“Wenqian, didn’t we agree we’d get married after graduating university? Why have you been avoiding me all this time?” It was a little past eight in the morning at a crossroads of the steel city. The streets were bustling with pedestrians, and office workers on electric scooters rushed by, toiling for a few scraps of silver, running about for the sake of survival.
Not far from the intersection, there was a bus stop. A beautiful young woman with a lovely figure was being confronted by a young man, publicly questioned right on the street.
Several passersby waiting for the bus, already weary of their dull and tedious work lives, found themselves a source of amusement and watched with keen interest from the sidelines.
Tang Wenqian looked at the man who seemed on the verge of hysteria, a flicker of guilt passing through her eyes before they turned cold again. “Du Xiang, I’ve been avoiding you all this time. Don’t you understand what that means?” Du Xiangβs face showed bitterness; he was self-mocking yet unwilling to yield. “But you have to give me a reason. Can it really be that we are just not meant to be?” Tang Wenqian looked at the man she had once loved deeply. Now his hair was unkempt, his face stubbled, his entire appearance slovenly. His spirit and energy seemed completelyι’εΊ (decadent, defeated), a far cry from the sunny, handsome youth from their campus daysβlike two completely different people.
“That was just a joke I made. Who told you to take it seriously?” Tang Wenqian said with an icy expression.
Each word was like a sharp knife stabbing deep into the man’s heart. His body trembled as he stared in disbelief at the bright, captivating girl before him.
How could she say such a thing?
Did she not know how much hardship he had endured just to be with her?
They had grown up together as childhood sweethearts, neighbors since they were little. But in the fourth grade of elementary school, his father was transferred for work, and the whole family moved away.
They say the greatest enemy of childhood sweethearts is moving away. But he refused to believe it. All these years, he had studied relentlessly, finally testing into a university in City G, this major metropolis. He knew the girl was here. Back when he moved away, he had even made a promise to her: he would definitely come back.
At university, he arrived as promised, having tested into the very university they had agreed upon. There, he met the girl again. Both had kept their promise and arrived. It should have been the beginning of a beautiful story. On campus, they were seen by many classmates as the perfect match, a couple made in heaven. Hearing their story undoubtedly rekindled others’ yearning for love.
For years, he knew the girl was conservative. He had always strictly adhered to the path of a gentleman, never forcing her into anything. His roommates said he was foolish, but he just smiled without responding, feeling they simply didn’t understand the bond between him and Wenqian.
The girl had given him a promise: they would marry after graduating university.
Now, the girl before him was breaking that promise.
“Wenqian, why?” Du Xiang’s eyes were fixed intently on the girl before him, his voice hoarse, as if clinging desperately to his last lifeline, hoping she would say that all of this was just a joke, a test for him.
The girl pressed her lips together. The boy didn’t notice her delicate, jade-like hands hidden behind her back, trembling uncontrollably. How could the girl not understand the pain in his heart? So many years of feelings, so many years of waiting. Just when it seemed they were about to reap the fruits of their efforts, a sudden, unforeseen disaster had destroyed everything.
At that moment, a bus arrived at the stop. The bystanders watching the drama, pressed for time, had to miss the rest of the show and hurriedly boarded the bus.
“I have to get to work. Forget about me.”
Seeing the bus about to leave, Tang Wenqian couldn’t face the boy’s gaze. She hastily left him with those words, turned, and got on the bus.
The boy didn’t give chase. He stood there dumbly, rooted to the spot, his gaze vacant, as if the very spirit had been sucked out of him. It wasn’t until he heard the engine of the bus starting up that he suddenly snapped back to reality and hurriedly ran after it.
But the bus, carrying his girl away, did not wait for him. It drove further and further away. How could human legs outrun a vehicle? He ran until he was gasping for breath, until he was completely exhausted, but he still couldn’t catch up to that bus. He could only watch helplessly as it gradually disappeared from view.
Just like that girl was step by step leaving his world! A gentle breeze brushed past, tousling the boy’s disheveled hair, but it couldn’t bring a shred of warmth to his heart.
His roommate’s words echoed in his mind, seeming to transform into mocking laughter, exploding in his ears………
Tang Wenqian had kept her eyes on the boy chasing after her from behind, until he collapsed powerless onto the ground and disappeared from her sight. It seemed to signal that he had likewise disappeared from her world.
The tears she had been forcing back could no longer be held in. They spilled over,ζΆθΉη (glistening) teardrops forming tracks that slid down her beautiful cheeks.
How she wanted to be with that boy. All these years, ever since high school, her classmates had started dating, falling in love. She had remained alone, by herself. Until she tested into the promised university and met the boy again. All these years, she had preserved her chastity, her purity, wanting to give the most perfect version of herself to the boy in a grand wedding ceremony. She had fantasized about the beauty of that scene countless times; it was what had supported her heart.
But a disaster caused by her father had destroyed everything. He had developed a gambling addiction, gambled to the point of losing their entire family fortune. To stop it, they had sold their house and car, but still ended up owing a massive debt of over ten million. Their home was constantly disturbed by debt collection calls. The entire family lived in a state of perpetual anxiety and fear. Her mother, heartbroken and unable to bear the harassment, had attempted suicide and been sent to the hospital.
Finally, a debt collection call reached her phone. Previously, her father’s and mother’s phones had been blown up daily. Only her mobile phone had remained quiet. But that single call plunged her life into an abyss.
The other party arranged to meet her. Theyη΄θ¨ (stated bluntly) that they could resolve her father’s debt. The cost was for her to sign a contract of indentureβaεθΊ«ε₯ (literally, “body-selling contract”).
If she breached the contract, her father’s debt would still stand. If she obediently followed their instructions, the debt would be wiped clean.
She was an only child. She had enjoyed the boundless love and care of her parents since childhood. Now her family was facing utter desperation. She had no choice. She couldn’t just watch this family fall apart. The cost was only herself. Sacrificing one person is better than sacrificing three.
She was arranged to enter Xitang Community, the estate of the Pet Paradise Owner. Before she arrived, those people had told her the rules of this place. She had occasionally heard rumors about Xitang Community, but never imagined she would one day enter it herselfβand as a maid, no less.
Fortunately, the Estate Owner was a woman, a beautiful, enchanting mature lady. The other party did not treat her harshly, though there were some… unusual requests.
Here, she met eleven others her age, all who had come here for various reasons. Perhaps because they shared similar misery, they got along very well. This gave her some small comfort inside.