Chapter 3

My family and friends all told me he wasn’t good enough for me.

But what did that matter?

An average woman who wants to date a gorgeous guy has to give something up.

Some pay with money, others with emotional labor.

I didn’t have much money to give him, so suffering a little emotionally was a fair price to pay. Otherwise, I’d worry I was using up all my good luck, and that some disaster was waiting for me down the road.

He never took photos with me and wouldn’t let me post his picture on social media.

When my best friend heard I was dating someone, she wanted to meet him. Cheng Yedu refused.

…

On Valentine’s Day, my colleagues were all planning to leave work early. They asked me what my plans were for the evening.

“No plans. Just going home early to catch up on sleep.”

“Wait, don’t you have a boyfriend? Did you two fight?”

I didn’t tell them that I had been looking forward to spending Valentine’s Day with him for ages. I was single all through college, and I was always a little envious seeing other girls receive flowers and gifts.

But when I booked a restaurant, bought a gift, and asked Cheng Yedu if he was free that night, he said he hated holidays and wasn’t in the mood.

He said that girls who cared so much about rituals exhausted him and told me not to bother with that stuff in the future.

…

My city gets torrential downpours in the summer. My mom would always watch the weather forecast for my area and call me as I was getting off work to ask if my boyfriend was picking me up.

“He’s not coming. I’ll just get a cab.”

“Doesn’t he have a car?”

After this happened a few times, my mom tried to reason with me.

“This guy is no good. He doesn’t care about you. He’s not someone you can rely on.”

I reassured her, “Mom, don’t worry, my plan isn’t to ‘rely’ on him. I’m not going to marry him!”

“Once I save enough money, I’m moving abroad. If a boyfriend was too good to me, I’d feel guilty leaving. Since Cheng Yedu doesn’t like me that much, it’ll be an easy breakup.”

My best friend always scolded me.

“Zhixia, I’ve never seen you act so pathetically. How handsome does a guy have to be to be worth all this?”

Cheng Yedu was handsome enough to be worth it.

And it wasn’t just his looks. He was also good in bed.

There’s an old saying: “A night of passion is worth a thousand gold pieces.”

I could have soul-shaking nights without spending a dime. It was more than a bargain.

…

After a few more tutoring sessions, Cheng Yedu’s cousin gave me a warning.

“My brother’s first love is named Ji Tangli. She’s coming back to the country in September. You should watch out for her.”

I was a bit surprised, then I laughed.

“Thanks for looking out for me! You wouldn’t even give me his contact info before, and now you’re on my side.”

He looked at me with an expression of utter exasperation.

“It’s just that watching you in this relationship is painful! You check your phone eighteen times during a class break, and my brother still hasn’t replied. You’re great at explaining physics, so why can’t you figure out men?”

I rested my chin on my hand, making excuses for myself, or maybe for Cheng Yedu.

“Your brother is so handsome, it’s normal for him to be busy with a million things…”

His cousin was indignant.

“So what if he’s handsome? You’re no slouch either. You graduated from T University, you radiate intelligence, and you make bank! You charge a thousand an hour for one-on-one. How much do you make in a month?”

“You and my brother are a perfect match of brains and beauty-with you being the brains, of course. My parents and I are totally rooting for you!”

His words made me laugh.

“Thank you, thank you. I’m flattered.”