Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Author: Siyue Maotu.
First published by Banxia Novels.
Early autumn, September, at the Shanshui Manor in Beiyi City.
The sunlight bathed the grass, creating a stunning scene, but apart from the three of them, there was no one else around.
Because this manor belongs to the Xiang family, or more precisely, to Xiang Wan, the eldest daughter of the Xiang family.
However, Xiang Wan, who held endless wealth, could only sit on a lounge chair and watch two other people play golf.
She sat in the armchair, sipping her orange juice, a hint of inquiry on her face. She watched the two people playing golf on the lawn under the blazing sun, her brow furrowing slightly.
The man swinging the club was her fiancé, Zhou Chengze, while the woman standing next to him, looking up at him with adoration, was her fiancé's sister, her future sister-in-law.
The younger sister-in-law's name is Zhou Xinyi. She is two years younger than them and is a girl with a slightly lively personality.
The girl looked somewhat shy and would occasionally cling to her brother's arm and act coquettishly. Although she felt that some of their behaviors were too intimate, they were siblings after all, so Xiang Wan didn't say anything about it.
"Chengze, I'm a little tired. I want to go and rest first."
Due to the worsening of her condition, Xiang Wan has been unable to engage in strenuous activities for several years. She has suffered from congenital heart disease since birth and has carefully cultivated her health since childhood, but for some unknown reason, her condition has worsened in the past two years.
Zhou Chengze knew this, and when he heard her say she was tired, he immediately put down his golf club and came over to help her.
“Awan, I’m not going to fight anymore. I’ll go back with you.”
Xiang Wan did not refuse, and glanced apologetically at her sister-in-law beside her. However, the other woman did not look at her at all, and her gaze skipped over her and went straight to Zhou Chengze behind her.
"Brother, you go with your wife. I can fight by myself, it'll be fine."
That being said, the younger sister-in-law's expression didn't seem like she was alright at all; rather, it seemed like she was using a retreat as a tactic to try and win over her brother's company.
Seeing that Zhou Chengze's expression was still somewhat hesitant, Zhou Xinyi said something else, as if talking to herself, but at a volume that was just loud enough for all three of them to hear.
"I grew up in the countryside and have no idea how to play golf."
"..."
Xiang Wan's expression remained unchanged, but her doubts deepened. Her sister-in-law was only two years younger than them. Was her brother-complex a bit too much?
Anyone who didn't know better would think they were fighting over a man.
She thought for a moment and decided to give in first, but her fiancé interrupted her before she could say anything.
"Xinyi, I'll take Awan back to her room first, and then I'll come back to continue teaching you how to play golf."
Xiang Wan's brow twitched slightly; she vaguely sensed something was wrong, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.
However, she hadn't lied; she really was feeling unwell. So she didn't dwell on it anymore and let Zhou Chengze carry her towards the rest area.
The manor was very large, and the rest area was some distance away. She lay in Zhou Chengze's arms, looking at the bright sun overhead, and glanced back at Zhou Xinyi's direction.
But she noticed that her sister-in-law seemed to give her a subtle glare...
Xiang Wan frowned, ignoring her provocation, and closed her eyes to rest, but felt that the mild chest pain was getting worse.
She patted Zhou Chengze on the shoulder, signaling him to put her down first.
Xiang Wan was already having some difficulty breathing, but she still calmly said, "I've had a heart attack. Dr. Xia is in the rest area. Call her..."
When she said these words, her body was already at its limit. Her brain was lacking oxygen, and her vision was somewhat blurred. She could not even see Zhou Chengze's face clearly.
In a daze, Xiang Wan saw Dr. Xia, who always liked to tease her, rushing towards her. Her usually smiling face completely lost its smile and was replaced by panic.
Xia Yueshen was desperately trying to give her first aid, but Xiang Wan felt her consciousness gradually slipping away from her body.
She saw Zhou Chengze looking at her helplessly, his eyes even reddening, and Zhou Xinyi rushing over to hug him with a look of heartache.
She was the one who was about to die, so why was her sister-in-law hugging Zhou Chengze with such a distressed expression?
Only after her consciousness separated from her body, and she stood in mid-air looking at the two of them, did Xiang Wan realize what she had always felt was wrong—
The way Zhou Xinyi looked at Zhou Chengze wasn't like a younger sister looking at her older brother; it was more like she was looking at the man she loved.
But they are clearly siblings!
Perhaps it was a sudden realization before her death, but a book appeared out of nowhere in front of Xiang Wan. With a light tap of her fingertip, the novel flew into her mind as if transmitted through sound.
She finished reading the book in just a few seconds.
At first, Xiang Wan was a little confused about what this was, until she saw her and Zhou Chengze's names in the novel, and then she realized that the novel was based on them.
To be precise, this is a male-oriented novel. The male protagonist is her fiancé, Zhou Chengze, and the female protagonist is Zhou Xinyi, who comes from a similarly poor background and is her sister-in-law.
As for Zhou Chengze telling her that Zhou Xinyi was his younger sister, that was all nonsense.
