At this moment, Ye Chen was exactly like Ye Chen that Cheng Anya saw at Old Master Yang’s banquet—cold, sinister, acrid, and aggressive. Not a single shred of sweetness could be found in his deep gaze, just a desolate cold.
The evening sky that was dotted with stars suddenly darkened!
As the wind blew at Cheng Anya’s hair, it messed it up and a few strands went over her face, blurring her vision. As the moonlight poured out over the cotton and magnolia trees, she thought that the moon tonight was the most beautiful moon she had ever seen in her life!
In a sudden moment, she felt a cold come over her!
How could she have forgotten that the moonlight was cold however beautiful it was? She was exactly in that predicament. As she was bathed in the moonlight, she felt even colder and colder.
‘Ye Chen, why are you pushing me out of your heart?’
‘Just because of that statement, you have killed the very future we were about to weave together.’
Time seemed to have stop and nobody spoke. There was no warmth between Third Young Master Ye and Cheng Anya, whilst Yang Zekun stood aside and coldly laughed. The gentleman had turned into an Asura.
“Did you just say that you do not know who Lin Xiaoyue is?” Third Young Master Ye asked coldly. There was slight anger in his tense voice, and he was clenching his fists so tight to the point the knuckles were cracking. His delicate features were sullen.
Cheng Anya’s throat was hurting and she could not say a single word. She somewhat knew what she had lost, and this loss was not something she could bear. Helplessness, desperation, and pain clawed at her heart with the claws of the devil.
It was clawing so hard that blood and guts oozed from the openings!
She truly came to realize what extreme joy begetting sorrow meant. While the night had been romantic and beautiful—that, she treasured—the heavens were so cruel and put a knife between them just as they were so, so happy and emotionally involved with each other.
“Speak!” Third Young Master Ye raged as he wandered on the edge of his anger. He grabbed Cheng Anya’s shoulders with his ten fingers, his strength almost crushing her delicate bones. “Tell me that you are not Lin Xiaoyue’s granddaughter!” he roared hoarsely into her ear.
As the wind blew, the night grew cold.
The long hair blinded the eyes and tangled the heart!
His face, to her, seemed terrifying and was filled with hatred. It hit her heart the hardest.
Cheng Anya sounded hoarse, and the pain was unbearable. As her mind buzzed on, she was unsure of what to do. Her smarts, amidst the pain, were even more chaotic!
Yang Zekun pushed Third Young Master Ye’s hand away and saved her shoulders. She had the wrong impression that she would be crushed by him had he not let go. Cheng Anya’s eyes reddened, whether from physical or emotional pain.
Tears pooled in her eyes and she forced them back.
Yang Zekun took her by her side and stared at Third Young Master Ye coldly. “What are you hating about? Didn’t you send people to check on her at the start too? Were you afraid of what you had looked up and stopped? Your self-indulgence is your own undoing!”
“Damn it, get out of my sight! I do not need you to unnecessarily comment on her affairs and mine!” Third Young Master Ye raged, his gaze as brutal as a beast. He grabbed Cheng Anya in one swipe but Yang Zekun didn’t let go. As hatred boiled in Third Young Master Ye’s heart, he threw a punch at Yang Zekun and hit him in the chin. Yang Zekun was caught off guard and involuntarily let go.
Cheng Anya’s shoulders became numb from Third Young Master Ye’s grip. Before she could gather her senses, she heard wind blow by her ears as Yang Zekun’s fist passed by inches away and hit Third Young Master Ye’s face. Third Young Master Ye stumbled and grabbed on to Cheng Anya for dear life although his lips were bleeding.
Yang Zekun’s second fist hit home.
“F***!” Third Young Master Ye swore in rage as he pushed Cheng Anya aside. Clenching his fists, he brawled with Yang Zekun. Although Yang Zekun was adept in the martial arts and landed a few aggressive blows out of his thorough hatred for Third Young Master Ye, he was clearly no match for Third Young Master Ye when they actually fought.
In a close-up fight, Third Young Master Ye’s fists were quick and aggressive and landed on Yang Zekun’s face successfully, bruising him and making him vomit blood. As lust, anger, and hatred intersected in an insane madness, Third Young Master Ye was looking for an outlet and Yang Zekun invited himself to become his punching bag.
When they just started, Yang Zekun was able to land a few punches on Third Young Master Ye. As time went by, he was clearly not able to hold up and ended up being violently walloped by Third Young Master Ye!
As the wind blew, Cheng Anya looked on, aghast. She saw Yang Zekun vomit a few mouthfuls of blood. She could not stand it any longer as she ran over and blocked Third Young Master Ye. “Ye Chen, stop! Or somebody will die!”
Third Young Master Ye pushed Cheng Anya away and landed another punch on Yang Zekun’s abdomen. Damn, somebody who was not in his league decided to hit him in all places but the face! How reckless! Seeing that Third Young Master Ye was about to land another blow, Cheng Anya could not help it as she knew that either Third Young Master Ye’s reputation would go down the drain with death or senior would sue him for his injuries.
She suddenly raced in front of Yang Zekun just as Ye Chen’s fist came at him quickly and aggressively. Cheng Anya’s eyes were wide open from fear as Ye Chen’s terrible fist landed just below her nose.
