The Overnight Chosen Wife: Darling, Kiss Me Deeper

Leaving Goldenwing Apartments, Li Lanni didn't know whether she was confused or scared. Why did it seem like Xia Luna was trying to hide something? It was as though there was something that she knew and was scared of saying. 

Xia Luna's response was probably supposed to make her give up  but on the contrary, it only made her more determined to know the answers. So as soon as she was home, she made her way to her mother's studio. 

"There you are! I almost thought you had decided to move in with Xiehan. Not that I would mind if that happened, but you should at least inform me." Li Yuming was so excited that she stood up immediately, dropping her painting brush in the process, and pulled her daughter into a hug, 

Li Lanni pulled away with flushed cheeks. "Mom, what have you been thinking about all day?" 

How could she move in with Ji Xiehan? They were not married. They were not even dating yet! Last night was just...

Wait. Her mother knew that she had spent the night at Ji Xiehan's? How embarrassing… 

After the initial embarrassment, Li Lanni calmed down and thought of why she was here.

"Is something the matter?" Li Yuming asked after a few seconds. She noticed that Li Lanni did not seem happy. 

"Mom, can I ask you something?" 

Li Yuming had a feeling it was not one of those things she was willing to answer but she nodded anyway. "Ask away."

"Mom, is there…" Li Lanni thought about how to phrase her question in a way that would not make it sound like she was accusing her mother. At the same time, she carefully studied Li Yuming as she asked. "Is there something you have not told me about my past?" 

As expected, something dimmed in Li Yuming's eyes. She had tried to hide it as fast as possible but Li Lanni was alert enough to notice the slightest change.

A few seconds later came Li Yuming's expressionless question. "If you have something to ask, go right ahead." 

Li Lanni then explained the same thing she had told Xia Luna. This time, she clearly saw Li Yuming's hands tremble slightly. Why was everyone so scared of that Phoenix name? What exactly was it? 

"Pfft. You think too much about trivial things. That was just your username on your school forum. That guy might have been from B City University." 

Li Lanni nodded. Xia Luna was hiding something and her mother was lying to hide something – probably the same thing. They also seemed confident that she would not see through them. They did know that she would still get answers once she recovered her memory, right? 

It was already bad enough that in all these months, she had not recovered her memory and had only remembered tiny details that didn't help in the slightest bit. And the two people she had been considering her closest family were hiding things from her. If only she didn't have to rely on them...

Right. She shouldn't rely on anyone to tell her everything. She already knew from the start that she should find answers on her own. When did she forget this? When did she slack off? That did not matter anymore. She was going to search every nook and cranny of the earth if she had to, and she knew that the answer lay somewhere for sure. And that was what she did. She went to her room first. If there was any place one could find any clue, bedrooms were usually the most obvious. 

Once in her room, she searched through her books even though she had already searched twice. 

Finding nothing new, she checked through the closet, drawers, under the bed and, probably as an effect of reading too many mystery novels, scrutinized the wall inch by inch for any trace of a hidden door or vault. Of course, she found none. 

She sighed and reorganised everything into perfect order. Maybe she was overthinking things. Now that she thought about it, why was it that whenever anything little happened, she would get this anxious and start reading too much into things? A cl.u.s.ter of recent memories flooded into her mind. 

First, she had suspected that Ji Xiehan had ill intentions towards her, then she had had some trouble trusting her own mother for a while, then there was the fact that she trusted almost no one. She was so wary of people that she ended up wanting to look into everyone that smiled at her more than once or tried to befriend her.... and now this.

Was she having a paranoid personality disorder? 

Her head started hurting slightly. Only then did she realize that she was over exerting her brain by thinking too much. 

She needed to calm down. 

"Calm down, Lanni. Calm down." She mumbled repeatedly. 

But that didn't do anything to calm her nerves. Trying to sleep didn't help either. She grabbed a pillow and screamed into it. Even that did nothing to help aside from exhaust her throat. 

Before her brain could process it, she tidied her hair and left the house. She only realized what she was doing when she arrived at Highbridge Mansion. 

'Lanni, you are silly.' She scolded herself. How could she simply make her way to Ji Xiehan's house without informing him? What if he was not even home? 

But he didn't seem to want to go anywhere earlier. He must still be home, right? And considering how friendly they were to each other, he wouldn't mind keeping her company for a few hours, right?

Li Lanni took a deep breath and proceeded to enter the mansion. The butler had seen her earlier this morning with Ji Xiehan. Besides, practically everyone knew about their 'engagement', so he simply let her in, even telling her that Ji Xiehan was in the study and giving her directions. 

But as soon as he had let her in, he seemed to remember something with a start. 

It was too late. Li Lanni had already made her way to the study and stopping her would only make it suspicious. 

Li Lanni hesitated slightly, thinking about why she would say she was here. In the end, she decided to simply go with the flow. Then she knocked on the door. The door was slightly open, swinging wider open when she knocked... 

To reveal the sight of Ji Xiehan and Feng Ci... kissing across the desk."