The two are not related by blood at all. The female lead, Zhou Xinyi, is Zhou Chengze's adopted daughter.
Zhou Chengze not only conspired with the people of Lijia Village to deceive her, claiming that Zhou Xinyi was his biological sister, but his romantic relationship with his "sister" had also started long ago.
When Xiang Wan got engaged, the two of them had an affair.
Xiang Wan also remembered this incident. At the time, she took Zhou Xinyi to see the wedding dresses they had chosen, but she was so immersed in the joy of the engagement that she didn't notice anything. However, she didn't expect that the two of them would flirt with each other while she was trying on the wedding dresses.
She wasn't exactly heartbroken, but it really disgusted her.
As a daughter of a prominent family who was groomed to be the heir, Xiang Wan had considered from the beginning how she would face the possibility of Zhou Chengze cheating on her.
But she really didn't expect that the person her fiancé cheated on her with would be his sister, and what she found even more outrageous was her ending.
Although the novel has a happy ending, Xiang Wan's ending is tragic.
Back in the remote mountain village, she brought the impoverished Zhou Chengze to the city, providing him with food and clothing, and giving him resources to climb the social ladder.
Unexpectedly, their family had been plotting to exploit the Xiang family from the very beginning, and they repaid kindness with enmity by seizing the Xiang family's group and assets for themselves.
Especially Zhou Chengze's mother, who actually wanted him and Zhou Xinyi to secretly have a child so that their child could inherit the Xiang family's group.
Her sacrifice for Xiang Wan was almost a self-sacrifice, but in return, she died of a heart attack.
The reason was actually that the author wanted her to become the male lead Zhou Chengze's white moonlight.
Who even cares about being his damn ideal woman?
Xiang Wan, the eldest daughter of the Xiang family, has had countless titles since childhood, but she really doesn't care about titles like 'XXX's white moonlight'!
Moreover, Xiang Wan chose Zhou Chengze as her partner simply because he was more obedient and well-behaved than the scions of noble families. Little did she expect that the seemingly most obedient person was actually a shrewd and ambitious schemer.
She brought Zhou Chengze out of Lijia Village and raised him in the Xiang family; the two could be considered to have had a bond since childhood.
But she never expected that her momentary soft-heartedness would raise an ungrateful wretch who would never be tamed. Xiang Wan felt her blood rush to her head and felt utterly disgusted.
Perhaps because Dr. Xia's emergency treatment had taken effect, Xiang Wan felt herself gradually regaining control of her body. Looking at Zhou Chengze's hypocritical face in front of her, she was furious and slapped him with all her might.
Seeing the astonishment in Zhou Chengze's eyes, she felt no relief whatsoever; it wasn't enough!
However, it was all just a brief moment of lucidity before death. Xiang Wan completely lost consciousness and collapsed into his arms.
She loathed seeing him again, and her last glance before passing away was towards the sunlight behind him.
Xiang Wan was born into wealth and had no worries about food or clothing. Her only regret was her heart disease. If she could, she would love to run freely in the sunshine.
If given another chance, she would never support a man.
She had completely stopped breathing, but Dr. Xia, who was standing to the side, still did not intend to give up. He remained kneeling on the lawn, racing against time to give her emergency treatment.
"Wake up, Xiang Wan, you're still so young..."
Her voice was slightly nasal, but her hands never stopped performing CPR.
Beside him, Zhou Chengze slumped to the ground, a tear rolling down his cheek. He didn't even react when Zhou Xinyi, who was faking her tears, tugged at him.
It wasn't until his sister pinched him that he seemed to come back to his senses, and he offered her a perfunctory reassurance: "It's okay, Xinyi, don't be afraid."
"The ambulance is coming soon..." he murmured, not forgetting to press his fiancée's hand close to his right cheek.
Even though Xiang Wan's hands had become icy cold due to hypothermia, he seemed oblivious, desperately trying to warm her up, as if that would save her life.
After Xiang Guan stopped breathing, the entire Shanshui Manor was in chaos, with vehicles blocking the way everywhere, and even reporters came.
Outside the manor, a young reporter who had finally managed to squeeze in looked at the swarm of bodyguards in front of him and asked his colleague, panting, "What's going on here?"
"How come several hours have passed and not a single word has come out?"
That fellow traveler was quite kind, though he spoke with a mysterious air: "Do you know who owns this manor?"
"Naturally, it belongs to the Xiang family."
"The person who had the accident was the eldest daughter of the Xiang family."
"What's wrong, Miss Xiang?"
"It is said that he suffered a sudden heart attack and is in emergency treatment. His life or death is unknown."
"Miss Xiang is such a kind person. She donated quite a lot when there was an earthquake in Yun Jin last year... What a pity."
"Who says it isn't?"
*
Meanwhile, Xiang Wan was completely unaware of everything that happened after her death, and at this moment she was wondering where she was.
After she died, she first felt her body become light, and then she felt as if she was being sucked into a certain place.
In the pitch-black darkness, she walked for a very long time until a faint white light appeared at the end of the darkness.
A voice seemed to come from within the white light—
"Young Miss, it's time for school."
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