Volume One, Chapter Two: Sang Wan, It's Time to Wake Up!

Beep!
Beep...
"Heart rate 116, systolic 129, diastolic 74, all vitals normal."
"The surgery was a complete success..."
"..."

The humming sounds drifted near and far in turns.
Through hazy vision, the glaring white lights were especially blinding.
The pain that had tormented her for months had vanished without a trace.
Sang Wan felt light as air, an unprecedented sense of ease.
As her heartbeat thudded steadily in her ears, her consciousness faded again.

When she awoke, twenty-four hours had passed.
The swelling in her limbs and body was gone.
The nausea that had pressed upon her chest had dissipated as well.
If not for the reflection in the floor-to-ceiling window—her body entwined in tubes, identical to the state before she slipped into a coma—Sang Wan might have believed she had returned from death.

But recalling what had happened before she fainted, Sang Wan couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
Hadn't she, in a sense, died once already?
Sang Wan, it's time to wake up!

Remembering the voice she heard before losing consciousness that day, Sang Wan asked Nurse Lan, "Who sent you here?"

The person had said that she was so proud, she'd rather die than let anyone see her so weak and defeated.
Don't tell her.

Nurse Lan hesitated, "Miss Sang, I'm sorry, I can't say. But if fate allows, perhaps you will meet one day."

Sang Wan was unwilling to let it go.
She asked the nurse when Lan was away.
The nurse looked puzzled, "Isn't it your husband?"

Sang Wan: ...

She'd sooner believe the King of Hell had grown soft-hearted than that it was Lu Jinnian.
It took Sang Wan seven days from waking to being able to walk again.
During those seven days, neither Lu Jinnian nor Lu Xiaomu appeared.
Only Lu Jinnian called twice—calls Sang Wan did not answer.

In the past, this would have left Sang Wan devastated, weeping through sleepless nights.
But after dying once, she found herself feeling almost nothing.
Nothing in life is truly important except death.
Those who are unworthy are best discarded.
Matters undeserving of her attention are best forgotten.

Seeing Nurse Lan's eyes redden with concern as she changed her dressings, Sang Wan comforted her instead, "Sister Lan, I'm fine. My blessings all lie ahead."

"Miss Sang, you're right!"
Nurse Lan nodded.

Sang Wan remained in the hospital for over half a month.
The day she was discharged was overcast.
As the car drove toward the Lu family villa, passing the kindergarten, Sang Wan couldn't help herself; she asked the driver to pull over.

Before getting out, Sang Wan checked her reflection.
Months of illness had left her body swollen, but now she was rapidly slimming down.
Even her sallow complexion had been nursed back to fair smoothness by Sister Lan's painstakingly prepared broths.
At a glance, she looked much as she did when she first married.

At five o'clock, the kindergarten gates were crowded with people.
On the grassy lawn inside, the children chattered, even their squabbles bright and pleasant to the ear.
The lower classes had just been dismissed; now it was time for the middle class.

Sang Wan spotted Lu Xiaomu immediately.
"What are you doing here?"
At the sight of Sang Wan, the cheerful glow on Lu Xiaomu's face instantly faded. "I already made plans with Aunt Chaochao—she said she'd pick me up. It must be because of you, you wicked woman, you—"

"Mu-ge!"
Lu Xiaomu’s indignation was cut off by a bright call of “Mu-ge!”
Sang Wan turned.

In the crowd outside the kindergarten, Lin Chaochao approached, strikingly beautiful, standing out among all others.
She wore an elegant cream-colored suit.
Her makeup was flawless, her jewelry dazzling.
Once a pure and innocent girl, she had bloomed in just half a year into a radiant, lively rose.

Around her neck hung a sapphire necklace, one she had admired in a catalog and Lu Jinnian had specially ordered from Paris.
The necklace was as brilliant as ever.
Only the owner had changed.

"Aunt Chaochao..."
In a flash, Lu Xiaomu abandoned his sulky face and flew to Lin Chaochao like a joyous bird.
Hand in hand, the two walked merrily to the parking lot, even their backs radiating happiness.
Lin Chaochao teased him with silly faces, wiped his hands and face with a wet wipe, and handed him biscuits.
Though Sang Wan couldn't see Lu Xiaomu's face, she knew he must be smiling brightly.

Sang Wan turned to leave, but Lin Chaochao caught up to her.
"Sister Sang..."
Lin Chaochao offered a card. "President Lu gave this to me, but I think you need it more than I do. Please, take it."

It was a beauty salon membership card.
Sang Wan saw the undisguised challenge and patronizing charity in Lin Chaochao’s eyes.

Sang Wan was calmer than she had ever been. "No need. Since it was given to you, you should keep it."

Ha.
Just a beauty card.

"If you like digging for treasures in the trash, then… it’s all yours!"

That included Lu Jinnian and Lu Xiaomu.

Sang Wan turned and left.
Behind her, Lin Chaochao called out defiantly, "Sang Wan, only those unloved are the other woman. If you’d behaved yourself as a housekeeper, I wouldn’t have minded you. The title of Mrs. Lu—I’ll give it to you!"

Give?
Are mistresses always this brazen now?
Sang Wan looked at Lin Chaochao’s arrogant face for a moment, but she felt nothing but profound calm.

She simply called Lu Jinnian, told him she needed to speak with him, and asked him to come home when he was done for the day.

Sang Wan went straight to the study upon entering the house.
Lu Jinnian returned late at night, reeking of alcohol. Seeing Sang Wan, his eyes flashed briefly with confusion. "Wanwan, if you’d just stop making trouble, we could have a good life together."

"Making trouble?"
Sang Wan was stunned.
What trouble had she made?
The words stuck in her throat; in the end, she couldn’t be bothered to say them.
Let him think what he liked.

"Lu Jinnian, let’s get a divorce."

Sang Wan took out the divorce papers. "The company is yours. I only worked a year after graduating before I got pregnant; just pay me for that year’s salary."

"The house and car—we can split them as marital property, but I don’t care to haggle, so you keep the villa and I’ll take the apartment in the east of the city. And Xiaomu..."

Before she finished, Sang Wan glanced up to see Lu Jinnian had already sprawled on the sofa, fast asleep.

Once, she would have felt heartache, would have nagged, coaxed him to bathe, change, and sleep in bed.

But now, her heart was utterly still.

They’d grown up together, spent four years in college, and been married for six.
She used to listen as he complained about unreliable teammates and tricky graduation projects.
At work, she heard his sighs about the hardships of starting a business and difficult clients.
Most of the time, he spoke, she listened, then offered advice and helped solve his problems.

There had been moments of tenderness.
But gradually, even sitting together for a coffee and a chat became a rarity.
Now, Sang Wan felt more like a housekeeper in her own home.

What she wanted to say, he ignored.
What she wanted to do, he didn’t care about.

Though she had better grades in college and her designs at work were superior, to him, her only roles were as a good wife and a good mother.

Just like when she first found out she was pregnant—she wanted to work until her due date, but Lu Jinnian insisted she stay home to rest.
From that moment, he saw her less and heard her voice even less.

Having died once, she would never be the same again.