Chapter 191: Chapter 83: Leading Lady of the 60s Art Troupe (22)

"I did fall off a cliff, but there was a small ledge on the cliff face. I clung to it and waited for everyone to leave before climbing back up."

He didn’t keep her in suspense any longer and gave a simple account of what happened. "My family situation is a bit complicated. Ever since my mother passed away, my relationship with the Huo Family has become almost irreconcilable."

"If the Huo Family weren’t so concerned with their reputation and reluctant to lose a valuable pawn like me, they probably would have kicked me out long ago."

"Look, I sacrificed myself for Huo Xunchang’s career. When a person dies, it’s like a lamp going out. But he’s definitely still squeezing every last drop of value out of me, a ’dead man,’ with his new wife."

"The two elders of the Huo Family act all impartial, always claiming to be on my and my mother’s side. But every time they have to make a choice, they still side with their own son."

"So I took the chance to ’fake my death’ and completely cut ties with them, moving in openly with my maternal grandparents. Zhaoyang is in the northern part of the city and has its own transport team, so I hardly ever run into anyone who recognizes me."

"Besides, how many people really remember someone who’s already dead?"

"Hmm, take you, for example. You’re using me as a banner, but you didn’t recognize me either, did you?"

Xia Zhaoyun couldn’t help but blush. "I’m sorry, Comrade Huo Tianhao. I... I had no other choice, so I used you as a shield."

"My original name was Song Ruoyun. I don’t know if you’ve heard of me—just the daughter of a workshop supervisor. It was only a while ago that I found out I was switched at birth. The real daughter of the Song Family has returned."

"Their daughter wasn’t happy with me continuing to occupy her place, so I changed my name, moved my household registration, and gave her back her fiancé."

"I know my own strengths and weaknesses. With no one to back me up, I was afraid I’d stumble in matters of romance and marriage because of my looks. I was also worried the Song Family would try to control my marriage, so in the cafeteria," her voice grew quieter, "while rejecting someone, I declared I was your sweetheart. It... it happened on the afternoon of the concert."

Huo Tianhao raised an eyebrow. "You just open your mouth and say you’re my sweetheart, and people believe you?"

Xia Zhaoyun nodded, her head lowered as she spoke softly, "I really got into character and gave an emotional explanation. Everyone else filled in the blanks for me. Besides, I claimed I wouldn’t take any advantage of you and would even raise your two kids for you."

"Not many people would go to the lengths I did. How could they not believe me?"

Huo Tianhao was so exasperated he had to laugh. ’This little liar really has some skills. I can’t even compare to her ability to twist black into white.’ "So, how do you plan to clean up this mess?"

"It doesn’t make sense for someone to be ’widowed’ by me while I’m still alive, does it?"

Xia Zhaoyun’s lips tightened, her face paled, and her slender frame couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

The same way his name had saved her from so much potential trouble and danger, clarifying the truth now would bring an equal, if not double or triple, amount of backlash...

’Could you just borrow a hero’s name so recklessly?’

Huo Tianhao dared to live openly under his own name, unafraid of being seen, because he knew that as long as the Huo Family benefited from his "sacrifice," they would have to pretend not to recognize him even if they saw him.

If even his family couldn’t withstand the public backlash, what power did she have to turn the situation around?

At that point, not only would her reputation and treatment plummet, but the many men who coveted her would surely come one after another. After all, who told her to be such a vain, lying, wicked woman?

Seeing her work herself into such a pathetic state, Huo Tianhao couldn’t resist reaching out to rub her head. "Aren’t you usually pretty sharp? Why are you ready to surrender and wait for death now?"

Hearing the exasperation and faint warmth in his voice, Xia Zhaoyun felt most of her fear and panic melt away under the touch of his large, warm hand.

She looked up and glanced at him, confirming he wasn’t the least bit angry. Her eyes darted slightly as she asked tentatively, "Brother Hao, do you have any suggestions?"

Huo Tianhao nodded. "I’ve been running all over the country these past two years, and to be honest, I’m quite bitter about it."

"Why does the Huo Family get to live with a clear conscience, all open and proper, while occasionally still profiting off me, and I’m left all alone?"

"What did my mother do wrong? He dismissed it all as an ’arranged marriage’ and handed her a divorce letter. Then the two Huo elders disgustingly insisted on a ’divorce without leaving the home’."

"My mother couldn’t bear to leave me, so she swallowed her pride and agreed. He was afraid I’d cause trouble when he remarried and scare his new wife into a miscarriage, so I lived with my grandparents during elementary school and boarded at school for middle and high school."

"The moment I graduated high school, I was kicked into the army. Heh, if they thought I was an eyesore, they should have just said so. Who do they take me for, a fool who can’t see the truth? And for my sake, my mother slaved away for the two Huo elders like a free maid."

"Meeting you, I’ve suddenly realized that revenge doesn’t have to be all about shouting and killing. Maybe there’s a gentler way for me to vent my anger and make them pay for what they’ve done."

"If you repay resentment with kindness, with what do you repay kindness?"

Xia Zhaoyun’s brow furrowed slightly. "No wonder I don’t have much of an impression of you, even though you’re the factory director’s son."

Huo Tianhao also sighed softly. "Maybe it’s really like you said. If we had met sooner, I might not have been so willing to ’fake my death’."

Xia Zhaoyun’s cheeks flushed pink. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a hidden meaning in his words.

"Brother Hao, what are you planning to do? Do you need my help?"

Huo Tianhao nodded. "This is a high-difficulty favor, and only a drama queen as talented as Comrade Xia Zhaoyun can help me pull it off."

’A drama queen...’

"It would be my honor," Xia Zhaoyun said, grinding her teeth.

Director Huo began to lay out the script he had just improvised for Naughty Xia. "When I went to my maternal grandparents, I really was covered in injuries, big and small, and I was even hospitalized with a high fever."

"I’m a man of few words and rarely discuss my private affairs with anyone, so if I tell people now that I hurt my head back then and forgot a lot of things, no one will question it. My hospital records do, in fact, mention a moderate concussion."

"The brain is a delicate organ. Amnesia is an unpredictable thing."

Xia Zhaoyun: ’So much for being a man of few words! He’s the real ace drama queen, pulling out the amnesia card just like that!’

"And then, as my love, you, of course, recognized me at first sight. After a few hesitant attempts to test the waters, you finally confirmed it and laid your cards on the table with me."

"I was once so in love with you, and even after losing my memories, my personal tastes wouldn’t have changed that much. I’ve fallen for you all over again. And this time, you’ve responded to my feelings... I’ll use this as a chance to return to the Zhaoyang Clothing Factory..."

"When I come back from the dead, don’t you think the look on Huo Xunchang’s face will be priceless?"

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