Ji Luofei met Shen Zhenghao when she was in college.
More precisely, Ji Luofei set her sights on Shen Zhenghao.
Ji Luofei was born into a patriarchal family; she was the second child, with an older sister and a younger brother.
When her elder sister was born, she was the family's first child, and no matter how much her parents wanted a son, they doted on her because she was the first.
When her mother was pregnant with her, the whole family looked at her belly and thought she was carrying a son. The doctor had also hinted to them, both openly and indirectly, that it was definitely a boy.
Just as everyone was anticipating the birth of the heir, they were shocked to find out it was another daughter.
Their hopes dashed, the Ji family naturally found Ji Luofei displeasing. Her father disliked her, and her mother was even less fond of her, believing her birth was a mistake.
Less than six months after she was born, her mother became pregnant again. They never cared about her health, only that they had to have a son.
Fortunately, in the end, the whole family got their wish; the third child was indeed a boy.
From the moment he was born, that child was the family's darling, cherished and protected as if he were made of glass.
Whatever the younger brother wanted, even if it belonged to Ji Luofei, Ji Luofei had to give it to him.
Ji Luofei remembered clearly that in junior high school, she was chosen by her teacher to represent their class in a dance performance because of her beauty and grace. It was a Xinjiang dance, and the costume was borrowed from another school.
Ji Luofei happily brought the costume home, only for her younger brother to cry and demand to wear it. Her parents wouldn't let their son wear a skirt, so they refused. However, the boy, though young, was mischievous. While the adults and Ji Luofei weren't paying attention, he grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the costume into shreds.
Seeing the tattered costume, Ji Luofei was furious. The performance was scheduled for the next day, and the costume was ruined. What was she supposed to do?
She glared angrily at her defiant brother. For a moment, she truly wanted to kill that little brat. But before she could act, her parents, perhaps sensing her intent, whisked the child away.
They lightly scolded the child, then turned to blame Ji Luofei for not taking better care of the costume.
That day, Ji Luofei couldn't hold back her anger.
What she received was not her father's mediation, but a heavy slap. He pointed at her nose and yelled, "Who are you yelling at? It's just a ruined dress! As long as your brother is happy, he can tear up a dozen more. Besides, what good is your stupid dance? You'd be better off helping your mother with farm work to earn money for your brother. Don't forget, your brother is the ancestor of the Ji family; we all depend on him for our future. If you're not good to him now, don't expect him to support you later."
Because Ji Luofei had yelled at her brother, her parents didn't let her participate in the dance performance the next day. Instead, they lied to the teacher that she was sick and made her dig potatoes in the fields all day.
She didn't eat for the entire day. When she returned home, she expected a hot meal, but her parents had given all the meat to her brother and gave her only a bowl of watery noodles.
Watching her brother act like an emperor while her parents and older sister entertained him, Ji Luofei was suddenly overcome with sorrow.
Two years later, as soon as her older sister turned eighteen, her parents accepted a betrothal gift and married her off to a forty-year-old man from the neighboring village. On that day, her younger brother, wearing new clothes bought by their parents, bragged to her, "Today is Big Sister's wedding day. The betrothal gift from Mom and Dad is all for me to get a wife. They also said that when you turn eighteen, they'll marry you off to anyone who offers a high betrothal gift..."
At that time, her younger brother was only eight years old. She looked at him coldly, feeling as though he were a demon.
Especially in the following years, when her sister gave birth to a daughter and was beaten black and blue by her husband daily, yet dared not divorce him or return to her maiden home, Ji Luofei felt her own life might end up the same way.
She knew she couldn't let that happen, so she studied even harder. Then, she used her advantages to elicit sympathy from her teacher. Her teacher was a woman over fifty, exceptionally compassionate and kind. Because she was divorced and her children lived elsewhere, she treated Ji Luofei like her own daughter.
This was how she managed to get into college and leave that wretched place.
When her parents refused to support her, that teacher used all her savings to help her attend university.
There's a saying: "If a person does not look out for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them."
Ji Luofei understood this principle from a young age.
She knew that college had all sorts of people, so she wanted to find a wealthy second-generation heir to date and, hopefully, marry into a wealthy family.
At that time, Shen Zhenghao was a prominent figure on campus. He was academically gifted, handsome, polite, and could play the piano.
He was practically the prince charming in everyone's dreams.
Ji Luofei noticed him not because of his looks or his achievements, but because of his family background and the luxury car he drove to school.
Knowing that Shen Zhenghao was the third son of the Shen family, Ji Luofei tried every means to approach him.
Shen Zhenghao thought they had fallen in love at first sight. In reality, it was Ji Luofei's long-planned pursuit; she had observed him from afar for a long time, knowing he had to go to the second floor of the library every Tuesday to read. She skipped classes every Tuesday to go to the library.
Knowing he loved playing basketball, she would walk past the sports field in a striking red dress.
Ji Luofei was beautiful and academically strong, naturally attracting much attention.
After they started dating, Shen Zhenghao gave Ji Luofei a sense of security. He was generous, thoughtful, and they were quite sweet and happy at first. However, Ji Luofei was well aware of men's common weaknesses, so she didn't immediately satisfy Shen Zhenghao, but kept him on a string.
Their relationship was entirely Platonic, starting with holding hands, then hugging, then kissing...
Only when Shen Zhenghao was completely ensnared in her meticulously crafted trap, and had fallen head over heels for her, did Ji Luofei agree to give herself to him.
Shen Zhenghao was ecstatic that day, as if he possessed the world. He held her and told her that he only wanted her for the rest of his life.
They spent their college years sweetly, but in their final year, as Shen Zhenghao started working at the company and they spent less time together, their relationship began to falter.
The main reason was Ji Luofei's insecurity. She always felt that Shen Zhenghao was so busy, not with work, but with finding other women.
Even when she read novels about wealthy heirs being arranged for blind dates and marriage alliances, she felt that Shen Zhenghao would eventually marry a rich young lady.