Xia Lige was having the worst moment of her life.
"We are celebrating your sister's engagement today, and yet you dare seduce her fiance? How dare you, Xia Lige?!"
Insults were hurled at her continuously.
"Don't ever appear in front of us again! Get lost! We're disowning you!"
"After all that we have given you all these years? You don't deserve even a bit of it, you ungrateful b*tch! We should never have adopted such scum!"
Xia Lige stood there, frozen like a statue. Since her adoption by the Xia family many years ago, she had always been obedient and sensible. She went out of her way to accommodate their whims and tried her best to please them.
Even if she wasn’t treated like a little princess, this situation was beyond her comprehension.
What was going on?
What did she do to deserve such abuse?
Xia Lige only remembered when it all changed.
It was the moment Xia Qianyu walked through the door.
The moment Xia Feng and Yu Wanqing’s long-lost biological daughter came home, Xia Lige became an eyesore.
Now they were saying that she was a mistake?
Xia Lige was heartbroken, even if she wasn’t their flesh and blood, she was still raised by the couple. Even a dog would be treated well for its loyalty.
Instead, Xia Lige was considered trash in the Xia family. Everything she did was wrong.
Despite knowing that it wouldn’t change a thing, Xia Lige tried to defend herself.”
"Mom, Dad! That’s not… It's not like that. I didn't do it!"
Even though she knew it was futile, Xia Lige tried to defend herself.
"Qi Ye is my fiance. Mom... Dad, you know that. He is my fiance!"
She was deeply saddened and after being repeatedly disappointed by the older couple, she did not think whatever she said would matter.
And yet, a small part of her still hoped that her adoptive parents would believe her.
Xia Lige wanted to scream the truth out loud in frustration.
"Xia Qianyu stole my fiance! She framed me and ruined my reputation! Why? Why won’t you believe me?"
Before Xia Lige could give voice to her feelings, Xia Qianyu was one step ahead.
With a tearful look on her face, she cried out, "Mom, Dad, please don't blame Lige. It's... It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have done such a ridiculous thing.”
Xia Qianyu then said to Xia Lige, “Sister, I know that you like Qi Ye. So, I... I won't compete with you over him anymore. I'll call off our engagement. I'll leave and you can have the Xia family back. You and Qi Ye can be together. Just... Just please don't quarrel with Mom and Dad, okay?"
If Xia Lige still held out any hope for her fiance, it was instantly crushed the moment he opened his mouth.
Qi Ye protested hotly, not even bothering to look at Xia Lige, "Qianyu, the person I like is you! How could you say that you’ll give up? How can you give me to your shameless sister? She is not worth your kindness!"
When the crowd heard Xia Qianyu and Qi Ye's words, they gossiped out loud.
"Xia Lige is disfigured but still dares to act so shamelessly?
"No kidding. I heard that she seduced a married man. When his wife found out, she cut her face with a knife. It looks like she didn’t learn her lesson! Now she even dared to seduce her sister's fiance."
"After the real Miss Xia came home, that adopted daughter must've been so jealous. I bet this was not the first time she played such dirty tricks on Miss Xia."
"Miss Xia Qianyu is so pitiful! How terrible to have Xia Lige as a sister!"
Xia Lige stood there in silence as verbal abuse and outright lies filled her ears.
They didn’t even try to keep their voice down. Nor did they hide the contemptuous disdain in their eyes.
“Does no one believe me?”
“No… No one cares about me…”
How cruel...
"I'm innocent..."
However, it was like the wind blew away her words...
Something snapped within Xia Lige.
She took a small step back...
Then another...
Before anyone realized what she was doing, Xia Lige turned and jumped...
The wind rushing past her ears was quickly replaced by bone-chilling cold as the roaring waves of the sea swallowed her.
Instinctively, Xia Lige struggled against the current trying to drag her down.
Her lungs ached and then burned with the desire to take a breath.
But worse than the pain in her lungs was the bitterness in her heart.
What a joke...
Her whole life was a farce...
Xia Lige regretted it.
She had given up but she hated it. If she had another chance...
Suddenly, she gasped as her lungs reached their limit and felt like it was about to explode.
As her vision blurred and her limbs stopped struggling, a tiny kernel of consciousness heard a fierce yet familiar voice howl.
"If she dies, I will make you all go to hell and die with her!"
As Xia Lige inhaled seawater, the brief flash of pain brought a moment of focus before her eyes shut.
"You aren't supposed to be here..." She thought and then she whispered as her eyes closed. "I'm sorry..."
......
"Miss Xia? Wake up, Miss Xia!”
An impatient voice that sounded like the buzzing of a mosquito annoyed the young girl lying in bed.
Frowning, Xia Lige tried to focus as her consciousness fought against the whirlpool of darkness clouding her sense.
It was like she was submerged underwater…
Wait, water!
Xia Lige slowly forced her heavy eyelids and stared blearily at her surroundings...
Suddenly her eyes widened in shock.
She sat up abruptly and squeezed her eyes shut against the image of spinning furniture.
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
The first thought that came to mind was, “Was this heaven?”
Staring blankly at the beautifully decorated room, Xia Lige expected heaven to be more…
“Miss Xia, now that you’re awake, it’s time to go.”
Go? Where?
The better question was, where was she?
Didn't she drown in the sea? Who saved her?
Subconsciously, she looked down at the dress she was wearing.
Wait!
This dress...
The last time she wore this dress was when she was eighteen...
A bitter feeling choked her throat.
Even in death, she couldn't escape. What was this new trick that Xia Qianyu had designed for her?
Xia Lige pursed her lips and shifted her gaze before she froze at the sight of the girl staring back at her.
Xia Lige's hands shook as they came up to her face.
The girl in the mirror lifted her hands too...
