Xin yi was getting married.
Wang Li Chang couldn't sleep, he paced around his room, each step echoing, the weight of the dining room moment still fresh in his mind. if he hadn't come back from America, would anyone have told him that Xin yi and Wang Li Chen were in a relationship?
He hated himself for leaving her in the dark these past years. Ignoring her texts, never returning her calls. He told himself it was for her, for his family. But that excuse felt meaningless.
He came back hoping they could return to the way things were. He was ready to do anything for her forgiveness. But what did he find out instead?.
"my love!"
Those words, coming from his brother and directed at Xin yi, shattered everything inside him. Why? when? How did it happen? Does he make her happy? does he make her forget about him?
That night, Wang Li Chang's mind became a restless search for answers. He wished for sleep to come but it didn't, he could only accept his fate and bear the pain of thinking about Xin yi.
And the fact that she now belongs to someone else.
SLAP!
The sound of the slap rang through the room, sharp and final.
"Mei Ling! Have you lost your mind?" Liu shuzhen yelled, rushing to catch Liu xia hui. Liu xia hui's head was snapped violently to the left from the impact, her eyes watering as she clutched her burning cheek in shock.
The three women stood in the center of the room in their nightdresses, the tension in the room becoming heavy. It was painfully obvious they had all abandoned their sleep, driven by a desperate, midnight need to confront one another.
"Don't ask me, ask your daughter!" Mei Ling spat. She had waited all day to unleash this fury, knowing that in the dead of the night, no one would intervene. The mansion's walls were thick and soundproof, here, their conversations won't be heard.
"What kind of despicable character did you showcase on set today, Liu xia hui?" Mei Ling stepped closer, her eyes cold.
"What happened?" Liu shuzhen asked, her voice laced with confusion. She stared at her daughter, whose head was still recoiling from the impact, her cheek beginning to bloom with a dark, angry red.
"Look at me, you idiot!" Mei Ling's fingers dug into Liu xia hui's arms. Terrified, Liu xia hui could do nothing but comply, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"I told you to make Xin yi look bad, not to turn yourself into a villain in front of the entire crew! Do you have any idea how much effort I spent ensuring that news didn't reach the old man's ears? You're lucky Wang Li Chen hasn't figured it out yet!" With a sneer of disgust, Mei Ling shoved Xia hui to the floor.
"Stop it, Mei Ling!" Liu shuzhen snapped, rushing to her daughter's side.
"I should have given the role to Caihong," Mei continues ignoring Liu shuzhen, she snapped, turning to shuzhen.
" You'd better talk some sense into her. Because if she ruins things for me, I'm dragging the three of you back to the slums where you belong!"
She slammed the door in their face..
As if being the second wife to the eldest son of the Wang family was not enough. A sudden scandal had to drain her own family fortune stripping her of her last shred of leverage. The Wangs acted as if she was a charity case, conveniently forgetting she was once a titan in her own right, the very reason Wang jie had married to her.
Now, she was nothing but a wife without a dowry and a mother without a son. She vowed to take back every bit of influence she had contributed to this wretched family, she and her daughters would not be the ones to lose.
If only her sister's child could be useful for once. If not, she would have to intervene herself.
The night went on, the mansion's air thick with a tension that felt like a physical weight.
Morning arrived with a quickened speed, different from the long, heavy hours of the night before.
Xin yi lay still, the blue light of her phone reflecting in her tired eyes as she scrolled through the relentless flood of comments on the official announcement.
The Internet went wild over the union of Wang Li Chen and the "adopted daughter" of the Wang family.
@StarGazer88: oh my God! Imagine getting married to the one and only Wang Li Chen!!! She's literally living every girl's dream.
@Dramafanatic: A celebrity husband and a celebrity wife. I just hope she gets cast as a leading lady soon so she actually matches Wang Li Chen's status.
@Wealthwatch: I'm so jealous. Look how blessed she is. From being an orphan to becoming a permanent member of the most powerful family in the country. Talk about a glow_up.
Every word felt like a tiny needle prick. They called her "blessed", but they didn't see the bars of the cage. To them, she was a success story, to her, she was a piece of property finally being signed over.
She exhaled a long, shaky sigh and dropped the phone onto the silk duvet. Forcing herself up, she stood in the center of her enormous, empty bed, feeling smaller than she ever had before.
Xin yi stepped onto the terrace to get some morning fresh air. She found Wang Li Chen already there, a cup of coffee cradled in his hand while he scrolled through the Internet. A satisfied smirk played on his lips as he read the headlines of their engagement.
"Good morning, love," Xin yi said, forcing a swift, practiced smile.
She wasn't surprised to find him there. He often snuck into her room while she slept, claiming he wanted to protect her from "invisible monsters." Where he saw those monsters, only God knew.
Xin yi sat opposite him for a second as he continued to scroll through social media. She could see how happy he was about their engagement being announced, it was written all over his face.
