Ru Yin Yue froze, staring at Si Zha Nan's sleeping figure in disbelief. Her heart pounded in her chest and she slipped out of the bed as carefully as she could, trying her best not to wake the man who was her first love.
Normally, she would be thrilled to have woken up beside him. She had imagined this scenario for years, a fairy tale-like scenario where he would eventually look at her, fall for her and marry her. Then they would wake up beside each other every morning, just like now.
However, reality was cruel.
Ru Yin Yue was aware of the repercussions of this…affair. Right now, Si Zha Nan was in love with Zhou Ni Yao. When he woke up and found her, he would be furious. The accusations would come flying once more, and he might even resort to physical violence.
Eight years ago, when they first split up, Si Zha Nan had made it clear that he didn't deem such measures too excessive when it came to dealing with a "deluded" girl like her. That he would go to any lengths to stop her from "harassing" him.
Ironically, Ru Yin Yue believed herself the victim of stalking, which was why she told that creepy nerd off and drove him away from her blog and social media. compared to that, her sticking to Si Zha Nan, following him home, finding excuses to enter the music room to listen to him play the violin, watching him play basketball from afar, sending him about twenty text messages a day over the smartphone until he blocked her…those couldn't be counted as stalking or harassment.
Of course, Ru Yin Yue had matured over the years and she was no longer desperate enough to resort to such…pathetic measures. If the other party wasn't interested in her…if he was utterly disgusted with her, then there was no forcing the issue. That was why she willingly left the country and went abroad for so many years. She wouldn't have come back either, if it weren't for her sick mother. She wanted to leave all that dark history behind.
But fate had entwined her destiny with that of Si Zha Nan's, it seemed.
"No…"
Ru Yin Yue clutched her head, her brain still throbbing from the effects of yesterday's drinking session. She only had a couple of glasses. It shouldn't have knocked her out the way it did. Yet she couldn't remember anything after sipping the wine in the Si family's limousine. A wealth of emotions rose within her, threatening to erupt, but she suppressed them.
It would do no good to scream. She didn't want to wake up Si Zha Nan and exacerbate the problem. No, it was best if she got out of here before anyone realized something was amiss.
She glanced around, finding her gown on the floor nearby. The mess and the haphazard manner in which the clothing – belonging to both her and Si Zha Nan – was discarded all over the floor hinted that they had engaged in some intimacy, but Ru Yin Yue couldn't remember anything. Other than the hangover, her body didn't feel sore. Miraculously, there were no marks or bruises on her body, no pain in her lower half.
Perhaps they had just undressed and fell asleep before anything could had happened. That made sense. Si Zha Nan was so disgusted with her that he would rather die than touch her body. Or at least that was what he told her eight years ago.
Covering her chest with the covers, she nervously stretched her hand toward her gown, praying that there wouldn't be anybody outside. That forlorn hope was shattered when the door swung open several seconds before she could reach her clothing, and three people stepped inside.
"Ah…"
Ru Yin Yue's voice died in her throat when she recognized the figures. Dad Si, Mom Si and Zhou Ni Yao were stepping into the room, the young, dark-haired beauty pushing past the stunned Ru Yin Yue to stare at the bed behind her.
"Hmm?"
Si Zha Nan stirred, woken up by the door. He opened his eyes, and for a moment, he didn't comprehend the situation. It took him several seconds to digest the situation right before him and for him to realize that this was not a dream. That he was awake.
"This…!"
He trailed off, staring at Ru Yin Yue, finally understanding that she was in his bed. The both of them were naked, save for the covers, and their clothes had been messily thrown onto the floor. No matter how one looked at it, it was obvious that some form of intimate contact had occurred.
Worse, Ni Yao witnessed this scene.
Rage flared up inside Si Zha Nan and he glared at Ru Yin Yue accusingly. This must be another one of her devious schemes! The Si family heir was sure of it. He couldn't believe that he had fallen for her machinations once more, trapped by her manipulations to drive a wedge between him and his beloved Ni Yao. This wasn't the first time. He still remembered a sobbing Ni Yao, telling him about how her former best friend had betrayed her…
Being loved by such a scheming woman…this brought nothing but disaster to him.
