Su Ming shook his head. Explaining this would be troublesome, and he was too lazy to do so. He put the photos from the venue into a brown paper bag and handed it to Zhou Zhou: "Forget about the alcohol. It's probably more practical to prepare some snacks and hangover soup. Keep this safe for now."
Aunt Yang hurriedly went to the kitchen to make arrangements, while Zhouzhou took the brown paper package upstairs.
Murong Xiao took Xiang Jin directly to the wine cellar.
Haitang Bay is very large. Although Xiang Jin knew there was a wine cellar there, she had never been there before and almost got lost as she wandered around.
The wine cellar was filled with wines; five or six shelves were overflowing with all sorts of wines, a dazzling sight. Murong Xiao casually picked out a bottle of red wine from the shelf, turned out through the side aisle, pushed open a glass door, and found himself in the garden behind Haitang Bay.
A cool breeze blew by, carrying the fragrance of flowers.
Murong Xiao said nothing, focusing intently on opening the bottle. Xiang Jin stood to the side, glancing at him now and then at the scenery outside.
On the way back, they didn't speak, as if they were holding their breath, waiting for an opportunity.
Soon, Murong Xiao poured the wine and handed her a glass.
Xiang Jin took it and followed his steps to the outdoor terrace.
He didn't speak; she was waiting for her to speak.
Xiang Jin took a deep breath and downed the wine in her glass in one gulp. A wave of warmth quickly rose in her body, as if her blood was flowing faster. She had many questions for him, but ultimately chose the one she cared about most.
"Was that you at the Four Seasons Hotel three years ago...?" She gripped her glass tightly, still unable to confirm.
"Yes. I said I would marry you." He said succinctly.
Xiang Jin suddenly realized.
So that's why he went to the Xiang family to propose marriage; it turns out that the person he wanted to marry from the beginning was her.
But why use Jianian's identity? A thought quickly made her realize. What did Murong Xiao represent? Power, glory, hypocrisy, and pretense. If she were to propose marriage using Murong Xiao's identity, the Xiang family would undoubtedly celebrate with great fanfare. But was that what he wanted? No.
He had no idea what kind of people the Xiang family were, or whether their daughter was worthy of being Mrs. Murong. So he decided to test the Xiang family by pretending to be a short-lived woman, and who knew they would marry her off to them.
It was a lucky accident.
"When did you find out about this?"
"When I met you in the slums."
Xiang Jin nodded. Sure enough, he wouldn't risk marrying a mute woman. Keeping her by his side meant he knew from the beginning that she was the one.
"Is there anything else you want to say?" He poured her a drink.
He used to forbid her from touching these things and was so strict with her, but today it was as if he wanted to get her drunk. Xiang Jin was quite sensible and downed it in one gulp, without needing any persuasion.
"Murong Xiao, shall I tell you a story?"
"I am the adopted daughter of the Xiang family. At first, the Xiang family treated me badly but still relatively well. However, as Xiang Qi and I grew up, they discovered that the two children looked alike. From then on, my nightmare began."
“Xiang Qi skipped class? What nonsense! That’s Xiang Jin. Xiang Qi forgot to do her homework? Xiang Jin, give Xiang Qi your homework. Xiang Qi got into trouble? You’ve mistaken her for Xiang Jin. Xiang Jin is good at drawing, give her her drawing skills as homework… From now on, I will take responsibility for anything that is bad for Xiang Qi or any trouble she gets into.”
“I am like Xiang Qi’s shadow, a shadow that cleans up her messes.”
“Li Shuhui treated me worse and worse. At best, she would scold me, and at worst, she would lock me in a room and not give me food. I don’t know how many times I went hungry. Several times I was so hungry that I had to kneel at the door and beg them for a bite to eat… I just wanted to live. I had never been so humble before.”
"Later, they accidentally discovered that the Xiang family's nanny was my biological mother. She couldn't afford to raise me, so she left me at the hospital. Later, she couldn't bear it and secretly came to work for the Xiang family... From then on, my relationship with the Xiang family dropped to a freezing point. Li Shuhui kicked Jiang Anqing out of the Xiang family and forced me to work like a slave in the Xiang family in order to take revenge on Jiang Anqing's selfishness."
"I couldn't stand it anymore, so I studied hard and wanted to leave this place. I got into Columbia University."
“Columbia University, that’s a top school for design, but the tuition…” Murong Xiao paused. Columbia’s tuition is very high; it can be considered a prestigious school. Given how poorly the Xiang family has treated her, how could they possibly pay for her tuition? And she herself would have a hard time scraping together that much money.
"Columbia is offering me free education, if I want to."
Murong Xiao was startled.
It's hard to imagine how outstanding she must have been to get such a prestigious school like Columbia University to lower its standards and recruit students.
"But I couldn't go. The Xiang family arrested Jiang Anqing and forced me to give up my place so that I could give it to Xiang Qi." Xiang Qi smiled bitterly.
Murong Xiao downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, his clenched fist slowly tightening: "And then? You agreed?"
“If they disagree, do I have any other options? She is my biological mother, and I can’t just watch her suffer. But I was so naive to think that if I gave up my studies and future, the Xiang family would let Jiang Anqing go.”
"But you don't understand, greedy people don't stop being greedy; on the contrary, they become even more greedy."
Xiang Jin nodded: "They didn't release Jiang Anqing, they locked her up in a mental hospital. I can't find her no matter what, and I can only continue to be threatened by the Xiang family."
"All of this continued until my sophomore year of college."
"Xiang Qi was about to be taken to jail for killing someone in a drunk driving accident. Li Shuhui couldn't bear to see her precious daughter suffer, and she couldn't stand the thought of such a tragedy in her bright and glamorous life. So, she thought of me again."
"This is why you served three years in prison." Murong Xiao's expression grew increasingly grim.
Xiang Jin lowered her head. She was indeed too weak at that time and did not know how to resist: "Before I went to jail, Xiang Qi forced me to sleep with a man. That man was a beggar she found in the slums. She wanted to ruin my reputation and then take pictures and send them to Wen Yibai, whom she liked."
"Wen Yibai likes you?" He was somewhat surprised.
“He used to like me, but I rejected him. After seeing those photos, he thought I was that kind of woman, so his love turned into hatred, and our friendship turned into enmity.”
"It's better to be rid of a friend like that." She was humiliated like that at the class reunion, and Wen Yibai was there but didn't help her.
"Later I went to jail. I suffered a lot and experienced all the ups and downs of life during my three years in prison. I lost interest in life and didn't have the courage to start over... At that time, I just wanted to get out of prison, find Jiang Anqing, and then find a quiet place to live an ordinary life."
“I never thought I would meet you, Murong Xiao.”
From then on, her fate took a dramatic turn.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
