A Thousand Gold Pieces Couldn’t Buy Her a Second Glance

My wealthy boyfriend never gave me a single gift in our seven years together. After proposing, he asked for the diamond ring back so he could return it, and when we went to register our marriage, he said the 9.9 yuan paperwork fee was too expensive and unnecessary. But then he turned around and married his childhood sweetheart, eagerly booking the most luxurious restaurant in the city for their engagement banquet. My grandmother was so distressed that she suffered a heart attack. I fell to my knees and begged my boyfriend to return the wages I’d saved with him over the years so I could pay for her surgery. But he put his arm around his childhood sweetheart and pretended not to know me. He said he wouldn’t help a lazy beggar, then ordered his bodyguards to throw me out. Later, my grandmother died amid the sound of firecrackers on New Year’s Eve. During the Spring Festival, I handled my grandmother’s funeral alone and accepted a job offer from a major overseas company. When I returned home to get my passport, my boyfriend had just finished visiting his childhood sweetheart’s parents and was in a good mood. Thinking I was throwing a tantrum, he made his first generous promise: “Fine, I was only helping my childhood sweetheart deal with everyone pressuring her to get married. What could possibly be wrong with your grandmother? At worst, I’ll make it up to you with a lavish wedding. We can invite her onstage to say a few words and let her feel important for once.” But he didn’t know that from the moment my grandmother drew her last breath, I had never wanted to marry him again.