1979: My fiancée is a goddess

Chapter 408 Cecilia, our fate is not yet over...

"call……"

In the mountains and forests.

A figure in pure white moves through the lush green forest.

Her long, flowing black hair, loose and unrestrained, danced wildly behind her, like a silk ribbon, smooth and beautiful.

Sunlight filtering through the branches made the flowing white gauze dress semi-transparent, and her long, shapely legs swayed back and forth beneath the hem, blending with the mist rising from the forest.

The woman held her chin high in a haughty manner, her dark eyes gleaming in the sunlight, pure and clear like a forest sprite.

We approached the manor.

Cao Yanan slowed her pace, her chest heaving, her cheeks flushed, and she was breathing rapidly.

The air in the forest was thick and sweet, filled with the aroma of freshly cut grass and wildflowers.

It pressed down heavily, as if it were a tangible object, and even the birdsong sounded languid and intoxicating.

"West?!"

Jiang Ming was pushing a cart to clear weeds and thorns and move them elsewhere. Under the shade of a tree, a woman in a white dress stood quietly watching him.

A gentle evening breeze swept by, causing the hem of her skirt to flutter to a certain height before being held down by the woman's slender hand, revealing her fair and delicate calves.

Jiang Mingzheng stared blankly at the hem of the skirt...

Covered in sweat and exhausted, he suddenly seemed to be soothed, and his eyes became bright again.

"You're back? Is today a workday?"

Cao Yanan raised her chin and asked without any politeness.

"I've taken leave; I'm coming back to talk to the master about something..."

"Alright, no need to say more, let's go back!"

Cao Yanan's sharp eyes swept over him before she interrupted him.

Then, he stretched out his slender fingers and dabbed at the shirt on his body, which was wet and almost translucent, revealing his firm muscles and stained with yellowish-brown mud and green grass juice.

"Ah... well, I'll do it."

Jiang Mingzheng wanted to explain something, but the woman in the white dress didn't even look at him and turned to leave.

The next few days, until the end of the month.

The two of them only exchanged a few simple pleasantries when they met, such as whether they had eaten or what they had done that day.

Cao Yanan usually stays in her room reading, or goes to the back mountain to sketch and paint.

Meanwhile, Cao Hanyu, along with three distant relatives, was rehearsing her painstakingly crafted play, "The Story of Pitying Fragrance," in her room.

One is her distant cousin Cao Rui, and the other is a pair of twin boys, Cao Mingxuan and Cao Minghan.

Unfortunately, they weren't very cooperative, and their lines were rather bland and ordinary.

For this reason, Cao Hanyu often complained to Jiang Mingzheng, because he was an editor at the magazine and was very experienced, right?
The lady remained in the attic and rarely appeared in public.

The master and Jiang Mingzheng had a good chat, discussing national affairs, the war in the north, factories in Shanghai, and the stock market.

Jiang Mingzheng had vaguely mentioned his hope that the master could sponsor his studies in Japan, but although the master did not say anything, he was not optimistic about studying in Japan, saying that the international situation was tense and that his job at the magazine was already very good.

Jiang Mingzheng had no choice but to pin his hopes on the young lady who had recently become very cold towards him, which troubled him greatly.

July 31st.

The eldest son is coming back. He and his wealthy businessman friend are staying in Shanghai on business and will be coming over this afternoon.

The lady and the master instructed the young people and servants to decorate the manor properly.

"Wait! West!"

On the steps in front of the manor, Jiang Ming was hurrying past the woman carrying a vase.

"do what?!"

"Nothing, what are you planning to do?"

"Obviously, it's about collecting water for flower arranging."

Cao Yanan raised the vase in her hand, her thin face exuding a silent and indifferent aura.

"To welcome that wealthy tung oil merchant? Are you offering these flowers to him?"

Jiang Mingzheng suppressed his anger and pressed for an answer.

"Hehe...maybe I'll give it to him."

Cao Yanan stared at Jiang Mingzheng with her dark, narrow eyes for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

Was he jealous? Was that mask-like calm on the surface concealing his jealousy?
"The old man said you want to be a doctor?"

However, she couldn't be bothered with any wealthy businessmen. Cao Yanan changed the subject, asking a question she already knew the answer to.

"I do have this idea?"

"Do you really enjoy being a student that much?"

She frowned and asked, but quickly regretted it, wondering if her words were a bit condescending.
Jiang Mingzheng shifted his gaze elsewhere, but when he turned back, his eyes showed some anger, which quickly subsided, revealing the gentleness she was familiar with.

“Xi, I know you’ve never liked things that are so conventional, but there’s no other way to become a doctor.”

"That's my problem: why do I have to be a student for another five years?"

Cao Yanan's voice sounded cold, with a sharp emotion in it.

Does he really not understand what five years means?

"Five years, do you know how long that is?"

"I don't want to be an editor, hearing all day about those despairing international situations, those seemingly encouraging but actually disgusting announcements from the Nationalist government, I never want to hear about student protests and arrests across the country again, and I don't want to become a civil servant..."

Only medicine can truly play a tiny role... at least it can save lives and cure illnesses, don't you think?

