n

n

nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nThe corner of his lips finally curled up but he did not see the bitter pain in Xia Ruoxin’s eyes.

n“Little brother, did you know that? I was the one who had been relentlessly looking for you?”

nBut, this time, no one would have believed her.

n“Sister, this is Chu Lui and also my Brother Lui.” Xia Yixuan said happily while she rested her head possessively on Chu Lui’s arm.

nAt this point, Chu Lui’s look turned from extremely grouchy to a gentle one which not many have seen before.

n“Let’s go.” Chu Lui took Xia Yixuan’s hand and walked into the Xia household. They did not pause as they passed by Xia Ruoxin, not even a step. The girl could only look and feel dumb as they passed. For a moment, her heart started to shatter.

nShe balled her hands into a tight grip. The faint sunlight touched her cheeks and she managed to smile slightly, albeit that smile was sad and full of misery.

nXia Mingzheng was very satisfied with Chu Lui. He had expressed his motive very directly and clearly to him. Chu Lui wanted to marry Xia Yixuan. He was determined to have things his way. Chu Lui thought he might have been a bit arrogant but, he had the means and the position to behave like this.

nThe heir to the Xia family business to match his beloved daughter. It was not a shabby arrangement for them at all.

nXia Ruoxin stared at Chu Lui, feeling all numb all over. No one knew that she was trying her very best to not cry on the spot.

nShe walked back to her room. She would forever be an outsider in this family. If it was possible, she would rather go back to a tough life with her mother.

nFrom then on, Chu Lui became a regular visitor at the Xia household. She had wanted to approach him many times, to tell him that she was the one who he had made a promise to. But every time she was on the verge of telling him, she was incapable of doing it.

nFor she knew—she knew that as aloof as he was, he had fallen completely head over heels for Xia Yixuan. It was just a promise made when they were just children—true love—but Xia Ruoxin could never compare to Xia Yixuan.

nShe closed the door and recollected her emotions. She locked herself in her narrow and tiny room.

nThe door opened at this moment but she maintained the same posture. Her hands were around her kneecaps, tightly hugging them. She stared outside without any emotion but on her face, her fragility had fallen apart.

nShe was made of flesh and blood. She was not a block of wood. She could feel ache and pain.

n“Xinxin…” A woman’s voice rang in her ears. It sounded unreal. She turned her head and found herself standing face to face with Shen Yijun. She had no idea when her mother had come in.

nThis was her mother but she had forgotten when was the last time she had called her mother. It had been so long ago.

nShe straightened herself. She hid the unyielding look, which was not often seen, under her long eyelashes.

n“Xinxin, Chu Lui belongs to Yixuan.” Shen Yijun issued this warning the moment she opened her mouth. That shook Xia Ruoxin out of her daze in a split second. She had been very careful and yet, her mother had managed to see through her.

n“Xinxin, you should know your status. You do not deserve Chu Lui. So, do not think about him and don’t hurt your sister.” Shen Yijun caressed Xia Ruoxin’s hair with both hands. That gesture had instead caused Xia Ruoxin’s body to shudder over and over again.

nStatus . Right. Chu Lui would be the future CEO of a huge company. While she would forever be an orphan, one who lived under other people’s roof. She had a home that was not hers. She had a mother who belonged to another.

n“I know.” A faintly discernible voice came out which quickly crushed the air. It didn’t seem to sound like her though.

n“Xinxin, one must learn to be grateful. Your father gave us the life that we have now. He provided for you, allowing you to go to school and clothes to wear. Otherwise, the two of us, mother and daughter, would be living out on the streets.”

n