Chapter 1

At the age of 27, my family started urging me to get married.

I broke up with my boyfriend of three years in a cliffhanger manner and began going back to my hometown for blind dates.

My friend asked me, “You liked Kaele so much, can you really let go?”

I scoffed, “I’m not stupid. He’s the type that’s fun to date, but marrying him would mean a lifetime of misery.”

Suddenly, a dark and familiar voice came from beside me.

“Oh, is that the reason you dumped me?”

As I dragged my luggage home, I ran into a girl walking out the door.

She was wearing a loose black sweater that revealed her delicate collarbone, with a “missing pants” look, and a pair of YSL stiletto heels.

I recognized her as the bassist of Kaele’s band, probably named Juniper, a pretty girl in her early twenties.

Instinctively, I stopped behind the hallway door without stepping out.

After a while, Kaele emerged from behind her, wearing jeans, lazily leaning against the wall as he lit a cigarette.

He was shirtless, water still dripping down his beautifully sculpted oblique muscles.

Moments later, he casually tossed a Chanel handbag over.

“Take it.”

Juniper’s eyes lit up, and she turned to throw herself onto Kaele, squealing:

“Ah, I’ve wanted this bag for so long, where did you get it?”

“Picked it up last time I was in Hong Kong.”

“I really love it, thank you, baby!”

Juniper wanted to linger, but Kaele seemed a bit impatient, frowning slightly.

“Alright, hurry up and go.”

The girl got off him, half pouting, half playfully:

“You’re so heartless, just called me baby and now you’re kicking me out.”

She wasn’t annoyed, happily slinging the bag over her shoulder and blowing Kaele a kiss:

“I’m leaving, see you tomorrow.”

After she left, I stepped out from behind the hallway door.

Kaele seemed a bit surprised to see me back suddenly, but his expression quickly returned to normal.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?”

I looked at him for a moment.

“It was too late, I didn’t want to disturb your rest by calling.”

The ambiguous red marks on Kaele’s neck were still fresh, yet he showed no guilt, pulling me into the house with one arm.

“I’m hungry, make something to eat.” He sat on the sofa and turned on the TV, as if nothing had happened.

Seeing me not moving for a while, he frowned:

“What’s wrong?”

Then he seemed to realize, a lazy smile appearing on his face:

“Missed me?”

He got up and hugged me from behind, his warm breath swirling ambiguously around my neck, his hand slowly slipping under my shirt.

His fingers, roughened by years of playing guitar, scraped against my skin with a stinging itch.

I closed my eyes, tiredly pushing him away.

I did like Kaele’s body; when I first pursued him, it was mainly because of his good looks.

But perhaps it was the long flight I just finished, or maybe it was because of that woman earlier, I just felt exhausted and not in the mood.

Kaele was rarely rejected by me, and after a moment of surprise, his face darkened slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

I looked down and saw a black mess on the carpet.

It was a pair of stockings, torn beyond recognition.

Kaele obviously saw the stockings too, and he clicked his tongue, his expression turning a bit ugly.

The living room fell into a tense silence, he pulled out a cigarette from the pack and lit it, the crisp sound of the menthol bead being crushed echoed.

“Her lease expired, she had nowhere to stay, so I let her stay for a night.”

“There’s nothing between us.”

I looked at Kaele, our gazes separated by the white smoke, unable to see each other’s expressions.

But we both knew how flimsy this excuse was.

This wasn’t the first time Kaele had cheated; he was probably born a playboy, just like when I first met him.

Back then, my best friend wanted to take me to see a famous rock band’s performance, saying the lead singer was incredibly handsome and tickets were hard to get.

I wasn’t interested in rock music and was rather indifferent.

Until Kaele took the stage.

He lowered his head, strumming the guitar in his hands, his black hair unstyled, lazily brushing across his fair forehead, occasionally revealing his thin pink eyelids.

