Her face was drained of color when she heard that response from him.

  That was when Mu Yancheng revealed his identity to her, and it was only then that she knew the man whom she had been dating for two years was not just the average young master but one with such a lofty status.

  Nevertheless, his callousness had left her beyond heartbroken. Her feelings for him ran deeper than her financial dependence on him, but the grief-stricken lady only felt her world crashing down upon hearing such words.

  It turned out that this man had not started this relationship with her out of love!

  While he might have said that he was fond of her, the truth was that he loved himself the most.

  Strictly speaking, though, it was only natural for one to love themselves the most.

  Love could be cultivated, and humans were selfish beings who surely loved themselves the most. This was why they would fall in love with someone who could satisfy their desires.

  From then on, Meng Qingxue reminded herself repeatedly to look beyond love and relationships and, instead, work hard to get the things she wanted while she was still young and fit.

  She ultimately could not put down her feelings for him, however.

  They had been together for two years at that point. She truly was deeply and madly in love with this man and could not part with him. Even though she had seen through his true nature, the seemingly brainwashed woman only had eyes for him, just like how a moth was attracted to a flame.

  As a person with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder about his women, Mu Yancheng had exceedingly high expectations of her; more than once, he ordered her not to reenter the modeling industry, not to have any contact with any of the opposite sex, not to show her face in public, and not to reveal his identity.

  In addition, he disliked being controlled by anyone, so he warned her never to call him unless there was something of utmost importance. He would naturally give her a call whenever she came to his mind or whenever he wanted to meet her.

  All her living expenses were provided by him with the bank card along with its pin that he had given to her. Every month, he would deposit around a hundred thousand yuan—or several hundred thousand if he was in a good mood—into that bank card. This monetary support excluded the branded jewelry, bags, cosmetics, and perfumes that he would buy for her occasionally.

  What seemed to be a loving relationship at first felt increasingly different ever since that spat between them. No matter how Mu Qingxue saw herself, she felt like a caged canary and a kept woman.

  She hated this feeling from the bottom of her heart.

  Different from those materialistic women, she held no fantasies about marrying into an affluent family or climbing the social ladder with a meteoric rise. Instead, she hoped to marry a devoted someone who loved her deeply even if said man came from an ordinary family.

  It was only out of poverty that she joined the modeling industry back then. Besides, she was blessed enough to be born with good looks which allowed her to make a living out of model.

  She was young and ignorant at first, but after seeing the cruel and ugly side of the trade, the decision to quit the industry sprouted in her.

  It was right then that she met him, and this led to her thinking that it was probably a fated meeting between them!

  Ever since their relationship started, she had basically no need to worry about her living expenses. Still, since she had so much free time, the young lady, who yearned to be self-reliant, insisted on doing some part-time job to earn some keep for herself.

  Other than that, she also worked hard in learning how to cook and do household chores. While she knew some basics, she strove for improvement and excellence. She did all these in the hopes of becoming a good wife and mother once they got married, which would be the greatest career of her life.

  The man found it quite surprising back then!

  She was not his first kept woman.