Chapter 41

It was the first time Ruan Qing truly understood what it meant to be the only child someone planned to “inherit.” “She’s an only child; soon, everything will be mine! Just wait until we get married — then I’ll be set!” His voice was filled with pent-up resentment, the thrill of near-victory, and an impatient desire to finally be the one in control.

Ruan Qing listened to the audio for a long time. When the campus heartthrob came back to her place, she had already packed his things. She ignored his attempts to explain or plead and told him to leave immediately. Then, she called her company to take a long vacation. Her yearly performance quota was already fulfilled, so she could afford a break.

She spent the next two weeks traveling, then went back to her parents’ place to rest for a month. After she explained everything, her parents didn’t say much, as the breakup was already a done deal.

“Marrying someone from a similar background, someone you know well — there’s something to that,” she told them. “Back then, I really didn’t care one way or another. If they told me to meet him, I’d go — no harm in trying.”

“I was happy with the relationship while it lasted, never felt I was losing out. When it stopped being good, I knew it was time to let go.”

As it turns out, sometimes parents really do introduce people who are worth meeting. The man’s family situation was similar to hers — also the child of private business owners. Unlike her father, who was thinking of retiring, this man had taken over managing his family’s business and was expanding it. He wasn’t exactly a “second-generation heir” since he had been hands-on in the business from a young age — call it “1.5 generation,” if you will.

He was several years older than her, nearly thirty. Her parents had mentioned he was mature and dependable, and sure enough, meeting him was nothing like a campus romance. No heart-shaped candles, no late-night trips to bring her meals or medicine, and no dramatic gestures. Just stability — he was steady in every way.

“That kind of heart-pounding excitement, that urge to be around each other every day… that wasn’t there. But maybe I’d already outgrown that kind of romance myself, after all I’d been through. My priorities were different.”

“All I felt was that he was so reliable. Being with him was so easy; I didn’t feel any dramatic highs or lows, and even my own emotions settled. He was good at taking care of people and, more than anything, he brought emotional stability.”

“Honestly, if I hadn’t gone through what I did with my ex, I probably wouldn’t have even considered dating someone like him — I’d have thought he was just too calm, too lacking in passion.”

“But I met him at exactly the right time, just as I was rethinking what I wanted from a relationship.”

“All I could think was that this man seemed… ideal for marriage.”

Even though the marriage hadn’t worked out, Ruan Qing still spoke of him with high regard. Nian Qi recognized immediately that he was on a different level than Zhao Hao. When Ruan Qing broke up with Zhao Hao, it had been like discarding an old, out-of-date outfit, with not a hint of regret. But talking about this man, her gaze softened with a trace of nostalgia.

Nian Qi finally stepped in, prompting her, “So why didn’t things work out?”

Just like that, the nostalgia faded from her expression.

“Perfection doesn’t exist. That’s a fact of life.”

Ruan Qing recalled what happened later. “He took care of people well, always attentive, though sometimes there were hints of possessiveness. I sensed it at the time, but I didn’t take it to heart. But, as it turns out, those little uncomfortable feelings in a relationship are often your subconscious trying to warn you. Ignore them, and you’ll eventually regret it.”

She continued, “After we met, things felt natural, so we started dating. My job was in a major city, and his business often brought him there, sometimes for a week or two at a time, so it wasn’t a full long-distance relationship. His family’s factory was in my parents’ city, even in the same industrial district. After nearly a year, he brought up marriage. It felt natural, and I agreed, so we started making plans.”

“Then he suggested I quit my job and come back to fully support him. I wasn’t interested. Do I seem like the kind of person who could stay at home as a full-time wife? Absolutely not. He brought it up twice, and both times, I refused. So he stopped asking and instead suggested that I move to the provincial capital and start my own business. Maybe I could begin with a studio and expand it into a company if it took off.”

“It sounded like such a great suggestion. The provincial capital was less than a two-hour drive from my parents’, super convenient. I was tempted. And he was so supportive, really encouraging me to build something on my own. My parents were supportive too; they even had a lot of connections there, as did his family, so it would make things easy. And, in my line of work, my clients were basically people in my father’s network. If I managed it well, it could thrive.”

