MY PRINCE HUSBAND HAS SEVEN WIVES AND I AM HIS FAVOURITE!
Chapter 114: The one in front must be the wife

Chapter 114: The one in front must be the wife

Zhao Yan reached out, his voice laced with frustration and desperation.

"Hua Jing."

But Hua Jing didn’t stop.

Her fists were clenched tightly, her face twisted in a mix of disbelief and outright disgust as she stomped forward. She didn’t want to hear another word from him. Not tonight. Not ever, if she could help it.

And yet, Zhao Yan persisted, trailing behind her like an unwanted shadow.

"Hua Jing, wait."

"Go away."

"Listen to me."

"I don’t want to!"

From afar, the scene was ridiculous.

A noble young master chasing after a retreating figure, their robes swaying in the night breeze, the tension between them thick enough to cut with a blade. If one didn’t know better, it almost looked like a bickering couple.

Which was exactly what the palace guards at the gate thought.

The two stationed guards exchanged looks, one raising an eyebrow.

"What are those two cut sleeves doing running around so deep into the night?" he muttered.

The other stroked his chin, watching the scene unfold with a smirk.

"I think the one in front is the wife," he declared. "And the one at the back is chasing after him. Look at that desperation! This is a love story even the best storytellers in the city couldn’t make up!"

The first guard chuckled. "What kind of love story? Looks more like a tragedy."

Zhao Yan heard them. And he ignored them.

His entire focus was on Hua Jing, who, despite the heavy robes and clear exhaustion from the night’s events, was practically sprinting to get away from him.

"Hua Jing," he tried again.

"Get lost!" she snapped, not even turning around.

"You’re being childish."

She whirled on him, her eyes blazing. "Childish?! You—"

Realizing she was about to launch into a tirade, Hua Jing sucked in a sharp breath, shook her head, and turned back around.

Not worth it.

She was not going to argue with him.

She was going to get back to her courtyard, lock the door, and pretend this entire night had never happened.

And so the game of cat and mouse continued, all the way to her residence.

By the time they reached her courtyard, Xia Lin was already outside, pacing anxiously.

The moment she saw Hua Jing approaching, her face lit up with relief.

"My lady, you’re here! You had me worried—"

Then her expression froze.

Because right behind Hua Jing...

Was Zhao Yan.

Still chasing after her like a lost puppy.

Xia Lin’s lips parted, her brain struggling to process what she was seeing.

Hua Jing stormed right past her, barely acknowledging her presence.

"My lady—"

The door slammed shut.

Right in Zhao Yan’s face.

Xia Lin winced.

Zhao Yan stood there, staring at the door as if willing it to disappear. His expression was unreadable, but there was no mistaking the hint of disbelief in his eyes.

For a long moment, silence reigned.

Xia Lin peeked at him carefully, debating whether or not she should say something.

But in the end, she simply let out a quiet sigh, turned, and entered the courtyard through the side door.

Zhao Yan remained standing there.

Completely speechless.

Inside Hua Jing sat on the edge of her bed, her fingers curled into the silk sheets, her nails pressing deep into the fabric. The dim glow of the lantern flickered against the walls, casting long shadows that seemed to stretch and curl around her like a suffocating embrace.

She needed to move.

She needed to do something.

Anything.

But no matter how much she willed herself to stand, to take even a single step forward, her body refused to obey. She felt trapped, not just within the walls of her chamber, but within the turmoil swirling violently inside her chest.

Her head tilted slightly as her gaze drifted toward the window.

Zhao Yan’s figure was still there.

Lingering.

Hovering just outside her courtyard.

Hua Jing clenched her jaw, her fingers tightening their grip on the sheets.

She should confront him. Demand answers. Scream at him for daring to exist in this world with that face.

But she couldn’t.

Because deep down, she already knew.

She had known for a long time.

The voice she had heard when she first woke up in this world—the one that had called her name so desperately—she had recognized it. Even in her delirium, something inside her had stirred at the sound.

And then, there was that other time—

The accident.

The moment before her world had gone black, before the impact had shattered everything—there had been a voice.

Calling out to her.

Yelling her name with desperation that clawed at her soul.

It was the same voice.

She had known it then, too.

She had known, but she had refused to believe it.

Because believing it meant accepting the impossible.

Accepting that Fu Jing Rong was here.

That the man she loathed with every fiber of her being, the man who had stolen something from her so cruelly in their past life, now stood before her with another name, another identity—yet the same wretched face.

Hua Jing exhaled shakily, her body trembling as the weight of reality crushed her further.

Her mind was screaming for an escape.

She needed a way out.

She had thought she could live here for a while. That she could carve out a place for herself in this world. That she could play out the life of this world’s Hua Jing, that she could seek revenge on those who had wronged the original Hua Jing.

She had even entertained the idea of staying long enough to gain power. To climb high enough that no one would dare to touch her again.

But now?

Now, she felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Because in this world, too, she would never be free of him.

The suffocating presence of Fu Jing Rong, now Zhao Yan, poisoned this world just as it had poisoned her last one.

Her body felt heavy. The room around her seemed to shrink.

This place that had once felt like a new beginning now felt like a cage.

A prison.

And she wasn’t sure she wanted to be here anymore.

The door suddenly opened and Xia Lin got in, "My lady..."