Jiang Xingyan’s face darkened, her tone unbearably cold: “Huo Ci, are you threatening me?”
Huo Ci’s expression was sorrowful, his voice softening: “A-Yan, do I even have the right to threaten you now?”
“I just… I just want to beg for a chance.”
“A chance to be a good husband, a good father.”
“I will treat you well, treat Xiao Ya well…”
“Enough!”
This was the most ridiculous joke Jiang Xingyan had heard since her rebirth.
“Huo Ci, what makes you think I have to give you a chance just because you want one?”
“You’re far too self-important!”
“You were the one who didn’t want these chances.”
“You can’t just take them back now.”
Huo Ci lifted his head resolutely. “A-Yan, I’m not asking you to give it to me. I’m striving to earn it myself.”
“Therefore, I will not agree to the divorce. I refuse to sever all ties with you. We are fated to be husband and wife.”
“Heh, fated?”
Yun Chunfeng clenched the teacup in his hand, as if he might shatter it to pieces at any moment.
“Try saying those two words again with such a shameless face.”
Huo Ci faced Yun Chunfeng calmly, completely unaffected by the intimidating pressure the other man emitted.
“Yun Chunfeng, your nature is murderous and brutal. This is an indisputable fact, an innate part of you that you can never fully suppress, no matter how hard you try.”
“Don’t rush to deny me. I’m not saying what you did was wrong.”
“But think carefully. Is someone like you suited to be a father?”
“What would you teach Xiao Ya?”
“To defy the heavens? Or to act recklessly without regard for consequences?”
A flicker of panic crossed Yun Chunfeng’s face.
Jiang Xingyan immediately stepped in front of him, shielding him. “What right do you have to criticize Yun Ge’er?”
“And what could you possibly teach Xiao Ya?”
“Blind loyalty and filial piety? Or sheer self-righteousness?”
Huo Ci was left speechless.
Anxious, Yun Chunfeng decided to confess everything about his past life.
After that, whether she wanted him to stay or leave would be entirely up to the young mistress. At least he wouldn’t have to live in constant fear, terrified that she would one day discover his true nature and leave him, heartbroken.
“Young Mistress, I—”
“Yun Ge’er, no explanations are needed.”
“No matter what you do, I believe you would never harm me.”
“Just as you always believe in me.”
Suddenly, Yun Chunfeng understood what it felt like to have tears well up in one’s eyes, overcome with emotion.
His young mistress truly understood him.
In an instant, his heart settled back into place.
Meanwhile, Huo Ci’s heart leaped into his throat.
“A-Yan, Xiao Ya is my daughter too.”
Pushed beyond her limit, Jiang Xingyan swept the teapot from the table, sending it crashing to the floor.
“I don’t want to hear the word ‘daughter’ come from your lips again.”
“You don’t deserve it, Huo Ci. You don’t deserve it at all!”
The memory of experiencing Xiao Ya’s memories firsthand felt like having her heart torn out alive. That small child had endured so much, such immense grievances.
Jiang Xingyan’s throat tightened with unshed tears.
Waaah!
Xiao Ya’s startled crying echoed from the next room.
Jiang Xingyan delivered her final words: “Huo Ci, if you truly want to make it up to me and Xiao Ya, sign the divorce papers promptly tomorrow.”
“I will leave you one shop. It’s enough for you to support your elderly mother and fulfill your filial duties. You can grant me my freedom in return.”
“If you harass us again, I have plenty of ways to make your mother suffer!”
Having said that, she strode swiftly towards the main room.
Huo Ci’s face flushed alternately red and pale. He wanted to follow, but reason warned him not to move.
Yun Chunfeng stepped closer, raising an eyebrow in a provocative taunt. “It seems someone’s plan backfired spectacularly.”
“Not at all.”
“My goal was to make A-Yan see your true nature.”
“Whether she accepts it or not is her freedom.”
“As long as she isn’t kept in the dark.”
The feeling of being deceived was something Huo Ci had had his fill of. He might not yet know how to love properly, but the principle of ‘do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you’ could never be wrong.
