Chapter 3 The Guilt She Carried
It seemed Mu Jinci had never fully gotten over not ending up with Chen Yi.
She treated marrying me—a guy her parents forced on her through a blind date—as some kind of betrayal of him.
So whenever Chen Yi reached out after we married, she’d soften, shower him with care.
And I was just collateral damage.
I’d heard her parents hadn’t approved of Chen Yi back then. They fought, broke up, and split.
Then her parents set her up with me.
I didn’t know any of that at the time. I just knew I was at the age to settle down, the girl was young and beautiful, and our families knew each other.
It felt like the perfect setup.
Mu Jinci didn’t see it that way.
She resented the arranged blind date. She could barely hide it.
On our first date, she barely looked at me. I gave her roses—she scoffed. I took her to dinner—she sat stone-faced the whole time.
She was exactly my type, but I figured we had no future.
I suggested we end the blind date thing.
She looked relieved. So was I.
I thought I’d never see her again.
Until one night, heading home late from work, I spotted her drunk, cornered by a group of thugs.
I stepped in.
I could’ve walked away. Maybe it was how I was raised—couldn’t ignore someone in trouble. Or maybe, deep down, I hadn’t gotten over her.
I chased the guys off and draped my jacket over her.
“Want me to drive you home?”
She stared at me, hazy. “Why did you help me?”
I didn’t really know.
“Saw you in trouble. Came over.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
She dropped her gaze and suddenly laughed.
“I actually kind of hated you. But now I realize... you’re a little like him sometimes.”
“Like who?”
She never answered.
By the time I looked over, she was asleep on my shoulder.