Chapter One: Everyone in the Rain Is Acting

Three hours after the Gu family canceled his engagement, Lu Chenzhou stood at an intersection on Linjiang Road with the returned ring still in his suit pocket. Rain poured as if someone were emptying an ocean from the rooftops. Red traffic lights stained the flooded street. Three ride-share drivers had canceled on him when a woman crossed through the downpour and stopped directly in his path. She wore a white trench coat and was soaked to the skin. In her hand, however, she held an open black umbrella. “Why won't you hold my umbrella for me?” she demanded. Chenzhou looked at the umbrella, then at her. “Because it's already in your hand.” Her voice rose. “You can watch a woman get drenched and do nothing? Do men have no basic decency anymore?”