Jiang Mingzheng answered her question seriously, but his tone was somewhat hurried.

"Is it about healing the sick and saving lives or saving the nation? Who can you save? You should abandon your unrealistic, naive, and arrogant ideas; you can't even save yourself!"

Cao Yanan retorted sarcastically, "Who does he think he is? Mind your own business first!"
Jiang Mingzheng's face darkened, and after a moment of silence, he said loudly, "If you think I can't afford the tuition fees for your studies... remember, I said it before, I will repay your father!"

"That's it!"

"Idiot! That's not what I meant at all!"

Cao Yanan retorted sharply, her eyes filled with disappointment and anger.

He's so stingy. His father is supporting him, so did anyone say anything about it?

Has anyone made him pay it back?
He deliberately disguised himself as the son who ran errands for his cleaning lady mother. When he came back that day, he even rang the doorbell.

He could come and go in this house at will.

Last night, in the attic study, Cao Yanan invited him to have an iced coffee, but he declined.

I haven't changed, but he has undoubtedly changed a lot.

She has grown very distant from herself and from her family.

Cao Yanan turned around and gradually walked to the edge of the lotus pond in front of the manor, where she sat down, leaned out, and rinsed the Yuan Dynasty celadon enamel double-eared porcelain vase in her hand onto the water.

"Be careful not to fall in... I'll help you!"

Jiang Mingzheng caught a glimpse of the red bricks teetering precariously beside the woman's buttocks and shouted loudly.

The woman held a bouquet of thorns between her arm and her full breasts, and a vase in one hand.

I'm not afraid of falling in.

"No need! I can manage on my own."

Cao Yanan shouted without turning her head, then quickly added, "Thank you."

"Your clothes are getting wet. Take the flowers, I'll do it..."

Hearing such a commanding tone from a man for the first time in a long time sent a shiver down Cao Yanan's spine, but she gripped the vase even tighter.

"No need."

She refused coldly.

The two men wrestled over this precious Yuan Dynasty porcelain vase, like ancient gladiators locked in a struggle, neither willing to yield an inch, much like the unspoken feelings between them.

"Click..."

A sound like a twig snapping rang out as the bottle handle broke off, along with a small piece of the bottle body, which fell to the ground. The handle then slid into the deep water with a plop.

Cao Yanan and Jiang Mingzheng were both stunned. This was the master's favorite vase.

But when Cao Yanan looked into Jiang Mingzheng's eyes, she didn't see regret or self-blame, but rather a kind of provocation, or even victory.

"You idiot, look what you've done!!"

"I will be responsible."

Jiang Mingzheng looked at the rippling water and sighed. Seeing the agitated woman, he pointed to the scattered shards of porcelain on the ground, indicating that she should not move around to avoid getting hurt.

Then he unbuttoned his shirt.

"What do you want to do?"

Cao Yanan grew increasingly annoyed and decided to teach this idiot a lesson.

Let him watch, just watch, he can't help you.

Refusing any attempt at redress is the most appropriate punishment for him.

Cao Yanan bit her lip and took off her dress in front of Jiang Mingzheng, little by little, revealing her fair, snow-white skin to the sunlight, until it finally slid onto the rough ground covered with broken porcelain shards.

She was only wearing a silk undergarment, through which a slightly bulging, pale red undergarment could be vaguely seen.

Jiang Mingzheng swallowed hard, feeling a surge of heat and impulse within him, like molten lava.

next second.

"Pfft!"

Huge splashes of water rose, a loud thud resounded, and massive ripples spread, causing the green lotus leaves in the pond to sway incessantly.

The eldest daughter of the Cao family, a noble and aloof feudal clan and a scholarly family, removed her outer garments, revealing her delicate body and undergarments that were only allowed to be seen by her husband, and jumped into the pool in front of a man.

"West!!"

Jiang Mingzheng suddenly roared and reached into the water to grab the woman's hand.

All I could touch was her silky, soft hair, flowing like a black snake.

The water gradually calmed down.

Suddenly the black snake returned to its cage.

A stunningly beautiful girl emerged from the water with a cold expression. She was soaking wet, and her undergarments were now semi-transparent, clinging to her curvaceous body.

Water droplets clung to her clean, soft skin. Her translucent, damp silk undergarment drooped after absorbing the water, revealing her snow-white skin and the small red mole on her collarbone...

An even stronger impulse than before surged up.

Jiang Mingzheng bit his tongue, the taste of blood and pain spreading in his mouth, and reached out to pull her up.

But Cao Yanan had already reached the shore, water droplets sliding down her smooth skin onto the ground.

The two stared intently at each other, locked in a standoff.

"Don't touch me!" Jiang Mingzheng reached out to wipe the water droplets off the woman's face, but was pushed away. He opened his mouth but didn't say anything, and turned away.

But then a voice called out, "Come back!"

He turned back, but the woman glared at him and left.

Under the blazing sun, Jiang Mingzheng stood watching the woman's departing figure for a long time.

Then he bent down, closed his eyes, and dipped his palm into the water, gently stroking and manipulating it.

