Chapter 29 – “Dad said he’s not jealous.” (1)
Although she was seeing the proof of the novel’s Ruan Xia’s judgement, there was another way to think about this. In this day and age, there were plenty of rich men. But, a man of Song Tingshen’s age, who also had money, good looks, and didn’t have a wife and children, that was very rare.
Even if the novel’s Ruan Xia wasn’t in love with Song Tingshen, from an outsiders’ perspective, they wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that the novel’s Ruan Xia was a shallow gold digger. After all, with Song Tingshen’s qualifications, it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility that she had trapped him in a marriage because she had fallen in love with him.
Even the method that the novel’s Ruan Xia used to married Song Tingshen was simple and rough, if you disguised it under the camouflage of love, everything became pure. That’s why, there would be cheaters that would insistently use love as an excuse for their actions. Clearly, love was an all-powerful and all-purpose excuse.
It was true that the novel’s Ruan Xia was an excellent judge of character. In the novel, her first husband was Song Tingshen. He could have been cut out of the same cookie cutter mold as any other male protagonist. As for her second husband, although the author had described him as someone with average looks, he had truly loved her. When he had found out that she had already given birth to a child before, he only felt upset for a short period of time. He had fallen for the novel’s beguiling Ruan Xia without reservations like an idiot. He gave her whatever she wanted.
But, Ruan Xia didn’t believe that he only loved the novel’s Ruan Xia because of her beauty. After all, no matter how beautiful someone looked, you would develop an immunity against it after seeing him or her day in and day out for several years. For her second husband to remain wholeheartedly and passionately in love with her, it meant that there had to be something special about the novel’s Ruan Xia. It wasn’t just because she was beautiful.
Just by the novel’s Ruan Xia’s interactions with her husband, she could see that the novel’s Ruan Xia was very clever. Whether it was Song Tingshen or the second husband, they were both her ATMs. Her criteria for men was simple and rough, but she interacted with them in different ways depending on their personalities. For example, she knew that Song Tingshen didn’t like her and even slightly detested her. And so, she very perceptively told Song Tingshen that they could continue to live separate lives after getting married and be a married couple only in name.
In Ruan Xia’s opinion, the novel’s Ruan Xia was a woman that could live well no matter what type of situation she was dropped in.
Although Ruan Xia worshipped good looks, she felt that a man like Song Tingshen was someone that she could only appreciate from afar.
She didn’t have the high aspiration on changing this man’s opinion of her, having a relationship with him, and becoming a happy family of three. She felt that the way the novel’s Ruan Xia had positioned herself was the best. Since Song Tingshen hadn’t died, she would remain his wife in name. She would treat the chubby kid better, but only as a quirky aunty. At most, she would improve her relationship with the chubby kid. As for her relationship with Song Tingshen, she would simply maintain the status quo.
As for how Song Tingshen would perceive her, this wasn’t a problem that she had to worry about. After all, she was his legal wife. He had money. Even if he wanted a divorce, based on her understanding of his personality, he would give her enough in the divorce settlement that she would be able to live the rest of her life comfortably.
Ah, she had good looks and money now. Ruan Xia felt that her new life was pretty wonderful. In the modern world, where women were becoming increasingly independent, Ruan Xia still had the very shameful dream of becoming a mooch. Her wish had finally come true.
Translator Ramblings: I wouldn’t want to be financially dependent on a man, especially when I’m capable of earning money to support myself. But, I guess, getting Song Tingshen as a husband is like winning the lottery, and I wouldn’t judge anyone for choosing to not work if they won the lottery, so I shouldn’t judge Ruan Xia? If someone offered you enough money to last a lifetime with no strings attached, it would be silly to reject it on principle. I think that’s similar to the choice that Ruan Xia is making. What do you guys think?
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