Chapter 30

“She left me a contact number, saying if you were around, I should give it to you.” Shen Cheng asked, “Do you want to get in touch with her?”

Leng Xiang replied without hesitation, “No need.”

Shen Cheng had expected this reaction from her.

Still, it was probably for the best not to meet.

Leng Xiang said, “Back then, I made it clear to her: I’d pay off the last of their debts, and after that, they were never to come looking for me again. From then on, I’d have nothing to do with them.”

Leng Xiang continued, “A few years ago, they knew I couldn’t get any work and had no money to give them.”

She let out a self-mocking laugh. “They must have heard from somewhere that I have money again now, so here they come, eyes full of greed.”

Shen Cheng sighed and patted her shoulder comfortingly.

Leng Xiang’s family situation was truly complicated—too messy to sum up in a few words.

Leng Xiang’s mother, Liu Lingshu, had been born in a remote little town under an eighteenth-tier county, in a place so isolated that few people ever got the chance to see the outside world. Generations lived and died there.

Her mother’s name, Liu Lingshu, had been chosen by a fortune-teller, who said she was destined for a life of loneliness and hardship, with no one to rely on. She would need a daughter one day to bring her some luck, so he’d picked that name for her.

Liu Lingshu had once been the greatest beauty in the whole town, praised far and wide.

Whenever she strolled through the town streets, every man, woman, and child would stare at her, unable to look away.

Liu Lingshu was truly stunning. The townsfolk were mostly uneducated and inexperienced, so they couldn’t quite put their finger on what made her so beautiful. They threw around every phrase they knew—national beauty, fish-sinking goose-falling—from the little they’d heard, insisting even the movie stars on TV weren’t as pretty as her.

If she pursed her lips in a smile, anyone who saw it would feel like they were floating on air, ready to give her anything she wanted without a second thought.

Liu Lingshu grew up adored by all, like the moon surrounded by stars.

She was beautiful but not very bright and terrible at school. She finished junior high in town.

Her family ran a small grocery store, and going to high school in the county seat would mean crossing two mountains—too far to come home and help with the business.

Her family didn’t want her to study anyway, so she didn’t.

When Liu Lingshu got a bit older and it was time to marry, her family hurried to arrange a match for her.

They quickly settled on a groom from the town’s wealthiest family, who had good conditions and wanted her for her looks.

The groom’s family offered a bride price that was astronomical for the town. Liu Lingshu’s mother had never seen so much money in her life; she was stunned, then overjoyed, and quickly pocketed it, eager to marry her daughter off.

On the wedding day, people from miles around crowded to watch Liu Lingshu’s procession.

It was the noisiest day the town had ever seen—and the most humiliating for her family.

Liu Lingshu had run away from the marriage.

She eloped with a man.

The man had come to town from outside a year earlier. Tall and handsome, with a gentle, scholarly air, he taught at the town’s junior high.

She’d kept their relationship secret from her family. He told her about the world beyond the town—skyscrapers, bustling traffic, things she’d never even heard of.

Being with him made Liu Lingshu feel like the happiest woman alive.

When her family arranged the marriage and she felt powerless to refuse, her first thought was to elope.

That’s how it always went on TV: lovers defying all obstacles, leaving family behind for love.

The man agreed. They crossed two mountains to the eighteenth-tier county town, then used his savings to buy train tickets to B City.

Everything outside was a wonder to Liu Lingshu.

B City was huge—cars everywhere, towering buildings, crowds of people. Everything he’d described was real.

They settled in B City, living in a basement less than ten square meters. He went out to earn money and rarely came back. She kept house, cleaned, washed clothes, cooked, and waited for him.

To her, the days were poor but peaceful and happy.

Until one day, a group of men burst in with iron bars, pointing them at Liu Lingshu and demanding money.

That was when she learned the truth: the man had owed a huge debt and had fled to that remote town to hide from creditors.

Now that he’d left, they’d tracked him down.

Liu Lingshu had no money, so they beat her badly.

When the man came back, he held her battered body and cried, saying he was sorry, promising he’d make it up to her and give her a good life someday.

Liu Lingshu thought that even if life was hard, she was still happy.

In this vast city, he was all she had.

Later, she got pregnant. The fortune-teller had been right—she gave birth to a daughter.

Liu Lingshu named her Leng Xiang.

Perhaps because of the daughter, the man started coming home more often. He’d bring them money and take Liu Lingshu and Leng Xiang out for treats.

