When Iris couldn't take the pain gel's strong medicinal scent any longer, she left Jin Liwei's embrace with great reluctance and put some distance between them. However, she still felt satisfied about how everything turned out.
"Thank you, Liwei. Even if you still don't fully believe or understand everything that I told you, thank you for continuing to love me."
His expression turned warm and tender. "Don't I always tell you that I love you, whoever you are?"
"Yes, you do."
"It's just that I didn't expect that you'll actually be another person from who I first believed." He exhaled a long, drawn-out breath. "This is…just incredible to the say the least. I still feel like maybe I'm dreaming all along. My pragmatic side says that what you told me can't possibly be real, that it's the stuff of fantasy and fiction. But all the differences and drastic changes between the Long Xiulan from before the car accident and you after waking up from the one-year coma are making me consider the possibility that rebirth or transmigration or whatever the hell it's called might actually be real."
"I know," she whispered. "Even I sometimes find it hard to believe."
"Maybe there's another more logical explanation for all of this without delving into the magical realm of fantasy."
"Maybe," she murmured.
"But let's not think about that for now. My head is hurting just trying to come up with another explanation for what happened to you and the real Long Xiulan."
Her brows furrowed with worry. "Your head is hurting? Do you need me to get your oral pain meds?"
He shook his head. "I'm fine."
She was still worried about him but didn't push it. They might end up arguing again over such a small thing. Both of them were tired and had no energy to fight.
"Evelina," he called.
She smiled. "Yes, Liwei?"
"May I ask about…about your life as Evelina?"
Her smile froze and she stiffened.
"You were…human, right?"
"What?" His first question almost sent her in another panic but his second question bewildered and amused her at the same time. "You think I wasn't human?"
"You can't blame for thinking this way. With all the unbelievable things you told me tonight, I don't think I would be too surprised anymore if you told me next that you were actually a fairy or maybe even a goddess in your past life. You're so amazing, so multi-talented, a genius. How can a mere human being be so extraordinary like you?"
She was already laughing before he could even finish what he was saying. "Oh, darling. That is the sweetest thing that I heard from you today. I love it. Thank you!"
Her laughter infected him. He also started chuckling but quickly turned serious again. "Well? Were you human? A fairy? A goddess?"
It took her longer to control her laughter. She was still giggling when she answered him. "As much as I want to claim that I was indeed a fairy or a goddess, unfortunately I was only a mere human being."
"Really?"
"Really." Then she teased him, "You must be disappointed. I bet you were expecting that your wife was a fairy or a goddess. Or maybe both. A fairy goddess!"
That made her laugh again. Her laughter filled their entire bedroom and drove away any remaining tension between them.
The amused Jin Liwei watched her laughing and rolling on the bed. "I'm not disappointed at all. Human or not, you're a fairy goddess in my eyes. The most beautiful in the world."
She stopped laughing and rolling. Her cheeks turned crimson upon hearing his words and caused her to feel a little shy. Deep inside, however, her heart was soaring like it owned the entire world. It was such a wonderful feeling.
He chuckled seeing her acting shy. "My wife is so cute."
She giggled and batted her eyes at him, feeling playful and desirable at the same time. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria Cross]
"So is it okay?" he asked.
"Okay for what?"
"That you tell me about your past life as Evelina."
Her smile disappeared and she turned wary again. He noticed her reaction, of course, and turned serious.
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me," he said. "I'll wait until you're ready. We don't need to talk about everything tonight."
She sat up. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. It's just that my identity in my past life is…rather special."
He stayed silent and listened.
"And who I was as Evelina…it's deeply connected to my big brother. I can't tell you who I was without revealing who my brother was as well. That's why I told you earlier that I'm unable to tell you the whole truth right now without talking to him first."
His eyes widened as realization hit him. "Don't tell me that what happened to you also happened to…to Fifth Brother?!"
She bit her lip before nodding.
He gasped. "My fifth brother died in that ski accident? And another person replaced him, too?!"
She turned her eyes away from him, unable to look at his horrified expression. "Yes."
"Hah." His arms fell like lifeless appendages by his sides. "He's dead. Fifth Brother is dead. My sworn brother died and I didn't even know. I should've known! He became like a totally different person after returning to the country. Now everything makes sense!"
"Liwei…"
He inhaled sharply as he realized another thing. "The sudden weird sibling bond between you and Lu Zihao… Don't tell me that you were really brother and sister in your past lives?"
"Yes."
He cursed.
She flinched at the intensity of his expletive.
"Sorry, baby," he immediately said after noticing her reaction. "I wasn't cursing at you. I was cursing at…at the entire situation."
"I know," she said.
"Fuck. Fifth Brother is dead." His eyes reddened. He stood up and started pacing around their bedroom. "Fuck! I can't believe our youngest sworn brother is fucking dead!"
"I'm sorry."
Now he was the one trembling. "It's not your fault," he said through gritted teeth. "I know it's not."