Chapter 10: Haunted by Her Own Ghost (1)
"Yaoyao, please don't blame Qing. Indeed, she was the one who invited you to come with them, but weren't you the one who lost your way and parted from their company? But it's a good thing someone found you. Else, Qing and Uncle would be worried about your safety," Su Yin told Shen Minyao.
The fox woman was so disgusted by this cheating couple. In her eyes, Su Yin and Shen Qing were both shameless for even showing up together in front of the person they both wronged. Weren't they the reason why her host lost her life? Yet, Shen Qing dared to come here, playing her role as a white lotus very well.
"I see, Brother Yin is still very kind towards my Qing Jie. What about me, Brother Yin? Are you forgetting that I'm still your fiancée, not her? Why aren't you good to me? Could it be that the Su family look down on my Shen family now that my father is facing a problem?"
Su Yin flinched at that while Shen Xin's face darkened at the thought of being looked down on by the Su family. While it's true that he was having some issues at work and his younger brother's influence was flourishing within the Jiang City, the second son of the Su family was still betrothed to his first daughter, Shen Minyao.
"It's not that I'm favoring her, Yaoyao. I'm also worried about your safety."
Su Yin was a little confused. He felt like something was wrong with Shen Minyao. He thought it might be because he came with Shen Qing, and Shen Minyao was being jealous of her. Furthermore, he revealed an understanding smile and said in a gentle tone.
"Yaoyao, no matter how angry you are, you shouldn't make false accusations."
"False accusations? Brother Yin, it is true that Qing Jie was the one who picked me up from my dormitory—everyone had seen her. She also knew about my fear of being left alone in the dark, and yet she was the one who purposely let go of my hand. So tell me, Brother Yin, tell me why would Qing Jie do such a thing?"
Su Yin opened his mouth, but no words came out. He wasn't sure of what he had seen. Shen Minyao, who had always been obedient to him—who always looked at him with admiration and longing, was now looking at him with unconcealed disgust but also hatred.
Shen Minyao looked at him as if she wanted to strangle him to death!
The fox woman refused to admit defeat though and continued her impeccable acting. Although she despised looking weak in front of other people, she cannot let this white lotus to let of her crime easily.
She looked at Shen Qing with the same expression Shen Minyao had when she was still alive, far from the arrogant facade she showed to General Shen. For those who could see her right now, it looked like she had suffered grievances and had broken down in tears as helplessness washed through her.
'Shen Qing, do you think you are the only one who knows how to deceive people?'
Shen Qing might have able to bully Shen Minyao in the past, but it didn't mean she would be able to do the same to the fox woman. The two had different personas, and it was Shen Qing's misfortune for the fox woman to possess the person she had just killed.
Shen Minyao would never return; even on her last breath, she was filled with so much resentment in her life. For the fox woman who died unjustly at the hands of her beloved, how could she not understand her host's past grievances?
Abandoned by her birth mother, rejected by her father. The only people who truly cared about Shen Minyao weren't even blood-related to her. Unlike other stepmothers who were vilified by people, Cheng Lifan took care of her as if she was hers.
Cheng Lifan didn't dare to hide her anger towards Shen Qing when she heard what her stepdaughter said. She pulled Shen Minyao into her arms and glared at Shen Qing and Su Yin. How could she not know what these two doing behind her stepdaughter's back?
She had warned Shen Minyao about Su Yin, but the young woman was completely smitten by him so Cheng Lifan couldn't do anything.
"Shen Qing, you know our Yao'er is afraid of the dark. Why did you force her to join you for hiking? What were you thinking?" She scolded the scheming young woman, upset that she wasn't able to protect Shen Minyao this time. There was no way Shen Minyao would accompany her cousin if she knew where they were going.
"A-Auntie, that's not my intention at all. It's my fault that I didn't pay more attention to Yaoyao and lost her." Shen Qing wept pitifully, much to the fox woman's disgust.
"Enough of this. Lifan, you look after Yao'er, and you better make sure to remind her not to cause trouble next time." General Shen huffed and shot Su Yin and Shen Qing a fierce glare before storming out of his daughter's room. He was aware that his daughter was wronged this time, but he wouldn't even protect her from the outsiders. Sadly, Shen Minyao was already used to it.
The fox woman had seen from her host's memories what kind of life and childhood she had growing up. Shen Minyao was not close with her father, and while it was true that Cheng Lifan became her stepmother due to some arrangements the Cheng family insisted on her, she had been Shen Minyao's mother figure.
"Auntie, I really didn't…" Shen Qing continued her act and clung to Su Yin's arm.
Shen Minyao grabbed the pillow on her bed and threw it right on her cousin's face.
"Get out! I don't want to see you! This pair of cheating couple!" She yelled, much to Shen Qing and Su Yin's shock. Both wondering since when did she know. "I will let Grandfather what you did to me and tell him to cancel our engagement!"
