"Hello." The pretty high school student bowed her head slightly, smiling broadly. "You must be the new madam."
"Please, just call me Yin Yue." Ru Yin Yue returned the smile. She was relieved to see that auntie Yi's daughter wasn't hostile toward her. Perhaps she had been reading too many trashy CEO stories, but she had expected Yi He Lan to condemn her for using despicable methods to force Si Zha Nan into marriage. Ru Yin Yue thought Yi He Lan would side with Zhou Ni Yao, believing that the latter was several times better than the former and thus she wasn't worthy of Si Zha Nan. She had anticipated Yi He Lan accusing her of marrying Si Zha Nan only for his money, and then warning her to leave the Si family before young master Si drove her away, or she wouldn't forgive her.
After all, wasn't that how CEO romance novels worked? Every young female character that the female lead encountered would hate her for no reason other than because she was in a relationship with the male lead. Ru Yin Yue had thought that Yi He Lan would be no different.
She had to revise her opinion. No, she should stop mixing up reality with trashy fiction and making stupid assumptions of real people.
"How can I do that?" Yi He Lan was shaking her head frantically. "You are the madam of this house. We have to follow the rules!"
"I just feel…uncomfortable. I'm not even sure I'm worthy of the position of Mrs. Si." Ru Yin Yue lowered her head.
Auntie Yi felt her heart ache when she saw the young madam's expression that showed a total lack of confidence. She recalled that in the beginning, Zha Nan's mother had specifically asked her to take good care of his newly wedded wife, but she didn't take the request seriously. After all, why wouldn't Zha Nan treat his wife well?
But after what she had witnessed, she vowed to be good to this poor young lady. She had suffered so much at the hands of Zha Nan, it would be too cruel to…to neglect her.
"What are you talking about?" Yi He Lan was less sensitive and thus did not seem to notice anything. She continued to beam innocently. "You're definitely better than that Zhou Ni Yao woman! I would much rather have you as Mrs. Si than that stinky demoness!"
"He Lan," auntie Yi said sharply, but her daughter shrugged.
"What? It's the truth."
"Why?" Ru Yin Yue was genuinely puzzled. "Ni Yao is more beautiful and dignified than me."
"Dignified?" Yi He Lan snorted. "You mean arrogant, don't you? You should have seen the way she treated me and my mom. She ordered around us like slaves and talked down to us in a condescending manner. Even before the wedding, she was already acting like the madam of the house, and threatening us. I'm afraid that if she really becomes Mrs. Si, her attitude will become even more unbearable. She even said that she will drive us out of the house."
"You shouldn't be talking bad about people behind their backs," auntie Yi reprimanded her daughter sternly. Yi He Lan sulked.
"Taking bad behind someone's back? I'm simply stating the truth."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Ru Yin Yue looked horrified. "I'm glad you no longer have to deal with that. I promise you this. I will never drive you out of the villa."
"See? Madam is so much better than that stinky demoness…I mean Ms. Zhou." Yi He Lan leaned over excitedly. "Thank you, ma'am. You're so much humbler and nicer. If it's that woman, she will never allow us anywhere near the dining table except to serve her. But I heard from mom that you insisted on eating with us."
"Yes." Ru Yin Yue nodded. "Meals taste better when you have them with company. I would much rather eat with you than dine alone."
"Agreed!" Yi He Lan was scooping food into her mouth. "I'm so happy that you're the madam! I'll be in your care from now on!"
"Shouldn't you be the one taking care of the young madam?" Auntie Yi sounded exasperated.
"Aw, it's fine."
"That's right. It seems that I'm older, so I should be watching out for He Lan." Ru Yin Yue smiled sincerely and nodded toward the younger girl. "If you need anything, please feel free to approach me. You can think of me as an older sister."
"Thank you so much!"
Despite her mother's disapproving gaze, Yi He Lan grasped Ru Yin Yue's hands in joy. The pianist felt as if a little burden had eased off her shoulders. Even though she still had yet to come to terms with Si Zha Nan's cold attitude toward her, she was relieved to find that she had people she could relate to in this house.
Fortunately, Ru Yin Yue didn't have to worry about avoiding an abusive Si Zha Nan. She was afraid of his abuse and she hid in her room, but it turned out that she didn't have to worry about that. Over the next few days, Si Zha Nan rarely came home.
Ru Yin Yue learned from auntie Yi that Si Zha Nan was always very busy with work. What little free time he had, he would usually spend it with Zhou Ni Yao. Now that Zhou Ni Yao was gone, Si Zha Nan had begun to devote all of his time and energy solely into work. That meant he rarely came home at all, if ever.
