I'm Wang Yicen, an elite student at a prestigious university, among the nation's best in classical dance.
At 22, I gave up the bright prospects of studying abroad and taking the civil service exam to become a teacher. I insisted on marrying my entrepreneurial boyfriend, who had nothing but more than a hundred thousand yuan in debt.
We drifted from north to south, uprooted for ten years.
I worked as a stunt double, handed out flyers, and taught part-time. I took out loans from every online lender until I became a credit delinquent, lived in a dark little room with no sunlight, and stood by him through four business ventures, six relocations, and nine moves.
Burdened by more than three million yuan in debt, penniless and subjected to cold stares, I was slandered and cursed by every relative. I nearly let endless family conflicts consume me completely.
Everyone laughed at me for being foolish, for having bet my youth on the wrong man. They urged me to cut my losses and walk away.
But I stubbornly believed: If you weren't there for me when the sun was setting, who are you to come back when I rise again?
Through my own efforts, I earned a hundred thousand yuan a month, paid for the betrothal gifts, gold jewelry, car, home, and wedding out of my own pocket, and gritted my teeth as I paid off a million yuan in debt. I clawed my way out of despair and turned things around.
I endured poverty and despair, but in the end, I had exhausted the part of myself that kept groveling for approval.
We loved each other for ten years, with no house and no savings. We weathered every storm together, and all we had was our love amid poverty.
On our tenth anniversary, a long-overdue bouquet and the unexpected arrival of our second child brought an end to all the turmoil.
At thirty, I finally saw the truth.
I would no longer be anyone's emotional servant, or keep sacrificing myself for anyone.
For ten years, I stood by him through every upheaval and helped him turn things around against all odds.
For the rest of my life, I'll love myself properly and raise the person I lost as if she were my own child.
