I stood there in that multibillionaire's extravagant living room. A whorl of conflicting emotions washed over me. Jie Moshu intentionally didn't want to heal me. It was rather he had never intended to do so in the first place.
My brows creased angrily. As I was quietly digesting, the more I was getting pissed off by the fact Baba was the King of Medicine. He was technically the expert in alchemy and medicines.
So, how could the great, all-mighty King of Medicine unable to heal me for weeks of being paralyzed? Lying on the bed for one week, and the other was sitting in a wheelchair. Not to mention that opportunist Jie Moshu. (Yes, it unnerved me: he healed my lower body right after the misunderstanding with Baba).
Even now, the memory of these past few weeks rose in my mind, as sharp and clear and as humiliated as ever...
I could remember the long, unbearable wait like a patient during my first week. Waiting to be helped on getting up. Waiting to be fed with water and food. Waiting to be helped to do "small" business. It had been absolute torture. The first day, second day, third day... Even though Baba had come in to live in the mansion and there was Anna, the maid, but mostly I was accompanied by Jie Moshu.
I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes. I felt like I could lose my grip on sanity there.
Why? Imagined the scene like this: Jie Moshu fed me with all fancy food prepared by his world-class chef. Jie Moshu wiped my sleeping drools. Jie Moshu helped me to wash my hair. Jie Moshu scratched my head because of itchy...
Not that that meant anything. It was fine with Baba or Anna for taking care of me, but not Jie Moshu. These days I barely even recalled how many times I was rigid with misery. The shame of being unattractive for someone who was courting you. My dignity and pride as a—beautiful—woman poofed to the thin air. Yes, consumed by embarrassment. Too humiliating. At least out of devastation, one good thing was a handsome man became your slave, who could serve you whenever you'd like. (Although, I could never get used to my wild fantasy whenever my gaze traveled to his long torso, and tight muscles on top of that a deathly gorgeous face).
Those days I had been silently chanting, 'It'll end soon... It'll end soon... It'll end soon...' That was the only thing to keep me sane. To be very saint.
The second week was much better because mostly my upper body had gained their senses back. But still, I couldn't stand the desperation of being pushed in a wheelchair. I thought I could have died out of frustration.
And then happened those fantasy land thingy with Mama and Baba's real identity. Which I accepted wholeheartedly as the identity of an adopted child, and I didn't blame them at all.
What matters now was none of those things.
It was this scheme and manipulation for weeks. They really had no shred of conscience. I was trying to find a way to rationalize this situation, but it was no good. As I let my mind rolled around those images, I felt a volcanic surge of fury. I knew it. I bloody knew it.
No wonder, Baba agreed unconditionally without any hesitation. I tried to stay calm, but my rage simmered up, hot and strong. This was no good indeed...
So, once again, we had come to the moment of reaching a verdict—but this time, the judge was none other than me. There was a burning sense of injustice inside me that I couldn't quell.
My gaze flickered from Jie Moshu and then to Baba. The two of them sat on the couch side by side. Of course, they didn't dare to look me in the eye. How would they even dare? I was deceived for weeks. Exactly two weeks and three days.
I folded my arms over my chest. "I have the sinking suspicion that all of you scheming for me to stay in this mansion."
"Huayu, hear Baba out first." Baba forced himself to hold his smile steady. "You know..."
Suddenly Jie Moshu snapped, forthrightly. "Yes, it was my intention to let you stay."
I took a deep breath and massaged my temples briefly. He wasn't remotely shamefaced. He hadn't once apologized, for anything. He admitted right away. That easily! Jie Moshu, you're really a no-brainer opportunist! I had a huge urge to smack him right on the face.
My head suddenly gripped with a crackpot idea. Would it be better if I used my telepathy to call Huashe and had a civil war here? I shot them a devious smile.
Now, I was hovering by Baba, narrowing my eyes to gauge exactly how much of a traitor he was. "So, my great Baba, I see that you're an accomplice too. Explain."
"Look at how you talk," Baba tsked impatiently. "This isn't called accomplice. At least, I had this cupid love mission for making a room for developments. It's a great sacrifice. After all, I'm the one who raised you 'till this big. You don't even know how hard it feels like to hand over your daughter for marriage."
I peered at Baba incredulously.
"Developments?" I echoed. "Developments?"
Now, I was starting to get pissed off.
"Jie Moshu," I called his name hotly, and he immediately raised his head. "What kind of flattery did you use until my own Baba can be so approving of me marrying you? Did you bribe him? How much money did you use?" I suddenly remembered and shot him with a glance of reproach. "Ah, no. You're all inhuman. Are you maybe a higher ranking god? Perhaps some authority pressure?"
There was a short silence. From the way those two men looking at each other, I could guess that my assumption was right. His stance was an uncommon one. Jie Moshu probably was higher than any other immortals.
"You... you, silly daughter. How could you talk like that to my son-in-law?" Baba stammered at last. "You see he is a qualified husband material even in the Human World."