Yun Chunfeng looked the composed Huo Ci up and down. After all these years, he hadn’t changed. It was this very sincerity that had led Old Master Jiang to choose him as a grandson-in-law. However, the same quality that led to his success also caused his failure. Excessive sincerity had turned into arrogance. He took it for granted that those close to him wouldn’t deceive him, trusting them completely. Perhaps, back then, the young mistress’s position in his heart had quietly surpassed even his mother’s. But this went against his long-held belief of ‘loyalty and filial piety first,’ alarming him. So, he chose to create distance and suppress those feelings. By the time he came to his senses, the young mistress had long since distanced her heart from him. Wasn’t this a form of punishment?
“Young Mistress will not look back.”
Yun Chunfeng drifted away, leaving Huo Ci alone to drown in his sorrow.
A-Yan, I don’t want you to look back at me.
I want to start over.
——
The moment Jiang Xingyan took Xiao Ya into her arms, the little girl’s crying ceased. Her small, round head pressed tightly against Jiang Xingyan’s chest, her tiny body curled in her embrace, tear stains still dotting her cheeks.
Suddenly, tears rolled down Jiang Xingyan’s face.
She felt so wronged.
How dare he say those things, as if all the suffering she endured could simply be made up for?
What if she hadn’t been reborn and had died for good?
How could he possibly make up for that then?
Holding Xiao Ya, she fell into a fitful sleep, tears still wet on her face.
In her haze, it seemed someone used warm fingertips to gently wipe away her tears.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw Yun Ge’er kneeling beside her. She lifted her hand to stop his touch—after all, this was Huo Ci’s body. Unexpectedly, a slender, delicate hand appeared before her. Looking down, she saw she was herself again.
Jiang Xingyan understood; she was in a dream.
“Young Mistress, Yun Ge’er is guilty.”
She reached out and lifted Yun Ge’er’s chin, seeing his eyes slightly downcast, his expression sorrowful, his lower lip caught lightly between his teeth as if hesitating to speak. Jiang Xingyan’s thumb brushed over his thin lips, watching as a blush spread from the tips of his ears all the way down his neck.
“This isn’t just my dream alone, is it, Yun Ge’er?”
Yun Chunfeng slowly raised his eyes. His captivating peach-blossom eyes, shimmering with unshed tears, no longer suppressed the deep affection within them, directly drowning the young mistress in a wave of heartfelt emotion. A blush, like a red veil, spread across Jiang Xingyan’s face, feeling hot and prickly. She quickly withdrew her fingers.
But Yun Chunfeng didn’t give her the chance to pull her hand back completely.
He grasped Jiang Xingyan’s wrist and nestled his cheek against her palm.
“Young Mistress, Yun Ge’er used a Soul-Guiding Art. We are both here in our true soul forms.”
Even though Yun Chunfeng was only nuzzling her palm, Jiang Xingyan felt a tingling, itchy sensation right in the core of her heart.
How could a soul still feel the flutter of attraction?
She hurriedly pulled her hand back, turned her head, and gave a light cough, ignoring Yun Chunfeng’s wounded look as she changed the subject. “What were you saying earlier?”
Yun Chunfeng composed his expression and performed a formal kowtow, pressing his forehead to the ground.
“In my previous life, Yun Ge’er was forcibly confined by my master inside an illusion for cultivation. I only found out that the Young Mistress… had come to harm… after I emerged.”
“Yun Ge’er then… then slaughtered the entire Huo family.”
Silence fell.
Yun Chunfeng’s heart gradually sank.
It felt like falling into a bottomless pit.
He didn’t dare look up at Jiang Xingyan’s expression. The slightest hint of disgust, fear, or hatred would be enough to snap his already taut nerves. Even if the Young Mistress merely furrowed her brows slightly, his heart would suffer endless torment for countless days and nights to come.
After a long while, he heard the Young Mistress let out a very, very soft sigh.
Her soft, delicate hand gently stroked the top of his head.
“Yun Ge’er, was cultivation very hard?”