On the day Shen Miaoyan was pushed out by her biological father to replace her sister in marriage, there were no stars in the sky.
The other party was rumored to be an abandoned son of a wealthy family with a disfigured face, a broken leg, and a bad temper. My aunt sent me a WeChat message: You have had a tough life since you were young, so you can get through it just by carrying it.
She carried it for twenty-seven years. From the day she was placed in foster care with relatives, she learned not to count on anyone.
After walking out of the Shen family's old house, she didn't look back. Went directly to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Getting the certificate went smoothly. Sign the agreement, take photos, stamp, and each get a marriage certificate. She said "different way" and he said "ok". When we parted, we were clean and tidy, and we owed no one to anyone.
Then his car came back.
The window was halfway down and he said, "Get in the car."
She got on.
From that day on, when she went out every morning, his car would be parked at the gate of the community. There was a cup of coffee on the passenger side, the temperature was just right, the kind she often drank. He never said he bought it specially, and she never said thank you. The two of them came and went in silence, like an unspoken deal.
He said: Article 3 of the agreement is to report each other's whereabouts. Business is business.
But a business person would not wait downstairs for four hours while she worked overtime until early in the morning. He wouldn't stay overnight the day she had a fever and pretend nothing happened the next day. She would not take the glass of wine directed to her at the family banquet and say in front of everyone: "She is my person."
She had asked him why.
He said: "It should be."
It should. There is no such clause in the agreement.
Shen Miaoyan always felt that she did not need anyone. She lived soberly, sharply, and never gave up an inch of ground.
