Chapter 361 - Ugly Dispute
The chirping of the birds upon the blooming branch was what roused the sleeping woman on the bed. Weary, chestnut eyes swept across the spacious, yet tastefully decorated room. Flowy, muslin curtains flowed from the canopy bed, swaying to the tamed gust of air seeping through the cracks of the slightly ajar windows. She glanced upwards and saw a contemporary chandelier that seemed to be a jumble of large rings encrusted in diamonds.
She glanced down at her hands, bending her fingers one by one, then unraveling it like a confused child. Her hand immersed itself over the thick, fur comforter.
"Oh my." The maid's eyes widened in shock when she saw the conscious woman sitting upright on the bed with a dazed and curious expression. "Madam, you're awake."
Zhao Lifei quirked her head and scanned the room again. 'Madam? Where?'
The maid tucked her hands in front of her and deeply bowed. "Please pardon my manners. I didn't knock because I didn't expect you to be awake." 'Oh dear, oh dear!' She was slightly panicking at her ruined first impression of this breathtaking woman.
"Please excuse me. I will fetch for the Young Master right away!"
Zhao Lifei reached her hand out her to stop her, "W-wait—"
Unfortunately, it was too late, the maid had already scurried off, in search of her so-called Young Master.
Zhao Lifei dejectedly dropped her hand with distress written all over her face. She wanted to know where she was, who she was, and what she was doing here? Why was it that she couldn't recall anything? Her head was as blank as a canvas. This place felt so unfamiliar and new to her.
Not less than five minutes later, the double-doors were flung open and a tall, brooding man entered. His hair was windswept as if he had run all the way here. His eyes were wide and rapidly searching the room for her.
There she was. Sitting on the bed like a little princess.
Not less than a second later, another man walked into the room with features similar to the first one.
Jiang Zihui took one hesitant step forward, waiting for her protest. But she didn't say or do anything aside from curiously staring at him. Why didn't she violently react and curse him to the deepest pits of hell? Then he walked another step and she tilted her head like a lost little bunny. His heart warmed at her actions. Simply too adorable.
"Hello…" Zhao Lifei courteously said, clasping her hands together. Was this the Young Master? Her head throbbed. By some miracle, she recognized his handsome face but didn't know where she had met or encountered him before.
"Zhao Lifei, you're awake."
"Zhao Lifei…?" She repeated the name, testing it on her tongue. Quiet and demure, she was as defenseless as a hunted rabbit. "Is that my name? "Why did he look so nervous about approaching her? Wasn't he the owner of this beautiful room?
Jiang Zihui's heart pounded. Could it be? His breath was stuck in his throat and no matter what he told himself, he couldn't calm down. The possibilities here were endless. "Yes, my little butterfly. Why? What's wrong?" He had reached her bedside by now.
Zhao Lifei wondered why he looked so eager to see her as if she was the bringer of light in this murky world. The pleading look in his eyes didn't help her confusion. His gloved hands twitched, almost as if he wanted to touch her, but couldn't bring himself to do so.
"I-I don't…" She didn't know what she was trying to say. Her hand traveled up to her chest until it settled at her collarbone. Her fingers brushed against the cold, metal necklace. "I don't know what's wrong with me." Was her conclusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I-I…" Fear and panic darkened her eyes, "I don't remember who you are. I-I don't even remember myself…"
Jiang Yinan's eyes widened at this sudden turn of events. His head snapped to his older brother, who stood there like a statue. Neither man moved and neither of them knew what to do.
"W-who are you?" She finally asked. It was three simple words, yet its weight knew no bounds.
The opportunities here were endless. Jiang Yinan knew this first. He nudged his brother to take advantage of this situation. However, Jiang Zihui was too muddled with shock to even think about fooling her.
Zhao Lifei's finger latched onto the necklace that was securely lying underneath her dress, entering the dip of her chest. She pulled it out to reveal a warm, yellow ring. Her fingers enclosed around it and somehow, it made her feel safe and giddy inside.
Finally, Jiang Yinan had enough of his slow-minded brother. "I'm so glad to see you awake, sister-in-law. You gave us quite the fright when you rammed your head into the lamp poles outside the front gates." His warm smile made her feel uneasy.
"Sister-in-law?" She repeatedly blinked her eyes, then turned to look at the man beside him.
"It can't be. Did you get amnesia like the doctors feared you would?" Jiang Yinan faked a gasp, covering his mouth. "This is why I always told you throwing a tantrum is not the best way to get what you want! Look at where your recent tantrum got you!" He turned to Jiang Zihui, "Oh my, brother what should we do?"
Jiang Zihui wanted to strangle his younger brother to death. What kind of horrible acting was that?! He raised his head to look at her. For odd reasons, she was...buying into it? He glared at Jiang Yinan who was digging a grave for both of them.
