After Marrying My Arch-Rival - Chapter 3

Grasping the Quilt Tight

“Beep… beep… beep…”

Her body felt as if it had been run over by something heavy. The faint, metallic stench of disinfectant made her heart race for no clear reason, pinning her in the grip of a nightmare.

Xu Mengzhou tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were heavy as lead, refusing to budge. Her sense of hearing was completely out of control; muted human voices blurred into a low, indecipherable hum. Only the rhythmic beep of the monitor remained painfully sharp…a lifeline tethering her drifting consciousness to reality.

So noisy…

Xu Mengzhou tried to wave a hand, but she couldn’t even locate her limbs. She thrased in place like someone trapped in a pit of hot asphalt: the harder she fought, the deeper she sank.

After an eternity…maybe minutes, maybe hours…she finally managed to peel her eyes open. The first thing that met her gaze was a completely unfamiliar ceiling.

Where am I?

“Bed Six is awake! Quick, notify the family,” a nurse changing her IV bag blurted out, startled to meet her gaze. She added softly, “Hang tight, I’ll go get the doctor right away.”

Before Xu Mengzhou could even squeeze out a question, the nurse whisked away, leaving behind a blur of white scrubs.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before a woman in a lab coat walked in. Looking to be in her late forties or fifties, with sharp, calm eyes, she radiated a quiet authority. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit dizzy,” Xu Mengzhou rasped out. The sheer roughness of her voice…sounding like a broken horn…startled her.

She was still completely bewildered. Just yesterday, she’d been at a karaoke bar with Han Shutong and the rest of her friends. Did she somehow get alcohol poisoning?

No way. My nickname is ‘The Bottomless Pit.’

The doctor ran through a quick checkup and said reassuringly, “Nothing to panic about. The dizziness and nausea from your mild concussion will fade gradually. Just lie down and rest for now.”

“Once the painkillers wear off, your leg is going to hurt…that’s completely normal. But if the pain becomes unbearable, hit the call button, got it?”

She added, “Also, with that fracture, you won’t be able to walk around easily. It’s best to get a wheelchair. Make sure you get plenty of protein and eat well.”

The doctor, her dark hair streaked with silver, turned to leave. Having finally recovered her voice, Xu Mengzhou called out frantically, “Wait, wait, wait! Fracture? I’m… what?”

Wincing through a wave of dizziness, she looked down. Sure enough, her lower leg was hoisted up in a sling, the bright white cast practically mocking her utter shock.

“How on earth did I break my leg?”

“This makes no sense!”

“You were brought in after a car accident,” the doctor replied. Seeing Xu Mengzhou’s hilariously over-the-top expression of shock and confusion, her tone grew a bit more serious, though she remained perfectly composed. “Don’t panic. A concussion can sometimes cause temporary amnesia, but it usually resolves quickly. Let me ask you a few questions first. What is your name?”

“Xu Mengzhou.”

“What year is it?”

“2017.”

The doctor paused, pushing up her glasses thoughtfully. “It’s 2025. You are missing nearly eight years of memories. Don’t worry…this is only temporary. Surrounding yourself with familiar people and places will help bring it back.”

She added, “We’ve already notified your family. She said she’d be here shortly.”

The doctor’s absolute calm rubbed off on Xu Mengzhou, easing her panic. Looking around the private hospital suite, she figured her family clearly hadn’t gone bankrupt, so there wasn’t much to stress about.

Her life had always been smooth sailing without a single major bump. Oddly enough, losing her memory actually felt kind of fun…like being zapped straight into the future.

Xu Mengzhou even let out a lighthearted laugh. “My mom’s a workaholic anyway. Tell her she can come whenever she has time. Just hire a couple of nurses for me if you don’t mind. Oh…and where’s my phone? Could I have it?”

If she hadn’t been hooked up to an IV, she would have rubbed her hands together in sheer excitement. Eight years! Tech must have evolved into something wildly futuristic by now!

The nurse standing nearby twitched her mouth, visibly holding back a laugh. “It wasn’t your mother we called. It was your wife.”

Xu Mengzhou’s excited grin froze solid.

“My… what? My who?”

Whether she was genuinely trying to help or just enjoying the show, the nurse cleared her throat and explained, “Your wife. Your spouse. The love of your life.”

With every word, Xu Mengzhou’s mouth drifted open a little wider until she looked like a dazed patient struggling to grasp basic human language.