"Get ready today, love," he suddenly said, not looking up from his screen. "We're having an interview with the wine house officials about our upcoming wedding. I'll come pick you up after your shoot today"
"What?" Xin asks, startled
When was this even planned? Could she at least be told something, or asked if she was okay with it, before it was pushed through?
"Wang Li Chen, I wasn't told about this. Can I at least be informed about_"
"Wang Li Chen!"
Grandma Shen Mei's voice rang out, cutting through the air. Wang Li Chen quickly got up from his seat.
"Love, let's talk about this some other time... Dress nice, after your shoot I'll come pick you up," he said, giving her a quick kiss on the head before walking off.
Xin yi stood there, feeling completely helpless. Her chest heaved rapidly as she fought to keep the tears from falling. She stared blankly at the sky. Wondering if her life would continue to be like this, a series of decisions made for her once they were married.
She sat back down, trying to steady her breathing and calm herself. There was still so much to be done in her life, but the walls of the Wang family seemed to be closing in.
Xin yi had no time for breakfast that morning. She quickly washed up and got ready, leaving for set before anyone could even bring up the engagement news.
The rest of the family was left to have breakfast without three of it's members.
"Wang Li Chang, do you have a girlfriend yet?" Mei Ling broke the silence of the dining room.
"Your younger brother is getting married. It's not in our family history for a junior to be quicker than a senior."
"Stepmother, having a girlfriend is not my priority right now," Wang Li Chang answered. "As we all know, my five years in America, were dedicated to establishing and strengthening the Wang business, and I have returned to have an even greater impact her in country L."
He had almost missed the indirect attacks from his stepmother. He wondered how she had even survived without him, considering they were always at each other's throats.
Mei Ling rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. We all know you and Xin yi were supposed to be married to keep fa_"
"Mei Ling, you talk about history?" Jiang yun cut her off, silencing her mid-sentence. She scoffed. "If we're talking about history, it isn't in our tradition for a junior to be more intelligent than the senior. My son is excelling, yet I heard your eldest , Wang jia is struggling, while the youngest, Wang min is heading to college next semester."
Jiang yun wasn't about to sit quietly while another woman tried to make her son look bad.
"Ahem." Wang Jie cleared his throat, the sound heavy with warning.
Mei Ling didn't care about Wang jie's warning, she stood up, ready to pour fire on Jiang yun.
"Stop this nonsense now!" Grandpa Wang Tian yelled, his hand slamming onto the table with enough force to rattle the plates.
"Wang jie, take Wang Li Chang to the company. I will talk to your wives myself."
Wang jie stood up immediately. Giving a respectful bow, he prepared to leave, but Wang Li Chang was hesitant. His stepmother had been on the verge of saying something important before his mother cut her short.
A dark thought clouded his mind. Why did she talk as if he was supposed to marry Xin Yi for something big? Was Xin yi being forced to marry wang Li Chen?
"Wang Li Chang!"
Grandpa's gruff voice snapped him back to reality. He followed his father out, his expression determined. He was going to get to the bottom of everything.
************************
Xin yi had been on the edge since the moment she arrived at the set. Paparazzi seemed to crawl from every corner, their cameras flashing like strobe lights as they shouted questions about her upcoming wedding.
She had never wanted to be famous for this. She wanted her name to be known for her craft, for the roles she poured her soul into, not for the man she was promised to. The noise became too much, the close attention too heavy. Unable to face the crowd, she was forced to retreat, hiding inside her car until the shoot was ready to begin.
From behind her tinted windows, Wu Chunhua watched the wild atmosphere. She had never lost the paparazzi's attention to a rookie before. From the moment she first saw her, she knew that Xin yi girl was nothing but trouble, a social climber using the Wang name to steal fame and headlines that she hadn't earned.
Wu Chunhua loathed people who didn't put in the work, but she hated people who stole her spotlight more.
She pulled out her phone to check the morning headlines, but what she saw made her blood run cold.
"WANG LI CHEN AND HIS BRIDE -TO BE: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW AT THE WINE HOUSE."
Her jaw tightened. Even she, with all awards and years of success, hadn't been invited to the wine house. The most influential entertainment channel in country L. She gripped her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white, the boiling anger finally reaching its limit.
"Go get Liu xia hui for me," she commanded her personal assistant. The girl sat frozen, terrified by how red and contorted Wu Chunhua's face had become.
"What_?"
"Go call Liu xia hui, you fool!" Chunhua snapped, her voice like a whip.
The assistant scrambled out of the car, her heart racing. In her rush to fulfill the demand, she tripped and hit the pavement hard, but she didn't dare stop to check her bruises. She scrambled back to her feet and kept running until she spotted Liu xia hui.
God knew what Wu Chunhua wanted with her, but the assistant knew one thing. When Wu Chunhua was this angry, someone's life was about to be ruined.