"En.  Why is it so surprising?  Aren't we betrothed to each other?"

"Yes, but…" Zhao Feiyan uncomfortably looked at Master Xue.  "We thought the betrothal isn't valid anymore because you weren't here."

"Well, I'm here now so it still stands.  And I have fulfilled our promise to the Tengs." He held her hand.  Teng Man Rui bowed her head unconsciously and kept her gaze to the ground.  She felt overly uncomfortable.  Although these people had been like a second family to her, she felt so much like an outsider.

Xue Jinxu sprung to her feet and glowered at them.  "This can't be happening!" She clenched her fists in anger.

Her blood started to boil as her rage skyrocketed.  's.l.u.t.'

'She's carrying another man's baby.'

'Her lover is just outside.'

'Brother, if you only knew.'

Her gaze was razor-sharp and if looks could kill, Man Rui would have died already.

"You don't know that woman well, brother."

"Xu-er!" Mother Xue reprimanded.  "We all know Teng Man Rui well!  And you know her most among us.  Aren't you best friends?  You grew up together!  Isn't it your wish to be her sister?  Well, now you are."

"We were best friends.  But not anymore.  We used to be sisters.  We used to share secrets.  We used to trust each other a lot."

"But not anymore."

"Don't be fooled by this woman.  She's a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"Brother… Things aren't the same as seven years ago!"

"Xu'er, it's done.  We're married."

Xue Jinxu grunted in despair.  Seeing her struggle, Chen Linyun rose to his feet and tried to lull his wife in a cradling hug.  "Jinxu, don't be too worked up.  Little b.u.mp." He whispered through her hair.

Xue Jinxu buried her head onto his shoulder in frustration.  She nodded while at it but clutched Chen Linyun's dress s.h.i.+rt with her fists on his back.  Her grip on his s.h.i.+rt was too tight.  He could sense her surging emotions.

"Hush. Hush." Chen Linyun stroked her hair.  "You want to rest upstairs?"

She nodded like an obedient child, a wronged kitten.  She turned docile at Chen Linyun's gentle nudging.

"But the guests..." She lifted her face at him, looking too anxious and troubled.

"I'll take care of it."

"Okay." 

"We're not done yet." She added to the Xue Family before leaving.

In the master's bedroom, Chen Linyun tucked Xue Jinxu to bed.  "Don't think about it too much, alright?  Try to get some sleep.  Your brother isn't a small child anymore.  If he's done something, he must have prepared for the consequences."

"But."

"Moreover, you cannot reason with someone who's blinded by love."

"But!"

"No buts, Misis Chen.  Go to bed." He acted sternly.  He caressed her cheek for a while before planting a kiss on her forehead.  "Clear your head.  Try to get some sleep."

"Will you be fine if I leave?  I'll be right back."

"Mhmm…" She smiled apologetically.  "Can you send brother here?  I want to talk to him alone."

"Alright."

When Chen Linyun came down to the living room, Xue Minhe had already started retelling the tale of his demise.

"That day, I set forth with my yacht.  It was just an ordinary day - nothing special.  You all know it's my hobby to sail to the sea once in a while.  It gives me peace."

"That day, I wasn't alone.  I sailed with a person I regarded as a friend.  We sailed - just the two of us.  Drank booze, chatted as we stared at the horizon which separated the sky and the sea with a thin horizontal line."

"We just chilled, just like any other day."

"Everything was fine until the weather worsened.  The wind blew stronger and the waves went stronger.  I checked the weather forecast before sailing.  The tempest wasn't supposed to arrive until a few days ahead.  Somehow, it arrived earlier."

"The turbulence was unnerving."

"The friend said he would call for help, and indeed he did just like what he said."

"You know very well that I am well-experienced in sailing to the sea.  At this point, I turned off the engine and just let the waves take control or else the yacht will keel over."

"That guy called for a helicopter to save us, and while waiting, just for contingency, I had prepared the safety dinghy.  He said I wouldn't have to waste my energy with that safety dinghy because we will be saved anyway."

"I had lowered it midway when the helicopter came.  He immediately climbed the monkey rope which the helicopter let down for us."

"However, the wind grew too strong that even the helicopter had a hard time staying stable.  He had not even finished climbing the monkey ladder yet when the helicopter moved aside.  Since he was still dangling onto the lower end of the ladder, he offered his arm to me.  I grabbed it."

"I thought I was saved."

"But then…"

"Well, I fell onto the freezing, raging waters.  And just like in catastrophic movies, the helicopter could not get any nearer because the waves were transforming into humungous monster walls so aggressive to hit whatever's within reach.  Just like that, the helicopter flew away.  I was left there alone, on my own."

"With all the strength I had, I swam back to the yacht.  However, I could not go against the waves.  The yacht tilted, and providentially, the rope connecting the dinghy to the yacht broke.  I was able to get onto the dinghy.  I lied there until the tempest subsided.  I could not count how many times I vomited from the motion sickness.  I was hungry and dizzy and thirsty, and for days the dinghy floated listlessly.  My body bruised from the strong current of the waves when I had swum, and my skin burnt from the sun.  Slowly, my energy thinned out."

"I lost consciousness and all the hope.  I thought that was the end of me.  But, when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a cozy cottage.  A community found me and took me in.  To this day, I found it enigmatic how this small community that had been hanging on a thread basically to live every single day still found a s.p.a.ce for me there.  They took care of me and shared with me whatever they have, no matter how scarce the resources were."