When the door closed, Ru Feng crawled towards the bedside table. She had just heard him call her Qiu Ru Feng. A series of strange events had made her dizzy. Wasn’t she supposed to have died from a heart attack? How was she alive, and how did all these weird things happen?
Then she saw a woman’s face in the mirror. “Ah!” Ru Feng covered her face, backing away and shaking her head violently. This wasn’t her face! Her hand trembled, eyes wide with terror. She recognized it; it belonged to the nurse who had taken care of her, who shared the same name and used to chat with her.
As she shook her head hard, the person in the mirror shook too, and they stared at each other with panic. Suddenly, the door opened again. Ru Feng turned her head stiffly, feeling numb from too many shocks. It was the family’s servant, Tian Sao. Seeing Ru Feng still naked, she unconsciously frowned.
But quickly returned to an expressionless face, walking over and grabbing clothes to dress her. “Miss, I need to clean the room.” The implication was clear: she and her things should disappear quickly.
Ten minutes later, Ru Feng sat collapsed by the door, unable to recover from the shock. She didn’t die but turned into Qiu Rufeng. Not only did she turn into Qiu Rufeng, but she seemed to have seduced the second brother. Holding her head and closing her eyes, her whole body ached, but she was unsure if the pain was from being thrown by the second brother or something else. The previous scenes replayed until the moment when the eldest brother touched her sensitive area, causing Rufeng to let out a loud cry.
She really didn’t need to live anymore! “Oh heavens, are you playing with me?”
In the deep night, she noticed a black sedan parked nearby, with the window rolled down, revealing a man’s distinctly outlined face in the light. Rufeng stood there with her mouth open, wondering who he was. The man got out of the car and walked up to her, looking down at her. He was very tall; Rufeng tilted her head back, her temporarily stunned brain only registering his height. Seeing her not speaking, a hint of a smile leaked from the corner of the man’s mouth, “I told you long ago, you’re just a waste.”
Turning his head, he waved his hand, “You, take her home.” Two subordinates quickly came over, hailed a car, and pushed her into it. Rufeng sat in the car, watching the man and his car fade into the night. Although his way of speaking was despicable, she was grateful that he gave her a place to go. As for who he was, she would understand later. Now, she wanted to calm down and sort out the bizarre situation.
As for the eldest and second brothers? She buried her head in her arms, wishing she could bury her head in the sand—she would never see them again. She no longer had the face to see them; she might as well be dead.
At this moment, Qi Feng was hiding in the flower room, examining the medicinal herbs he was cultivating. The eldest brother walked in and stood beside him, “Is this the herb Wind’er wanted you to grow for rouge?” “Mm!” Qi Feng responded, his tone gentle. The eldest brother glanced at him, “That woman from before…?” Qi Feng interrupted, “Don’t mention her, I’m not interested.” Even with the same name, how could she compare to Wind’er?
Sneaking into his room at night, shamelessly climbing onto his bed—if he hadn’t been slightly alert after bathing, she might have already touched him. Suppressing his disgust, Qi Feng frowned, wiping his body again.
He had pressed her beneath him, choking her neck until her face turned blue. For a moment, he thought she might die, only loosening his grip slightly when he realized she was resilient.
He glared, “You brought home a woman like this? Wind’er’s friend? Ridiculous.”
The eldest brother’s smile faded, “She claimed to be Wind’er’s friend and even had the same name. I wanted to see if she resembled Wind’er at all; being called by that name is somewhat comforting.”
Qi Feng looked at the blooming rouge grass, declaring, “No, my Wind’er is unique. Even with the same name and face, no one can be like her.”
Rufeng was stunned when the two men pushed her out of the car. The dilapidated earthen house had a garbage heap at the entrance emitting a pungent smell. The crooked door and a collapsed wall revealed a dim yellow light inside.
“Xiao Feng, you’re back!”
A woman’s joyful voice called out as a slightly swollen woman jumped through the large hole in the door. Grabbing her hands, she exclaimed, “You’re back so late! Are you okay? I couldn’t sleep, worrying about a girl being out so late…” She pulled her inside, ignoring the damaged door.
Rufeng listened silently to the woman’s rambling. The woman’s features resembled Qiu Rufeng’s, with traces of her former beauty still visible. Acquainted with Rufeng’s coldness, she brought water for her to wash her face and feet before they each went to sleep.
Rufeng lay in bed, sighing lightly. Too much had happened today. In the darkness, she gently touched her delicate face, realizing it didn’t belong to her. “Qiu Rufeng, are you dead? Killed by my second brother?” She closed her eyes and pulled the blanket higher.
“Xiao Feng!” the woman said from beside the bed, likely hearing her movement, “Don’t provoke Qiu Chi anymore. He won’t like you.”
Qiu Chi? Rufeng blinked under the blanket. The woman sighed, “It’s all Mommy’s fault. I shouldn’t have been with Qiu Shao… Who would have known that Qiu’s wife would appear at that moment? Qiu Chi will never forgive me.”
If not for me, how would his mother have died? You’re my daughter, so of course he’ll hate you too. And since you’re not related by blood, if you keep provoking him, he won’t let you off. Be good, okay?”
Seeming to understand yet confused, she asked, “Why the surname Qiu?”
“Xiao Feng, you’re finally talking to Mommy! You haven’t said a word to me in five years!” The woman was clearly excited.
It turned out that the autumn boss had used connections to transfer her household registration to this big city, allowing her to attend a key school, while changing her name for convenience.
As the wind wondered, “Can I change back to my original surname?”
The woman was stunned. “Do you want to take back my surname?”
“Didn’t you say taking my surname would make classmates mock you as an illegitimate child?”
As the wind realized, Qiu Ruofeng’s mother was not only a mistress, but also her only child’s paternity was unknown.
She rolled her eyes; it seemed the heavens were not letting her off easily.
Waking up in the morning, Ruofeng touched her face, finding it wet with tears.
It turned out that even if she tried not to think about him, his shadow still appeared in her dreams. Habitually, her hand pressed against her heart, curling into a ball. In her dream, his cold and aloof eyes were full of disgust, saying, “I never loved you, never…”
She never thought that Ning Yuan, who had always treasured her, could say such words, cutting her deeply. She loved him so much, wanting to entrust her tender feelings, only to receive a cruel ending.
“Xiao Feng, are you awake?” A worried voice broke the silence. It was her mother by the bed.
Ruofeng wiped her face, replying, “I’m awake.”
Her mother sighed, “Was it Qiu Chi who made you feel wronged last night? Xiao Feng, be good, don’t look for him again.”
Since she didn’t know Qiu Chi anyway, she replied, “Okay.”
Her mother seemed happy, repeating, “Xiao Feng, you’ve finally figured it out, that’s good…” This went on for a while, nearly lulling Ruofeng to sleep again.
“Xiao Feng, hurry up and get up, you’ll be late for work.” Her mother’s voice grew particularly loud.
Work? Ruofeng suddenly opened her eyes wide, the thought diluting the sorrow that had just lingered in her mind.
Previously, due to her health and her family’s financial comfort, she had never worked.
