Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Miss Jiang, President Jiang is currently meeting with a client. It’s not convenient for him to see you right now.” Secretary Tian looked at me with a troubled expression, trying to persuade me to leave.

I had already been waiting for half an hour, and my patience was well and truly exhausted.

When I stood up, a flicker of joy appeared on Secretary Tian’s face, but it was quickly replaced by desperate pleading.

“Miss Jiang, President Jiang really is with a client. It’s not a good time. Please, don’t make things difficult for me.”

I started walking toward Jiang Liang’s office, comforting Secretary Tian as I went. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. If anything happens, I’ll take the blame. I really have something urgent to discuss with him.”

“If he takes his anger out on you, just come to me. I’ll pay you double your current salary and take care of you for the rest of your life.”

Secretary Tian didn’t believe a word of it, clearly thinking I was just feeding her empty promises.

“Jiang Liang.”

I pushed the door open. So much for it being “inconvenient to see a client”-the office was completely empty except for him.

Unless he was meeting with a ghost.

I gently pushed Secretary Tian back out and closed the door.

Only the two of us remained in the office.

It had been a long time since I’d seen him. That thief hadn’t visited my home for three or four years, let alone seen my family.

The brother before me was significantly more mature and steady than the wind-chasing youth of the past.

Notably, his hair had visibly thinned.

Perhaps that was the standard look for a successful man.

“What, you’ve learned a new trick?

“Tell me, how are you planning to use me this time?”

Jiang Liang sized me up, his lips curling into a disdainful sneer.

“How is Gu Xi? Where is he? I want to see him.”

“You still want to see him? Haven’t you harmed him enough? How did our Jiang Family end up with a creature like you?”

Jiang Liang’s emotions flared visibly, the veins on his neck bulging.

“Brother, I have something very important to tell you. You might think I’m crazy, but everything I’m saying is the truth.

“Seven years ago, I was in a car accident. My body was stolen by a girl named Bai Jiayi. She used my face to commit all those atrocities.

“From the moment I woke up after the accident, that person wasn’t me. Every word spoken and every action taken-none of it was my doing.”

Jiang Liang’s expression softened slightly. He walked over to me and placed a hand on my forehead.

“You don’t have a fever. Why are you talking such nonsense?”

“You don’t have to believe me yet, but every word I’ve said is true. Just watch. Compare the ‘me’ of the last seven years with the ‘me’ before that, and the ‘me’ from this day forward. See if the things I say and do aren’t the actions of two completely different people.”

I knew this was a difficult thing to accept, but it was the truth.

I could only prove it through my actions.

Seeing my earnest attitude, Jiang Liang hesitated.

After all, we had lived together for twenty-three years. He knew exactly what kind of person his sister used to be.

They might have assumed the accident caused a drastic personality shift, but they would never have imagined that something like a body being stolen could actually happen.

This was also why, even after Bai Jiayi used my body to fall out with the family, they still looked out for her.

Because I was their flesh and blood-the daughter my parents had cherished for twenty-three years, the sister my brother had pampered for twenty-three years.

Laughably, Bai Jiayi thought she had earned all of this through her own hard work and personal charm.

And Lin Chenhao, the Best Actor she had chased and won, was her most successful trophy.

“So? What did you come here for today?”

His gaze remained doubtful. He still didn’t believe me, likely thinking this was just another lie.

Though I felt a sting of disappointment, I told myself it was okay-I had to take this slowly.

“I want to see Gu Xi. I can’t get in touch with him.

“I want you to help me.”

Upon hearing my request, Jiang Liang’s expression instantly turned cold.

“You want to see your first love while carrying another man’s child?”

His gaze lingered on my lower abdomen.

I grabbed Jiang Liang’s hand and started pulling him toward the door.

“What are you doing? Let go of me.”

I looked at him and said firmly, “An abortion.”

Carrying another man’s child, I had no right to see Gu Xi.

“Are you joking?” Jiang Liang tried to break free, unable to believe I would ever do such a thing.

That Bai Jiayi was a fanatical pursuer of Lin Chenhao; she was practically obsessed with him.

Given the crazy things she had done, no one would believe she would ever terminate Lin Chenhao’s child.

But I wasn’t her. This child was not something I wanted.

It was proof of my “violation.”

From the moment I reclaimed my body, it was never going to stay.

“You’ve lost your mind,” Jiang Liang said, his voice thick with shock and disbelief.

“I haven’t lost my mind. I’m perfectly lucid.”

I stood at the door, gripping Jiang Liang’s arm tightly.

“Brother, if anything goes wrong during the procedure, please tell Mom, Dad, and Gu Xi what I just told you.

“I love you all.”

In the next second, I pulled open the office door and walked out with determination.

I would strip away every mark that had been forced upon me and rebuild myself anew.