Could it truly be a coincidence? she mused vaguely, could it be... No, it couldn't be... How could he possibly still... She drew a breath and forced herself to stop thinking about it.
“Xiao Cheng, we need to get back to the hospital.”
She looked worriedly at Xiao Cheng’s pale face on the sofa. Although he looked quite spirited, having been out of the hospital for two consecutive days, he must be utterly exhausted.
The doctor’s solemn words from a few days prior echoed in her mind, and her heart sank heavily.
“Sis, don’t spend all your time just with me, worrying about the illness and surgery. I’m fine, my body is great. You should spend more time with Brother Ouchen. You’re getting married soon; you must still have so much to discuss—like the guest list, or where you’ll go for your honeymoon...” Yin Cheng’s smile was joyful and gentle, “...Oh, right, I want to invite some of my classmates to your wedding too, so they can see my sister and my brother-in-law...” Brother-in-law... A warmth spread through Ouchen’s chest, and the arrogant curve of his lips slowly broke into a brilliant smile.
Sister, brother-in-law, and little brother—they would be a family from now on.
The warmth in his chest made his hand heat up, and he gently covered the left hand she had looped around his arm.
Her fingers suddenly trembled.
Seeing the bright, warm smile on Ouchen’s lips, Yin XiaMo felt a faint panic rise within her. She quickly averted her gaze from his eyes and said to Xiao Cheng, “Okay, tell me the names of who you want to invite. But, we can discuss the wedding at the hospital too. You still need your afternoon injection; it’s time to go back.”
Her avoidance caused Ouchen to stiffen slightly, yet her hand remained looped around his arm.
He silently watched her fair profile. Perhaps more time was needed... The small leisure lounge.
The television screen flickered to another piece of entertainment news.
Someone handed the host a news script. After glancing at it, the host made an exaggerated expression of shock, and a voice faintly drifted from the television saying, “Breaking news, a reporter from Orange Daily...” “Oh, alright.”
Unwilling to defy his sister’s wishes, Yin Cheng obediently stood up from the sofa. He picked up the remote control, preparing to switch off the television, but when his gaze landed on the screen, he froze stiff! The remote control was suspended halfway in the air! On the screen, the host, with an exaggerated look of surprise, announced: “...Hua Jin, a reporter from Orange Daily, has just revealed that celebrity Yin XiaMo, who is about to marry into a prominent family, was once detained in a detention center for assault...” All the blood in Yin XiaMo’s body seemed to instantly congeal! She stared blankly at the screen; everything around her suddenly felt hazy and unreal. Her body felt rooted to the spot, unable to do anything but stare as the host, in a tone laced with sensationalism, broadcast those past events she had desperately tried to forget.
On the screen, the striking red headline from Orange Daily was highlighted with a bold red marker—Tycoon Bride Yin XiaMo’s Past Criminal Record Was Once Erased! The host’s narration explained the dense text and archived papers shown on the newspaper, stating in an over-the-top tone that, according to the report by Hua Jin of Orange Daily, five years ago, Yin XiaMo had been detained in a correctional facility for assaulting someone, an act for which she should have faced a minimum prison sentence of three years according to the law.
However, due to the protection of an influential figure, Yin XiaMo not only escaped legal punishment, but almost all records of her incarceration were scrubbed clean.
Only one photocopy of a list of her personal belongings from the time of her detention remained in the miscellaneous storage room, uncleaned, serving as evidence that Yin XiaMo had indeed been imprisoned.
Summer of Foam III