“My… love?”

Having seen it all before, the doctor offered a kind explanation: “You are married. Your spouse was actually the one who handled your hospital admission.”

The nurse chimed in, “She only stepped out for a moment because something came up. She specifically asked me to keep an eye on you.”

I’m married?!

Are you kidding me?!

Feeling like her eighteen-year-old self again, Xu Mengzhou collapsed back onto the bed like a crashed computer system. Her nerves throbbed as if someone were using them as violin strings, sawing back and forth in sharp, stinging tugs.

I was an anti-marriage advocate, for crying out loud!

Taking pity on her, the doctor and nurse reminded her to rest up before quietly exiting the room.

Her phone had been sitting on the nightstand all along…she just hadn’t noticed it when she first woke up. It was impossibly thin, only two or three millimeters, and feather-light. The screen, however, was shattered into a spiderweb of cracks. She held down the power button, but nothing happened. Completely fried.

Xu Mengzhou stared blankly, reached down, and gave her own waist a hard pinch. A few seconds later, she winced in pain, forced to accept reality.

She definitely wasn’t dreaming.

When she first found out about the amnesia, she had envisioned a blissfully independent adult life, free from parental rules. She’d been excited to see what kind of person she’d grown into and what new, shiny toys the world had to offer.

Instead, she was slapped with the news that she was married to a woman.

This was not the plot twist she had signed up for!

The nurse mentioned that the woman had been unconscious by her bedside for five whole days, only stepping away just now, clearly caring deeply about her.

Even her real mother, Ms. Xu, hadn’t stayed that long.

Xu Mengzhou felt a chaotic swirl of emotions inside. She truly couldn’t picture herself falling head over heels for anyone.

Looking around the room, she picked up a strawberry from a fruit basket and absentmindedly stuffed it into her mouth.

At least it was just a marriage. If someone walked in right now and told her she had a child, she would probably jump straight out the window.

She had just eaten four or five strawberries when the door to the ward clicked open softly.

The person walking in was presumably her “devoted” wife.

Freezing mid-bite, Xu Mengzhou lowered the strawberry back onto the plate. Her fingers tensed against the rim, betraying an anxious anticipation she hadn’t even realized she was holding.

After two long, agonizing breaths, an elegantly tall woman stepped into view, looking like an ethereal beauty pulled straight out of a traditional ink painting.

Her lips were a soft pale pink, her eyes a deep, striking black…the sharp contrast of those two pure colors creating a breathless harmony. Ink-black hair tumbled down past her waist, her graceful clothing fluttering around her like blooming lotus petals with every step.

A subtle scent of herbal tea drifted into the room with her arrival, instantly washing away the persistent smell of hospital disinfectant. It aggressively claimed the space, demanding attention just like its owner…striking, unignorable, and utterly magnetic.

She looked faintly familiar, yet distant.

“I am Ruan Li,” the woman said softly. “Your legally wedded wife.”

“You?” Xu Mengzhou blinked in surprise.

She remembered the name Ruan Li very well. It belonged to her sickly next-door neighbor who used to swallow a ton of medicine every day. Their mothers were close friends, but that was where it ended; the previous generation’s friendship had never really trickled down to the kids. They were barely acquaintances.

“…Is this a corporate marriage?” Xu Mengzhou asked, her nose scrunching up.

When a person has lived a privileged, pampered life, fate usually hesitates to throw too much tragedy their way.

Xu Mengzhou was precisely that kind of person.

Amnesia, a broken leg, an out-of-the-blue marriage…disasters that would drive most people to a breakdown were, to her, nothing more than a minor sneeze or a light cold. Easily brushed off, not worth fretting over.

Instead of a hospital bed, she looked as though she were lounging on a sunbed at the beach. Even the sunlight seemed to linger affectionately on her golden strands of hair and bright, upturned eyes.

Her gaze was clear, lively, and brimming with curious bewilderment, devoid of any suspicion or guard.

She simply had no concept of encountering bad things she couldn’t fix or bad people who would harm her.

She really did lose her memory, Ruan Li thought, her eyes tracing over the details of Xu Mengzhou’s face.

And she finds me completely unfamiliar.

The faint downturn of Ruan Li’s lips twitched upward into the subtle ghost of a smile. She pulled over a chair, smoothed her skirt, and sat down. Sunlight reflected in her dark, glassy eyes, shimmering like a spilled galaxy. Her soft smile carried a gentle, intoxicating warmth.

