Chapter 01
Everyone has flaws, both physical and in character. Everyone has worries, rich or poor.
The most important thing is to recognize your own flaws, and that's exactly what I failed to do. I let small troubles turn into big ones, until eventually my entire life fell into hell, doomed to be tormented endlessly without reprieve...
In modern society, more and more young people are focusing on fitness, envying those young men and women with great bodies.
But fitness is no easy feat. First, you need sufficient willpower, ample time, and a certain level of financial stability. You might even encounter deeper, unimaginable things. Next, I will recount my personal experience to advise all of you readers: never, ever let your girlfriend or wife start working out.
My name is Lu Ge. Laugh if you want, or don't. I'm used to it anyway. From my school days to my working life, classmates, colleagues, and friends have all called me 'Ru Ge'.
That year, I was 28 and had a good job, a deputy section chief in the Administration for Industry and Commerce, a proper civil servant.
I didn't get here through connections. I passed the civil service exam after university and worked my way up from the bottom, achieving such a position at a young age.
You have to understand, the average age for a deputy section chief in our bureau is nearly 50.
It's not narcissism, but if someone called me 'promising for my age,' it wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.
Next, I'll focus on introducing my wife Chen Jinyan.
We met at a friend's gathering. I had just started working back then. I'm not good with words, so I didn't have many friends, only one colleague, Tian Chen, whom I got along with well. And don't get the wrong idea, that's a gender-neutral name, my colleague is a man.
He was slick and a smooth talker, so he was quite popular.
One day, he excitedly told me he had gotten a girlfriend and wanted me to meet her, so we arranged to have dinner together.
Tian Chen had a lot of friends, and that evening, a large table was filled with people.
I didn't expect this guy to actually have what it takes to land a university student girlfriend. His girlfriend was named Fang Xin, a very pretty and vibrant young woman. She'll come up again later, but for now, let's get to the main person: the classmate Fang Xin brought along, Chen Jinyan.
Do you know that feeling of love at first sight? I was completely captivated by her then. She had long, flowing hair, eyes as bright as the moon, an oval face, and a long, swan-like, flawless neck. Her full chest was accentuated by a long dress that hugged her curvaceous figure.
Unlike Fang Xin's youthful and energetic vibe, she gave off a feeling of fresh, untainted elegance, someone to be admired from afar, not to be profaned.
"What do you think, mesmerized, aren't you? To be honest, I was originally pursuing Chen Jinyan too. Unfortunately, even though I, Tian Chen, consider myself a master at picking up girls, and with my silver tongue, I've charmed countless beauties, she was like an ice queen. Nothing I did could move her. In the end, I had no choice but to go after her classmate." Tian Chen noticed my dazed expression.
"Huh? What did you say?" I was startled back to reality by his voice. Only then did I realize I wasn't the only one; almost everyone at the table was staring at her. The men looked infatuated, some with a lewd fervor, their minds surely filled with dirty thoughts. The women were mostly filled with jealousy.
A single scene, yet it revealed the full spectrum of human nature.
As for how I managed to win Chen Jinyan over, heh, maybe it was just heaven's pity on me!
After that, I often took the initiative to ask Tian Chen and his girlfriend Fang Xin out. They knew I was interested in Chen Jinyan, so they would always invite her along.
Later, Fang Xin secretly told me that Chen Jinyan had just gone through a breakup, so she brought her out to cheer her up and was also trying to set us up, hoping to help her get over the heartbreak.
I wondered which blind bastard didn't cherish such a great beauty.
Maybe a woman who's just had her heart broken is easier to pursue, or perhaps it was because I was so handsome and dashing, who knows? After my first confession, she agreed to give dating me a try.
I was absolutely ecstatic.
I actually had two girlfriends in university, but we broke up due to graduation and work. We weren't that deeply in love, to be honest. Dating was just the trend in college, and not having a girlfriend would have gotten you mocked instead. Besides, I was a top student with decent looks; getting a girlfriend was a piece of cake.
But this time was different. I was incredibly serious about Jinyan. I used all my skills to please her, indulging her in everything. I never lost my temper with her, truly treating her like she was fragile as if afraid she'd break if I held her too tightly, or melt if I held her in my mouth.
Two years later, Jinyan graduated and found a stable job. My own job was secure, and my performance was outstanding, with my superiors hinting at a promotion for me. So, we got married. I remember at our wedding, Tian Chen, drunk, said, "You lucky bastard! You'd better pour me a few more drinks. If it weren't for me, could you have married such a beautiful wife? But you really did it, kid. You actually married a goddess. Do you know how many men are going to be crying their hearts out tonight? But you'd better keep a close eye on your beautiful wife. Plenty of guys have their eyes on her." Back then, it was just a joke, but I never expected it to come true. However, it wasn't because I treated my wife poorly after we got married, but rather... Sigh, as I said at the beginning, everyone has flaws. There's nothing to be done about it. The main thing was, I never should have let my wife start working out.