“Everyone seemed so supportive, so what do you think I’d choose? Naturally, I went for it. I quit my job in the big city and moved to the provincial capital, where I started preparing for both the wedding and setting up my studio.”

It had progressed to the wedding stage. Even though Nian Qi knew it didn’t end well, he still felt tense. Thankfully, Ruan Qing said, “Three days before our wedding, I accidentally saw a group chat on his phone with him and my parents. When I looked at the chat history, I realized the truth behind their plans.”

They had all agreed to encourage Ruan Qing to leave her job and move back under the guise of supporting her career. In reality, the three of them planned for her to have children as soon as they married. They had even discussed having at least two, with one child taking her husband’s surname and the other her family’s. They believed a little deception wouldn’t hurt; once she had children, she’d see that it was all “for her own good.”

Reading those messages, she felt something entirely different from what she’d felt a year earlier when she’d heard her ex’s ambitions. Though different, both moments left her with the same clarity:

“This isn’t what I want,” she said. “I knew immediately that the life they were planning for me wasn’t the life I wanted.”

At this, Nian Qi hesitated, unsure of what specifically bothered her about the situation.

He cautiously asked, “Are you upset because they lied to you, or… is it simply that you don’t want children?”

It wasn’t hard to understand why a woman might not want children; after all, childbirth was dangerous. In Nian Qi’s era, wealthy women often arranged concubines for their husbands after having an heir, not necessarily out of a desire to please their husbands, but because they didn’t want to risk further childbirth. The mortality rate for women in childbirth was high, and preserving one’s life took precedence over marriage alliances. With an heir secured and property in hand, many wives didn’t mind if their husbands sought company elsewhere.

“What bothers me,” Ruan Qing said, “is people trying to control my life. The reasons you mentioned are part of that.”

“They attempted to control my future by deceiving me, and not just alone—together. This is something I could never accept. And they were the people I trusted the most at the time. Do you know how fulfilled I felt, planning my wedding and preparing my studio? I felt like I had it all—career and love!”

“And then?”

Nian Qi understood now, and in his mental notebook, he noted silently: Her principle: her life is her own. He added a few more points: When it comes to children, respect her wishes. No coercion. Do not use deception to get what you want.

Ruan Qing brushed her hair aside, “Looking back, I realize all those uneasy feelings I ignored were red flags. They were my instincts warning me, and I should’ve listened.”

And so, three days before the wedding, Ruan Qing walked away.

“I didn’t know where to go. I’d quit my job to start my own studio. Everyone in the industry there knew me; I really didn’t want to go back.”

Nian Qi asked, “So that’s when you came to Jiangcheng?”

“Yes, life has a way of providing a way forward,” she said. “One of my previous clients, who’s also from this province, gave me a call. His family’s old home is here in Jiangcheng, and he’d just rebuilt it. He loved the style I’d designed for his villa and asked if I could come to Jiangcheng to work on this one.”

“It was the perfect timing. I got in my car, drove here, and ended up staying. It’s been two years now.”

With this backstory, Nian Qi finally understood why Ruan Qing had ended up with someone as immature as Zhao Hao. He had thought Zhao was too young for her and that perhaps she was merely attracted to his looks, but spending time with her proved that she wasn’t shallow. Now that he knew her story, her choices made sense.

In fact, Nian Qi could even see that if Zhao Hao had kept himself grounded and avoided games, Ruan Qing might have kept him around. Zhao Hao was unhappy when they split, but he had brought it on himself. Nian Qi jotted down a mental note: Stay true. Don’t play around. Avoid the mistakes of the previous men.

Finally, with the lights off and just about to drift off, Ruan Qing asked, “And you? You’re practically of grandfather age by now—no romances in your past?”

Nian Qi replied, “I’ve met some good women, even ones who seemed to have feelings for me.”

“And?”

He smiled wryly, “What they liked was the noble Zhao Si Gongzi, not me.”

“Oh…”

Ruan Qing added, “Once you sort out your situation, you can find someone openly.”

Nian Qi answered with a quiet, “Alright.”