She Shone Brightly That Year

Before my brother sacrificed himself, he warned me, “Zhiyi, three generations of our family have worked undercover and given their lives for our country. Now that my identity is exposed, those people will never let you go. Jin Shen loves you deeply. Don’t drag him into this.” The night my brother’s body was draped in the national flag, the first thing I did was kick down the man kneeling before me at my graduation ceremony and throw away his proposal ring. “You think a cheap diamond you bought with your work-study money is good enough for me?” Later, I left in a Maybach with my arm around a wealthy man. Red-eyed, he chased me through the pouring rain for three whole blocks, while I rolled down the window and tossed our photo into a filthy gutter. When we met again five years later, Lu Jinshen had become the head of the Lu family, controlling the economic lifelines of half of Asia. He took me by force and made me his wife, but after we married, Lu Jinshen and I became the most familiar of strangers.