"Huo Minxue, I have never been a good woman. To be honest, I became interested in you the first time I saw you."

"From childhood to adulthood, there have only been two types of men in my life."

"The first type is those who covet my looks and try every means to take advantage of me."

"Secondly, they harbored the greatest malice towards me, thinking I was the kind of fox spirit in novels who lived by sucking men's essence, that my existence tainted the society, and that they wished they could get rid of me as soon as possible."

"And you are the third type. There is no evil or malice in your eyes when you look at me. You seem to... regard me as a very ordinary woman."

"Back then, I didn't believe a man could like my face, which is why I kept appearing in front of you."

"Huo Minxue, do you still want to marry someone like me? Do you still want to marry me?"

"You're wrong," Huo Minxue said softly.

"Where did I go wrong?" Ruan Wushuang frowned.

“You say I’m not interested in your face? That’s not true. No one who has seen your face would dislike it.” Huo Minxue’s gaze fell on Ruan Wushuang’s face.

Ruan Wushuang's pupils paused slightly, then she immediately retorted.

"But if you like my face, why did you reject me so many times before?"

"Rejection doesn't mean I don't like you. There aren't only two kinds of people in this world. The reason you think that way is simply because you haven't met other people yet."

Ruan Wushuang was a little unsure how to respond to Huo Minxue's words.

Because she had never met any men other than those two types.

"You don't need to worry about that. You'll gradually come into contact with it in the future," Huo Minxue said gently.

"The future? You still want a future with me?" Ruan Wushuang caught the key point in Huo Minxue's words.

Why not?

"Did you listen to what I just said?" Ruan Wushuang had imagined many of Huo Minxue's reactions when he learned the truth: shock, anger, heartache, or turning away.

But I never expected his tone to be so casual and indifferent.

"I listened carefully; I heard every single word clearly," Huo Minxue said, emphasizing each word.

"Then why would you react like this?" Ruan Wushuang asked, puzzled.

"Life is a long journey. My first half of life was almost entirely smooth sailing. I came from a wealthy family and had a happy family. I was able to pursue the life I wanted without any worries."

"But the building collapsed in an instant, and overnight, our family became a target of everyone's hatred."

“I haven’t told you before, but during the time we were sent down for reform, my second uncle’s family almost didn’t make it back.”

"My aunt almost got left alone in the mining area too..."

"When I first went to the countryside, I didn't even know how to pick corn. I went there wearing only a short-sleeved shirt. The corn leaves were very sharp, and my arm was covered in blood after just one afternoon."

"After just one week, I felt like my body and soul were being torn apart. There's something I've never told anyone: during that time, I even had suicidal thoughts."