Married First, Loved Later with the Fake Heiress (ABO) - Chapter 2

Ji Mianyue opened her mouth, but she found that she had lost her voice. What could she possibly say? Her words felt pale and powerless.

She was a child who had grown up immersed in the profound love of her Mama and Mami. Because of that love, she had always been proud and happy. But what if she did not belong there at all? What if she was the culprit who had stolen Wen Conghan’s happy life?

A conversation among her roommates about “Real vs. Fake Heiress” novels began to replay in her mind.

“Even if it isn’t her fault, the fake heiress still occupied the real one’s life for over twenty years.”

“Exactly. If I were the real heiress’s mother, I would have hated her to death for that.”

“How does the fake heiress have the face to stay in that house? She is just shameless; she should get out of that home immediately.”

Back then, Mianyue had not felt much while listening to her roommates. She was simply surprised by how invested everyone was in the stories. Now, those fictional events were happening to her. She was the “villain” who had occupied a nest that was not hers.

“It is not right. It is not right. I cannot do this. I cannot take your life and then expect you to help me stay in this family.”

“Student Wen, please believe me, okay? I am truly not trying to stay because I am greedy for the Ji family’s money.”

“I just want to be by Mama and Mami’s side. I do not want a single penny.”

Tears fell one after another from her face. Her fair skin was now flushed with guilt, a sight that was heartbreaking to behold. If the two mothers of the Ji family were there, they would surely be worried to death.

Mianyue wanted to argue her case, but she found she had no grounds to do so. She could only lower her voice and bow her head.

“I really just do not want to leave Mami and Mama.”

“Can we negotiate? I will slowly pay all that money back to you.”

“Let me stay in the Ji family. No, just let me see Mama and Mami occasionally, okay?”

By the time she reached the last word, her face was a mess of tears. Her face, usually bright with smiles, was now brimming with sorrow. Knowing the truth made Mianyue feel as if her entire world had collapsed.

Wen Conghan did not interrupt her. She knew Mianyue needed time to express her emotions. This was the person she loved: soft-hearted and kind. After everything that had happened, Mianyue’s first thought was how to avoid hurting others rather than what she stood to lose. It was enough to make anyone’s heart melt.

By comparison, Conghan knew she was not nearly as kind.

“How could you think that? I never asked you for money,” Conghan asked with feigned surprise. Mianyue was crying so hard that her body trembled uncontrollably.

“I know you have a good relationship with Mama and Mami. I do not want you to be kicked out because of this, which is why I proposed marriage.”

Conghan’s voice was slow and gentle, sounding like a spring breeze in the ear.

“I am also a bit worried about not fitting into this family, so if we get married, I hope you can help me. That way, you remain Mama and Mami’s daughter.”

“Is that not perfect? Instead of losing a daughter, Mama and Mami gain another one.”

“Of course, if you do not like me, we can wait until two years after we marry.”

Conghan knew she should probably say the word “divorce” to appease Mianyue, but subconsciously, she could not bring herself to utter it. Even as a comfort or a lie, she refused to speak of that possibility.

“But if we do that, what about my biological Mama and Mami? What will they do?”

Kind people always worry about hurting others. After considering Conghan, Mianyue’s thoughts turned to her biological parents.

“If we get married and live together, it will be like they are losing two daughters at once.”

Mianyue’s guilt nearly overwhelmed her. In her mind, she pictured two gentle ladies covering their faces and weeping. Hearing this, Conghan confirmed that Mianyue truly did not remember the events of the past. Looking at the tear-stained face before her, Conghan felt a pang of pain in her heart.

“I am sorry, Mianyue. You will not be able to see your biological Mama and Mami.”

“Back when I was in high school, they were in a car accident.”

“They were very good people. I loved them very much.”

Mentioning her late mothers, Conghan’s eyes also grew moist.

“I will never see them,” Mianyue said. Hearing this, she felt as if she could not breathe. Her tears surged like a river. This time, she could not say a single word. The image of the two gentle ladies in her mind vanished instantly.

