Chapter 1

"Old classmate, you must come to this class reunion, we have to have a few drinks together."

"I want to go, but I can't leave my job, I'm afraid..."

"Come on? Last time, you were the only one who didn't show up."

"Yes, I feel quite embarrassed about that. There really wasn't much I could do; I have to live, right?"

"Are you afraid of seeing You Hong?"

"What are you talking about? We broke up so many years ago, all the unpleasantness is long gone. Besides, I have a girlfriend now, what is there to be afraid of?"

"You have a girlfriend!?"

"Uh... Yes, I've had one for a long time."

"I thought you didn't attend the class reunion because of You Hong. Turns out you've had a girlfriend all along. In that case, you have no excuse. You must come to the reunion the day after tomorrow and bring your girlfriend."

"But the key is my work..."

"Enough, that's nothing compared to the bond between us."

"This..."

"Got it? The day after tomorrow at 8 PM, at Xinghong Hotel. No excuses."

"Alright, then."

"Good, I won't bother you anymore. You're a busy man."

"Okay, thanks."

...

As the phone call ended with a beep, Ma Qing's smile suddenly froze.

The world of adults is complex. Unlike childhood, where you can simply say what you dislike or cry when you feel wronged, adults must hide their emotions. This is to avoid embarrassing others and to minimize the risk of offending people, as having more friends is always better than having more enemies, even if you might dislike these so-called friends.

In short, you have to be smooth, meaning you can't have any sharp edges; you have to be flexible... essentially, you have to roll with it.

Forcing a smile is exhausting, as tiring as getting into a fight with a group of people. After hanging up the phone, Ma Qing's hand holding the phone suddenly went limp, and his entire arm seemed to lose all vitality.

He looked up at the starry sky.

"A university class reunion?"

Thinking of his university classmates, Ma Qing naturally remembered the woman who had taken half his life...

Twenty-one days.

Three months and twenty-one days.

Five years, three months, and twenty-one days.

Without realizing it, it had been so long since they broke up...

The starry sky suddenly revealed that stunning face, and in that moment, the night sky, once filled with shining stars, became dim and lifeless.

Ma Qing quickly pulled himself together, shaking his head to dispel the illusion. This was a face he had been unable to face for five years, and wherever he looked, he saw her shadow.

That night, Ma Qing couldn't sleep, not because of her, but because of the class reunion the day after tomorrow, because— he didn't actually have a girlfriend!

This put Ma Qing in a difficult position. He had already said he would go, so he couldn't back out. The problem was, how was he going to get a girlfriend in such a short time?

Ma Qing was a man of dignity. Since he had to face his ex-girlfriend, he naturally wanted to bring a woman who could match her. But thinking of You Hong's perfect figure and her stunning beauty... Ma Qing couldn't imagine anyone more perfect than her.

How could anyone even draw such a person?

Feeling a headache, Ma Qing rubbed his temples, picked up his phone, and escaped into the internet, into the virtual world.

By chance, Ma Qing noticed an app, a "rent-a-girlfriend" app.

Ma Qing's eyes lit up, and he had an idea. What if... he rented a girlfriend to get through it?

Ma Qing thought this was feasible and immediately downloaded the app. He set the search criteria to the highest price, as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for."

The list refreshed, and one beautiful woman after another appeared before Ma Qing's eyes. He nodded in satisfaction, though he wasn't particularly fond of these internet celebrity faces, he had to admit that they did meet the aesthetic standards of most people today. Renting such a girlfriend would be quite dignified.

However, the price was not cheap, with a rental fee of 500 yuan per hour, and clients were not allowed to make "excessive" requests, as it was a legitimate platform.

Ma Qing's facial muscles twitched at the high price, but thinking of the class reunion the day after tomorrow, he steeled himself and chatted with one of the beauties.

The conversation was brief, focusing on whether the photos matched the person in real life.

The woman's response was very satisfactory. She said she didn't photograph well and suggested a face-to-face meeting the next day to see if they were a good match before placing an order.

Ma Qing found this reliable, paid a small deposit, and arranged a meeting place, then went to bed with peace of mind.

...

