A Bastard Child

Lilian Mo slowly turned back to the man of her past. The red organ encased inside her ribcage was beating against her chest, out of nervousness and fear, she couldn't tell. It had been a while since she felt this kind of emotion when most days, what she felt was rage and aggravation. She had tried to stay as calm as possible without showing any of her true thoughts and feelings.

When facing this man, Lilian Mo felt complicated inside.

Lu Jingren.

He had been her lover for three years in her past life. He was also the jailer that kept her caged like a bird.

Her food, clothing, and accommodation were decided by him. At one point, she hated him but she also realized that it was partly her mistake that he had gone too far.

'I was too kind...'

Lilian Mo lowered her gaze. This was her second life, not her past life.

She did not need to feel nervous since they were newly acquainted strangers who were forced into a team due to certain reasons. In this life, Lilian Mo would act her part of being the aloof and vengeful woman, distancing from him.

But...

Seeing him again really brought a lot of inexplicable feelings inside her chest. She tried her best to hide her inner turmoil.

This lonely man who disregarded anything that did not interest him made people think that he was arrogant and cold but in truth, Lu Jingren was an introvert who was not good at expressing himself.

In her past life, people said a lot of bad rumors about him. As the illegitimate child of his family, Lu Jingren was ostracized and did not have a good childhood. His mother died early when he was only ten and only because the patriarch of the Lu family cared for their reputation, Lu Jingren was not deprived of any material needs.

But aside from providing for him, giving him love and care from a family was simply not on the agenda. Lu Jingren who many considered a bastard child suffered a lot of verbal abuse from the Lu family. No one wanted him and he was passed from relative to relative. He did not have a permanent home and he did not experience being loved or cared for by any of his 'family members' because they only saw him as a stain in their eyes.

The perfect Lu family's only stain was Lu Jingren.

With his unwanted existence, Lu Jingren grew up with an introverted personality who did not put much trust in others. While growing up in an environment where he received a lot of contempt and hate, he learned to keep to himself and never revealed his weakness.

His quiet and distant behavior was misunderstood. Back then, people told Lilian Mo that she was unlucky for being engaged to this man and said that Lu Jingren's only positive point was the outstanding looks that he got from his European mother.

Other than that, he was no different from an insensitive block of wood who did not seem to know how to feel anything. He was also very stingy with his words.

Lilian Mo could still remember what the members of the Lu family often whispered in their backs. They did not even care if they were heard by Lilian Mo or Lu Jingren.

"...Pfft. Lilian Mo, I pity you. A good girl like you is stuck with that bastard child. At least your future children would look good. Even if you are poor in the future, you can tell your children to rely on their good looks to climb on top. Who knows? Maybe you guys would make it rich."

"Ah... That Lu Jingren is engaged to this girl. What an unfortunate soul she is."

"Sister-in-law, how pitiful. If you are dissatisfied with that bastard child, you can come to your brother-in-law, I'll take good care of you..."

"That child... His good looks are the only thing that makes him useful. He's lazy and does not know how to respect his elders. If not for the Old Chen couple making the decision to engage him, no girl would ever be stupid enough to actually marry an illegitimate child of the Lu family. Tch!"

"Like his mother, they're both relying on their pretty faces! Sure enough, the son of a whore has no moral integrity!"

Lilian Mo inwardly sighed. She did not listen to those people. She was smart enough to make a decision for herself.

Rumors were not always reliable. Besides, one person even said that Lu Jingren's face was suffering from facial paralysis and he always looked like he wanted to strangle someone's neck.

The first part was true since Lu Jingren did not know how to express himself well. The second part was so-so... because Lu Jingren rarely gets angry. She could count the number of times he got angry infront of her within one hand. The first time she had seen him make that kind of expression were he truly wanted to strangle someone's neck was when he saw her talking to another man. It only happened once but his usually apathetic look had completely turned murderous back then.

Lilian Mo shivered.

Thankfully, she was smart and decided to break free from their original route. This way, he would not be obsessed with her and she would be happy with her current freedom. She was thankful for her second chance to make decisions for a better future.

But what she was feeling apprehensive about was the fact that he was acting very strange right now. Based on Lu Jingren's personality that she knew of, he would not let her off so easily for ditching their dinner date.

He holds grudges like no other so Lilian Mo was actually expecting him to reject her bribe. She was prepared to be ignored or to receive a look of contempt coming from him but this man surprised her...

Lu Jingren actually accepted the chocolate milk and he also spoke two words to her. He also ate the food she made and had even said 'good' which was a positive response coming from him.

He did not seem to hold any hate for her because his eyes were disinterested just like usual. It was as if they were truly strangers who did not know each other.

This was the reason that made her feel nervous and fearful. An unpredictable Lu Jingren was more dangerous than a timed bomb. Her feelings were justified because Lu Jingren was a character that she did not want to make an enemy of.

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