Su Yin's face blanched while Shen Qing cursed Shen Minyao repeatedly in her heart. It wasn't a secret that Grandfather Shen doted on Shen Minyao the most.
Chapter 11: Haunted by Her Own Ghost (2)
"But Yaoyao…" Shen Qing couldn't allow Shen Minyao to ruin her. She didn't even understand how Shen Minyao was able to survive without sustaining injuries. She and her brother made sure she would never make it back alive after getting pushed down the cliff. One could only imagine how much of a shock it was when Shen Minyao surfaced again.
How did Shen Minyao survive that fall? Shen Qing was sure that it was impossible for a person to fall from such a height and only sleep for three days. There was simply no way it could happen. Unless the person she pushed to death wasn't the same Shen Minyao that was in front of her now.
"Auntie, I really didn't mean for it to happen. Please…" Her eyes shimmered with tears as if she was the one wronged by Shen Minyao. It made Shen Minyao look like she was the unreasonable one between them.
However, Cheng Lifan would hear none of it. In her age and career, she had met a lot of different kinds of people, and she could tell that this Shen Qing was up to no good.
"Your Uncle already left; why are you still here? Hurry and go back first. I will speak to Yao'er alone." She dismissed the cheating couple away, not wanting Shen Minyao to be upset any further by seeing them together.
Shen Qing wanted to argue but chose to keep her silence and leave with Su Yin. Meanwhile, Su Yin looked at Shen Minyao, confused as to why he felt like she wanted him to drop dead at that very instance. After not seeing her for a week, how could she change so much in a short span of time?
They were puzzled, and yet they knew they had no choice but to leave. Shen Qing had been obedient to Cheng Lifan because of the older woman's influence, and she didn't want to offend the Cheng family because of Shen Minyao.
Once they were gone, the fox woman checked the memory of her host regarding Cheng Lifan and was surprised to know how much this woman was willing to do for the sake of her host. Perhaps, if the real Shen Minyao had been obedient and listened well to Cheng Lifan's advice, she wouldn't meet her untimely death by Shen Qing's hands.
Cheng Lifan was the second wife of Shen Xin, Shen Minyao's father. While the union between the two was only due to the business arrangements of two families, Chen Lifan hadn't maltreated the young Shen Minyao since she joined the Shen family.
In fact, the reason was that Cheng Lifan saw her younger self in Shen Minyao. Because she was born as a daughter, her parents treated her brothers better than her. As she saw how her husband treated his own child, Cheng Lifan couldn't help but feel sympathy for the young girl.
As a fox spirit who'd lived for centuries and spent a lifetime as a human, the fox woman didn't have any experience when it came to maternal ties. Her previous host only had an older brother and a grandfather to raise her, and as a fox spirit, she only had an older brother to look up to.
So having a mother holding her affectionately like this… felt surreal for the nine-tailed fox.
"M-Mama?" The fox spirit tested the word and felt it was too foreign on her tongue. However, she tried to imitate Shen Minyao's tone and facial expression as well as she could.
"Mama, are you angry?" She asked with a slight hint in her voice. When it came to Cheng Lifan, Shen Minyao would always use a gentle voice.
Cheng Lifan was taken aback by her question and furrowed her brows.
"Why would I be angry at you, Yao'er?"
The fox woman had to keep up with her acting and lowered her eyes as if she was ashamed of what she'd done. She had to be careful in front of Cheng Lifan.
"Yao'er is my daughter. Why would I let an outsider bully my child in front of me?" The older woman chuckled, pushing the stray strands of Shen Minyao's hair away from her face. Her stepdaughter was a meek and gentle child so it was no wonder she was easily deceived and bullied by Shen Qing.
Of course, Cheng Lifan understood her stepdaughter better than anyone else as she was practically the one who raised this young woman. She understood why Shen Minyao had acted like that earlier in front of her father.
"But I must say that I'm disappointed, Yao'er. You shouldn't have talked to your father like that, no matter how upset you are," she said worriedly.
The fox woman fought the urge to roll her eyes. Just taking a peek at Shen Minyao's memory and Shen Xin's reaction today were enough to tell her that the man didn't care about his daughter one bit.
However, she was also aware that what she did earlier was far from the Shen Minyao everyone was accustomed to. The fox woman realized that it would confuse everyone as if she was not the Shen Minyao that had left.
Moreover, it wouldn't be good if the Li family caught wind of the news that Shen Minyao was in the vicinity of the Qingqiu Mountain when the fox spirit was released from its seal.
Sighing to herself, the fox woman resigned to the need of being wary of her actions in the future. She hugged Cheng Lifan awkwardly and trembled in the mother's arms.
"I'm sorry, Mama. I was just upset, hearing him speak to me like that. Does Dad hate me that much, Mama? Why does he speak as if he isn't worried about me?" she spoke in a low tone, hinting her host's grievances at her stepmother.
Cheng Lifan's heart ached upon hearing her stepdaughter speak like this, but she understood that the young woman had truly been deprived of affection from her father.
Gifts
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received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
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