My Arranged Marriage Partner Is Always Pretending to Be Straight [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 2

“Yo-ho! Is the sun rising from the west today?” Along with the unannounced pushing open of the wooden door, a sarcastic voice drifted in. “What did our eldest young lady say before? Ah—right, wasn’t it ‘I’d rather starve to death than marry a woman’? Hmm! I shouldn’t have remembered it wrong, right, Missie?”

Lin Linfeng, dressed in an off-white embroidered cheongsam and wearing a pearl necklace, swayed into the room with a delicate, coquettish air.

Qiao Mengdi had just finished half a bowl of porridge, a fried egg, and half an apple. Although she was still lying in bed, she was young after all, and her strength had recovered significantly.

Before Lin Linfeng reached her bedside, information about this woman surfaced clearly in Qiao Mengdi’s mind.

Lin Linfeng had married Qiao Chengrong when the original host was about five years old. She had come with a generous dowry, and even the villa they currently lived in belonged to her. Her arrival had vastly improved the material lives of Qiao Chengrong and his daughter.

However, during the time before she had her own child, she had treated the original host like a daughter on the surface while viewing her as a thorn in her side in private. If the child was even slightly disobedient, she would either force her to stand in the sun, lock her in a dark room, or hide her Garfield plushie or photos of her deceased mother, watching her cry until her throat went hoarse. This had left deep scars on the original host’s psyche.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before she gave birth to a son. From then on, she tossed the original host to Nanny Song and no longer had the time or energy to care about her.

Over the years, the extravagant and vain Lin Linfeng had nearly squandered her vast dowry. Qiao Chengrong’s income alone was far from enough to support her lavish lifestyle and high-profile social habits. Therefore, she was fully in favor of Qiao Mengdi’s political marriage.

“If they deliver themselves to my door, I’ll deal with them one by one!” Qiao Mengdi sat up. Her beautiful eyes, naturally sparkling and now revitalized after eating, took in the overbearing posture of this woman who had once been accustomed to acting like a tyrant in front of her.

She thought about it and realized that the original host’s lack of resistance against Lin Linfeng wasn’t just due to her personality, but also the reality of living under someone else’s roof.

“I told you long ago, you don’t have that much willpower. Hunger strikes are just seeking death. Look at the state you’ve starved yourself into; in the end, don’t you still have to get married? What does it matter who it is?!” As Lin Linfeng spoke, she walked to a fabric-covered wooden chair by the bed and sat down sideways. She slowly lit a thin cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke.

Now that she didn’t have much money left to squander, she spent more time at home. Consequently, she had returned to her old hobby of tormenting and bullying the original host. In this house, she and the host were the ones who spent the most time there.

“Why bother? For us women, the most important thing isn’t love, it’s money. When will you finally understand?”

Qiao Mengdi was too lazy to acknowledge her self-righteous advice. “I’d rather starve than marry a woman” wasn’t something she had said, so Lin Linfeng’s provocation didn’t sting her at all.

“My business is none of your concern.” She didn’t even look at Lin Linfeng, keeping her gaze on the back of her jade-white hand. After a moment, her eyes drifted nonchalantly to her plump fingernails, where the polish had already begun to fade. “Also, I have a suggestion. If you want me to marry Yao Chiyue, you best not continue to provoke or irritate me before the deal is done. Lately, I’ve decided to be a capricious person—if I don’t want to eat, I won’t eat; if I don’t want to marry, I certainly won’t. Ms. Lin, as you know, I don’t have much willpower. I’ve changed my mind for now, but I don’t know what I’ll think or do in the next moment.”

As Qiao Mengdi spoke, she understood why Lin Linfeng had come. Nanny Song had just left the room, and she had come upstairs shortly after. Combined with Qiao Chengrong’s words two days ago—”When she eats, she can leave that door”—it was clear that this couple viewed her resumption of eating as a surrender. The news of her breakfast must have reached Qiao Chengrong.

In the original novel, Qiao Mengdi was an obedient daughter who followed her father’s every word. Her resistance to the marriage was glossed over likely because her character was too weak. As for her post-marriage awakening and rebellion, that was because she eventually found “true love.”

Beside her, Lin Linfeng was secretly shocked. What was going on?! Qiao Mengdi still had that naturally sweet, slightly coquettish voice that made people think she was acting cute, but her words sounded like they came from a different person. And what was with this “Ms. Lin” title? She had always called her “Mom.” Did a few days of fasting mean she wasn’t her mother anymore? More importantly, she used to be so submissive—now she was actually threatening people? Could a hunger strike really give someone such guts?

