift was me.
Đoàn Châu and I were actually very much alike: one of us stubbornly searched for love, while the other stubbornly failed to understand it.
But as time went on, the one who’d searched for love found herself surrounded by so much of it, while the one who hadn’t known how to love worked hard to learn.
• Đoàn Châu’s Extra Story
During summer break in college, I went home, and Đào Nhiên clung to me, insisting I pick her up after school.
I agreed, and every time I went to pick her up, I could see figures fighting in a small alley in the distance.
I assumed they were all troublemaking students, but one day I saw a pretty girl sitting on a rock, doing her homework.
Sunlight fell on her snow-white skin. Whenever she came across a difficult problem, she’d furrow her delicate brows and bite the cap of her pen.
Yeah, she was pretty cute.
I watched her for a few days and realized she was always with a short-haired girl.
The reason she sat on that rock doing homework every time was that she was waiting for her friend to finish fighting so they could walk home together.
They were close and held hands every day.
The girl got out of school twenty minutes before Đào Nhiên, so I always came twenty minutes early, just to catch a glimpse of her.
My life had always been dull and conventional, but somehow, just seeing her seemed to bring a little light into it.
But I always thought the girl was still in high school, so I never dared to take things further.
And because I hesitated, I didn’t see her again for the next four or five years.
I thought we’d missed our chance.
But then my mother, worried about her son’s marriage prospects, happened to arrange a blind date for me with her.
After all those years, she’d graduated from college.
For the first time, she held my name in her heart.
“Hello, I’m Trình Bội.”
“Hello. I’m Đoàn Châu.”
(The End)