“Scram!” Third Young Master Ye roared. “Or I will hit you too!”
“Try me!” Cheng Anya shouted back in protest. Damn it, hitting senior with such impunity would only mean he lost out! Was he as much of a moron as Ye Yutang?
Third Young Master Ye forcefully bated his breath and retracted his fist with an unhappy face. Yang Zekun was terribly beaten up and his white casual wear was coated in blood. There were bruises on the face, which left the good-looking gentleman in a hideous predicament.
Third Young Master Ye was nowhere better as he had taken a few punches and there were some marks on his face. Other than that, he was not really injured.
“Scram!” Third Young Master Ye said as he looked down. Cheng Anya’s heart sank into an abyss. Was he asking for senior, her, or the both of them to scram?
“Ye Chen, I really do not know who Lin Xiaoyue is. I did not intend to lie to you!” Cheng Anya said softly as an explanation. Apart from her father and mother, she did not know anybody else.
Third Young Master Ye, saying nothing, turned his head around. He felt terrible seeing her another time!
“Anya, follow me back. My grandfather would like to see you!” Yang Zekun said as he covered his wounds and held onto Cheng Anya, intending to leave with her. Third Young Master Ye showed no signs of wanting to hold her back and his delicate side profile was as hard as a rock.
The moonlight cast another layer of coldness on his face.
Cheng Anya’s heart winced. ‘Third Young Master Ye, why? Give me a reason!’
Third Young Master Ye said nothing as he coldly stood in the night, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.
As Yang Zekun brought Cheng Anya away, her every step felt as though it was on a sharp knife, painful and unbearable. She was hoping that Third Young Master Ye would hold her back, but he said nothing!
A stubborn Cheng Anya bit her lower lip until it bled.
When she was right next to Yang Zekun, she then turned back and Third Young Master Ye had already entered the mansion. Like a devil with its mouth open, the dark night swallowed all of their hope and love. The withered magnolias landed and brought up desolation.
The document that signified the death of their love drifted with the wind in the air around them.
“I am not going!” Cheng Anya suddenly backed off and looked at Yang Zekun. “Senior, go to the hospital and get yourself checked up!”
“Anya, my grandfather wants to see you. You are… my cousin, his granddaughter!” Yang Zekun’s body was aching throughout. He did not expect Third Young Master Ye to rain such terrifying blows like how assassins would. His heart, however, ached even more by how he described Anya as his cousin and a granddaughter of his grandfather.
They were related by blood!
“Since I am his granddaughter, why can’t I be together with Ye Chen?”
“The Ye and the Yang families are mortal rivals. The two of you cannot be together!” Yang Zekun frowned as he could not bear it any longer.
“So what?”
Was the rivalry between the Ye and the Yang families her business?
“Anya, stop being stubborn. Let’s go home first, okay?” Yang Zekun’s voice became gentler as he went over and wanted to stroke her head lovingly. Cheng Anya backed away quietly and Yang Zekun’s empty hand stopped in midair.
“My home is here!” Cheng Anya looked at their home and smiled. “If you are not telling me, I am asking him!”
Even if she were to end up miserable, she wanted to understand why!
Cheng Anya walked back to the mansion step by step. Yang Zekun wanted to shout to her to stop but lost his voice. He wanted to say, ‘Anya, if you allow Third Young Master Ye to tell you what exactly happened, you will be hurt terribly.’
But he didn’t say anything at all!
Cheng Anya walked over and picked up the documents that were scattered on the ground. She arranged them and read them in detail.
Her maternal grandmother was An Yulan, whose actual name was Lin Xiaoyue. Her maternal grandfather’s name was Chen De. They stayed in a secluded mountain and had a daughter: Chen Nianyun. Following a fire in a village household that left everybody dead save a girl called Gu Meiling, Chen De and Lin Xiaoyue adopted her.
When Chen Nianyun was sixteen, Lin Xiaoyue passed away from her illness. Chen De disappeared without a trace and Chen Nianyun took a young Gu Meiling out of the mountains and into the world. She later married Cheng Guang and gave birth to Cheng Anya.
Cheng Anya knew the rest of the story!
It was a single story that was not full of twists because her maternal grandfather and grandmother lived in a place that was almost isolated from the world. While the information was not complete, it was, however, clearly written that both husband and wife loved each other dearly. Her maternal grandfather took care of her maternal grandmother until she passed away.
Their love for each other touched the older folks in the village!
‘Senior sure had his ways to dig out things that she didn’t even know!’ Cheng Anya bitterly thought to herself.
Was her mother Old Master Yang’s daughter? From Ye Chen’s description, she could somewhat guess that Old Master Yang’s daughter left when she was carrying a child. They had fallen into a river but did not drown, only to marry and give birth to her mother. But…
Why did she not return or send her mother back but choose to cut all ties with Old Master Yang instead?
Nianyun, Nianyun… Ahh, she should have realized that there was a ‘yun’ in Old Master Yang’s name. Nianyun, to remember Yang Yun…
Cheng Anya coldly laughed as the feuds of the previous generation propagated to her generation. She wanted to laugh without fear, but a broken voice came out from her throat…
As if weeping and complaining…