“I never met them even once. Not even once, my biological Mama and Mami.”

It was no longer a fear of hurting them; it was the realization that she would never have the chance to meet them at all. The agony on Mianyue’s face was impossible to hide. Her heart was so soft that it now felt bloodied and torn. She covered her face with both hands, tears flowing through her fingers.

Conghan did not speak again. She simply pulled the girl into a gentle embrace. The warmth of the hug only made Mianyue cry harder.

You already cried for them, Conghan thought. After their funeral, you stayed by my side and faced the pain of losing them with me. You did not do nothing, Mianyue.

Conghan held her, patting her back soothingly over and over. Her thoughts drifted back to that day, the day she decided she would love Ji Mianyue forever.

Their first meeting had not actually been at a good time. It was during physical education class, but Conghan had skipped it. She sat alone in a corner of the classroom, silent and still. She did not know what she was supposed to do. Her mothers had passed away suddenly, and she felt like she should be crying.

But even after the funeral was over, she could not shed a single tear. During the funeral, her relatives had whispered behind her back: “That child is a monster. Her own mothers died, and she is not even sad.”

Conghan had not known what to do. When her mothers were alive, those two gentle women would have snapped back at anyone saying such things to protect her. Sometimes, looking at the balance in her bank account, she wanted to ask quietly: “Can we set these numbers to zero just to have Mama and Mother back?”

But she already knew the answer. It was impossible. That pair of wives, who were so sweet they were almost annoying, would never come back. She was the one who buried them. She was the one who chose the cemetery. Her mother, who loved beauty most, and her mama, who was a bit goofy, were gone.

She did not want to admit that the remains in the morgue belonged to her parents. Conghan felt hijacked by her own logic, experiencing a sense of detachment from the world. Her mind was a mess. She did not know what to say.

Consequently, she did not speak for an entire month. Her aunt took her to a doctor who said she had elective mutism, but Conghan just felt like she did not want to open her mouth.

“Classmate, are you okay?” That was when Ji Mianyue appeared.

“Do you want one?” She handed Conghan a tangerine. “It is very sweet.”

Clearly, she was not from this class.

“If you eat something sweet, you will not be unhappy anymore.” Mianyue’s words left Conghan stunned.

“Me? Am I unhappy?” Conghan was at a loss, her eyes wide with surprise.

It was not supposed to be like this. Everyone said she was not grieving. Everyone said she was cold-blooded. Even her aunt, who usually doted on her, looked at her with confusion.

“It looks like you are about to cry,” Mianyue added, her tone cautious.

“Is that so?” Conghan felt helpless. She looked at the girl in front of her. “But, but they all say that I was not sad at all when my mothers died. I did not cry, so I must not be sad.”

Conghan pointed at herself and asked, “Am I not a monster for not crying?”

“How could they? How could they say that!” Mianyue looked at her and began to cry before Conghan even could.

Mianyue did not understand why she was crying. She just felt a dense, heavy wave of sadness. She crouched in the corner with Conghan, sobbing with a pouting lip. Perhaps because she finally had company, tears fell from high-school-aged Conghan’s eyes for the first time. From that day on, Conghan set her heart on Ji Mianyue.

“I will take you to see them another day, okay? They would surely want to see you,” Conghan said, noticing the crying in her arms was starting to subside.

Mianyue’s voice was hoarse from sobbing. She could only grip Conghan’s sleeves tightly and nod against her chest.

“Actually, you look a lot like Mama, but your personality is more like Mother. They definitely would not want to see you crying like this.”

Hearing this, Mianyue’s tears began to fall uncontrollably again.

“Mianyue, I do not hate you because your biological parents were very, very good parents. The love they gave me cannot be measured by money. I just want to become your family.”

A wife, of course, is family.

“You are such a good person,” Mianyue stammered through her sobs.

Conghan’s warm thumb brushed away the cold tears on Mianyue’s face. Feeling the warmth of her palm, Mianyue vowed in her heart that she would be very, very good to Wen Conghan.

Support Married First, Loved Later with the Fake Heiress (ABO)