Chapter 1

Chapter 1

After a nearly 20-hour flight, my back and waist ached terribly. As soon as I walked out of the airport, I spotted Secretary Wang, whom my father had sent to pick me up. It had been four years, and Secretary Wang was still as handsome and composed as ever. No wonder my sister had chosen him to look after me—her taste was truly excellent.

I planned to take a quick nap once I got in the car, but a phone call jolted me awake.

"Serena, I heard you're back in the country today?" The voice on the other end belonged to Mia Moore, my so-called "friend" with whom I only maintained a superficial relationship. Her sneering tone gave me a bad feeling.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Your ex, Benjamin Lin—I saw him with a girl who looks just like you," she said, letting out a laugh unconsciously. "You know, I wanted to tell you two years ago, but I figured it'd be more exciting to wait until you got back. I'm not joking—she really looks a lot like you."

"Think about it: you chased him like a lovesick fool for so long, and finally got together with him. Then you had to go study abroad, and he just broke up with you. That clearly means he never cared about you," she continued.

"But why would he keep a girl who looks so much like you around him? Is he out of his mind?"

"Do you think he'll come looking for you? The three of you... tsk tsk, just thinking about it is thrilling."

I was so stunned that I didn't even notice when I hung up the phone. Could it be that Benjamin Lin really still had feelings for me? How was that possible? And my sister had never mentioned anything about a girl being around Benjamin Lin either.

"Secretary Wang, is what Mia Moore said true? Is there someone around Benjamin Lin who looks a lot like me?"

Secretary Wang hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Miss, the eldest young lady originally didn't want you to know about this. She was afraid you might act on impulse and come back early, which would make you unable to finish your studies abroad and get your diploma. But now that you're back, you were bound to find out sooner or later."

I leaned back against the car seat, staring out the window, a strange discomfort welling up in my chest. "Benjamin Lin must be out of his mind. I just went to study abroad, not died! If he really couldn't forget me, couldn't let me go, why didn't he come see me? If he missed me, couldn't he call or send a message? Is he that stingy with money?"

"Besides, he was the one who broke up with me. It's been four years, and he never took the initiative to contact me even once. I've already been completely disappointed in him. Now he's putting on this 'deeply in love' act? Even playing this 'substitute' drama? Is he out of his mind?"

Secretary Wang just nodded repeatedly. "You're absolutely right, Miss."

"Speaking of which..." I thought of Mia Moore's words, curiosity getting the better of me. "Is that woman really that similar to me? Can we go take a look?"

Secretary Wang looked embarrassed. "But Miss, the chairman, madam, and eldest young lady are all waiting for you at home. Why don't we go home first? We can pick another time to go see later, okay?"

"But I really want to see her now. I'll just take a quick look from a distance, and then we'll leave right away."

Secretary Wang couldn't refuse me, so he took me to the downstairs of Benjamin Lin's company. When the receptionist at the door saw me, she looked surprised. "Ella Liang, didn't you just go upstairs? Hey, is this the outfit you were wearing this morning?"