The Secret of Second Marriage

……

During the day, Juan and I would confide in each other, have a few drinks, and then go shopping and get beauty treatments together.

That night, I heard that Juan's husband was not home again.

I let Tangtang and Kexin sleep together, and there was a nanny in the villa watching over them, which made me feel a little more at ease.

Juan said, "Man, I'm not sleepy at all. Staying at home is so stuffy, I can hardly breathe. Let's go out for a walk."

"OK"

I say.

I've been feeling a bit down lately because I haven't spoken to President Jiang for several days.

He sent me a lot of messages saying he wanted to see me.

But the thought that I am someone's substitute makes me feel like I've swallowed a fly.

I thought about it for a long time, and then replied to him with a message: "Give me a few days to calm down. I want to think carefully about where our relationship should go from here. Mr. Jiang, can you give me some time?"

"Okay, Man, but I don't want it to be too long, a week, that's settled."

President Jiang replied to me with a message.

He was just that assertive and domineering.

I've thought about it for at least seven days. I can stop thinking about my relationship with President Jiang, and I can stop thinking about President Jiang's white moonlight, Xia Weiwei. I'm not anyone's substitute; I'm just myself, Jiang Man.

Juan and I are like sisters who share the same plight.

At 9 p.m., we drove through the city streets at night. Under the neon lights, the whole city was given a mysterious look.

As I watched the couples strolling hand in hand along the pedestrian street, an overwhelming sense of loneliness and emptiness welled up inside me.

When Xue Fan and I were dating, we didn't have much money, but every time he got his salary, he would never take me shopping. We would just stroll around the pedestrian street, stopping here and there. There were many high-end boutique clothing stores and gold and silver jewelry stores along the way.

Although neither of us can afford it, Xue Fan always pampers me and says gently, "Wife, although I can't afford it right now, I will definitely have money in the future and I will definitely make sure you live a good life."

When I'm rich in the future, you can buy whatever you want on this pedestrian street. I'll make you the happiest woman in the world!

Back then, I would always lean shyly against him and say, "Honey, I love you for who you are, not for your money. No matter if I can buy you pretty clothes or jewelry, I will always be your wife."

I hope we can stay this sweet and happy forever, until we grow old together…

Xue Fan would always say with a doting look, "Man, you're a special girl, unlike those vulgar women who only covet money. I know you're very good to me. In this life, whatever I eat, you'll eat too. I won't let you suffer with me forever."

I'm going to make you a person of high status, living in a mansion, driving luxury cars, and becoming a wealthy wife that everyone envies!

After he finished speaking, he took me to a street food stall, where we ate barbecue and spicy hot pot for a few dozen yuan a serving, beer for 5 yuan a glass, and fried rice for 8 yuan.

Although it was a roadside stall, I felt really happy at the time.

Now I feel like I'm an idiot. Why should I not care about material things, but only about feelings and sincerity?

Where is a man's love? His money is there.

I think I was incredibly stupid and cheap back then.

My sincerity was trampled upon and rendered worthless.

I used to think that those passionate love stories of youth would also end in a sad and tragic divorce.

From now on, I will no longer be sentimental, I will not talk about sincerity, I will only talk about reality.

Juan invited me, saying, "Man, let's go to a bar and dance."

I said, "Okay, let's go crazy today!"

Juan's Maserati sports car was parked in the parking lot outside a large youth bar in Beijing. Before she even went inside, she could hear deafening DJ music and loudspeakers.

We paid and walked through a long corridor into a large, stadium-like disco space. It was packed with people, the loud music was deafening, and the flashing colored lights were incredibly energetic.

On the dance floor, guests of all kinds were wildly twisting and turning.

It's not like anyone invented bars, these brightly lit, crazy, and unrestrained places.

I used to be a housewife, and my daily routine consisted of taking care of the children, grocery shopping, cooking, doing laundry, and serving my husband. Today is the first time I've put on beautiful makeup, dressed in pretty clothes, and wearing high-heeled boots to come to this kind of brightly lit place.

Juan pulled me to order a few beers. We're too old to dance anymore, but we can sit and drink and watch the young people go crazy.

After the clubbing, two resident bands came to sing, taking turns performing each night.

The singer in the resident band was incredibly cool; he was tall, dressed in punk attire, and performed on stage while holding the guitar strings with his fingers.

His wife was also there as the drummer, and various instruments began to play. Under the flashing lights, heavy music filled everyone's senses.

The resident singer's hands moved rapidly, switching chords like dancing fingers. His husky, soulful voice sang "Girl," with lyrics: "There's a well next door, and in it lives a little girl, carrying a pipe wrench, running around everywhere! Drinking sand and dust for oil!"

With a slight buzz from the alcohol, I listened from below the stage; it was wonderful.

After the song ended, I was moved to tears by the rock music.

Juan said the song was beautiful, and that our trip to the bar was worthwhile. A round of applause erupted from the audience.

