After Mistaking My Stepsister’s First Love - Chapter 66

On the second day of her heat, Jian Mo was still in a terrible state. When Ye Wenjin woke up early in the morning, she was startled to find Jian Mo silently crying.

This truly frightened Ye Wenjin. From the moment she had met Jian Mo, Ye Wenjin had never seen her appear weak, let alone shed tears like this.

After the initial shock, panic set in. Worried that something might be wrong with Jian Mo, Ye Wenjin reached out to wake her.

But just as she was about to call out, she suddenly heard Jian Mo murmur in a barely audible voice, “I’m sorry…”

Ye Wenjin froze.

Her outstretched hand paused mid-air, hesitating to move any closer.

Who was this apology meant for? Even in her sleep, she was so unsettled. What exactly had Jian Mo been dreaming about?

Slowly, Ye Wenjin withdrew her hand. Instead of waking her, she lay back down and began gently, albeit clumsily, patting Jian Mo’s back to soothe her, hoping to ease her restless sleep.

She vaguely remembered that when she had nightmares as a child, Ye Shuyao would comfort her this way.

The sense of security she felt upon waking back then had stayed with Ye Wenjin all these years, and now she wanted to try the same for Jian Mo.

Ye Wenjin had thought carefully before deciding not to wake her. She wasn’t sure if Jian Mo would mind others knowing she had cried. Not wanting to make things worse with good intentions, she chose to silently stay by her side.

Perhaps the gentle patting worked—Jian Mo gradually stopped crying, her tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and her emotions slowly settled.

Only then did Ye Wenjin’s anxious heart finally calm, relieved she hadn’t woken Jian Mo earlier.

She looked utterly exhausted. These past two days of heat had been particularly grueling, and a good night’s sleep was hard to come by. Ye Wenjin wanted to let her rest a little longer.

Watching Jian Mo’s peaceful sleeping face, Ye Wenjin sighed softly.

Her heart ached. The heat was truly torturous, and all she could do was keep a close eye on Jian Mo’s condition, doing her best to alleviate the suffering.

It was only now that Ye Wenjin truly felt her own helplessness.

Once Jian Mo had fallen into a deep sleep, Ye Wenjin quietly got up and went to the door to retrieve their breakfast.

Aunt Wu had thoughtfully packed all the food in separate containers, anticipating that Jian Mo might not be able to eat right away.

Ye Wenjin hurried through her meal, but halfway through, she couldn’t resist going upstairs to check on Jian Mo. Seeing her sleeping soundly without any issues, she returned to finish her breakfast.

By the time Jian Mo woke up, over an hour had passed, but the good news was that she seemed much more alert.

Ye Wenjin sat by the bed, carefully observing her condition before asking, “Sister, do you want to eat something now?”

Jian Mo didn’t answer. She just stared blankly at her.

Puzzled, Ye Wenjin waved a hand in front of her eyes when she remained unresponsive.

The movement seemed to bring Jian Mo back to awareness. Her voice was slightly hoarse as she murmured, “A-Jin—”

Ye Wenjin was taken aback for a moment. The nickname “A-Jin” was something Jian Mo only seemed to use when she wasn’t fully conscious. But she didn’t dwell on it.

“What’s wrong, sister?”

Jian Mo seemed lost in memories as she whispered, “A-Jin, I think… I dreamed of Mom.”

Ye Wenjin paused. Now she understood why Jian Mo had been crying, why she had looked so sorrowful.

She had dreamed of Aunt Shen.

So she reached out and gently stroked Jian Mo’s cheek, whispering softly, “Sister, don’t you want to dream of Aunt Shen?”

Jian Mo didn’t respond immediately. After a brief silence, she spoke with a hint of bewilderment, “All these years, I’ve never once dreamed of her. She… probably hates me, which is why she’s never appeared in my dreams to see me.”

Hearing this, Ye Wenjin grew anxious. “How could that be? I think Aunt Shen just didn’t want you to grieve, didn’t want you to dwell on the past. She wanted you to move forward, sister. Don’t overthink it.”

