"What did you say?" Lin Xi couldn't believe it, and her body couldn't help but tremble. She suddenly felt so cold, an icy chill creeping up from her feet, making her shiver.
Back then, her grandfather had asked her, "Xixi, if Yunxi wanted to be with you, to marry you, would you agree?"
"Grandfather, was it his own choice?" She had asked that way because she already knew that he loved Fang Qinglian. So, she asked in that manner, vowing not to agree if he was being forced by her grandfather. She didn't want to tie him down with a marriage, especially not in that way.
"Silly child, Yunxi is too stubborn. If it wasn't his own choice, would Grandfather be able to force him?" Her grandfather had reassured her.
Later, she also asked Lu Yunxi. She questioned him, "Did you marry me willingly? I know Grandfather treats me with great love, and I don't want you to marry me because of his command. I don't want to put you in a difficult position."
So, how did Lu Yunxi answer her back then?
He said, "It was willingly. I've already broken up with Qinglian. We'll make an agreement, limited to three years. I will try to fall in love with you. If, after three years, I still can't love you, we'll divorce amicably. Do you agree?"
"Agreed!" She had smiled brilliantly at that time.
Lu Yunxi had asked her, "Why did you agree to marry me? Don't you have someone you love? Are you content with being bound by marriage? Don't you want to pursue your own love anymore?"
She replied that she did have someone she loved, for eight years. Then, she shook her head and said, "No more pursuit. I've already become your wife, directly transitioning from love to marriage, achieving a major milestone in life."
But now, Fang Qinglian was telling her that all of this was fake.
If what she said was true, it meant that from the very beginning, everyone had been deceiving her.
The three-year limit?
Lin Xi pinched her fingers and suddenly felt like laughing. It turned out to be a pretense, an outright lie.
She had been so moved back then, believing that Lu Yunxi had truly forgotten about Fang Qinglian and wanted to start anew with her.
But it turned out she was the foolish one, played like a fiddle, by his series of deceptions.
"Lin Xi, you are truly innocent and adorable. Yunxi loves me; how could he have willingly married you? Do you know why he proposed the three-year agreement? It was to ensure that, three years later, you would have no reason to complain and would willingly propose a divorce, setting him free to come back and marry me."
"He knew that only if you asked Grandfather, would he agree. Grandfather would never agree if he asked himself."
"To be with me, he really expended a lot of effort, even setting up this beautiful trap."
Fang Qinglian's words made Lin Xi feel as though she were in an icy cellar, a chilling sensation tightly enveloping her, making her feel so cold, so cold.
If all of this was fake...
Then, all those days and nights they spent together, was he acting?
Even those nights...
When he held her tenderly, was it all an act?
Was there nothing real?
Lin Xi's heart ached bitterly. She suddenly felt like a clown, incredibly foolish.
So, she allowed Lu Yunxi to craft this intricate scheme, falling into his web of deceit.
"I don't believe it, unless you tell me how Grandfather pressured him."
Lin Xi clenched her fist. After spending so much time together, she knew Lu Yunxi very well. If it wasn't for something extremely important, considering his nature, even if her grandfather had held a knife to his neck, he wouldn't have surrendered willingly.
Fang Qinglian chuckled mockingly. "Lin Xi, you're really persistent. Since you're so eager to know, then I'll tell you."
"Because Grandfather threatened him. If he didn't marry you, Grandfather would have sent me abroad, and we wouldn't have been able to see each other again in our lifetime. Although we couldn't be together, he compromised."
Lin Xi bit her lip, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. She couldn't even find words to express her discomfort.
Fang Qinglian didn't stop there, continuing her assault. "As for my legs, do you remember your wedding day when Yunxi answered a phone call during the ceremony and almost left on the spot?"
"Yes," Lin Xi nodded, vividly recalling her wedding day.
"It was because I had a car accident on my way to your wedding, nearly dying. I was barely saved after a day of struggle, but my legs were already paralyzed."
No wonder he had left the wedding hastily. She had asked him if something was wrong with the company, and he said it was a friend who had an accident, wanting to go and take care of them. Her grandfather even called to ensure he was staying with her.
She had naively helped him cover it up, not knowing that on their wedding night, he had gone to accompany another woman. In the following days, he had been absent, returning home late and exhausted. He had never told her that the "friend" he mentioned was actually Fang Qinglian.
Even if she had known, Lin Xi thought, she would have helped him cover it up. She loved him too much to bear the scolding from her grandfather.
"So what?" Lin Xi finally managed to speak, looking at her like a hedgehog with all her quills raised, protecting her soft self.
"Tell me, are my legs the result of my actions? Did I cause your disability?" she asked.
"Lin Xi, if you think about it honestly, isn't it true?" Fang Qinglian's voice grew more passionate.
"If it weren't for you, Grandfather wouldn't have pressured Yunxi, and Yunxi wouldn't have reluctantly married you. I wouldn't have had a car accident on my way to your wedding, and my legs wouldn't be paralyzed."
"If it weren't for you, I would have married Yunxi a long time ago, and we might have had children together."
Lin Xi tried to control herself, taking a deep breath before responding calmly, "Even if it's because of me, you've only given yourself an excuse and a substitute for your paralyzed legs."
"I believe in Grandfather. If you truly met his standards for a granddaughter-in-law, no matter if there were a thousand or ten thousand Lin Xis, it wouldn't shake your position as his granddaughter-in-law."
"As you said, if Grandfather had used so many methods to separate you, it only means that there's something wrong with you, Fang Qinglian."
"I might not be some rich lady, but I won't let you falsely accuse me of anything."
"No one invited you to attend the wedding, and no one asked you to drink and drive."
Lin Xi spoke confidently, each word impactful, leaving no room for error.
Fang Qinglian stared at Lin Xi in disbelief. After two years apart, she couldn't have imagined that the timid, soft-spoken girl who used to follow behind Lu Yunxi, blushing at every turn, would suddenly become so assertive.
"My most beloved person was getting married. Do you think I would have been absent?"
"Your most beloved person?" Lin Xi sneered. "Fang Qinglian, there are things Yunxi doesn't know, but that doesn't mean I'm unaware. Don't force me to bring up all your dirty secrets from back then."
"You're spouting nonsense. I'm completely innocent. How could you falsely accuse me like this?"
As Fang Qinglian grew emotional, she stumbled and suddenly fell from her wheelchair.
At that moment, Lu Yunxi returned. He put down the thermos and gently helped Fang Qinglian up, furrowing his brow as he coldly asked, "Can someone tell me what happened here?"