Various theories flashed through Lin Linfeng’s mind. She was unsure whether she should continue to provoke this “greenhouse flower” who had lost a significant amount of weight. “I’ve decided to be a capricious person” sounded like a genuine threat; the old Qiao Mengdi would never have said something so flippant and rude.

She’s different. This stepdaughter has changed! Concluding this, Lin Linfeng unconsciously tightened her grip on the cigarette between her fingers, secretly thinking that she might need to be more careful. After all, there was no benefit in truly enraging her right now.

Years ago, when Lin Linfeng still had money, Qiao Chengrong treated her with respect, and her position in the family was stable. Now, that man who was entirely focused on his political career had become even more cold-blooded than her.

After weighing her options, she stood up and said, “A wise person submits to circumstances. A match like Yao Chiyue is rare in all of Luzhou. You’d better listen to your father and don’t trip him up at this critical juncture.”

Qiao Mengdie knew what “tripping him up” meant. Qiao Chengrong currently had high popularity in Luzhou and a good chance of being elected the next Chief Executive.

However, she couldn’t care less about his career. She only found Lin Linfeng’s cigarette smoke incredibly stifling, so she said impatiently, “Just leave. I want to rest.”

“Leave?” Lin Linfeng’s voice turned shrill. “You ungrateful little girl, look at whose place you’re sleeping in! I’ll remind you one more time: the person who can kick me out of this house doesn’t exist in this world—”

Qiao Mengdi found her voice annoying and didn’t want to engage further. She lay back down and turned over, turning her back to Lin Linfeng and letting her continue her screeching. She kept shouting as if trying to reclaim some shred of dignity.

To shut out the noise, Qiao Mengdi suddenly pulled up the duvet, covering herself completely, making no effort to hide her disgust. Lin Linfeng, realizing that performing a monologue was pointless, finally stopped.

A moment later, Qiao Mengdi heard her footsteps retreating. The rhythm of the footsteps was different from when she arrived, sounding somewhat unsteady.

After the sound of the door closing settled, the room returned to silence. Qiao Mengdi poked her head out from the soft duvet.

Even though she was desperate to confirm if this was all a dream, considering her body had been starved for five days, she didn’t dare rush out. She planned to recover for a day and see how she felt tomorrow. Fainting in the middle of the street wouldn’t be fun.

Although Lin Linfeng had left, the smell of smoke lingered. It was still choking, so Qiao Mengdi got out of bed and opened the window wider to let the air circulate.

That short walk made her feel lightheaded again. When she sat back on the bed, she felt like stars were spinning around her head. A hunger strike is truly damaging to the body; no amount of youth can withstand it. Sigh, I need to lie down and recover a bit more.

She felt hungry again despite just eating. A body that no longer rejected food was much easier to manage. She called Nanny Song and told her what she wanted for lunch. On the other end, Nanny Song seemed incredibly excited, her tone almost incoherent with relief.

So, in this house, is Nanny Song really the only one who cares about me? Though the room was large, it felt quite cold. Qiao Mengdi thought as she wrapped her small blanket tighter.

Hearing Kelly Chen’s Love Paradise, Qiao Mengdi jumped up in a “carp leap” fashion, startled. Waking up, she realized it wasn’t the background music for a wedding, but her phone’s ringtone.

She had just dreamed that she was trying to escape the wedding, only to be caught and brought back by Qiao Chengrong.

Exhaling a long sigh, she thought that the original host was truly a gentle girl; the melody of Love Paradise was sweet and beautiful, though it sounded terrifying to her right now. She planned to change the ringtone to It’s All Your Fault.

An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen. Qiao Mengdi hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Hello, it’s me.”

The voice was pleasant but cold, sounding devoid of emotion. Qiao Mengdi searched her memory for this vaguely familiar female voice but found nothing. Since she didn’t recognize it, she wasn’t going to waste energy answering.

But before she could hang up, the person on the other end added, “Yao Chiyue.”

The tone remained distant, showing no emotion.

In the bed, every cell in Qiao Mengdi’s body instantly woke up at the mention of that name. As of now, the original host and Yao Chiyue had only met briefly once, when the parents of both families met.

During that meeting, the host had been in a daze, unable to believe that the father she had always trusted had unilaterally orchestrated her marriage. When she snapped out of it and wanted to express her opposition, Yao Chiyue, who had also been silent, spoke first: “I have no objection. Sister, what about you?”

