Does the Giang family really need to survive?
A place so rotten that it’s bound to collapse someday, willing to oppress countless ordinary people for its own benefit.
Even a magnificent building will collapse if its foundation is shaken.
Perhaps the original Giang Mục Dã would have cared, but I don’t.
“You already know my answer.” I looked at her and said seriously, “You’ll succeed.”
“Sometimes I wonder,” she said after a few seconds of silence, “what do you want from me?”
“I always thought ours was a mutually beneficial arrangement. I used the Giang family’s influence to do what I wanted and borrowed your connections to get a lot of things,” Mạnh Tư Nguyệt said. “But I don’t understand what you could possibly get from me.”
“Use my name to anger Hứa Nhuận Ninh? Make things less troublesome? Improve relations with the Mạnh family? Satisfy your physical needs?”
She said, “I’ve imagined all sorts of possibilities, but you don’t seem to want anything at all…”
“I love you.”
I cut her off.
Mạnh Tư Nguyệt froze, staring at me with wide, clear eyes, her beautiful face blank with confusion.
I asked, a little awkwardly, “Can’t it simply be because I love you?”
She was stunned.
“I love you so much.” I looked at her earnestly, my cheeks burning, but the words came more easily the longer I spoke.
“I’m just a hopeless romantic. Haven’t you realized that yet?”
Mạnh Tư Nguyệt: “…”
The edges of her pale ears turned faintly red, her long lashes fluttering like butterfly wings. Her sparkling eyes seemed to hold a thousand things she wanted to say. She opened her mouth, but appeared unable to speak.
So adorable.
The thought came to me suddenly.
When did it begin?
When I first arrived here, I knew nothing. Protecting her was my mission.
But once I fell in love with her, I understood everything.
What did it mean for two stars, light-years apart, to come into being? Once, I asked “God” that very question.
He gently told me, “Perhaps they can resonate with each other.”
I saw two stars, among countless distant worlds, drawn to each other and shining brilliantly.
I can’t remember where I came from. Perhaps I was from some desolate planet. I only remember that one day, I was about to die.
I was dying when, suddenly, I saw another star at the edge of the universe.
I did everything I could to reach her—she was the only light I could grasp.
“Why do you love me?” Mạnh Tư Nguyệt asked the same question as last night. “…I don’t think there’s anything about me worth loving.”
“Why do I love you?” I offered her a vivid metaphor. “You know, the first time I saw you, I heard a ‘pew’… and a star fell right into my arms.”
She was tenacious, strong, and brilliant. The world had never once shown her any love. After growing disillusioned, she finally chose to destroy herself.
The world she thought was awful might look beautiful to someone else.
That was what she thought.
That day, I suddenly understood what she was thinking—
From that day on, I understood that my fate was to love her.
6.
Minh Húc was growing faster and faster. Its current new research initiative was clearly aimed at the Mạnh family.
The Mạnh family could no longer sit idly by. Father Mạnh came to see me and, for the first time, seriously asked how our relationship had been lately. After a few words, he grew worried and reluctantly asked whether I knew where Mạnh Tư Nguyệt had been recently.
I paused, then politely asked him to leave.
Rumors about Minh Húc spread farther and farther, and Mạnh Tư Nguyệt, its founder, made occasional appearances.
Even though no one knew she was Minh Húc’s largest shareholder, the close ties between Mạnh Tư Nguyệt, the Mạnh family’s daughter, and Minh Húc gradually came to light.
Especially—
Whenever Minh Húc signed an important partnership deal, someone from the Giang family was always there.
Dad Giang knew about it, too.
With the Mạnh family in decline and Minh Húc growing stronger, he chose Minh Húc and pretended not to know that Mạnh Tư Nguyệt was targeting her own family.
He even came to advise me: “Mục Dã, since Tư Nguyệt is involved with Minh Húc, you can help handle the company’s affairs as her husband… After all, we’re family.”
In other words, I could use my status as Mạnh Tư Nguyệt’s husband to take over Minh Húc.
I agreed with him, then turned around and introduced all the Giang family’s resources to Minh Húc.
The day Mạnh Tư Nguyệt returned to the Mạnh family, no one dared stop her.
It was now plain for all to see that the Mạnh family would be swallowed up by Mạnh Tư Nguyệt’s Minh Húc.
When they met again, Hứa Nhuận Ninh looked at her with a pale face, while Mother Mạnh was furious but lowered her head.
But Father Mạnh stopped her and said humbly, “Tư Nguyệt, from now on, the company will depend on you…”
The man who once gave Mạnh Tư Nguyệt orders now wore an expression of reluctance, fear, hurt, and anger. He had once told her with disappointment, “I did raise you, after all, but you learned nothing except how to seduce men. Look at Nhuận Ninh.”
