"What? You rejected the proposal?! But you’ve been dreaming about it day and night! Why are you backing out now that the other party has finally agreed to our terms?!" Jiang Yinan exclaimed, his face painted with sheer disbelief and horror. He was stomping his feet like the younger brother he was.

  "Because it’s wrong, okay?!" Jiang Zihui retorted, turning to face his younger brother with a disgruntled expression. He was discharged from the military after requesting a few months off to sort through some problems. "She hates me. She’s not going to come here willingly. Kidnapping her and then forcing her to stay is an impossible task. Besides, I don’t want to treat her like that."

  Jiang Yinan wondered which dimension he woke up in. His cruel, older brother was being sincere towards a woman? What for? When did this happen?! "I thought you were keen on taking her one way or another? What made you change your mind?"

  "I’ve hurt her before." Jiang Zihui sighed, running a tired hand through his hair. "I didn’t do it directly, but my one of my men…… You already know what he did. He was one of my closest friends. Don’t his actions reflect what type of friends are around me?"

  "But you made him pay for his mistakes. Even to this day, he is living with the pain of what you have done to him." Jiang Yinan tried to not think about the scene he saw. Man, he had never seen something so freaking brutal. It was insane and went beyond the nature of humane.

  "I know." Jiang Zehui grounded his teeth. "What has happened has happened. She is traumatized by it. I don’t want to force the ring onto her finger."

  "You’ve seriously lost your mind." Jiang Yinan sighed, disappointedly shaking his head.

  Jiang Zihui grunted in reply and took a sip of his sparkling water.

  Jiang Yinan huffed at his older brother’s lack of reply. Fine then.

  Uninterested, he strolled over to the bookshelf of folders, wondering which one he should check out. Then a section, almost hidden, made his eyes go wide. "No way!" His knees buckled and he nearly bursts out loud. "Oh my goodness, are these books about courting women?" He fell onto his back and burst into roaring laughter.

  "I need to post this on my private social media. Everyone needs to see this." He wheezed, wiping tears away from his eyes. He picked up one of the books and read the title out loud, "How To Make Your Crush Like You Back." His barking laughter infuriated Jiang Zihui who tossed his bottle of water towards the young man’s head.

  Jiang Yinan easily dodged it, picking up another book. "101 Ways Of Charming Your Crush." He began to roll around on the floor, clutching his stomach, and letting out rounds of laughter.

  "You better contact mother and father." Jiang Zihui growled, standing up to his full height.

  "Huh, why?"

  "Because I’m about to become the only son!" Jiang Zihui snarled, picking up the letter knife and stalking towards his younger brother who instantly stood up.

  "Mercy, please!" Jiang Yinan cried in a high-pitched, mocking voice. "Pft!" He had to prevent himself from breaking out into fits of giggles. "Gosh, what will the soldiers think of their General reading these girly, romance books?!"

  "That’s it, you’re going to die today." Jiang Zihui raised his hand and was a second away from tossing it when a rough knock interrupted him.

  Saved by the knock, Jiang Yinan let out a sigh of relief. It seemed he will live another night! He thanked his lucky Heavens and the Goddess of Mercy.

  "What is it?!" Jiang Zihui bit out. He placed the letter knife away and tucked it into his waist pants.

  The large door was pushed open and in walked a butler in a tailcoat suit. His greying hair was neatly combed back, a pocket watch hanging from his vest. There was the Jiang Sigel sewn onto the cuff and collar of his suit.

  "I profusely apologize for interrupting." He bowed in respect to the two Young Masters. "There is an urgent matter that must be addressed."

  Jiang Yinan sobered up and patted off the non-existent dust on his clothes. What happened?

  "No less than five minutes ago, an unconscious woman was found at the edge of the mansion gates."

  "Dispose of her." Jiang Zihui answered without hesitation. Tch, it must be one of his friends playing a trick on him again. Ever since he devoted himself fully to Zhao Lifei, his friends pitied him and tried to toss women at him every chance they could get. Never once did Jiang Zihui falter. Hell, he had never even slept with a woman or intimately touched one.

  "Yes, that was my initial thought, however, there was this note in her hand." Butler Sima walked forward with a crumpled piece of unfolded paper.

  The note read, "She was wandering the streets alone, confused, and dressed in rags. Take some pity on this lost and abandoned puppy."

  Jiang Zihui scowled. His gut feeling was telling him there was something unique in the way this note was written. "Bring her to me."

  "Pardon me, Young Master, but she is still unconscious. We have moved her into one of the maids living corridor and placed people to watch over her. Shall I fetch her when she wakes up?"

  Jiang Zihui sensed something was skewed about this situation. "No. We’ll go and see her right now. She could be a spy pretending to be asleep. We don’t want to give her any chances of scoping around, even if our people are guarding her."

  Jiang Yinan clapped his hands. Yay, free entertainment! His day was getting more intriguing now. How fun! "Well, lead the way, Butler Sima!"

  Butler Sima bowed his head and began to guide them down the long hallways of the Jade Mansion. The place was enormous and the land went for acres upon acres. It was needless to say, the Jiangs were wealthy; however, the house has been passed down from generation to generation.

  Being the eldest son of the family, it was naturally given to Jiang Zihui in hopes that he would start a family there. His parents resided in the Main Mansion that was only a short fifty-minute drive from where the Jade Mansion stood.

  Jiang Yinan boredly whistled as he followed his brother and the Butler down the staircases. Soon, they found themselves in the servants’ sleeping corridors. After unlocking the door that led to the maids’ quarters, the three men all stopped in front of a decent-sized wooden door. Unlike many families who had bad living conditions for their workers, the Jiangs were generous with how they treated their servants. Every employee had an average-sized bedroom with ample room to walk around in.

  "We didn’t want to dirty the bed with her rags. One of the maids changed clothes for her." Butler Sima explained, stepping aside to let both Young Masters into the room.

  Jiang Zihui should’ve known something was wrong the second he heard ’unconscious woman’. He stepped closer to the sleeping body on the bed and he felt his entire body freeze. He could not believe his eyes and neither could Jiang Yinan.

  "What the f—" Jiang Yinan sharply breathed in. He wisely made the move to not finish his sentence. His carefree eyes were as wide as the moon.

  Which realm did this little fairy escape from?! Even in her sleep, her beauty was undeniably awe-inspiring. Her healthy dark hair was like a halo and the white sleeping gown was the perfect touch to make both men think they stumbled across a fallen angel. Her long lashes created small shadows on her petite face. From her button nose to her small, yet plump lips, everything about her was perfect. She did not have the appearance of a common peasant. Hell, she didn’t even look like she was from this world! Even in her sleep, she looked beyond elegant. Whose heiress was this?!

  "Pinch me, brother." Jiang Yinan choked out. ’Why does this woman look exactly like the one he saw on the battlefield?!’


  "How about I punch you instead? Stop looking at her." Jiang Zihui blocked his younger brother’s line of sight with his large body.

  "Seriously, how blessed can you be?" Jiang Yinan collapsed onto a nearby chair. This was unbelievable. "The love of your life, the woman of your dreams, delivered to your doors just like that!"

  Jiang Zihui himself didn’t believe it. He reached out a shaking hand and brushed the locks of her hair away to reveal more of her face. He retracted his hand right afterward. His heart was racing, begging him to touch her more than a simple caress.

  "Why are you here, Zhao Lifei? Are you here to torment me?" He hoarsely asked her, his eyes painfully shutting close. The thing he wanted the most was presented to him as easily as this. ’Is there going to be a hurricane tomorrow?’