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On a warm afternoon in this eastern city, in a quiet, low-density residential neighborhood, an elderly man in his seventies sat alone in the living room of an old villa, gazing at the television news.
“This morning around 8 a.m., Holy Mother Society Chairperson Wang Rong was found dead in the chapel of Holy Mother Society Primary School. She was pronounced dead at the scene, with preliminary findings pointing to acute heart attack as the cause.”
The old man took a sip of hot tea, let out a low sigh, and muttered, “As it should be. How could such a marriage, so full of resentment and sin, ever end well?”
He slowly rose and walked into the garden, stretching his limbs in the gentle afternoon sunlight.
After a while, his gaze fell upon a pot of purple orchids in the garden. The setting sun cast a soft glow over the blooming flowers—delicate and silent.
“I wonder how Alan would feel if she knew her daughter’s fate?” There was neither sadness nor joy in the old man’s heart, but he did feel a touch of curiosity.
Wang Ma’s real name was Alan, and the old man had once been her husband. His name was Wang Hui.
Wang Hui’s parents ran a small grocery store, but he became an auto mechanic, drawn to cars and machines from a young age. In those days, young people liked to party, and it was at a dance that he met Wang Ma.
In her youth, Wang Ma was beautiful and charming, while Wang Hui was honest and plain. He was smitten at first sight, and the two young hearts quickly fell in love, soon talking of marriage.
Wang Ma came from an impoverished family—just her mother and an elder sister whose husband worked far away. Though Wang Hui’s family was not wealthy, they were better off than hers.
Wang Hui’s parents didn’t approve of the match—not because Alan was poor, but because of her striking beauty, sharp gaze, and untamed ambition. They worried their honest son would not be able to handle such a wife, especially since she worked in a hotel and was far more worldly than most working-class girls.
But parents cannot sway sons deeply in love, and so they could only accept it.
Wang Hui and Wang Ma married quickly, and soon after had Wang Rong. Not long after Wang Rong’s birth, Alan even used up her savings to help her husband acquire an auto shop, making Wang Hui his own boss.
Wang Hui’s parents were surprised that their poor daughter-in-law had such savings, but began to look at her differently. They hadn’t thought much of the marriage, but now saw Alan as good fortune for their son.
Until one day, Alan dragged four-year-old Wang Rong to their little grocery store, crying in front of it. Her husband, Wang Hui, had disappeared: he’d said he was visiting friends out of town and should have returned last week, but never did. At the auto shop, she learned it had been sold off. So she brought her daughter to her in-laws.
Wang Hui’s parents gave Alan some emergency money to tide her over and told her to go home and care for her daughter while they looked for news of their son, since he hadn’t contacted them either.
When Alan returned with her daughter the second time, she found the place deserted; the grocery store had a “For Lease” sign on it. Everything—like her marriage—ended abruptly, with no explanation.
“Hey, Alan, did you think I was fooled all along? I knew she wasn’t mine—she’s Bai Shikun’s.” Wang Hui’s gaze on the orchid turned somber. “That hotel you two hooked up in? Its manager was my uncle. Bet you didn’t know that. And your hotel supervisor? He was my uncle’s friend.”
Through his uncle, Wang Hui learned Alan had a bad reputation: using her looks to flirt with wealthy and attractive guests, brazenly seducing them. That supervisor had even been planning to fire her.
“This just proves man proposes, but heaven disposes!” Wang Hui said, gripping an orchid petal tightly until it tore.
Even after learning his fiancée’s betrayal, Wang Hui, torn by jealousy and anger, still married Alan.
She was simply too beautiful for him to let go, and he’d already told friends and family, invitations and banquets all arranged—how could he back out? Was he to publicly expose his fiancée’s affair?
Even as a child, Wang Rong was a beautiful girl, looking nothing like Wang Hui, which made him uneasy.
After Alan gave birth to Wang Rong, she never had another child. Wang Hui and his parents wanted a son to carry on the family name.
So Wang Hui went to a doctor, who revealed the cruel truth: he was infertile.
That meant Wang Rong was definitely Bai Shikun’s child.
Wang Hui considered forgiving her. After all, Alan had worked hard for the family after marriage, aside from her love for shopping and mahjong. And she’d used her money to help him start his business.
He knew where that money came from—naturally, Bai Shikun had given it to her.
He thought they could go on without ever mentioning the truth.
He never told Alan his secret. But every time he looked at Wang Rong, he felt his heart being eaten away, bit by bit.
Until his twenty-ninth birthday, when everything changed.
That day, Alan had cooked a few dishes and ordered a birthday cake for him.
It was a mango cake. Wang Hui remembered telling Alan repeatedly that he didn’t like mango—he was allergic to it. He’d always remembered her preferences: she liked mango but disliked bitter melon.
Yet, faced with the mango cake, Wang Hui said nothing.
That day, his twenty-ninth birthday, the family of three seemed happy together. Afterwards, Wang Hui quietly sold the auto shop and their apartment.
The apartment had actually been left to him by his uncle, but he’d always told Alan it was rented from a friend. He said the friend planned to sell, so they would have to move back in with his parents and look for a new place. Alan only realized she’d been duped when the new owner came to collect.
When Alan brought Wang Rong to his parents’ place, she found even they were gone. Mother and daughter had no choice but to squeeze in with Alan’s mother and sister in a cramped public housing flat.
Wang Hui took the money and left the city to seek his fortune. Luck was on his side; years later, he returned to the city as a minor tycoon, retiring in his sixties.
He saw the newspaper photos of Bai Shikun and Wang Rong’s wedding, even noticing Alan’s somber face in a corner of one shot.
“Seems Alan never told her daughter the truth,” Wang Hui had said at the time. “Ah, what an unlucky pair of mother and daughter.” That’s what he said aloud, but felt not the slightest sorrow inside.
“Alan, was I the one who wronged you? But…” Wang Hui gazed at the battered orchid, speaking softly, “Why is it that I truly, never, felt the least bit guilty?”
Yes, when he realized on his twenty-ninth birthday that his wife, smiling as she celebrated with him, couldn’t even remember his little habits, and had never really cared for him, she was just a stranger he had known for a few years.
He had a few girlfriends later in life, but never married again—he could no longer trust women.
Wang Hui certainly knew all about Wang Rong’s later life, which only made him feel leaving them back then was the wisest decision he ever made.
Drip, drip..
The sun had been shining just a moment ago, but now it began to rain.
“Ah, it’s raining—and quite hard too.” Wang Hui returned inside, leaving the orchid in the garden.
He left the delicate flower outside, to endure the wind and rain alone.
End of Extra 3
This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons is coincidental. The author explores only the connection between female destiny and faith, and does not target any real individual.
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Wang Rong’s Legend: How the Persona of the Earthly Holy Mother Was Forged89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsJi12JF6O
Extra 3: Wang Ma’s Past
Original work by Jing Xixian (Vampire L). All rights reserved.89Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZQqat9nCa
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