Even though she couldn’t afford branded items, due to her constant interaction with the rich and famous, she could recognize the brands that Jin Ze’s ex-wife loved to wear from the picture with just a glance.

  And the stuff that Jin Ze had people sent to the house matched the brands his ex-wife liked perfectly.

  Cheng Qingchong barely took a look at the stuff that he sent over before she had the old nanny placed them in the closet. Cheng Qingchong knew that, while on the surface those presents were gifted to her, they were actually meant for the wife in his memory. She was merely a stand-in, and these gestures had a deeper meaning for him than for her.

  Jin Ze not only lavished plenty of money on Cheng Qingchong but secured her a comfortable life. She knew very well the type of life she was living. Even though she made sure she didn’t spend a cent that didn’t belong to her, she knew the label of ’mistress’ couldn’t be washed away from her. Even so, she refused to spend any of his money and spent most of her day cooped up indoors, listening to music.

  There was a song that she had been listening to since her divorce to Qin Yinan. It was Maggie Chiang’s ’I’ve missed you’.

  Her days were mostly empty, and she spent more time sleeping and spacing out than doing anything productive.

  ’An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’


  She had plenty of time to reminisce about her life with Qin Yinan and the possibility that could have happened between them.

  Sometimes, she would end up smiling thinly to herself; other times, she would end up blanking out looking at the sun. No matter the scenario, in the end, she would come to the same conclusion. No matter how Qin Yinan was doing, it had nothing to do with her anymore. Then, tears would prick her tears, and she would find a spot hidden from the old nanny and allow the tears to fall.

  If possible, Cheng Qingchong wished she could live in her memory forever. There had never been a period in her life where she wished so desperately for time to move a little slower.

  However, no matter how desperate her wish was, the seven days inadvertently passed.

  Perhaps because the next day was the day Jin Ze was supposed to return, Cheng Qingchong had a hard time falling asleep that night. The next morning, when she woke up and grabbed her phone to look at the time, she saw instead a message from Jin Ze.

  He told her that he was getting on the plane and would reach home at around 6:30 pm. The phone that she was using had been given to her by the man who had fetched her when she arrived in Shanghai. The number was a new Shanghai number.

  Honestly, even if Jin Ze didn’t prepare this for her, she would have done it herself.

  When she accepted his condition, she had already decided to bid goodbye to her life in Beijing. Therefore, after she sent Qin Yinan the message saying that she had moved everything away from his house, she disconnected her Beijing number.

  Cheng Qingchong’s rather drowsy mind was awakened completely after reading Jin Ze’s message. She stared at the phone for a long time before sitting up in bed to lean against the headboard. She hugged the cover around her and spaced out, watching the sky that was still dark outside the window.

  Similar to the few days earlier, the old nanny prepared the breakfast on time.

  However, Cheng Qingchong acted differently from how she was for the past few days. Even though most of her time was spent blanking out, her constantly gripped fists belied the increasing anxiety that was gathering in her heart.

  Time flew past quickly that day, and without her realizing it, the sun was already setting.

  When the old nanny went to prepare dinner, the doorbell rang.