How ridiculous that the fake daughter they had pinned their hopes on had secretly transferred her assets to the Hứa family, while the real daughter they had abandoned managed to defeat the entire Mạnh family in just three years.
At last, they realized the truth: Mạnh Tư Nguyệt, the daughter they had discarded and ignored, was a genius in the tech world. It would have been easy for her to lead the Mạnh family to the heights of glory.
And they had killed that hope with their own hands.
Mạnh Tư Nguyệt said nothing as she watched the farce before her. Her beautiful face remained as fragile as ever; she still wasn’t one to say much, yet she now exuded the faint pressure of someone in a position of power.
The capital had been thrown into turmoil and undergone a major reshuffle. The only family to emerge unscathed was the Giang family, which I had taken over completely.
I wasn’t very interested in pursuing a career, so I suggested to Dad Giang that he hand the Giang family over to Mạnh Tư Nguyệt. He was furious.
She furiously called me an unfilial son. Mom Giang rolled her eyes and promptly fainted.
I slipped away before she fainted.
“Tư Nguyệt,” I said when I went to pick her up that evening. “I don’t want to work hard anymore. I just want to live off you.”
When she heard that, she looked at me with bright eyes and smiled, revealing the lively side of a young woman without even realizing it. “All right.”
News that the Hứa family had illegally switched the children at birth came to light, causing an uproar in society. Hứa Nhuận Ninh was kicked out of the Mạnh family home.
After gathering all the evidence, Mạnh Tư Nguyệt reported them to the police without hesitation. Before they were taken into custody, Hứa Nhuận Ninh came to beg her for help.
She cried pitifully, “Tư Nguyệt, please. No matter what, they did raise you…”
Mặc Phong looked conflicted as he watched Hứa Nhuận Ninh, his gaze no longer as warm as it once had been.
Part of the reason he liked Hứa Nhuận Ninh was, of course, the Mạnh family backing her. Now that the Mạnh family had collapsed and her reputation was ruined, he had wanted to play the hero and rescue the damsel in distress. But after his family repeatedly warned him, he was no longer as determined as he’d been at first to stand up for her.
Mạnh Tư Nguyệt looked at her calmly, then named a drug.
Hứa Nhuận Ninh stopped crying, her expression suddenly changing.
“As far as I know, this drug is smuggled. I’ve looked into every transaction in the capital,” Mạnh Tư Nguyệt continued.
“The biggest supplier is a network that’s been around since the Middle Ages.”
She said, “What goes around comes around. The Hứa family has risen quickly in recent years. Your mother claims she embezzled public funds, but there are some amounts that simply won’t reconcile with the books—if you’re involved in this, you know you’re finished.”
Hứa Nhuận Ninh went pale, turned, and staggered away.
“You don’t think I’m being too cruel, do you?” Mạnh Tư Nguyệt said. “…Actually, I don’t want to pursue this any further, either.”
“You’re the one who was hurt,” I said, looking at her. “Tư Nguyệt, it’s your right to see this through.”
She asked softly, “Are you really Giang Mục Dã?”
She was so clever; of course she’d figured it out.
Besides, I’d never tried to hide it.
I thought for a moment, then asked calmly, “If I said no, would you want to take me in for research?”
She looked at me, amused. “…What if I did?”
“Then remember to give them your real name,” I said, glancing at her without a hint of exaggeration. “The research might yield some results. You could even win a medal.”
She looked at me in surprise, amusement glimmering in her beautiful eyes, and gently pinched my palm with her fingertips.
Mạnh Tư Nguyệt didn’t like drinking, but for work, she occasionally had to.
I went to pick her up every time. Her friends were shocked at first, but by now they were used to it.
I casually put an arm around her shoulders and helped her home, then stood outside the bathroom and squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush.
Suddenly, warmth spread across my waist. Looking in the mirror, I saw Mạnh Tư Nguyệt’s cheeks faintly flushed, her pale arms wrapped around my waist. She rose onto her toes, leaned close to my ear, and called, “Giang Mục Dã.”
Her voice was low, soft, and gentle.
ME: “……”
My ears turned red again. I licked my lips, gently pulled her away, and patiently said, “Nguyệt Nguyệt, brush your teeth.”
Her eyes were unfocused. “When… when did you get here?”
“The day you came to the Giang family home to pay your respects…” I said. “Never mind. Hurry up and brush your teeth!”
