3 Nothing But An Outsider

April 1, 20xx

Beijing

The Previous Day

Inside the envelope was a wedding invitation intricately designed with blue and gold flowers and lettering. It was the same as the sample copy she chose last week from the wedding coordinator which is being kept inside her drawer at the hospital. The only difference, the name of the bride that appears on this is her sister's.

That is when everything sank in. She was called back because something happened and the bride has been changed to Yan Mei. As for the reason, she does not understand.

Two days ago, Bai Hanfeng asked her ideas for a successful proposal and she gladly gave him what she thought the most romantic one. Plus, questions on her opinion of marriage arose in their discussion which intensified her excitement. Apparently, she was excited for nothing.

At that moment, she wanted to laugh at herself for being idiotic. Her IQ has degraded exponentially upon learning he bought a ring. She assumed wrongly that she even visited different bridal shops to try on wedding dresses. How stupid of her!

The ring is now nestled on her sister's ring finger and this paper on her hand is the evidence that the two are getting married next month.

'Wow! They even didn't give me time to buffer everything.'

She thought smugly.

Unlike the gloating expression her stepmother and siblings, there was a worried look on Grandpa Yan's face.

And no one spoke as if they were all waiting for her to go berserk. But contrary to their expectation, she pocketed her hands inside her cardigan and clenched them. She is angry at herself for being an idiot and for believing her life would be different from her mother. It turns out, both of their future happiness will be taken away by this pair of mother and child.

She can no longer hold herself.

She laughed bitterly.

Her second mother took this chance to rub salt to her wound and said "As you can see, Yan Mei and Bai Haifeng will have their wedding next month. The day after tomorrow, they will have their engagement at Du Point Plaza. It will be the grandest event in the city this month."

For this woman, Yan Mei is her favorite child. In addition to inheriting her beautiful appearance, she is gifted in acting. Her 24 year old daughter is a famous actress in the country reaping awards from her dramas and movies.

Aside from that, she is going to marry into the influential Bai family whose business focuses on medicine. Then the other Madams will be more respectful of her in the future. Though they are in social gatherings but the contempt on their eyes are evident they look at her. Even their smiles meant mockery to her ruined face.

Even if she undergone numerous surgery, plastic surgeons are unable to restore her original beauty. Now, she has to depend on heavy make up to hide that diagonal scar starting from her right forehead to left cheeks which resulted from getting stab by a crazy woman with a kitchen knife six years ago. **

Looking at the ugly woman's scarred face, Yan Shi smirked and said calmly with brows raised.

"What has that got something to do with me? Whether she marries or not, it's none of my business. Even if she marries a dog, the hell I care."

"Yan Shi!!!" her father's voice reverberated inside the room.

Her father never calls her Blythe. He would always call her with the Chinese characters he registered her with when she was 13.

"Do not say that in front of the elders. She is your sister. Her life long event is a concern of yours.Is that how your mother raised you? Answering back to your elders?"

What she hated the most is her mother being criticized. Hence, she couldn't control her mouth from blurting out.

"I'm sorry. I was orphaned since I was 5. But you should be careful with your words. After all,my mother on the family registry is her."

As she spoke, her chin gestured to Wang Nanfu with a smile on her face.

The implication of her sentence from the outsiders point of view, Wang Nanfu is considered her mother as her name, not Laura Ricci's, appear on the genealogy book as his wife.

In their understanding, Wang Nanfu is the one who raised her.

And he was criticizing his own wife.

The Bai family has no idea of her identity. It was Wang Nanfu who sealed the mouths of the people who knew of Yan Dengfeng's first marriage. If not, the woman would be scorned in the upper class for being the third party. Hence, what people know, she is the adopted child of the Yan Dengfeng and Wang Nanfu. Although her appearance leans more on her Asian roots, they can't claim her to be their child as she took her mother's hazel eyes and height.

Her sentence made the father angrier and wanted to say something when, Bai Hanfeng spoke.

"Please forgive me. Yan Mei and I are going to have a child. Give us your blessing."

The implication was, I am marrying your sister because she is pregnant. There was no declaration of love at all. But Yan Shi never cared of his feelings towards her sister. The bottom line is, he cheated on her.

Yan Mei's hand tightened. It was true that she seduced him when he was drunk but she does not believe that the man does not love her as there are countless men chasing her.

Plus, she had always love him the second her eyes fell on him when she was 10 years old. She followed him around and he was always gentle with her. Only the appearance of Yan Shi changed everything. He became cold to her and he ignored her calls and messages. Finally, she had an opportunity two months ago when they attended a party separately and when he got drunk, she volunteered to drive him home. And the rest happened that night.

"Yes sister. Please give us your blessing. I am 6 weeks pregnant."

She paused and stared at her with distressed eyes. But Yan Shi's raised brows never changed and asked in mocking tone "And if I won't?"

Her white lotus sister looked down on the floor and made a declaration in a crying voice "If not, I am willing to leave so the two of you can be together. I can raise the child on my own overseas."

The smile on Yan Shi's face got wider and that small, round mole sitting above her right upper lip made her look more appealing.

'This woman deserves an OSCAR Award.' she thought as she shook her head.

On the eyes of other people, Yan Shi was mocking her magnanimous sister who is willing to sacrifice herself for an adopted daughter.

"No, I don't agree." Madam Bai spoke for the first time.

She glanced at Yan Shi and to be honest, she is never happy with this woman for her son. If not for her son's sake, she would have not approved their relationship in the beginning.

First, she has unknown origin. Even if she is adopted by the Yan family, the fact that she is an outsider can not be refuted.

Not only that, Yan Mei is the real heiress to the Yan Group which has risen from a mediocre company to big one, surpassing Wang Enterprises in terms of net worth. Hence, her identity is more suitable for her son.

Second, she is a doctor. Her eldest son is already a doctor. Being married to one, it is difficult to manage family affairs well with the hectic schedule doctors have. When will the two have time to raise their children in the future?

Though, she is unhappy with Yan Mei's career, she thinks this is better because the flexibility it offers is suitable to raise kids which completely opposite to doctors who are always on call.

Yan Mei's heart was rejoicing hearing Madam Bai's words. But it wasn't shown on her face. She still maintained that pitiful look.

"You are now carrying my grandchild. You are very important. She is nothing but an outsider in this family."

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** A/N: Originally, I had no intention of making Wang Nanfu ugly. But as I was editing this chapter, I thought it would be fun to ruin her appearance so she can never gloat on our FL. Sorry for being a sadist folks!

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Tidbit of Info:

In Finland, crossing your arms in front of you is considered asign of arrogance and if you stand with this posture in a bar, you will be likely to getinto a fight.

(Source of info: My Finnish colleague)

He commented on how I like on using this stance when I am in deep thought.