Two Choices

In July, the sky was clear and blue, white clouds drifting like wisps of cotton. The Liu Family villa was filled with a relaxed, leisurely atmosphere.

In the swimming pool, Shasha stretched her healthy, lightly tanned skin as she swam about like a little dolphin. At the poolside, Lingjing, dressed in a pure white dress, lay on a lounge chair reading a novel, the white-furred clown cat cradled in her arms. Jiaming lay facedown on another chair nearby, reading comics. Another tall girl with an enticing figure wore sunglasses and a sexy white swimsuit, stretching her athletic limbs atop an inflated plastic float. She let out a satisfied moan. "This is what a free life is supposed to be... It's so wonderful."

That was Zhang Yahan.

After running away from home with this woman that night, Jiaming had originally intended to settle her in the house where Marilyn and Heidi had once lived. However, they happened to run into Huaisha on her way home, so he had no choice but to tell her the truth behind Yahan's engagement. As for Jiaming himself, he had naturally only helped from outside the Zhang Family's walls. With Shasha's sympathy thus stirred, Yahan became a new member of the Liu Family villa.

After Yahan left the Zhang Family, they mobilized their people along with the police to search everywhere, but naturally they could not find her hiding with the Lius. On the day of the engagement, the Liu Family came to the Zhang Family demanding answers. Left with no choice, the Zhangs played the videotape Jiaming had deliberately left behind for both families, saying that their daughter had stormed off in anger over the matter. The Liu Family was in the wrong and had nothing to say for a time. Then the Liu elders stated that they would properly discipline Liu Wenli and that the development plans would proceed according to the Zhang Family's wishes. However, they hoped the Zhangs could give them another chance: once Yahan was found, they would persuade her properly and have her engaged to Liu Wenli again. The Zhang Family naturally agreed, but afterward, their efforts to find Yahan gradually weakened.

Liu Zheng generally did not return to live at this villa, so the large house had effectively become the group's private little world. Yahan had been somewhat reserved at first, but after some time, she blended into this warm and happy little family. School soon broke up for summer vacation, and the four of them spent every day swimming, sunbathing, watching videos, and playing games in the villa, living a happy and decadent life.

Of the four, Yahan was the oldest. She had been a teacher for two years, possessed a lively and cheerful personality, and had a wide range of talents. She danced even better than Lingjing, had steadier martial arts forms than Shasha, could sing, played several instruments, and spoke English. Before long, the two girls had begun to see her as their big sister. Whenever Jiaming showed disdain, the three of them would join forces to bully him. Jiaming was naturally not afraid of Yahan, but he had long grown accustomed to being bullied by the two younger girls. Whenever they beat him until his head was covered in bumps, he would squat in a corner and ponder whether he had gone too far in being a good person.

"Hmph hmph, now you know how amazing I am!" Whenever the two girls walked away, Yahan would swagger over to Jiaming and show off smugly, earning an eye-roll from him. "Saving you was the biggest mistake of my life. In this world, good people really don't get rewarded."

"Who told you to keep taking advantage of me? Even if we take a step back, if you took advantage of me, then of course I have to take advantage of you in return. Don't get too cocky, or I'll tell everyone your secret..."

When they roughhoused, the two would aim vicious kicks at each other's butts. Looking back many years later, that seemed to have been the warmest and most amusing way they expressed friendship. As for revealing Jiaming's secret, that was naturally just a small threat.

For some reason, in front of this mentally mature boy, she found herself particularly uninhibited. Perhaps it was because his body was still that of a child; even overly intimate physical contact, or even letting him see her entire body that day, felt natural and unconstrained. Yet his mind was as mature as an adult's. While she felt no awkwardness around him, he also gave people a sense of steadiness and security. Occasionally, when she thought of his secret, she could not help thinking that not even his two closest friends knew it. Only she knew. It was a secret shared by her and him. For some reason, that feeling made her feel warm.

After learning that Yahan could play several instruments, Lingjing began studying piano with her. There had always been a piano in the Liu Family villa, but since no one knew how to play it before, it had merely served as an expensive ornament. After hearing Yahan play once or twice, Lingjing fell in love with its beautiful sound. Once lessons began, Yahan discovered that Lingjing possessed astonishing talent in this regard. In just a month, Yahan had repeatedly urged her to pursue piano in the future, certain that she would achieve something remarkable.

July passed just like that. In August, however, Yahan's health seemed to worsen. She became haggard for no apparent reason and seemed to have no strength in her body. Whenever Jiaming and the other two asked whether she felt unwell, she always said it was nothing. Finally, one day in mid-August, she developed a fever, and her body suddenly began to swell. When she woke up, every part of her body, including her face, seemed as though it had been inflated. Her once-proportioned, graceful figure had vanished completely.

