
First Love Stand-in Married A Two-faced Husband
Chapter 1
When Richard Yukio's long-lost first love returned to China, I had already started calculating how much breakup compensation he would give me.
Coincidentally, Richard had just returned from a business trip.
I cheerfully greeted him but quickly realized I was too excited, so I forced myself to stay composed.
Usually, Richard was as emotionless as a brick wall, but today, he actually smiled, didn't he?
The power of love, indeed, must be the greatest miracle in medicine—it even cured his poker face!
"I need an explanation!" I feared he wouldn't know how to start, so I threw the topic out there to help him along.
"Let's eat first," he said.
My eyes brightened.
Alright, accompany the CEO for a final dinner!
"Upstairs," Richard said, elegantly wiping his mouth and tossing me a word.
I smiled so widely that my eyes narrowed into slits and mentally blessed him and his first love, Carol Green, with eternal happiness!
Then, I realized things weren't as simple as I had imagined.
We had several rounds of "discussions," but Richard's explanation wasn't quite what I expected!
The next day, as usual, he went for his morning run.
Meanwhile, naïve me lay in bed sniffling—Richard, it turns out, was the type of man who ate from one pot but kept an eye on the other.
Just then, the butler announced that his first love had arrived.
My attention immediately snapped to focus, and I sat up in bed.
Wasn't this the person who was supposed to come and bring me my breakup compensation?
“Quickly, invite her in!”
However, the moment I saw her, my hopes slightly shattered.
Richard was quite a handsome guy, and the first love he couldn't forget for all these years was surely a curvy beauty, right? But instead, she turned out to be... completely flat.
My mind raced with chaotic thoughts, but outwardly I kept a polite smile. “Miss Green, I've heard so much about you. Please, make yourself at home!”
Carol had been smiling softly, but the moment she saw me, her smile vanished.
Her lips trembled as her gaze locked on my neck, as if she were about to pounce and bite me any second.
“Nina White, you're shameless!”
The one who insulted me wasn't the delicate Carol, but her ever-present protector, Ida Brown.
Of course, this wasn't the first time she'd cursed me out.
While Carol had been abroad this past year, Ida had often used the excuse of being Richard's cousin to come over and disgust me, bringing up Richard and Carol's past over and over.
"How am I shameless? Feel free to elaborate."
My shameless demeanor shocked them both.
Ida's eyes widened.
"You... you do something so shameless and still ask others to explain it."
"I have no idea what I've supposedly done, so I'd really appreciate it if you could enlighten me, Miss Brown."
I put on a confused look as if I had no clue what she was talking about.
Ida's face turned red with rage, but she couldn't find the words to explain.
"Ida just struggles to express herself, but she didn't mean anything by it. Miss White, don't misunderstand," Carol said softly.
"I may not have read many books, but I've never heard 'shameless' used as a compliment. How about I return the favor and give those words to you instead?"
Seeing them both fumble made me oddly satisfied. After a year of torment, I'd developed PTSD from Carol!
But enough fun, there was still business to handle.
Straightening up, I asked, "Miss Green, did you come here for something important?"
"Just say what you need!" I patted my chest, eagerly watching her, signaling that I was ready!
Unexpectedly, Carol's eyes reddened instantly. She took a deep breath as if trying to hold back tears. "I came here with no ill intent. Why do you have to be so aggressive, Miss White?"
Huh? What did I say to make her think I was being aggressive?
Carol continued her performance without skipping a beat.
"I'm just here to deliver an invitation. I hope Miss White and Mr. Yukio can honor us with your presence the day after tomorrow." She placed the invitation on the table and turned to leave.
Was it that? I stared incredulously at the invitation on the table and called out to her, "Aren't you forgetting something? Like, maybe this..."
I held up my thumb and index finger, rubbing them together right in front of her face.
"You! How dare you insult me like this? You've gone too far!"
Watching her storm off, I was completely dumbfounded.
But she didn't get far before running straight into Richard, who had just returned.
Well, to be exact, she didn't quite run into him—Richard stretched out his hand and blocked her entire face with his palm. As a result, her face now bore a large white handprint.
At this sight, I couldn't hold back my laughter.
Feeling utterly humiliated, Carol covered her face and ran off in tears.
Carol fled, Ida was left speechless, but still tried her best to defend Carol.
"Richard, look at her! She is bullying Carol like this!"
Though I hadn't done much, I still felt nervous. After all, love can blind a man.
But Richard, staying as cool as ever, responded with just several words. "Not my problem."
Then he walked over to me, ruffled my hair like I was a pet, and said, "Stop hanging around these people. They'll only make you dumb."
Ah...
For a moment, I didn't know whether he was insulting me or his own cousin.
Ida ran off crying, too.
Now, it was just me and Richard left.
I figured, why break the pattern?
Just as I was about to cover my face and run, Richard shoved a piece of paper into my hand.
I looked down—it was the check I had been hoping for!
"Thank you, Mr. Yukio!" I cheerfully thanked him, but when I glanced at the amount, my hand trembled.
I almost tore the check in half.
How many zeros?
I counted them.
Tens, hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands...
In disbelief, I counted one more time.
It was still ten thousand!
What? The CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the richest man in town, gave me only ten thousand as a breakup fee.
All those novels were full of lies! CEOs don't just hand out five million like it's nothing!
So, I stuffed the check into my chest and ran off, covering my face in shame.