Chapter 2The Billionaire's Street Food Wedding

I paused.

Right.

We aren't poor anymore.

The old Julian could afford Michelin stars. The current Julian, with money earned by his own hands, can still afford them.

The old Maya Miller was a poor student from the mountains. The current Maya Miller is a self-made millionaire, a well-known young entrepreneur in Shanghai.

It's all because of Clara and those weird floating comments!

Who says poor people have to stay poor forever?

I fought my way out of poverty to a top university in the capital, winning scholarships every year. Doesn't that prove my capability?

"Wife, maybe we should go back to Shanghai?"

Julian looked at me with worry. "I feel uneasy here. Clara is acting weird, and my parents..."

At the mention of his parents, Julian’s eyes went cold. When he looked back at me, they softened again.

"They still haven't given up. I don't want them ruining our mood."

"Honey, I know. But this deal is important for the company."

I touched his face, soothing him. "Once we finish business, we'll go straight back, okay?"

Julian sighed and pulled me into a hug, surrounding me with his fresh citrus scent.

"Don't let anyone or anything affect how much you love me, Maya. Trust me."

I trust him.

I trust Julian won't be like the comments say, abandoning me for Clara after seven years.

I trust I won't end up like the "original ending"—abandoned by "Julian," chasing a sugar daddy, and getting tortured to death by the wife.

I trust we aren't side characters meant to be slapped down in Clara's "Big Female Lead" life.

I trust we are the protagonists of our own lives.

I found out I was a supporting character in a novel seven years ago, when Clara asked to meet me.

Seven years ago, Clara was even more composed than she is now.

Perhaps she was certain Julian would regret choosing me.

Her gaze was mocking and disdainful, her tone incredibly frivolous.

"So you're Julian's little girlfriend?"

I didn't know about Julian's background then. Hearing this provocative question, alarm bells rang in my head. "Who are you?"

Clara was surprised. "You don't know who I am?"

[Stop pretending. You stole her fiancé, and you don't know who she is?] [This white lotus isn't very good at acting.] [Look at her clothes. So cheap. Dark and skinny. Not even one-tenth of our Clara. The second male lead must be blind.] [He's the second lead for a reason. Whatever, he's just having fun. Give it a few years of poverty, he'll regret it.]

That's when the comments appeared.

I was shaken but tried to hide it. I quickly realized Clara could see them too, and she believed every word.

The comments said Clara was the Heroine, and my boyfriend Julian was the Second Male Lead.

They were childhood sweethearts engaged to be married.

But Julian fell in love with me in his sophomore year.

Me—a mountain girl with nothing but four bare walls, relying on financial aid to attend college.

To be with me, Julian broke ties with his parents and canceled his engagement to Clara.

He gave up his identity as a billionaire heir and moved into a cramped apartment with me.

They thought love could conquer all, but a few years later, he grew tired of poverty and tired of me.

Just then, Clara returned from abroad in glory.

Compared to her brilliance, I was short-sighted, timid, greedy, and stupid.

Julian regretted his choice.

He broke up with me to pursue Clara again.

But I wouldn't let go, and Clara wouldn't accept him back.

I pestered Julian, making a fool of myself. In the end, driven by greed, I became a mistress to a wealthy man, was set up by his wife, fell into a beggar's den, and died a horrific death.

Julian returned to the Thorne family, living off a meager allowance.

As for the Heroine, Clara, she naturally ended up with the even richer and more powerful Male Lead. Julian became nothing more than a regretful footnote in her life.

How absurd.

I had just graduated.

I had $12,000 in savings from four years of hard work, and several high-paying offers from big tech companies in my inbox. I was looking forward to a bright future.

Yet the comments told me I would never escape the mud of poverty.

That I would die a miserable death because of greed.

I didn't want to believe it, but I was scared.

The day I met Clara, I broke up with Julian.

The six-foot-tall boy squatted on the ground, crying his eyes out, asking why.

"I admit, I was wrong not to tell you who I was. But I really didn't make you a mistress."

"I broke off the engagement so I could chase you properly. Maya, I really like you."

I squatted down and told him seriously, "I like you too, Julian."

"But the fact is, your parents won't agree to you being with a woman from a completely different class."

"We won't have a future."

"And I'm really afraid of trouble. You don't want your love to become an obstacle for me, do you?"

Looking at Julian's red eyes, I thought, I am so cruel.

But I was terrified of being poor.

I fought my way out of the mountains to set roots in this big city, to carve out a piece of the sky for myself.

I didn't want, and wouldn't allow, my hard-fought life to become a backdrop for someone else.

I suffered so much; the rest of my days should be sweet.

Julian didn't pester me.

Choking back sobs, he said okay, packed his bags, and moved out of my rental.

Then, I accepted the offer farthest away from here, in Shanghai, without looking back.

Julian's family company was a giant in River City.

As long as I stayed here, there was risk.

Only by going far away, to a place they couldn't reach, could I truly be safe.

And I was right.

But what I didn't expect was that Julian followed me to Shanghai.

"I know your worries. So I will prove to you that my love won't bring you trouble."

That was twenty-three-year-old Julian, incredibly solemn, yet unable to hide his nervousness and hope. "If you want, it can be the seasoning of your life, or... your support."

"Actually, what I wanted to say back then was, if you want, you can even treat me like a dog."

Thirty-year-old Julian buried his face in my chest, eyes watery and full of love. "Just don't leave me."

"I won't leave you."

I kissed his beautiful eyes, my hand familiarly tracing his abs.

"You're so good, how could I bear to leave you?"

Julian isn't the naive rich boy from the "original plot" who doesn't understand the real world.

And I am not the Maya who sells her body for wealth.

So I will never meet that ending.