The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

The air froze. 

Xia Luna's face paled and she bit her lip. 

What in the world... 

She looked at Ji Xiehan, at her mother, then, reluctantly, she looked at Jiang Xingyu. 

She could fell all the gazes on her.

Li Lanni saw the situation and shifted her gaze at the four of them. What in the world was going on here?! 

Xia Luna gripped the hem of her dress so tightly that her knuckles turned pale. What kind of rendezvous was this? 

Li Yuming's presence didn't shock her. Which mother wouldn't be there if her daughter was in the hospital?

But what was Jiang Xingyu doing here? 

Seeing his expression, she didn't need to ask further. Ji Xiehan had called him here. 

How could he? 

After racking her brains awkwardly, she looked at Li Yuming. "Mother..." 

She was yet to say anything else when she saw Li Yuming's expression darken further. 

"Who are you calling your mother?! I didn't think you would be so scheming. What are you doing here?!" The hatred in Li Yuming's voice could not be any more obvious. 

Xia Luna, who was usually strong, almost burst into tears. 'But I'm your daughter too! Why do you hate me so much?' She thought. But that wasn't what came out of her mouth. Her heart became numb with pain, but she controlled her voice and replied coldly "I came to see my sister. Is that a crime, Ms. Li?" 

Li Yuming frowned even further. She was disgusted when Xia Luna called her 'mother', but when she switched to 'Ms. Li', Li Yuming an unfamiliar feeling swelled in her heart. 

Before she could understand that unfamiliar feeling, she exploded. "Your sister? Don't spew nonsense. Didn't your Xia family disown my Lanni? What do you want now, huh? Since when did Lanni become your sister?!

I know what you are up to. I know the kind of person you are. This is my final warning to you and your Xia family. Stay away from my daughter. If not, I cannot guarantee that I will be this lenient. Now, off you go!" 

If Xia Luna were to say that she wasn't sad, it would be a big lie. 

Everyone else kept quiet, too awkward to say anything. 

Xia Luna silently breathed in and out to calm her raging emotions. When she managed to calm down, she looked at Li Yuming and couldn't help but ask, "What did I do wrong? Whatever happened between you and dad happened when I was a baby. Did I ever do anything to you? Did I ever hurt Lanni? Why do you hate me so much? Where is this prejudiced hate coming from?" 

"You..." Li Yuming thought her lungs would explode from anger. How dare this girl act innocent?! Sure enough, the Xia family was a gathering of the most shameless people on earth! "Just leave!" 

Xia Luna bit the inside of her lips, relaxed her hands, and started walking away. 

"Luna," Li Lanni called out sadly, she couldn't bear to see her sister broken-hearted. Even though Xia Luna put replied casually with a blank face, she could tell her mother's words deeply hurt her sister.

Li Yuming was displeased. Very well. The scheming girl had even gotten on Lanni's good side. 

Now, there was someone with a more interesting expression than everyone else. That was Jiang Xingyu. 

'Luna'... so that was her real name. 

Looking at her, he finally felt the difference between her and Li Lanni. 

Li Lanni was gentle and calm, just like the moon. On the other hand, Xia Luna was a rebel right to the bones. How could they be the same person? 

Now Cheng Yu's little poem made more sense. 

[Eyes like the moon, 

a soul like the stars 

but a personality like the sun.]  

That was the perfect description of Xia Luna.¹

And that wasn't even the main point. Why was she acting like she didn't know him? 

He had rushed all the way here when Ji Xiehan informed him that she was in this hospital. As soon as he saw her, what he wanted was to grab her and strangle the hell out of her. He could only stop himself because he couldn't do that with his mother-in-law in the room, now could he? 

But what was up with her and Li Yuming? 

Was he in the between one of those so-called legendary family dramas?!

He felt as if his heart was pierced when he saw her dejected look after being reprimanded by her mother but still put on a strong front. 

It reminded him of the first time they met. That sad and dejected look in the girl's eyes at that time.

For a moment, he itched to embrace her. 

But then thinking of how she had abandoned him, his heart was filled with anger. 

"Luna, wait!" Li Lanni called out when Xia Luna burst out of the room. 

"Forget about her." Li Yuming said, placing the food she had bought on the table, dismissing the piercing pain in her heart when she saw Xia Luna run off.

Li Lanni wanted to ask many questions, but she couldn't with outsiders here, so she shut up. 

At this moment, Ji Xiehan nudged his friend as if he was looking at an idiot.

His expression seemed to say, 'I got your Xia for you, and you let her run away? Idiot!. 

Jiang Xingyu snapped back and ran out. 

Li Yuming looked at Ji Xiehan curiously; he shrugged to indicate that he didn't know what was going on either. 

Li Yuming paid no heed and proceeded to serve Ji Xiehan and Li Lanni the food. 

...

Outside the hospital, 

Xia Luna ran all the way out of the hospital and onto the street. 

Once she was away from everyone else, she could no longer hold back her tears. They just came gushing out like a broken dam. 

Why? 

She had never met Li Yuming before. She only knew her from photographs and interviews. 

This was the first time they were meeting face to face. 

It was also the first time she was letting the word "mother" out of her lips. 

All her life, her stepmother had hated her and mistreated her. She had never brought herself to call that woman her mother. Ever since she knew that Li Yuming was alive, she had been longing to meet her. 

If she said that she had never once been jealous of Li Lanni for being loved by Li Yuming so much, she would be blatantly lying. She had always looked forward to the day Li Yuming would dote on them both. 

Yet she didn't expect that the first time she would meet her, the first time she would say the word 'mother', she would not receive a hug as she had always thought but a cold heartbreaking reply instead...

'Who are you calling your mother'?

Those words kept on ringing in her brain.

She clutched her chest and cried harder, paying no heed to the passerby's stares. Just what had she done to deserve such hatred? Just because she was a Xia? But wasn't Li Lanni a Xia too? 

Wasn't she her daughter too? 

Just when she was about to slump onto her knees, she felt a familiar scent waft into her nostrils as someone held her from behind. 

The man was out of breath. He must have run all the way here. 

"Jiang... Jiang Xingyu..." she stammered when she turned around.

Jiang Xingyu had thought about everything he could possibly do to Xia Luna if he caught up with her. 

Yell at her? Scold her? Straight up, kill her? 

He would never have imagined that the first thing he would want to do would be to comfort her. 

The girl cried even harder when she felt that familiar embrace. 

"There there... don't cry anymore." Jiang Xingyu coaxed her gently as if he were coaxing a little girl. 

Xia Luna rested her head on his chest, absent-mindedly, allowing herself to be weak this once. Just this once, she promised herself.