The next day,

At exactly 7:00 AM,

At the Starbucks on the pedestrian street.

This was the meeting place Ma Qing and the woman had agreed upon. Ma Qing stood on the pedestrian street, glanced at the Starbucks, raised his eyebrows, straightened his collar, and pushed the door open.

Perhaps because it had just opened a few minutes ago, the Starbucks was nearly empty at this time, with even the front desk staff yawning, seemingly still half-asleep.

Ma Qing looked around the store and finally fixed his gaze on a woman in a business suit sitting by the window. She was the only one in the store, so it must be her.

Ma Qing cleared his throat and walked over with a light step...

People are unique. Each person's knowledge, experience, education, and upbringing result in different auras. As Ma Qing approached, he was surprised to find that this woman seemed different from ordinary people. Since she was facing away from him, Ma Qing couldn't see her face yet, but the cold aura she exuded made it clear that she was an ice queen.

And... this woman's skin was so white, her smooth neck with a few strands of hair falling on it had an indescribable beauty. Especially when she reached out to tuck the hair behind her ear, her long, slender fingers were so beautiful that they took his breath away.

Suddenly, Ma Qing began to feel nervous.

Ma Qing, who had not felt a heart-pounding sensation since breaking up with his ex-girlfriend You Hong, now felt his heart racing.

Excited, Ma Qing walked around to the woman's front and swallowed the heart that was about to jump out of his throat.

"Um, hello, are you..."

Before he could finish, the moment Ma Qing saw the woman's face, he was so shocked that he lost his words, drawing in a sharp breath.

Sigh—

Ma Qing drew in a sharp breath, thinking to himself, "Damn, she's too beautiful!"

Instantly, Ma Qing's aesthetic standards were shattered by the woman before him.

She had willow-like eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, a delicate face, and a perfect figure... The only flaw was her icy, bone-chilling eyes. Though beautiful, they were so distant, like an ice lily on a mountain, untouchable and even sinful to look at.

Ma Qing had always thought that in this world, You Hong was the most beautiful. He couldn't imagine anyone more beautiful than her, but now, he had seen one.

The woman looked at Ma Qing, raised her wrist, and checked the time on her watch, then said impatiently, "You're half an hour late."

Ma Qing: "..."

Ma Qing was taken aback, remembering that they had agreed to meet at 7:00. Had he remembered wrong?

Before Ma Qing could figure it out, the woman stood up, grabbed her handbag, and said coldly, "Let's go."

With that, she walked out on her own.

"Go?" Ma Qing called out, looking at her retreating back, "Wait, where are we going?"

The woman didn't respond, pushing the door open, and the bell above the door jingled.

Seeing that the woman didn't answer, Ma Qing followed her out.

"Where are we going?" Ma Qing asked again.

The woman gave Ma Qing a cold, stern look but remained silent, her demeanor conveying a clear message: "Less talk!"

Ma Qing, understanding the situation, kept quiet and followed her.

The two walked in silence, the only sounds being the morning street noises and the clicking of the woman's high heels on the ground. Beautiful women are like that; even the sound of their high heels is a beautiful melody.

Ma Qing glanced at the woman's legs and couldn't help but think she seemed a bit fake. Such long legs in high heels, who could handle that?

"Cough—" Ma Qing cleared his throat, scratched his nose, and said, "Your platform is quite professional."

The woman looked at Ma Qing with a puzzled expression but remained silent.

"Um... about the money..."

"We'll talk about it later," the woman said coldly.

"Okay," Ma Qing replied.

The woman led Ma Qing into a mall and then took his arm.

Feeling the woman's closeness, Ma Qing was instantly startled, his whole body tensing up.

"Relax," the woman said coldly.

"O-Okay, sure," Ma Qing replied in a trembling voice.

Despite her words, Ma Qing felt even more nervous when people around them looked at him with envious eyes. His vision narrowed, his feet felt rootless, and his neck was so stiff it seemed to be filled with lead, making every movement feel like a joint cracking.

When they reached the fourth floor of the mall, Ma Qing suddenly stopped feeling nervous.

He saw the woman who had taken half his life—You Hong!