She had spoken then just as she did now on the phone—the voice was incredibly beautiful but lacked any warmth, sounding strictly businesslike, as if the marriage were merely a routine transaction.

Before the host could answer, Qiao Chengrong had given her a deep, warning look, filled with both advice and coercion. Not only that, he had lightly kicked her under the table. He was terrified his daughter would object, having kept the arrangement a secret until everything was finalized.

And when faced with his daughter’s predictable resistance, he knew exactly how to manipulate her: “If you still consider me your father, marry Yao Chiyue!”

Recalling those words, the original host’s response of “I don’t want to marry you” was swallowed back down. She thought that since her father had agreed to the marriage, he should be the one to break it off.

Faced with Yao Chiyue’s question, the host had only lightly shaken her head. To the host, that shake meant “I don’t want to marry you”; but to Yao Chiyue, it looked like “I have no objection either.”

However, Qiao Chengrong was incredibly satisfied with the union; how could he possibly call it off? After the meeting, he returned home and used both sweet talk and deception. In the end, the host still insisted, “I’d rather starve to death than marry a woman,” which resulted in her father placing her under house arrest…

“Oh, hello, Sister,” Qiao Mengdi replied, quickly suppressing her internal surprise. Although she had just woken up, her voice sounded normal.

Recalling Yao Chiyue’s appearance through the host’s memory, Qiao Mengdi actually found herself “fangirling” for a few seconds. Honestly, Yao Chiyue’s looks hit every single one of Qiao Mengdi’s preferences.

She had a rare, peerless beauty. Her eyebrows were sharp like hooks, her eyes proud and untamed. The bridge of her nose was high and straight, and her lips weren’t so thin as to appear heartless. Her jawline was simply perfect enough to make one daze.

Most importantly, she was tall. Based on the host’s memory, Qiao Mengdi estimated she was about five or six centimeters taller than the host’s 167cm. What a perfect height difference! Furthermore, her posture was very straight. Many women have long legs, but long and straight legs are not that common.

Just thinking about the other woman’s long legs made Qiao Mengdi a bit dazed. What a pity. If I had transmigrated a bit earlier, maybe I would have happily told her, ‘Sister, I have no objection either.’

“You didn’t save my number?” Yao Chiyue’s question interrupted Qiao Mengdi’s reverie.

Now, a hint of emotion could be heard in her voice. Qiao Mengdi’s lips curved slightly; the woman on the other side seemed unhappy about being overlooked. The proud CEO type, huh!

“No,” Qiao Mengdi answered honestly. “I’ve been very busy lately, so I forgot.”

The two weren’t familiar with each other. Qiao Mengdi remembered that the day their families met, they had exchanged basic information. She figured Yao Chiyue’s number must be in that file folder.

Does this mean she had already saved the host’s number in her phone?

Wait—the original book said Yao Chiyue was also straight. Why did she seem so attentive? Thinking of her tall, slender figure, Qiao Mengdi suddenly wanted to see her.

“That busy?” Yao Chiyue paused. “When do you have a gap in your schedule? Let’s meet.”

Oye! Qiao Mengdi felt they were practically telepathic; her thought had barely formed before the invitation arrived.

“Is there a reason?” Despite wanting to see her, she felt it was necessary to maintain the original host’s persona a bit. She couldn’t let her “lustful” nature show too quickly.

“When we met that day, our parents were there. There are things that weren’t said.”

“Is that so?” Qiao Mengdi thought for a moment. After two meals, she could move freely. By tomorrow, she should be mostly recovered. “Tomorrow is Sunday. How about tomorrow evening?”

“I thought I’d have to wait in line for a long time.”

Qiao Mengdi didn’t care about such small jibes; a little sarcasm couldn’t hurt her. “Even if I’m busy, what could be more important than our business?”

“I’ll send you the time and place.” With that, without a goodbye, the call ended.

Oops, did my last comment sound too flighty? Qiao Mengdi stared at her phone screen, feeling annoyed with herself for a few seconds. Suddenly, she felt hungry again. It was almost time for Nanny Song to bring dinner.

Putting the phone away, she planned to go to the garden for some fresh air. Looking out the window, the sunset looked beautiful. It was late October, and autumn had finally arrived in Luzhou; the evenings were becoming cool.

I must get my strength back. Tomorrow night when I meet the CEO Sister, I have to hold it together. While thinking this, Qiao Mengdi clenched her fists, gave a soft stretch, and got out of bed.