Well, he's a perfect husband material, a terribly handsome one. Plak! What was I thinking? What a facepalm.
I cleared my throat, shoving off my crackpot thoughts. "In any way, I won't be marrying a stranger."
"Huayu, dear!" Baba remonstrated. "You can't turn Jie Moshu away. You even already have a son together."
"What father-in-law said is very logical," Jie Moshu chimed in heartily, "you need to responsible for taking advantage of me. Axiang is the living proof of our love."
Taking advantage of him? Me? Proof of... love? Ugh, my stomach was churning.
I was instantly seething. Looked at who's talking here. Somehow the actual sense had been reversed—a woman taking responsibility for a man to violate him having a child. It wasn't like he was pregnant or anything. He didn't suffer from any losses, instead, I was the victim of a damaged reputation. (Well, not really damaged, since he was a multibillionaire).
This was getting too far from a normal route. Considering Baba now had been open about his identity, there was no reason for him to put on an act. I was still twenty-one, not ready to build a family. Let alone allegedly had both husband and son out of the blue.
"Gentlemen, the relationship has to talk about the procedure," I said in those firm, formal tones. "This Mr. Jie here was supposed to start from dating, marriage, and then having kids. But now the sequence has reversed. To any 'normal' human being, this is an absurd proposal."
"Then we can do it the other way around," Jie Moshu retorted. "From marriage then to dating, take that as I'm paying for a guarantee deposit for our future relationship."
I rolled my eyes, replied sardonically. "Are you really a god? Or are you a businessman?"
"If you're taking yourself as a transaction, then I'll gladly do this business without any hesitation."
Okay, I had enough of it. Who would want to be considered as property? I'm the owner of my body and soul. A living person, not some property.
"Jie Moshu, just be honest, aren't you so eager to find a wife to keep off unwanted love affairs?" I stopped dead. "With all that looks and wealth, and of course that sorcery thing you got, you could get all those women in no time."
"Silly daughter, how could you say that? You clearly know—"
"No, because I want you to be my wife. It must be you and only you." A hard edge crept into Jie Moshu's voice, cutting Baba from finishing.
Oh, goody. If this was a romantic drama, I would probably have swooned over Jie Moshu's sweet-talking. But instead of admiring his "heartfelt confession", I found myself growing annoyed instead.
My mind added, like a silent truthful arrow. He sounded like forcing me.
Was he thinking of acting a scene from "Bossy CEO Fall in Love with Me"? Amateur.
I was about to tell how reluctantly I was, when a muffled male voice called, "Master, someone is looking for—"
"Shushu! Do you miss me?" The pneumatic drill of a voice filled the room as a man strode into the room. All the guilty men yanked up suddenly, their faces snapped in horror.
That man's black suit flowing with easy grace around his perfect figure; his long dark hair spilled over his shoulders, like someone from that shampoo advertisement. Flashing light-brown eyes behind his antique monocle that matched his beige skin. Then again, he looked a bit feminine than manly, especially noticing that beauty mark under his left-eye.
My eyes widened. Shushu? Hang on, was that a lover's nickname? Oh my god. I looked wildly from face to face. Oh my god. Could it be—Jie Moshu wasn't even a straight man?
I suppressed a desire from shaking with laughter. Well, now I fully understood his reason for taking me as his wife. I felt him. My mind couldn't stop from laughing "Hahaha!".
Jie Moshu stared at me with distress, as though he could read my mind, his expression abruptly became sour. "Wife, don't take this wrongly—"
"Aiyoh! What you mean by taking this or that wrongly," he said proudly, thrust his head close to Jie Moshu's. "Of course, we're in that relationship, nothing is wrong." He brushed one finger slightly under Jie Moshu's chin. "Our dear Shushu is so adorable."
I glanced at Jie Moshu. He was speechless with shock, which made me almost burst into giggles. Now, this was called "developments" alright. I couldn't help leaning forward to tease him, as I patted his shoulders. "You should blame it to your handsomeness."
"Who's this speaking?" The girly man's nose twitched, almost like he was sniffing. "Hmm... A lowly human smell. But I don't think she's suitable for our Shushu's type. But..." He was batting his curved eyelashes at Jie Moshu, purposely paused for dramatic effect, "What to say. Our Shushu like her that much, then I could just accept her."
A... A lowly human? Who even wanted approval from a dandy? Was he aiming at me because I snatched his lovely "Shushu"? Ugh.
"Who are you calling a lowly human?" Shooting him an offended look, I pointed at his chest. Jie Moshu quickly took my hand and shushed me. He shook his head, gave me the "don't argue" look.
"Hey, hey. Now, lowly human, you shouldn't be disrespectful with me," he flashed me a playful grin. He sank to the couch, femininely folded his legs, "After all, I would be the one to provide significant information about your... contractor. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Si Ming, the Defied Judge of Life, at your service."