She spoke with such conviction, as if she had truly heard those words herself.

Even Jian Mo snapped out of her thoughts slightly. After a pause, she unconsciously curved her lips into a faint smile. “Is that really the case?”

Ye Wenjin nodded without hesitation, her eyes filled with determination. “Of course! Maybe she came back this time to see me—aren’t we wives, after all…”

She forced herself to say it despite her embarrassment, her gaze flitting about and her face flushing red.

Jian Mo finally laughed. “Xiao Jin, you’ve really improved.”

Ye Wenjin relaxed slightly inside, pretending to ponder before replying, “I understood that—sister, you’re calling me thick-skinned, aren’t you—”

Jian Mo’s eyes curved into crescents, neither confirming nor denying it.

Ye Wenjin cleared her throat awkwardly. “Sister, you’re too sharp. You saw right through me.”

Jian Mo looked at her, knowing she was trying to cheer her up, her lips still upturned.

But there was something she hadn’t mentioned. In the dream, the first half had been her questioning Shen Xiyun.

Why had she left her alone? Why hadn’t she come to see her all this time? Why had she been so cruel?

They had promised to escape together—that as long as they kept trying, Jian Mo would surely bring her along.

But when she returned, all she saw was Shen Xiyun’s lifeless body.

No one knew how shattered Jian Mo had been the moment she laid eyes on Shen Xiyun’s corpse.

Yet all these years, she had never dreamed of her.

So when she realized in the dream that she was seeing Shen Xiyun, Jian Mo couldn’t control her emotions.

She had thought herself cold and detached, hardened by years of outmaneuvering Jian Li, no longer the weak person she once was.

But…

It turned out she had never truly moved past Shen Xiyun’s death.

Jian Mo knew it was just a dream, but perhaps the discomfort of her heat had cracked her usual composure, making her desperate for answers—even in a dream.

Yet Shen Xiyun said nothing, only looking at her with guilt. Jian Mo felt an overwhelming despair, threatening to consume her.

But then, someone gently patted her back, pulling her memories back to childhood.

Shen Xiyun had comforted her the same way—so tender, so warm, soothing her heart.

Slowly, light spilled in, and the sky, once shrouded in dark clouds, finally cleared.

Jian Mo gradually calmed, enveloped in an unprecedented peace, and drifted back into slumber.

Even now, awake, she could still feel the intensity of the dream’s emotions.

She guessed it had been Ye Wenjin who pulled her from the abyss in the end. Waking up to see her filled Jian Mo with gratitude.

And seeing Jian Mo’s emotions fully stabilize, Ye Wenjin finally relaxed inside.

Yet Ye Wenjin still felt some concern for Jian Mo. Though the latter hadn’t spoken of it, Ye Wenjin sensed that the dream’s content might not have been pleasant. Yet she dared not ask, only redoubling her efforts to care for Jian Mo, hoping she could forget those unhappy thoughts.

Three relatively peaceful days passed. Just one more day, and Jian Mo’s estrus cycle would be over.

But before Ye Wenjin could relax, her heart lurched—she realized this episode was far more intense than any previous one.

Before leaving to fetch dinner, Jian Mo had seemed fine. Yet when Ye Wenjin returned cheerfully with the food box, eager to share what dishes they had today, she found Jian Mo curled up in pain, brows tightly furrowed, gripping the sheets with veins bulging on the back of her hands.

Ye Wenjin’s expression changed instantly. She rushed to the bedside in a few quick strides. “Sister, what’s wrong? Is it happening again?”

Jian Mo couldn’t speak for a long while, only curling tighter into the blankets, biting her lip to suppress any sounds.

Seeing this, Ye Wenjin immediately realized something was wrong. She found something for Jian Mo to bite down on, then quickly called Butler Wu.

This situation didn’t seem like a simple estrus episode at all.

What in the world was going on?

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