He was the most plainly dressed on stage, just a simple black T-shirt and jeans, yet he instantly became the focus of the crowd.

That face was the most expensive luxury.

He lifted his eyes, the hazy lights reflecting in his amber-like pupils, carrying a faint smile.

It was my first time at a band performance, and the girls in the audience, including my best friend, went wild, their screams nearly breaking the roof.

As my gaze swept over the raucous crowd, our eyes met for a moment before he looked away.

The songs that night were beautiful, but I heard nothing clearly.

Because at that moment, everything went silent, and I could only hear the roaring of my own heartbeat.

After the show, countless girls rushed backstage to ask for contact information, and I was among them.

Single for 23 years, that was probably the bravest thing I ever did.

Kaele didn’t refuse anyone; he scanned the QR codes of all the girls who asked for his WeChat that day, including me.

A year later, all the admirers who pursued him had given up, but I persisted.

I don’t know if it was out of sympathy or moved by something, but Kaele accepted our relationship, and I became his girlfriend, up until now.

But I know, in these years together, Kaele never truly liked me.

Or maybe he did like me, liked my understanding, my tolerance, my never holding grudges.

He cheated many times, but every time as long as he gave me a somewhat acceptable excuse, I would forgive him.

He had said many times that I wasn’t his type, that he was only with me because I treated him well.

He also joked that when he found true love, he would dump me.

The reason our relationship lasted all these years was solely because of my concessions.

“You promised me you wouldn’t cheat again.”

My voice was low, looking at the torn Balenciaga lettered stockings on the floor.

A hint of mockery flashed in Kaele’s eyes, with no intention of comforting me.

“You believed I was serious?”

He curled his lips, leaning closer, blowing the minty smoke in my face, his expression entirely malicious:

“Can’t take it?”

“If you can’t, you can break up.”

He had said this to me countless times before.

Each time ended with me begging him not to leave.

Over time, he learned how to handle me; he knew that when he said this, I had no recourse.

I turned my head: “I’m tired, I’m going to rest.”

Kaele grabbed my wrist, his high brow always carried an imposing pressure when expressionless.

“Elowen, enough is enough.”

I shook off his hand and went into the room.

Not long after, the sound of a door slamming echoed outside.

Kaele left.

He was angry, I knew.

After all, between the two of us, I was always the one coaxing him, flattering him, and never had I given him the cold shoulder like this.

I turned over and opened my phone.

In the family group chat, my mom had sent a message tagging me.

“Mom never rushed you before, but you’re 27 now, it’s about time to think about marriage, right?”

“My colleague’s son is quite decent, I found him pleasing to the eye, why don’t you come back and meet him this holiday?”

Then I opened my boss’s WeChat.

“Elowen, the branch office is really short-staffed right now, with your abilities, staying as a deputy manager is a waste, are you interested in being a manager at the branch? It will be tough starting out, but it’s up to you.”

My mom wanted me to go home for a blind date.

The company just opened a new branch, right in my hometown.

The timing, location, and people were all right; it seemed I really had no reason to stay here.

I sighed; I really did like Kaele.

He was handsome enough, had a great body, and we were quite compatible in bed.

Most importantly, he was a scoundrel.

Being with him was easy because I didn’t have to think about being responsible for him or consider our future together.

When I first started working, I was exhausted and wanted someone to relieve the pressure, but I was just average-looking and a sucker for looks, so I couldn’t find anyone suitable until I met Kaele.

He spent his best years with me, relieving a lot of my stress with his body while I was working hard for my career.

And although his relationships with women were unclear, he was careful in this regard; before being with him, I heard that he required all his partners to show a health check within three days.

I took precautions, so I wasn’t afraid of getting sick.

Finding another man as perfect as him would be difficult.

But there’s no choice; dating is one thing, settling down and getting married is another.

I really liked Kaele.

But I also knew clearly that he wasn’t a good match.

Now, it’s time for me to make a decision.