Jiang Ci had a terrible reputation in Beijing's elite circles.
Everyone said she was the Jiang family's illegitimate daughter who had "married up," and that she'd turned herself into a spoiled drama queen just to marry into the Lu family.
Before the wedding, she made Lu Yanzhou go out in the middle of the night to buy wontons.
At their engagement party, she coquettishly demanded that he carry her in front of everyone.
On the day they registered their marriage, she insisted that he announce it on social media.
Lu Yanzhou found her annoying, but under pressure from both families, he put up with her.
Everyone thought she'd be thrown out sooner or later.
But they didn't know:
Her "spoiled behavior" was an act.
The Jiang family needed a "manageable pawn" to marry into the Lu family.
The Lu family needed a daughter-in-law who "wouldn't threaten the head of the family."
A busty, airheaded drama queen was exactly what both sides wanted.
So she kept up the act for three years.
Until everyone believed it.
Then, one day, Su Wan returned to the country.
Outside Jiang Ci's studio, with her friends beside her, she said right to Jiang Ci's face, "He said he's married, but he didn't turn me down."
Jiang Ci suddenly felt there was no point in keeping up the act.
She became quiet and well-behaved, and stopped making a fuss.
She started coming and going at all hours, building her own studio.
She began to shine, so brightly that Lu Yanzhou could no longer look away.
Lu Yanzhou panicked.
He thought she'd finally learned to behave, only to realize she simply didn't want to waste her time on him anymore.
He started chasing after her, learning to lower his head, fumbling and feeling guilty and helpless in front of her.
On the day of the divorce, he pinned her against the wall, eyes red. "Jiang Ci, how much have you been hiding from me?"
Jiang Ci smiled faintly. "Not much. Just the fact that I've never loved you."
Lu Yanzhou stared at her, finally unable to hold back.
