The passionate age-gapped romance was over.
Father Jiang hadn't even intervened yet.
It was like a ridiculous farce!
Linlang received the news from the old butler. Other than being a little surprised, it wasn't too unexpected. If her seven-year-long arrangements had no impact whatsoever, she would have killed herself with a piece of tofu.
Considering the male lead's identity as a young student, he wouldn't be able to distinguish between infatuation and love. Linlang took advantage of this and established a 'pure and beautiful' image of an older sister. Following that, she borrowed the influence of the 'perverted nanny' to control the male lead. She let him think she was a 'dependable and trustworthy confidant' he had to 'rely on' in order to survive in the Jiang household.Please read this at onemachineshow.blogspot.com
Even if dependence was forced on a person, they can become addicted to it after a long period. Besides, Linlang was also a girl that could make the air sweet just by smiling. Out of admiration for her, Jiang Qiyun would subconsciously compare any girl he met to her: none of them are as beautiful, this one isn't as pretty, that one isn't as good as her. Over time, Linlang's godly status would stabilize.
When meeting the destined heroine, the youth would still be seduced by her mature body, but he would also compare her to Linlang.
If the former Jiang Linlang had made use of the time and place, how could she have been defeated in the plot?
But this was too simple and much too easy to achieve.
So Linlang started with a show of strength before the female lead. She was a young and pretty miss from a distinguished family, and Jiang Qiyun's fondness for her was easy to see. As soon as people compared themselves, their inferiority will eventually surface, thereby bringing out an interesting situation.
Cheng Xin grew accustomed to acting humble whenever she interacted with Jiang Qi Yu, all in hopes of winning him over through gentleness. Had she not done this, the male lead wouldn't have been able to capture her in just two weeks.
This wasn't the theme in the original plot. Jiang Qiyun painstakingly pursued her for several years and finally managed to gain her sympathy by pretending to be pitiful. He also needed to establish a key relationship with her parents.
Only when something is hard to come by will it be appreciated.
Linlang just needed to enter the scene for a bit and bury a hidden mine. The female lead who loved to think about the east and the west1 would naturally detonate it.
She didn't even have to intervene between them.
As Jiang Qiyun's 'dream girl', her every action and movement became the criteria for all his future girlfriends. Given his fussy temper, Cheng Xin's score would drop once she couldn't reach her level.
What's more terrible is that their age gap will bring out a glaring problem.
The woman won't be able to stand the boy's lavish spending. She would get a headache whenever the young master's finickiness acted up. Meanwhile, Jiang Qiyun had no common topic with Cheng Xin outside of flirting. Her mind was filled with the mundane details of life: there was a discount at the supermarket today, the vegetables from the grandma next door are too old, or today's youth are too undisciplined.
Although she was also faculty, she couldn't compare to his dear sister's level of knowledge and intellect. This gap will grow day by day, and the two will gradually drift apart.
Cheng Xin naïvely thinks this slice-of-life and warm family routine would move the youth who 'ran away from home'. Without knowing it, she'll become a pointless chatterbox. A chicken and duck will be talking to one another2 and Jiang Qiyun would only become irritated—what he wants is a girlfriend to have fun with, not a mother!
Linlang's posture was as graceful as an ornate flower, and the silky black hair that covered her knees made her seem like an angel out of an oil painting.
What a pity. Except for her face, she was sinister through and through.
Naturally, she was aware of her own cruelty. She had no interest in meddling in the fates of others provided they did not provoke her. This was different from the female lead who used her kindness and innocence to 'inadvertently' harm others.
In the second half of the plot, Cheng Xin married the male lead and enjoyed the life of a rich madam, all the while pitying the ousted Jiang Linlang by sending her money from time to time. To prove her 'good deeds', Cheng Xin always had to deliver the money in public. This made Jiang Linlang the target of malicious people and never experienced a peaceful day in her life.
Was this Cheng Xin who was kind in a harmful way truly innocent? Not necessarily.
