Jiang Ying couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.
She had been worried that Jiang Ranran might try to steal her husband, but who knew the woman would turn out to be so shameless?
Jiang Ying immediately said, “Let her go find whoever she wants! Someone like her only deserves to hang around with those lowlifes outside anyway…”
“No!” Yi Sichen snapped angrily. “What about my reputation?”
“Your reputation? What about mine?”
Jiang Ying’s temper flared instantly. “How are you going to make it up to me, huh?”
Yi Sichen calmly replied, “I’ve already arranged it. I’m investing in a major film for you, with an internationally renowned director. I’ll make sure you become a top-tier superstar.”
Jiang Ying was taken aback. “Really?”
“Of course,” Yi Sichen wrapped his arm around her waist. “Baby, you’re my everything.”
Only then was Jiang Ying satisfied.
—That’s right. Once she became a top star, the Yi family would eventually accept her. Then, she could definitely kick Jiang Ranran out of the picture!
The two of them cuddled for a while before leaving.
As they were leaving, Jiang Ying even glanced back at Jiang Ranran and raised an eyebrow, wearing an expression that said, “I won again.”
Jiang Ranran watched them leave, feeling as if she had just finished watching a ridiculous short drama. She slumped onto the sofa, tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, her eyes empty.
Who would have thought that her scumbag nephew would go back on his word and stubbornly refuse to call off the engagement!
Maybe she should just come clean with Mr. Yi and let him deal with his nephew?
The thought only crossed her mind for a moment before she dismissed it.
No, stealing his nephew’s fiancée was too low-class and offered no moral advantage. An older man like him probably wouldn’t do it.
The simplest solution now was to persuade her biological parents and have the Jiang family propose ending the engagement.
Jiang Ranran picked up her phone but hesitated.
Her parents were currently abroad on a long-planned business trip, swamped with work.
Since returning to the Jiang family, Jiang Ranran had only video-called them once. They seemed like quite open-minded people.
Open-minded, in this case, meant that as parents, they had their own lives and didn’t pay much attention to their children.
As long as the children didn’t interfere with their interests, they could do whatever they wanted.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open—it was Jiang Ye returning home.
Seeing Jiang Ranran on the sofa, Jiang Ye couldn’t help but frown.
“Next time, I’ll take you shopping for clothes. What kind of stuff did you even buy…”
Jiang Ranran cut him off. “Brother, I want to break off the engagement with Yi Sichen. Do you think Mom and Dad would agree?”
Jiang Ye said, “Definitely not!”
“Why?”
“Because it doesn’t align with their interests.”
“…”
Jiang Ranran fell silent.
Jiang Ye sighed. “I know you don’t like Yi Sichen, but this marriage is a step up for us. It’s a golden opportunity they managed to secure—Mom and Dad won’t let go of it easily…”
“If you ask me, just go through with the wedding ceremony. Worst case, you can have affairs after marriage. I’ll arrange a few male models for you later!”
Jiang Ranran: “…”
Great. Now she was burdened with two engagements, both on the same day.
A person couldn’t get married twice in one day.
Feeling miserable, Jiang Ranran put on her clothes and headed out.
Jiang Ye asked, “Where are you going?”
“I need to go out and clear my head.”
Jiang Ranran wanted to visit the orphanage.
Whenever she felt lost, she would want to return to that place.
She had lived there for eighteen years. Everything about her started there.
Even her name, Jiang Ranran, was drawn by lot at the orphanage.
Coincidentally, she drew her real surname.
…
St. Hall Orphanage was a private charitable institution located on a desolate hill in the suburbs.
Two years ago, the orphanage caught fire in a massive blaze. Fortunately, she had been sent to a boarding high school just before the fire, narrowly escaping the disaster.
Now, the entire orphanage lay in ruins, though its main structure still stood tall and imposing. The Gothic architecture exuded a cold sense of order.
The ruins were enclosed by a fence, with a chilling sign posted outside:
【Danger, No Entry】
Jiang Ranran found a gap and skillfully climbed inside.
This place was originally an unknown church, later converted into an orphanage, which explained its peculiar name—St. Hall Orphanage.