“Do you really think you’re the type to agree to an arranged marriage?” Ruan Li tossed the question right back, her tone so light and smooth it felt like an affectionate tease.

Xu Mengzhou shook her head.

She had been so startled just now that her mouth ran faster than her brain. In hindsight, even she found the idea absurd.

She knew her own character best: fiercely independent, reckless, and utterly incapable of compromise. Besides, Ms. Xu would never force her into an arranged marriage anyway.

So… if it wasn’t a business transaction, did that mean it was real love?

Xu Mengzhou’s expression turned strangely complex, her fingers absentmindedly plucking at the bedsheets.

The marriage certificate was real, but she still couldn’t wrap her head around it. It felt as if someone had handed her a script for a role she had never auditioned for…she couldn’t bring herself to relate to it at all.

“How long have we been married?” she asked, hunting for details.

“Not long. Only three months and twelve days,” Ruan Li replied with a small smile. “But we’ve known each other…really known each other…for eight years.”

Xu Mengzhou sank into thought. Eight years… that was a third of her life if you excluded her missing memories.

So… we fell in love over time?

It wasn’t impossible, she supposed.

It certainly sounded far more plausible than a impulse marriage. Plus, given how easily she made friends, there was no reason Ruan Li would lie about something like this.

“I bought you a new phone,” Ruan Li said, pulling a box out of her bag and unhurriedly transferring the SIM card from the ruined phone to the new one.

Xu Mengzhou found herself staring at her hands.

They were slender and long, with neatly trimmed, natural pink nails. No polish, perfectly clean.

They were remarkably beautiful hands…the kind made for holding a paintbrush, playing the piano, arranging flowers, or creating art.

For some inexplicable reason, the first image that flashed in Xu Mengzhou’s mind was pottery. She pictured those hands covered in a slick coat of clay and water, glistening, sticky, messy yet strangely pure.

She imagined it happening in a dim room with drawn curtains, a single shaft of light cutting across her frame, casting her face in shadow while those luminous hands gleamed under the light.

“Do you like pottery?” Xu Mengzhou blurted out out of nowhere.

Ruan Li let out a soft “Hmm?”, her voice trailing up like she hadn’t caught the question clearly.

That soft, nasal hum sounded remarkably gentle. From her half-reclined angle on the bed, Xu Mengzhou had a perfect view of Ruan Li’s elegant nose bridge and long, delicate eyelashes.

This woman had changed a lot. Then again, she probably had too.

“Nothing, really,” Xu Mengzhou blurted out carelessly, dumping out whatever random thoughts popped into her head without a second thought for how they sounded. “I just thought you’d look really good making pottery.”

She completely missed the quiet ripple that stirred deep within Ruan Li’s eyes.

Taking the new phone, Xu Mengzhou’s first instinct was to open the camera app.

“Wow, I’ve gotten even handsomer,” she muttered, admiring her reflection from left to right. Only then did she remember the main point. “Oh right! How did I get into the car accident? Was it an accident?”

Ruan Li was used to her being vain, but watching her admire herself in the phone camera like this was a first.

Dropping her gaze slightly, Ruan Li’s smile flattened. “On your way to the set, a van ran a red light and hit your car.”

“The set?! Wait…am I a director? Tell me I’m a director!”

“A famous one, in fact.”

“I knew it!” A triumphant grin spread across Xu Mengzhou’s face, smug and effortless. But a second later, the smile vanished.

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She lunged forward, grabbing Ruan Li’s hand in panic. “I was on my way to the set when I crashed…what about the crew?! What about my movie? Is it a movie?!”

The skin beneath her palm felt unexpectedly cool. Xu Mengzhou stiffened, suddenly aware of what she was doing, and instinctively yanked her hand back.

Slap.

Her palm hit the duvet with a dull thud.

“Umm…” Xu Mengzhou flexed her fingers against the blanket, the room suddenly thick with awkwardness.

“It’s a martial arts drama,” Ruan Li said after a brief pause. Her eyes narrowed slightly into a smile as warm and gentle as a spring breeze. “You don’t need to worry about the progress.”

Xu Mengzhou was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when her wife added smoothly:

“Your female lead was admitted to the hospital on the same day as you. Filming is currently on hold.”

A complete and total bolt from the blue.

Support