“Then what’s your name?” She looked at me while brushing her teeth, toothpaste on the tip of her nose giving her an unusually adorable look. “Am I the first person to know your secret?”
“The only one.” I wiped the tip of her nose. “I don’t know what my name is, either. Just call me Giang Mục Dã.”
“Could you…” I carried the dizzy Mạnh Tư Nguyệt to bed. Half asleep, she still insisted on asking me:
“Are you going to leave?”
I was about to tell her I’d stay by her side forever when I heard her whisper, “If the original Giang Mục Dã comes back, I’ll…”
“You’ll do what?” I asked, a little curious, as I tucked the blanket over her.
“I’ll kill him,” she said, rubbing her hair. Her voice was hazy, but her resolve was clear. “I’ll freeze this body and wait for you to come back.”
ME: “……”
I said, “I won’t leave.”
[So don’t worry!]
“I’ll stay in this world,” I said, turning off the light and gently kissing her hair. “So let’s make this world a better place together!”
This place was once shrouded in darkness—but with you, the whole world can be lit up.
Just as you lit up my world.
7.
On the day Mạnh Tư Nguyệt attended the Top Ten Outstanding Young Entrepreneurs ceremony as chairwoman of Minh Húc, I waited for her outside.
On TV, she looked radiant in a suit, dazzling enough to make your eyes hurt.
Sunlight shone down on her, glimmering in her dark eyes and falling across her face as she smiled faintly.
I watched her walk toward me step by step. Lowering her eyes, she said very softly, “Tư Nguyệt—we should get a divorce.”
I knew it was what you wanted—the obstacle you’d never managed to overcome, and the decision you could never quite bring yourself to make.
“……Why?”
“Because I’ll be by your side unconditionally.”
Because the Giang family was involved, because you were forced into this marriage, because of all the injustices you’d suffered. No matter how well I treated you, it couldn’t erase the ugly reason behind this marriage.
Once you were strong enough, this marriage would be the final stain you stepped over.
Hứa Nhuận Ninh was imprisoned for drug trafficking, and the man who had drugged Mạnh Tư Nguyệt was arrested for theft.
The marriage between Minh Húc Chairwoman Giang Tư Nguyệt and Giang Mục Dã, chairman of the Giang family, fell apart and came to an end.
I resigned as chairman and handed the company over to the successor I’d chosen.
—Of course, that successor was a devoted fan of Minh Húc.
After all, as the largest artificial intelligence company, Minh Húc had donated many of its inventions to the government.
The company also promoted many affordable products that improved people’s lives, earning it a strong reputation among the public.
From now on, Giang Mục Dã, heir to the Giang family, would sever all ties with Mạnh Tư Nguyệt.
The tangled, melodramatic relationships among Hứa Nhuận Ninh, Mặc Phong, Giang Mục Dã, and the others shouldn’t taint Mạnh Tư Nguyệt in the slightest.
Her life should be brilliant and full of light.
Her marriage to Giang Mục Dã had been a mistake from the very beginning.
Vũ Nghĩa Town.
I returned here, to the house I’d bought when I left. Dì Vương and chú Trần were both waiting for us to come back.
They were delighted to see me back and asked why Mạnh Tư Nguyệt wasn’t with me.
“She boarded a plane at midnight, so she should be here soon,” I said with a blink. “She’s so busy with work. I had to work really hard to snag the chance to enjoy our honeymoon.”
The story of Giang Mục Dã, heir to the Giang family, and Mạnh Tư Nguyệt was over, but her story with me wasn’t.
Although Mạnh Tư Nguyệt had no intention of getting married again, she’d said I could keep living off her for the rest of my life.
“…After the divorce, I want to pursue you all over again,” I said pitifully. “I really…”
“I love you.”
She cut me off.
It was the first time she’d ever admitted it to me, and those words were meant just for me.
“Giang Mục Dã,” she repeated. “I love you.”
My face flushed bright red. It took me a long while to manage a complete sentence: “I love you, too.”
She smiled, so radiant that the sunlight seemed to turn into her beautiful eyes.
“I love you so much.”
—So much, so much. I love you more with each passing day.
“Why did you come into this world?”
“…So there’d be someone in this world who would stand by your side unconditionally.”
—You’re the star of the whole world, but you’re my girl alone.
When I picked Mạnh Tư Nguyệt up at the airport, I asked her, “Can I shout out loud in public now?”
She blinked. “What?”
“Wifey,” I said. “Wifey, wifey, wifey.”
It was the first time I’d shouted that, and I felt a little self-conscious.
She smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Mm-hmm.”
—Those were the words you said to me. From that moment on, my world burst into brilliant light.
—The End—