The New Woman's Three Obediences and Four Virtues
Obey business, politics, and the law.
Gain power, profit, wealth, and influence.
The first time Xue Zao cornered Qi Lesheng at a celebration banquet, she nearly dug her nails into her palm.
The crystal chandelier cast a cold light over the crisp crease of the man's suit trousers. He was listening to the coquettish voice beside him: her younger sister, and his girlfriend in name only.
Qi Lesheng was her sister's weakness, the "future son-in-law" her mother praised to everyone she met, and a rising star in the business world who stood at the top of the pyramid and couldn't be bothered to spare others a glance.
That was where their entanglement began.
She thought she played her part well, hiding the thrill of revenge in every calculated show of intimacy. Until one day, the entanglement that began as revenge ended with an unexpected turn.
Holding a pregnancy test report, Xue Zao stood at her sister's engagement party, which also served as the launch event for a new film. In front of countless cameras, she calmly said, as if talking about someone else, "I'm pregnant."
She knew it was the most despicable tactic, but she was gambling with the last of her dignity.
Qi Lesheng looked at her for a long time, so long that Xue Zao thought he would refuse. Then he suddenly smiled. "All right."
She thought she'd won: won against her sister, her mother, and the people who had once cursed her. But she was afraid to face the man's seemingly ever-growing possessiveness.
Qi Lesheng looked at her reddened eyes, lowered his head, and whispered in her ear, "Xue Zao, whose trap do you think this is?"
He had waited for this day for a full eight years.
I never had any illusions about you. I know you are foolish, frivolous, and empty-headed, yet I love you. I know your ambitions and your ideals. You are snobbish and vulgar, yet I love you.
Premise: Stand on your own and grow stronger.
