Pushing the door open, I bumped into Jiang Shixu as he was coming out of his room.

I didn't pay attention and quickly walked to the balcony, feeling my pockets but not finding any cigarettes.

I glanced at Jiang Shixu, who followed me to the balcony, and asked him, "Do you have a cigarette?"

He handed me a cigarette and a lighter, then glanced at me from top to bottom.

"I heard someone say that I was her first love and hired my nephew as a substitute, but no matter how hard I try, I can't remember ever meeting you. The thing about the substitute is fake," he said confidently.

I took it from him, lit the cigarette, and looked at his delicate face. He was wearing a bathrobe, probably just finished showering, with wet hair and his collarbone exposed to the air.

He bears a resemblance of six points to Jiang Xiyanchang, but he appears colder and more unattainable.

This is not the first time I've seen him, but my feelings for him haven't reached the point of finding a substitute.

"Indeed, it's fake. I deceived Jiang Xiyanchang just to let him experience that feeling of knowing the person he likes is interested in someone else," I said.

"Looks like you succeeded. He seems quite crazy," he remarked.

His gaze fell on my neck as he spoke, and I looked down, realizing it had been bitten.

"Like a dog, not sure if I should get a rabies shot," I replied.

"I'm not very interested in your affairs, but I don't like getting too involved," he said, turning to leave after finishing his sentence.

I reached out and grabbed his hand, leaning in and blowing a smoke ring towards his face, raising an eyebrow in a malicious manner.

"If I were to open your bathrobe right now and make some noise on purpose, do you think you could let it go?"

Jiang Shixu remained calm, his hand reaching towards the bathrobe's drawstring. There was a fleeting smile in his eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses.

"Should I take the initiative then, and you can explain it later? After all, I'm the son of the Jiang family, that's not going to change, but you're just a daughter-in-law, easily replaceable," he said.

I immediately took a step back. "It's not interesting to joke around with someone like you. How about we talk about cooperation instead? Don't reveal the substitute in front of him."

"What kind of cooperation do we have?" he asked.

"Without Jiang Xiyanchang, you'll be the sole heir of the Jiang family."

"What do you think you can do for me?"

"Regardless of whether I ruin him or not, you won't lose anything. You just need to bear the label of being secretly loved by me and occasionally cooperate with me. Don't you think that's a win-win situation for you?"

"That can be done," he agreed.

I took a drag of my cigarette and looked down at the high-rise buildings below the Jiang family.

I've been waiting for six years to bring down Jiang Xiyanchang, and it's only natural that Jiang Shixu has no impression of me.

This face of mine bears no resemblance to my original face. I studied every one of Jiang Xiyanchang's previous girlfriends and crafted this face with his favorite features.

For the past three years, I've been self-hypnotizing myself into believing that I love him. I'm starting to believe it myself.