Xia Lige touched her smooth and delicate face in disbelief.
What was going on?
“Miss Xia!” The annoyed voice broke Xia Lige out of her trance.
Xia Lige dumbly turned her head to look at the person who had been trying to get her attention for the past few minutes.
“I know you!” Xia Lige blurted out. “You’re Xiao Ran!”
Xiao Ran frowned in displeasure, “Of course, I introduced myself earlier this morning.”
This morning?
An outrageous thought popped into Xia Lige’s head as she stared at Xiao Ran.
She gasped, scrambled off the bed, ran to the mirror, and pressed her hands against the cool glass.
“Xiao Ran… What’s the date today?”
“Miss Xia, what are you trying to do now?”
“What is the date today?!” Xia Lige interrupted, her voice bordering on hysteria.
Xiao Ran pursed his lips but answered Xia Lige.
Xia Lige closed her eyes briefly.
She remembered that date. Back then…
That meant that she was at...
Xia Lige’s eyes snapped open and she ran for the door.
“Miss Xia! Where are you going?”
"I want to see him."
Xiao Ran hurried to catch her, "Miss Xia, what are you playing at now? Just half an hour ago, you refused Mr. Rong. From now on, he will never–"
Xia Lige took a deep breath and with a strength she did not know she have, shook his arm off and said in a clear voice, "Xiao Ran, I have something to tell him face to face."
Then she ran.
Xiao Ran yelled as he gave chase.
"Miss Xia, you think too highly of yourself. If it weren't for the marriage arranged by the two families since your childhood, do you think that Mr. Rong would have given you a chance to meet him today? What are you playing at now?"
Xia Lige did not bother to answer and ran even faster, sprinting past maids who turned their heads to watch the usually dignified-looking Xiao Ran run after the barefooted young girl.
“Miss Xia! Come back here!”
Xia Lige ran and ran, following the path she took many years ago…
She had to see him!
She wanted to tell him…
Panting, she pushed open the heavy iron door and ran in.
A few seconds later, she stopped short, her chest heaving up and down as she struggled to catch her breath.
The garden was like something out of a fairytale. Within a courtyard framed with white walls, bright roses in various shades of red, pink, purple, and white bloomed decadently.
And amid the sea of flowers sat a stoic man.
Even though he was in a wheelchair, his aura was not in the least bit diminished. And despite the alienating aura the man radiated, Xia Lige knew that she was allowed to be there. Otherwise, she would’ve been dead already.
The man had short hair and a black veil over his face.
Even though she could not see what he looked like, she knew that beneath the veil, the man had a pair of cold, piercing eyes.
She also knew how drop-dead gorgeous the man under the veil was.
His face was the one she saw before she closed her eyes…
Was she really reborn? Or was everything just a dream?
In her dream, after rejecting him to his face and causing a ruckus, she demanded that she be sent home immediately.
So how did she end up in the guest room?
Xia Lige refocused her attention on the present.
The man did not move or acknowledge her presence. He stared down at the delicate rose in his palm. All he needed to do was curl his fingers and the delicate petals would be destroyed.
Just like the innocent girl in front of him...
The man's voice was calm yet distant when he finally spoke.
"The exit is not here."
Xia Lige did not leave. Undaunted, she stopped beside him and quietly looked at him. His skin was much fairer than ordinary people's. Even with the sun shining on him, his coldness was felt.
Xia Lige unhurriedly squatted slightly so that their eyes were level. She stretched out her trembling hand, subconsciously trying to touch the black veil over his face.
Her fingers hovered in mid-air when she thought of what she had said earlier when she refused him.
If there was a chance her dream was real…
If this was a chance the heavens gave her to change her future…
She would grab it with both hands and never let go...
She wanted to start over with the man in front of her!
Swallowing to suppress the churning emotions in her heart, she licked her dry lips and said, "Rong Yan... I want to marry you!"
.....
Memories flashed through Xia Lige's mind. She remembered what Rong Yan told her when they met. Straightforward in personality, Rong Yan had stated on their first meeting that she was his fiance since birth and that she should set a wedding date after her 18th birthday.
Aghast, the young Xia Lige threw a tantrum and mocked the disabled man, and announced that she already had a fiance.
In her dream, however, even though she had rejected Rong Yan so hatefully, he still helped her over and over again.
Unfortunately, she acted like a blind fool who only had eyes for Qi Ye. Back then, she even gave her kidney to Qi Ye!
But that man betrayed her and had sex with Xia Qianyu. He didn't stop there.
Later, he allowed Xia Qianyu to frame her and ruin her face.
He even looked on mockingly as she jumped into the sea despite not knowing how to swim.
It wasn’t until she saw the blurry figure of the man after she fell into the sea that she realized the bitter truth.
Rong Yan was the only person in the world who was truly devoted to her.
He could’ve taken her words at face value and abandoned her just like she did him. After all, when the engagement was made between them, her father, Gong Fei, was still alive.
Back then, the Gong and Rong families were two of the four top families in the city. The two families were well-matched and after being united in marriage, would become even stronger.
Unfortunately, Gong Fei and his wife got into an accident. Before he died, Gong Fei entrusted his daughter to the care of his best friend Xia Feng so that his daughter would not be threatened in the Gong family's property dispute after his death.
Gong Lige was adopted by the Xia family from a young age and renamed Xia Lige to hide her identity.
She didn't know about her engagement until Rong Yan looked for her to fulfill the engagement.
......
Suddenly, Rong Yan’s voice brought Xia Lige back to her senses
"Miss Xia Lige, you were very firm in your refusal just now. You said you would only marry Qi Ye. Even if you died, you wouldn't marry me. Even though I am blind, I am not stupid."
Through the veil, the man's delicate face seemed like a calm lake without the slightest change in emotion, but a touch of derision tinged his voice...
