Chapter 6
It was truly a miracle that the car crash didn’t take Xinghe’s life, only her memory.
Her father, before he passed away – perhaps finally realizing his new wife’s mal-intention – contacted Old Mr. Xi and requested that Xinghe be married into the Xi Family.
Hence, after he died, Xinghe who had lost her memory became Mubai’s wife.
Following a series of ups and downs, she finally decided for a divorce and left the Xi Family.
Her divorce was the talk of the town so it was impossible for her stepmother to not hear about it. However, in the past three years, she had never once offered help. In fact, Xinghe did try approaching her for help when she was almost homeless but her stepmother turned her away.
The change in their behavior before and after her accident was so drastic that it was hard to believe the mother-daughter pair had nothing to do with Xinghe’s downfall.
In any case, she was sure her stepmother and sister were the perpetrators behind her so-called accident!
Now that she thought about it, her father’s death was quite suspicious as well.
Her father wasn’t even a casual drinker so how could he have suddenly fallen down the stairs in a drunken stupor?
Xinghe swore to get to the bottom of the truth and make Wu Rong[1] and Wushuang[2] pay for what they did!
When she left the police station, the sun had long since set.
Xinghe didn’t return to the hospital but headed straight home.
Her divorce to Mubai left her penniless. It was her uncle who took her in.
Xia Chengwu was her father’s little brother, and used to work in the Xia Family’s hotelier business. His honesty and lack of business acumen though prevented him from achieving professional greatness.
Her stepmother and sister took complete hold over her father’s estate after he passed away, leaving her uncle and his only son with nothing. In a way, Xinghe and her uncle’s family found themselves landing in the same boat.
However, her kind uncle insisted on taking Xinghe into his care. He treated her like his own daughter.
This debt of gratitude, Xinghe would continue to repay it for the rest of her life.
After navigating a series of increasingly dirty alleyways, Xinghe found herself in a decrepit residential area. She looked around vacantly.
It would not be an exaggeration to call the place a slum.
Grimy, smelly, and disorderly were fitting descriptions.
Xinghe never knew that she would end up in a place like this.
Before her memory loss, she lived a life of ease. Even without her father’s heritage, she would have survived quite well with her own talent and capability.
In the game of life, she once stood tall and proud.
But then, fate struck her down.
A car accident sent her down a slippery slope which brought her, eventually, to this slum.
Her fate was like the concubines in Ancient Chinese dramas; favored one moment, abandoned the next.
It was not hard to see why she was bitter about it.
However, with the return of her memory, she was going to reclaim everything that she had lost!
With her talent and hard work, she believed that she would soon see the back of this place.
Her life would no longer be in fate’s hands!
Xinghe stopped in front of an old but sturdy wooden door and knocked lightly.
The door opened swiftly to reveal a lanky young man. He asked bewilderedly, “Sis, what happened to you? Why are you wounded all over?”
Xinghe replied calmly, “It’s nothing serious. I got into a little car accident.”
“Xinghe, is that you? How serious was the accident, did you go to hospital, which part of your body was injured?” Chengwu, with a head of grey hair, rushed over to fuss over Xinghe before adding, “Are you still in pain? Who’s the driver that hit you‽”
“Sis, are you badly injured? Do you need any help?”
Taking in her uncle and cousin’s worried and caring questions, Xinghe’s heart was immediately warmed.