In 2018, 35-year-old Shanghai celebrity Shen Lijun died by suicide. Her husband Wu Kaixin was choosing wedding dresses with his mistress then. Their 8-year abusive marriage consumed her life completely.
In 2018, Shen Lijun, who had once enjoyed some fame in Shanghai, jumped from the 28th floor of her apartment building and died instantly at the age of 35.At the very moment she passed away, her husband, Wu Kaixin, was at a bridal shop with a young woman he had only recently met, helping her choose a wedding dress, a smile playing on his face.
Shen Lijun was strikingly beautiful and outgoing in her youth. In her early years, she was well-connected in Shanghai’s local entertainment and influencer circles. Coming from a wealthy family, she had always been the center of attention since childhood, and no one could have predicted that her marriage would eventually reach such a desperate impasse.Back then, to settle in Hong Kong with her husband, she gave up the career foundation she had built up over many years on the mainland without much hesitation. Just as she became pregnant with her first child, she caught her husband in a compromising situation with another woman.To protect the unborn child, she received more than 200 injections to prevent miscarriage. The pain of the needles piercing her skin often made her break out in a cold sweat, only to then have to listen to her mother-in-law nagging beside her that “a woman just has to bear it—it’ll pass—it’s all for the sake of the child.”The first time she caught him cheating, he knelt on the floor, crying and slapping himself in the face, swearing he’d never do it again—only to turn around and sweet-talk her into having a second child.This affair dragged on for eight years. Eventually, the other woman even had the audacity to come to their home and cause a scene, while he secretly used the New Year’s money their child had saved to pay for the mistress’s expenses, without a shred of remorse.Shen Lijun’s health steadily declined, and her mental state worsened by the day. He paid no attention to his wife whatsoever, preoccupied only with planning his remarriage to his new lover—too lazy even to maintain a facade of normalcy. A vibrant life was thus needlessly drained away by this marriage riddled with holes.
Many years have passed since then, and Wu Kaixin did eventually marry the woman who had been his mistress back then. However, his past misdeeds have long been common knowledge, and the so-called “aura of his family background” he once enjoyed has been completely shattered. To this day, wherever he goes, he cannot escape people’s pointing fingers, and he has never been able to hold his head high.
As we go through life, most of us come to realize that our lives ultimately belong to us—there’s no need to give up the very foundation of our existence for anyone else. When faced with upsetting situations, don’t just bottle things up and keep backing down; if you endure it to the end, you’ll be the only one left suffering.We’ve lived most of our lives, and the person we should care about most is ourselves. Don’t wait until you’ve sacrificed your very life to realize it wasn’t worth it. In the future, when you encounter obstacles you can’t overcome, think more about what’s best for you. Step back when you need to—don’t cling to toxic people and situations.