"I don't want to go to the hospital. Jiaming, help me buy some medicine—Prednisone. I used to... take that kind of medicine..."

While the two girls were panicking helplessly, the weakened Yahan still refused to go to the hospital. She must have been ill before; although the Zhang Family had publicly stopped searching for her, if she went to a hospital, they would certainly discover her. Jiaming went out with the name of the medication and returned two hours later, his face dark.

"Your whole body is swollen. That's a symptom of kidney disease. But Prednisone is a hormone drug. If your condition were stable, I could buy it as you asked, but looking at you now, taking medicine recklessly could kill you. You can only go to a proper hospital for treatment."

"No... I don't want to go to the hospital. They'll take me back..."

Her weak protest had no effect. Jiaming picked up the woman, whose entire body was swollen and whose limbs were powerless. Then the two girls called for a car outside, and they headed straight for the best hospital in Jianghai City.

"Jiaming, Lingjing, Shasha... I don't want to go back and get married. I want... to stay with you... Don't send me back, Jiaming..."

In the car, Yahan weakly pleaded with the three children. Jiaming's expression remained cold, and he did not say a word. Lingjing and Shasha had already dissolved into tears, but they also knew that Yahan truly needed treatment at a major hospital. They could only cry as they comforted her. When he finally grew tired of listening, Jiaming said, "Don't worry. I won't let you marry that Liu Wenli bastard!"

"Your tone... is awful again. I really want to... kick you..." Yahan smiled weakly.

Not long after she was admitted through the emergency room, the Zhang Family received word and rushed over. When they saw the three children, they could not help being somewhat startled. Jiaming's explanation was naturally that they had once studied martial arts together, and that they had encountered Yahan with her entire body swollen today, so they had brought her to the hospital. The Zhang Family suspected that they might have taken in the runaway Yahan, but after learning that Jiaming was also considered a young master of the Huang Family, they said nothing further. As for what came next, that was merely a small matter between the Zhang and Huang Families.

It was not until later that they learned Yahan had Nephrotic Syndrome. It seemed she had suffered from it since childhood, with periodic relapses. Her previous episode had been last year. If this illness was not treated in time, it could develop into uremia and ultimately even lead to Kidney Failure. Fortunately, although she had been brought in somewhat late this time, emergency treatment had saved her, and her condition had not worsened. Otherwise, a kidney transplant might have been her only option.

Late on the second night after she was brought to the hospital, the instruments in the ward beeped softly. Yahan was sleeping when someone suddenly took her hand. She opened her eyes weakly, and through her blurred vision appeared Jiaming's hateful face. He was poking at the swollen parts of her face with a finger. Each poke left a dent, which slowly smoothed itself out again. Judging by his expression, he seemed to find it quite interesting.

"There are people outside watching. How did you..." Yahan asked halfway, then laughed. "Heh, I almost forgot how capable you are..."

"You're cuter like this." Jiaming smiled as he poked at the flesh on her face. "I came to see you tonight and didn't bring anything. I just wanted to ask which way you'd prefer to escape the marriage."

"Hm?"

"Two choices. The first is simpler and doesn't leave much aftermath. Liu Wenli heard you'd been taken back, drank a few too many tomorrow night, then drove off the highway. Heaven envies talent; he dies young. We are all deeply saddened. The second is more troublesome, but it's not impossible. Delay the wedding until around October next year. My teacher can make the entire Liu Family collapse, and you can take over. By then, you'll be the queen. Kill or spare them as you please—the old and young members of the Liu Family will all be left weeping without tears. Which do you choose?"

Yahan blinked on the bed. "The first method... doesn't leave much aftermath?"

"None."

"Then I'll choose the first one. But if possible, could you not kill anyone?"

"Of course. Since he wants to marry you, we only need to make sure he can't marry anyone in that respect." Jiaming shrugged.

"Then let's do that. Sorry to trouble you, Jiaming." Yahan smiled. "You bad guy..."

A moment later, Jiaming's figure vanished from the ward. Yahan peacefully drifted back into sleep, a faint smile hanging from the corners of her lips.

She only needed to leave everything to that man...

Two choices—this was actually Banana's own two-choice dilemma. Choosing the first means keeping the plot relaxed and calm for the time being. The second does too, but in certain respects, it would trigger a series of small climaxes that changed the state of the world. Although the protagonist could still remain hidden behind the scenes, for now... well, that's that. Please vote ^_^