Jiang Ranran pushed open the wrought-iron gate.
In an instant, countless memories flooded her mind.
At the orphanage, children would leave from time to time, all reportedly adopted by kind-hearted families.
Jiang Ranran was the only one never adopted, as if no one ever wanted her.
Fortunately, she later gained a godfather who not only accepted her but also taught her many, many things.
Jiang Ranran walked deep into the corridor. Everything around her had been burned to ashes, except for one thing that remained intact, standing out starkly amidst the ruins.
A portrait of the Forbidden God.
It was a life-sized depiction of the Deity, painted on the wall at the end of the corridor and sealed behind a sturdy glass pane.
In the painting, the Deity wore white sacred robes, a golden mask covering the face, with six enormous black wings spreading from behind.
This was the Forbidden God.
At this orphanage, children were taught from a young age that the Forbidden God was humanity’s guardian deity.
Everyone had to pray before the statue every day, reciting, “We are born in sin, and only through obedience can we find forgiveness.”
At first, Jiang Ranran mindlessly followed along with the chants. But one day, she suddenly felt something was off.
I haven’t done anything wrong, so how am I sinful?
If anyone is born in sin, it’s the people who gave birth to me. What sin do I bear?
She shared these thoughts with the other children, but they all thought she was crazy for doubting what the adults said.
From then on, no one wanted to play with her.
Until she turned twelve, when an equally unconventional boy arrived at the orphanage.
The boy was brought by her godfather. He was frail, pale, with eyes that held a precocious gloom and an indescribable air of nobility.
His name was Shen Xinghe.
He became her best friend, inseparable from her.
She once asked Shen Xinghe, “Why did you come here? What about your family?”
Shen Xinghe replied, “They’re all dead, killed by one person.”
As he said this, his tone was calm, but a terrifying chill flashed in his eyes.
Jiang Ranran understood then that Shen Xinghe had a mysterious enemy, though she didn’t know who it was.
Until two years ago, when Shen Xinghe suddenly told her, “Ranran, I’ve been adopted too.”
She was shocked. “But you’re already eighteen, an adult!”
Who adopts an adult? What would they even do with them?
Shen Xinghe didn’t answer. Instead, he took out a necklace and placed it in her hand.
A golden chain with a uniquely shaped ruby pendant.
“Keep this token, and remember to think of me.”
Unwilling to let it go, Jiang Ranran went to ask her godfather, “Who exactly adopted Shen Xinghe?”
Her godfather smiled mysteriously. “His own destiny.”
This answer left her even more bewildered.
Then, not long after Shen Xinghe left, Jiang Ranran was also driven out.
The reason given was that she was too old and should go to high school and university instead of lingering in the orphanage, eating without contributing.
She was sent to a boarding high school.
After that, the orphanage caught fire.
Because it was located in a remote area, no one noticed until the fire had burned through the entire night. The remains were reduced to ashes, and the death toll remains unaccounted for to this day.
Jiang Ranran walked into the room she once lived in, took the ruby necklace from her pocket, and clenched it in her palm.
Now that her godfather was gone, Shen Xinghe was her only remaining connection.
She had no idea where that guy was at this very moment…
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from downstairs.
Someone was here!
Jiang Ranran’s heart tightened.
Who would come to the Holy Chapel Orphanage so late at night?
She quickly tucked the necklace back into her pocket and tiptoed down the stairs.
At the end of the corridor, a man stood before the portrait of the Forbidden God.
“Mr. Yi?”
Jiang Ranran’s pupils dilated several times over. “What are you doing here?”
The man slowly turned around.
Under the moonlight, his figure was tall and imposing, his features handsome and profound, his silhouette inexplicably overlapping with the Deity in the portrait.
Those enormous black wings seemed to sprout from his very being, each feather stretching wantonly in the darkness.
Jiang Ranran was stunned, staring at him in a daze.
The man strode toward her, his leather shoes tapping the ground with steady, authoritative sounds.
In the vast darkness, the footsteps grew closer and closer.
Jiang Ranran instinctively stepped back.
“What… what are you doing here?”