The Identity Game - Chapter 11

Chen Panqing said that during her time with Shao Rubai, she had never truly entered his heart. Even when he had amnesia, his gaze always followed me. Now, she could only choose to exit the stage and yield to true love.

Shi Song said that even if Rubai knew I had deceived him, he was still willing to be with me, which proved he loved me to his core. As a woman, I should be content.

Shao Rubai also said, “You don’t like me controlling you, I’ll change, but I will never let you leave, and you won’t escape my grasp.”

I was truly fed up with being held hostage in the name of love. They were all self-righteous romantics, determined to drag me into their mess. So I decided to learn from them. I called Shi Song and told Shao Rubai, “During your amnesia, I fell in love with Mr. Xiao Song. Shao Rubai, please let us be together.”

Shi Song was so scared he almost ran out the door. “Rubai, don’t believe her! She’s trying to sow discord between us brothers! You don’t know how harshly she rejected me!”

After the retaliatory marriage proposal, Shao Rubai actually disappeared for three days. When he reappeared, there was no insane fury as I had expected. He very calmly told me, “Before, when you said you wanted to leave me, I thought you were just saying it in anger. But during my amnesia, you were willing to find someone to impersonate my girlfriend just to get away from me. I guess I really can’t keep you.”

His reaction far exceeded my expectations; I could hardly believe my ears.

“Lin Nanlu, I set you free.” Shao Rubai even stood up and bowed to me in apology. “That contract has been voided. I’m truly sorry for the pain I caused you. Please give me back the ring.”

“It’s okay. Then we’ll say goodbye here.” Shao Rubai didn’t look at me again, leaving me and Shi Song with a dashing and magnanimous back.

“How did Rubai suddenly change his personality? Is he playing hard to get with you?” Shi Song, seeing Shao Rubai truly walk away, whispered in my ear, “Are you serious about being in love with me? We can start out secretly, and once we’re sure Rubai has let go, we can go public…”

I didn’t care if he was playing hard to get. Once he let me go, there was no turning back.

I left the company and went to a city where it felt like spring all year round, starting my life anew there. In between, I received a handwritten letter from Shao Rubai, explaining his reasons for letting go.

Shao Rubai wrote that when he first realized I was deceiving him, he was indeed furious and wanted to trap me firmly with the shackles of marriage. But during his three-day disappearance, he calmed down and thought a lot. He thought about the family I had mentioned to him, and he learned from a friend about my mother who had been beaten into a vegetative state, and my father who was imprisoned for abuse. He couldn’t help but think of himself. He also had a past deeply buried in his heart, unwilling to be touched by anyone. He hated his mother who abandoned her child, and he hated his philandering father. He also knew the stress response caused by these traumas, and only then did he realize how deeply he had hurt me.

Some people learn to exploit from imperfect childhoods, while others choose to avoid. Shao Rubai was now receiving therapy from a psychologist, diligently working to overcome his pathological possessiveness. He hoped that I, too, could slowly emerge from my painful past, giving myself, and him, a chance. He would be coming here on a business trip in a week. If I could forgive him, I should meet him at the airport.

I didn’t know if this was Shao Rubai’s genuine introspection or a trick to coax me back. I folded the letter and put it in the trash can.

“Lulu, want to go to dinner tonight?” A new colleague came over to invite me.

I smiled and shook my head, “My parents are visiting me these days, and we’ve already made plans to eat out together.”

“Your family has such a good relationship.” My colleague waved goodbye, envious.