Jin Liwei frowned. His confusion was evident in his expression. He looked at Iris but still couldn’t understand what she meant by saying that her real name was Evelinka.
“Explain,” he said.
She took a deep breath before continuing. “Actually, it’s Evelina. That’s my real, actual name. Evelinka is the nickname my big brother calls me. My other nickname is Evelinochka. My fa—I mean, another person used to call me that. In Russian culture, each name almost always has its own designated set of nicknames.”
He only grew more confused the more he listened. Did she mean that she had a Russian name? Like how many Chinese people had English names? There were so many questions popping inside his mind. This time, however, he chose to stay silent and not ask her additional questions for now, waiting for her instead to elaborate and clarify her confusing words.
“As for the story about Big Brother and I meeting and befriending each other in an online game, I also didn’t know that he was going to say that. To be honest, I also thought that it was stupid but he already said it so I just went along.”
“Hah,” Jin Liwei exhaled a harsh breath.
His nostrils continued to flare as he reined in his temper after finally confirming that the whole story about meeting in an online game was all a lie. A dull throb started in his temples.
This day had already proven itself to be extremely eventful to say the least. It felt like both he and his baby girl had been riding a roller coaster of extreme emotions throughout the entire day. At the beginning, he could still take it. He still had his usual patience to face anything.
But after everything that happened, starting from his confrontation with Lu Zihao, his emotions had become frayed. Coupled with the fact that he had aggravated his injuries when he wrecked the furniture in the piano room earlier out of frustration and they were hurting like a motherfucking son of a bitch since the afternoon, it was taking everything in his willpower to control his temper. He felt exhausted and upset and confused and so many other feelings that he wished he didn’t need to feel all at the same time.
He knew that this wasn’t his normal. If his physical condition hadn’t been this bad, he was certain that he wouldn’t have snapped at his baby girl. It gutted him that he made her cry so many times tonight. He had been such a big asshole tonight, that was for sure.
But what could he do? His emotions had gone out of whack that he even thought that perhaps her pregnancy hormones had somehow infected him or something. Knowing that his woman and former sworn brother shared a big secret, he wanted to know the truth. No, he needed know the truth.
And yet now that she started talking, he still couldn’t understand what the hell she was saying. In fact, he only felt more confused than ever. He closed his eyes in a futile attempt to try to make sense of everything she told him so far. Then he felt her tug his hand, causing him to open his eyes. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you’re not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It’s very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
“I know that you’re confused,” she said. “Perhaps you’ll understand better if I say that…” She took a deep breath before continuing to say, “That I’m not the real Long Xiulan.”
“Huh?” He no longer knew what kind of expression was on his face.
He understood each and every word she was saying but when she strung them together in a sentence, he somehow couldn’t understand them anymore. Was he too exhausted or was he becoming stupid? Or maybe she just wasn’t making any sense. He no longer knew what was going on.
She squeezed his hand. “Liwei, I’m not Long Xiulan. The real Xiulan is…she’s d-dead.”
“What?!” He pulled his hand from her hold and instinctively moved away from her. His whole body tightened like a taut bow. “What do you mean Xiulan is dead?! Who are you?! What did you do to my wife?!”
She gasped, her eyes wide, taken aback by his reaction. She paled and swayed a little, her breathing becoming fast and shallow. Her hands clutched at chest and throat.
Jin Liwei regained his senses and immediately regretted his instinctive actions. He pulled her into his arms and cursed at himself. “Baby? I’m sorry. I’ll bring you to the hospital right now.”
She grabbed the front of his shirt while fighting off a wave of dizziness. “N-no hospital… Just give me a minute. I’ll be…fine.”
“Sorry,” he repeated again and again. “That was a mistake. You’re my wife. You’ll always be my wife.”
It took her a couple of minutes to recover enough to continue their conversation. He wanted to end it and bring her to the hospital but she refused. She intended to have this conversation tonight no matter what. He could only give in but began to watch over her like a hawk. The moment he deemed that her condition was deteriorating to a dangerous level, he would immediately haul her to the hospital whether she liked it or not.
She covered her mouth and nose with a hand to stop herself from gagging. The strong medicinal scent from the pain gel emanating from him was starting to really affect her. It became too much so she had no choice but to push away from him and move farther to the opposite side of the chaise longue.
At first, he didn’t want to let her go but upon realizing that she looked nauseous, he stood up and put distance between them. “Is this better?”
She gave a weak nod.
“I think it’s better if I take you to the hospital,” he said, his brows pinched with deep worry.
“No. I feel a bit better now.”
“But—”
Her delicate gaze became sharp and serious when she looked at him again.
“Liwei, I am your wife but I’m not the real Xiulan.”