For some reason, the resident singer glanced in my direction from the brightly lit stage, and I had a feeling he was looking at me.

Juan also said, "That tall, muscular lead singer on stage sings so well, and he's so cool and handsome. He's looking at you right now, Man. Do you think he's interested in you? Is your luck with love about to change?"

"You're overthinking it. How could that be? I'm not money, so why would so many people like me? Besides, life isn't an idol drama; it's all melodramatic plots and real-life scenarios."

You must have seen wrong.

I say.

I know in my heart that the romantic thing called love at first sight might happen in your 20s, but it rarely happens after you're 30. After 30, the adult world is cold and full of self-interest.

Everyone has many considerations. They have elderly parents to support and young children to raise. They are overwhelmed by mortgage and car loan payments, and there is also heavy pressure in life. Who would want to play the pure love game?

Juan said with absolute certainty, "No, that person really did look at you just now."

To my surprise, during the second song, the guitarist and lead singer who had just been on stage said directly to everyone in the bar: "I want to dedicate this song to a very important girl I met on my travels."

The song "Too Much" was requested just for her. She was in the stands, and I heard that she had gone through a failed marriage and had a terrible ex-husband.

I hope she can move on from that failed relationship, continue to love life, and live happily every day.

Then she started singing the lyrics, "I gave you too much freedom, how could I bear to blame you for making a mistake? I gave you too much freedom, making you even more lonely, which is why you fell into the whirlpool of emotions..."

The melody, carrying the aroma of alcohol, seeped into the corner, and every lyric struck a nerve.

When I heard this song, "Over the Top," I thought of my ex-husband, and tears involuntarily streamed down my face.

Juan looked at me in disbelief and said, "Man, you're really something else! That handsome guy on stage wasn't really looking at you, he was requesting this song for you, hoping to rekindle your hope for life. My goodness, my best friend has such a great charm."

I was a little confused. Who exactly was that person on stage? They had him wearing heavy metal punk makeup, but looking at his familiar face, a name suddenly popped into my mind: Yu Xiang.

It was him.

The woman playing the drums beside him, exuding a carefree and vibrant energy, must be his wife, Tang Xue.

The couple also returned to Beijing, and I felt a pleasant surprise, like seeing old friends.

Since returning from Tibet, Yuxiang and his wife have been saying they'd treat us to dinner, but I've had some misunderstandings with President Jiang recently, so I really don't feel like going.

Moreover, I always felt that saving people was just a small act of kindness while I was traveling, and I never thought about any reward.

For me, I didn't lose anything, and I even saved a life, so it can be considered as doing good deeds.

But fate is so coincidental that I met the couple under such circumstances.

I told Juan, "That handsome guy on stage isn't interested in me. He and his wife are the real couple. I'm the one who saved his wife's life."

I told Juan the story of how Mr. Jiang and I rescued the couple during our trip, when we were stranded and blocked by a highway collapse.

When I talked about how this couple had been inseparable through thick and thin, my eyes welled up with tears, and Juan's eyes also reddened.

Juan muttered to herself, with the air of a powerful female lead, "Damn it, there's still true affection, true love, and such a good man in the world. Why can't I meet one? I'm sure my husband is that sophisticated, selfish scumbag."

He usually appears to be elegant and refined, with mature and poised speech.

But if we really encountered a life-or-death crisis, stranded on a desolate highway in the Tibetan Plateau, facing a lack of oxygen, food, and water, the first thing they would do is see me as a burden and abandon me to fend for myself!

I said, "Yes, human nature sometimes can't withstand the test. I guess my husband is too!"

After the song was finished, the lead singer of the band on stage stopped singing.

He and his wife came down, walked through the crowd to our side, saw me, gave me a hug, and said very happily, "Man, I didn't expect it to really be you. My wife and I thought we had mistaken you for someone else."

"You're here drinking with friends today? Thank you so much for what you did for me last time. I'll never forget your life-saving kindness. Order whatever you like, it'll be on me."

"Let me introduce you. This is my best friend, Juan. These two are Mr. Yuxiang and Mrs. Tang Xue."

I say.

Juan said, "Haha, what a small world! What a coincidence that we met at a bar. Let's not talk about treating each other, let's have a drink together and then go out for a late-night snack."

Yu Xiang told me that his wife took half a month to recover after their last trip. Having learned from that near-death experience, he sold the off-road vehicle he used for the trip and resigned from his military post, receiving a large sum of retirement pay.

He is now planning to start a business with his wife in Beijing.

He and his wife met in college when they formed a band. They were both very interested in rock music, so sometimes they would come to the bar to sing as resident singers.

Yu Xiang said, "Man, Juan, my wife and I are planning to open a professional bodyguard company. Our company is a service company that specializes in security work for celebrities, the wealthy and important people. We also do some public welfare work to help female clients who are victims of domestic violence, child abduction, and harassment."

If you're interested, we can consider participating together. Don't worry about money, connections, or networks; I can handle all of that. We'll be happy to help if you need anything later.