"I will call the doctor." Jiang Zihui left his words open-ended without implying anything.
Jiang Yinan's shoulders sagged in disappointment. Seriously, what had gotten into his brother?! Wasn't he forceful by nature and would do everything in his power to get Zhao Lifei? Now, she was literally under their roof, stupid, and suffering from amnesia. How could Zihui not do anything!? This was such a perfect chance to make her his once and for all!
Jiang Zihui ignored the pointed looks that his brother was throwing him. He turned his back and stormed out of the room, leaving a confused Zhao Lifei behind.
Jiang Yinan offered her a strained smile. "Please forgive him, sister-in-law. My brother is only angry because you got yourself injured to this extent." He grabbed her hands, "Next time, please do not repeatedly head-bash the lamp post just because my brother didn't...uh, give you the purse you wanted."
Head-bashing a lamp post? Zhao Lifei had to ask herself why she was this selfish. A purse? When was this? Was she that horrible? "Your brother? Then, is he my husband?"
Jiang Yinan opened his mouth and closed it. Damn it. He couldn't say yes or no without his brother's permission. Currently, that bastard was nowhere to be found! "Boohoo, how can you ask a question like that? It hurts me, you know." He pouted, dropping her hand and standing up.
"I'll let you answer that question yourself. In the meantime, I will look for my idiotic older brother. So, be good, and don't wander off." Jiang Yinan left her without waiting for a reply. His smile became murderous the minute he spotted Jiang Zihui down the hallways, pacing back and forth.
"Bro, you know I care so much about you, but for the love of everything holy, how can you be this dumb?! Did Mother and Father not teach you anything? If they saw how you're recently behaving, Father would puke blood and beat you to a pulp. You're behaving like an indecisive woman!" Jiang Yinan bellowed, crossing his arms. "And because I care about you so damn much, I did all the talking for you!"
Jiang Zihui's eyes darkened, "Fix that tone of yours. Do not forget who you are and who holds the most power in our family."
Jiang Yinan gritted his teeth, his fingers curled into fists. He hated it when their power imbalance was brought up. It reminded him that he was forever living in his older brother's shadows. "I am only trying to help."
"Trying to help? TRYING TO HELP?!" Jiang Zihui roared, "You've made the situation worse! By calling her sister-in-law, do you know what you're implying? You've only dug a grave for both of us to rot and die in. How long do you think this act will keep up? How long will it be before she discovers the truth? I didn't want to lie to her from the start—"
"Then why don't you return her to her loverboy?" Jiang Yinan deadpanned. "First, you reject the proposal from Yang Mujian, and now you're refusing to accept this miraculous gift. Do you even want her anymore? Look, I've already laid out the situation perfectly for you. All you have to do is play the part and fake it until you make it!"
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Zihui grabbed his younger brother's collar and yanked the man closer. "Didn't I just tell you to watch your fvcking tone? Do you want to die that desperately?"
"What's going on?" Zhao Lifei's nervous voice echoed down the halls. She was holding one of the doors and standing by the doorway of her room. Her face crumbling when she saw their ugly dispute.
- - - - - - - IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE/COMMENT: - - - - - - -
I'm writing what has been planned out from the very BEGINNING of this novel, way before it was published. No amount of blackmail, threats, and malicious comments will change my mind.
If you, as my loyal and dear readers, want to ruin my mood with such blackmailing, then it pains me to say this, but no one is stopping you from leaving. I'm fine if you want to temporarily leave to stockpile but stop with the hate comments, its rude and extremely unnecessary to bash me and the story like this.
I will not stand for this disrespect anymore. It's already stressful and tiring enough for me to write these chapters. I have other priorities in life and am putting a halt to many of them just to deliver chapters to everyone here. There were many moments where I wanted to stop writing altogether because life had become extremely hectic, but for the sake of readers, I didn't want to do so. I skipped social outing with friends to write, I skipped going to the doctors to write, I skipped much-needed rest and breaks to write.
Now you may be asking why am I writing then? Why not just quit if I'm that tired? It's because I write for loyal readers who actually appreciate this novel and my writing and doesn't leave when the slightest implication occurs. It's because I am not that cruel to abandon this novel and make everyone wonder why I suddenly disappeared without warning or notice. I have contemplated this idea, but in the end, the kind readers who appreciate my hard work drawned me back to writing and completing this novel.
The comments truly break my heart, especially the ones with curse words for me and this novel. I've stayed quiet about this when it has occurred in the past, but enough is enough.
In addition, this arc is EXTREMELY CRUCIAL to the novel and will be the turning point of the plot. It will contain what many of you have been wanting to occur. Many major plot questions will be answered in this extremely necessary plot.
Once again, nothing will change from the rude and malicious comments. Have a good day.