Before he could explain himself, Ru Yin Yue cried out indignantly. She stared from Si Zha Nan to Ru Yin Yue before bursting into tears spectacularly.
"Why…why? Si Zha Nan, didn't you say that you love me? Then…then why did you do this? So you have feelings for Ru Yin Yue all this time? Why did you lie to me then? Why did you even propose to me when you chose her?"
"Ni Yao, it's not what you think," Si Zha Nan pleaded desperately, reaching out for her. "This is just a misunderstanding. Nothing happened! I swear…"
"Nothing happened? Do you think I'm blind?! Just look at the two of you, together on the same bed, completely naked! Do you still take me for a fool, Si Zha Nan!?"
"No…"
Zhou Ni Yao shook her head, tears spilling from her eyes and rolling down her face. "Zha Nan, I want to believe you. I understand…Ru Yin Yue must have seduced you! I know she has always liked you, but even so…Zha Nan, was your self-restraint so weak? You claimed that you love me, but you weren't even able to resist temptation…you weren't able to ward off seduction from another woman? How am I supposed to trust you?"
While she put on a show, Mom Si shook her head and whispered to Dad Si in a voice too low for any of the youngsters to overhear. "She's either a superb actress or a massive hypocrite."
"I'm putting my money on the latter," Dad Si whispered back.
Zhou Ni Yao was aware that Si Zha Nan's parents didn't like her, but she couldn't help but seize the opportunity to play the victim and garner sympathy. Unfortunately, none of her antics were working and both Si parents just watched her in bemusement.
Unfortunately, the one person who mattered, Si Zha Nan, was frantically trying his best to calm her down.
"I don't know how this happened. I must have been set up. This is a trap! I must have been drugged or intoxicated. I don't know how she is in my bed. I must have mistaken her for you. Ni Yao, don't cry, please listen to my explanation, okay?"
"What's there to explain?" Zhou Ni Yao continued to weep dramatically. Ru Yin Yue couldn't help but be disgusted by how she was acting. Only Si Zha Nan was blind to the green tea's smirk, which she caught a glimpse off when she raised her hands to wipe her tears. Even both Si parents were unmoved. None of them said anything, though. It wasn't as if they had evidence.
"This is really an accident! I didn't mean it!"
"…Zha Nan…to be honest, I wanted to accept your marriage proposal. But now…I can't. You have shown me that you can't even keep your pants on when approached by another woman. I can no longer trust you." Zhou Ni Yao turned away exaggeratedly. How Si Zha Nan failed to see through her poor acting, the other three occupants in the room had no bloody idea, but as they say, love is blind. "We should break up."
"No!"
Despite Si Zha Nan's protests, Zhou Ni Yao turned and ran out of the room, her sobs audible even from the outside. The Si family heir turned to glare coldly at a dumbfounded Ru Yin Yue.
"Now that you've destroyed my relationship with Ni Yao, are you finally satisfied?"
Wrapping the covers around him, he rose from the bed and ran out of the room, chasing Zhou Ni Yao. He didn't even give Ru Yin Yue a second glance.
She shook her head and took a deep breath before reaching for her gown. There were still a lot of things that made no sense to her, but for now, she should get dressed, apologize for everything, and leave the place.
She wanted nothing to do with the Si family.
"I'm sorry."
"Not at all." Mom Si nodded at her with a smile, which Ru Yin Yue found extremely strange considering what had just occurred. She half-expected the Si parents to fly into rage and yell at her for seducing their son, for being the mistress or third party in a relationship of a couple on the verge of marriage. Even Ru Yin Yue herself recognized how shameless she appeared. Despite the fake acting, she knew that Zhou Ni Yao's anger and sadness were justifiable. She would probably behave the same way if she was in her position.
But she would find out who set her up and…
Her eyes flickered to Dad Si and Mom Si, both of whom were considerately leaving the room so that she could get dressed. Were they the ones…?
It was very likely. After all, they were behaving way too calmly for parents who had just caught their son cheating on his fiancée red-handed.
"Don't tell me…they were the ones who arranged this?"