No matter how naïve she was, wasn't she at least aware of the demonic husband who slept beside her?
---
A pot of bone soup was bubbling away in the background. Decorating the dining table was a wrinkled half-green and half-red table cloth. Cheng Xin went to the second-hand market early that morning where she bought a quaint vase to fill with flowers. She had wanted to create the feeling of a 'candlelight dinner'.
From Jiang Qiyun's perspective, this incomprehensible mix of green and red was bizarre!
Were her artistic tastes taught by a sports teacher?
"Let's break up."Please read this at onemachineshow.blogspot.com
Cheng Xin's face turned white, but she feigned calmness and said, "I went to the supermarket today and was surprised to find a promotional event for lobsters. I bought a lot, no less than a large pot's worth. My hands nearly snapped when I brought them all home! Ah, aren't lobsters your favorite? You can eat as much as you want this time!"
The teenager plucked at his wet bangs. His face was full of impatience. "Who said I liked lobsters? This young master hates seafood the most!"
"But—but last time in the classroom, I saw you finish a box of them..." the woman stammered out.
The reason why she remembered it clearly was because he protected the box of peeled lobsters with such fierceness that he glared at anyone who dared to pilfer it.
Having mentioned this, Jiang Qiyun also recalled the incident.
The youth was quiet as he sunk into that soft and gentle dream without a thought.
Cheng Xin was distraught. She was almost pleading with him when she said, "You should wash first, then we can have dinner..."
"The villa's in your name. There's still cash in the card, enough to spend for three years." He seemed very calm, but his cool-headedness was a bit merciless to the other party. "I'll call someone tomorrow morning to come and deal with my stuff. "
The woman was listening, but confusion and fear occupied all her thoughts. Why couldn't she understand what he was saying?
"See you—no, it should be farewell."
His words of parting were spoken clearly and he turned towards the entrance hall as if he didn't want to stay there for another moment.
"Wait—!"
The woman's sharp cry pierced the eardrums. She rushed over to hug him tight and spoke so fast that her words were nearly unintelligible. "Qiyun! I—I don't understand! Why should we break up? What part of me isn't good enough? Tell me and I'll change it. I'll definitely change it. Don't be like this, I'm scared! I love you!"
She didn't understand. Why was she being told that her happiest time was just a dream?
They finally got together after so much hardship.
Cheng Xin racked her brains left and right. Gritting her teeth, she then said, "I still have good news to tell you. I—I'm having your child..."
Her face looked somewhat guilty.
His steps paused.
It was like Cheng Xin had grabbed a medal of clemency, and her courage surged to defend this love. "Don't worry, I'll safely give birth to our baby... Prenatal education must start early... The baby will be very smart, just like you..."
The more she spoke, the more she couldn't stop. She was grinning from ear to ear and was now itching to buy some books for first time mothers. Maybe she could ask a piano teacher to play every afternoon, that way the baby would have a musical talent after birth!
"I don't want it."
"Wha—, what?"
The teenager turned his face, and there was a depth in his eyes. "I said, I don't want it."
Cheng Xin stepped back at those heartless words. She covered her mouth as tears began to fall rapidly from her eyes.
This person was a demon, an absolute demon.
"How can you do this, it's your child ..."
She cried in a loud voice.
The other person raised his beautiful eyebrows in contempt.
"Are you sure it's mine? Not the romantic debt from your amazing ex-boyfriend, Professor Li Feifan?"
Cheng Xin's weeping came to an abrupt halt, her eyes widening as she covered her stomach in alarm. Those panicky movements bumped the corner of the table and sent the vase flying into the dishes.
Is this pure-looking boy really an inexperienced high school student?
"That was, he coerced me..." she stammered out, "I—I couldn't push him away..."
"Oh." The teenager responded indifferently, "So you were going to have me be the father?"
"Qiyun, believe me, I don't love him. This child, this child is innocent."
No matter how much she begged, she couldn't change his determination to leave.