In fact, over the next week or so, he spent his nights at the office, sleeping in a private room in his company building.
While Ru Yin Yue was relieved that she didn't have to face him, mom Si wasn't very pleased when she found out about it. After Ru Yin Yue returned from visiting her mother in the hospital, she found mom Si waiting for her in the Crescent Villa.
"Zha Nan hasn't come home at all this week, has he?"
"…no."
Mom Si sighed heavily. "I heard from auntie Yi. Shouldn't you be concerned? Even though he's married to you, Zha Nan still pines over Zhou Ni Yao. He still hasn't forgotten her."
"I understand how he feels. It is very difficult for anyone to forget about someone he or she loves very dearly."
Ru Yin Yue truly comprehended what Si Zha Nan was going through. She had been through an identical experience before, after all. For eleven years, she had pined for Si Zha Nan. Even though she knew her love was unrequited, that it was foolish and just a fantasy, she continued to hold romantic feelings for him. Despite going overseas for so many years, everyday she would imagine Si Zha Nan, wondering what he was doing, wishing that they would get married and dreaming of that joyous wedding day where she would be in a beautiful white gown.
She got her wish, but the beautiful white gown was too big for her and didn't suit her…and the wedding was far from joyous, instead being extremely bitter and painful for both her and Si Zha Nan. She was already regretting having agreed to the marriage.
But she had no choice. She remembered her mother's condition just earlier this afternoon. Ru Yin Xing was pale and tired, and even though she hid her exhaustion, Ru Yin Yue could see that her condition was gradually deteriorating.
Her mother didn't have much time left.
"We should find a way to spice up your marriage. Get Zha Nan to look at you." Mom Si was studying Ru Yin Yue closely, her gaze making the latter uncomfortable.
"Mom…there's no need…"
"Nonsense. Let's go. I have an idea. If you would just wear something exciting, he'll be attracted to you."
"Are you planning to bring me to an erotic lingerie shop?" Ru Yin Yue rolled her eyes. "If so, then please don't. I refuse to set foot in such a place."
"You should!" Mom Si urged her daughter-in-law. "This is for the sake of my precious son! Even though you've just gotten married, he lives in his office and refuses to come home. You must use your sexual appeal to get him to return home! Give him a reason to come back! Let him fall for you through physical intimacy."
Ru Yin Yue turned pale and collapsed back to her seat, breaking out in cold perspiration. She trembled when she recalled that nightmarish night…when Si Zha Nan forced himself on her so violently. Closing her eyes, she suppressed her tears.
She thought she had forgotten all about that, but she couldn't. That incident had left a scar on her psyche.
"N…no…" she whispered.
"Yin Yue? Are you all right?!" Mom Si leaned over, concerned. She had seen the sudden change in Ru Yin Yue and felt alarmed. "Are you not feeling well?"
"I'm…I'm sorry. I just can't…please give me some time. But right now, I don't think I will be able to do anything intimate with Zha Nan."
"…what do you mean?"
"Nothing. Sorry, mom. I'm just unwell. I still need some time to adjust to marriage." Ru Yin Yue felt ashamed. She didn't know why, but she couldn't bring herself to confess to her mother-in-law that she had been raped by Si Zha Nan. The shame clung to her thickly, clogging her throat. Plus she was afraid. Afraid that her mother-in-law wouldn't believe her. Scared that mom Si would blame her instead. That it wasn't Zha Nan's fault…no, it was her fault for being unwilling even though she was his wife. For being reluctant to do a wife's duty.
She bit her lip and endured.
"I…" After some silence, mom Si spoke up again, trying valiantly to defuse the atmosphere. "I'll bring you to a doctor."
"No need, mom. It's…just psychological. Give me some time, I'll adjust to this new environment soon. I'm just not used to living in such a…big place."
Those were lies, and mom Si saw through them immediately. She placed a hand on Ru Yin Yue's hand.
"If there is anything bothering you, anything at all, you know you can tell me, right? After all, I'm your mother now. We're family. Don't hesitate to let me know."
Ru Yin Yue tried not to smile bitterly. How could she tell mom Si that her darling son had raped her? That same fear crawled into her heart, and she could almost see her mother-in-law's expression change from concern to disgust.
No. she couldn't tell the truth.
"If you can't tell me now, it's fine. I'll wait. For now…" Mom Si pondered for a moment. Then she rose to her feet with a smile. "Let's go out and get some fresh air. I think that will be the best way to improve your mood. You shouldn't stay cooped up in here for too long. It's healthier to go outside."
Ru Yin Yue smiled helplessly, knowing that she didn't have any reason to refuse.