His tenderness made her feel happy.

The debts seemed to get paid off. The little family of three was poor, but their days were steady and calm.

Then one day, while Liu Lingshu was doing housework, the loan sharks showed up again.

The man had gone gambling and lost big.

She had no money and got beaten again. The debt collectors smashed everything in the house.

When the man returned, he saw Liu Lingshu on the floor and their daughter wailing beside her. He held Liu Lingshu and cried, swearing he was sorry and would work hard to pay it back.

Liu Lingshu believed him.

What else could she do? With a daughter and no one else in this huge city, he was her only support—financially and otherwise.

She’d only finished junior high and knew nothing but cleaning. What choice did she have?

Besides, she loved him deeply. She couldn’t live without him.

But in the end, the man deceived her.

Unable to pay, crushed by pressure, he turned to alcohol. Drunk, he started beating her.

Liu Lingshu had no way to fight back and always ended up covered in bruises.

But sober, he’d hold her and cry, calling himself a bastard, slapping his own face, begging for forgiveness.

Liu Lingshu thought, Of course I forgive you—I love you.

Once it started, it didn’t stop. Endless abuse followed.

The man grew bolder, and Liu Lingshu couldn’t leave him.

Leng Xiang grew up in that environment.

Liu Lingshu barely paid her any attention, pouring all her energy into the man.

Leng Xiang finished elementary school nearby and scraped through junior high, but for some reason, Liu Lingshu wouldn’t let her continue to high school.

Even when Leng Xiang said she could work to pay for it herself, Liu Lingshu refused.

Liu Lingshu was a beauty, and the man had good looks too—their daughter was naturally pretty.

By fourteen, Leng Xiang already had the look of a little beauty.

The man’s debts kept piling up, and Leng Xiang kept growing more beautiful.

One day, drunk, he came home and saw Leng Xiang doing homework in the living room—high school math problems.

She was focused and ignored him.

He laughed loudly. “My dear daughter, your dear mommy isn’t sending you to high school, so why bother with homework?”

Leng Xiang still ignored him.

He got angry and lunged for her pen. “Did you hear me, you little brat? Ungrateful wretch—after I raised you all these years!”

Leng Xiang threw the pen right in his face.

Then the workbook and textbook followed, smashing into him.

At fourteen, she was the only one in the house brave enough to fight back.

Once, he tried to teach her a real lesson, pinning her down with his adult strength. But she slipped free, grabbed a kitchen knife, and charged at him with bloodshot eyes, slashing wildly.

In a fight, you don’t mess with someone who doesn’t care if they live or die.

After that, the man never laid a hand on Leng Xiang again.

He didn’t dare hit back after she pelted him, just sneered, “You little bastard, one day I’ll sell you off—just looking at you pisses me off.”

In the end, he didn’t sell her. Liu Lingshu did.

To a film company, though.

One day, Liu Lingshu saw a film company scouting trainees outside. Remembering her pretty daughter at home, she brought the scout back and pointed at Leng Xiang. “This is my girl—pretty, right?”

Leng Xiang eyed him warily. The scout studied her for a while. “She really is.”

He reached out. “Kid, want to be a star?”

Leng Xiang nodded without hesitation.

Anywhere was better than this house.

From then on, Leng Xiang never returned to that so-called home.

She never considered Liu Lingshu or her man as parents.

Liu Lingshu had sold her, forcing her into a fifteen-year exploitative contract for a big payout. Before Leng Xiang turned eighteen, Liu Lingshu took all her earnings as her guardian. After, she started demanding money outright.

The biggest sum came when Liu Lingshu’s man nearly got beaten to death over usury debts and dragged into lawsuits. She knelt before Leng Xiang, begging.

Leng Xiang didn’t budge.

When pleading failed, Liu Lingshu threatened to go to her company and make a scene, exposing her as a selfish daughter who abandoned her parents.

For an actor, reputation was everything.

Leng Xiang gave in reluctantly, but the debts were too massive for her income.

Liu Lingshu said, “Don’t you have a house?”

That’s what she’d come for.

Leng Xiang sold the home she’d saved years for, transferred every cent, and made it crystal clear: this was the last time. Even if you’re dying, don’t come to me again.

Liu Lingshu agreed eagerly for the money—and kept her word, never showing up again.

Mostly because Leng Xiang fell from grace after that, and Liu Lingshu knew she was broke.

Now that Liu Lingshu knew she had money again, here she was.