The green, flowing water of the pool seemed to still carry the woman's warmth, fragrance, and lingering emotions.

He was captivated, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

Behind the second-floor window, a girl was kneeling on the sofa, staring intently at the scene below.

……

“My dear Cecilia…you must think I’ve gone mad with my behavior this afternoon.”

"In fact."

"I was momentarily stunned in your presence and acted exceptionally clumsy, not because of the heat..."

Will you forgive me?

Jiang Mingzheng was sitting in front of a typewriter, a machine he used for writing papers when he was studying in England, which could only be used in English.

He also wrote this letter in English.

Click click click…

The metal amplifier echoed in the room, but he was lost in thought, the images he had seen that morning replaying in his mind.

Her hair was wet, her skin glistening with water droplets, revealing a light red undergarment, a small red mole on her collarbone, and indignant, aloof eyes…

His rough fingertips tapped unconsciously: "In my dream I kissed you... sweet and wet, in my mind I love you all day long..."

"It's over—this draft is ruined again..."

Jiang Mingzheng covered his head with his hands and hurriedly pulled out the paper.

After much thought, he simply took out his pen and wrote a carefully worded and emotionally charged apology letter by hand.

the next morning.

"Hanyu, give this letter to your sister."

The morning breeze ruffled his top hat, and a charming smile appeared on his lips as he casually pulled out a letter and handed it over.

"Well...I see."

The little girl lowered her head, snatched the letter, and ran away.

"Cao Hanyu! Come back!"

Only after her figure disappeared did Jiang Mingzheng's expression change, and he roared.

"As expected... Jiang Mingzheng is a scoundrel, a lecher, a bastard... This kind of person must be locked up in jail!"

Back in her room, Cao Hanyu's hands trembled as she tore open the envelope. Her face changed drastically as she read the letter, her sharp voice carrying a complex mix of emotions: anger, frustration, and jealousy…

During breakfast, she angrily shoved the letter into her sister's hand.

"call……"

After reading the brief letter, Cao Yanan was both surprised and delighted, and quickly looked at her sister, wanting to ask her something.

……

"That letter was a misunderstanding."

"Hanyu has been examined."

"Oh my god... I'm so sorry, it was supposed to be this letter, and that one..."

"Yes."

Cao Yanan tilted her chin up, looking down at the somewhat reserved and nervous man, and she sensed the scent of love.

"follow me."

She proudly raised her smile, and with a flick of her arm, her fitted green evening gown billowed into the air.

……

Cao Yanan turned on the light, illuminating the study. She looked at the man and said softly, "I've been thinking about you for weeks... but you always deliberately distance yourself from me and say things like that..."

"Feel sorry."

“I never did anything like that… I’m angry, angry at you, angry at myself… You know what I’m talking about, right? You know it better than I do!”

"Why are you crying?"

Don't you understand?

Cao Yanan stepped back in disappointment, her eyes red.

"I understand! I understand everything!"

Jiang Mingzheng excitedly stepped forward, embraced the woman, pinned her against the bookshelf, and kissed her passionately…

After a long while, the entire book seemed to become damp.

"Click..."

The door opened, and Jiang Mingzheng and Cao Yanan turned to look.

"you!"

Cao Hanyu stared blankly at the two of them, her chest heaving violently. This was her mother's sacred and beloved library!

Those two bastards are actually having an affair here!
Doesn't he remember that two years ago, on that hot summer afternoon, she jumped into the pool and he saved her?

Isn't true love about being willing to give your life for others?
"Huff... Ugh—"

Cao Hanyu had an intense urge to vomit, which almost made her suffocate.

……

At night, the twin boys went missing, and the family split up to search for them.

"Who is it?! Who's there?"

Cao Hanyu held a flashlight, its beam focusing on a swaying patch of grass, and she shouted in panic.

The weeds rustled and swayed.

A young man with his bare bottom and pants pulled up appeared in front of me, and he ran away quickly.

"Cousin? It's you?"

Cao Hanyu scanned her cousin up and down, then asked in horror, "Who was that person just now? Cousin, you've been violated, haven't you?!"

"I, I... Waaaaaah..."

Cao Rui could only cover her face and weep.

"It's Jiang Mingzheng! It's him, isn't it?!"

Cao Hanyu stared at her cousin with her slender eyes, repeating the question as if to emphasize it.

"Uh...it's...him?"

Cao Rui, her mind in a complete mess, grabbed her clothes to cover herself and stammered.

"He's such a beast, and only he could do such a thing..."

As Cao Hanyu recalled the events of the past few days, she grew angrier and angrier, and more certain she became, even though she hadn't clearly seen the man's face.

……

Jiang Mingzheng found the two boys; they were by the spring on the back mountain.

He returned with the two of them, only to find a jeep parked at the entrance of the manor.

Before he even entered the manor, a pair of cold handcuffs were already on his wrists.

"Rapist! You're under arrest!"

Two men in black and white uniforms, holding batons, spoke coldly, their eyes looking at a scumbag who deserved to go to hell.

"What?!"

Jiang Mingzheng asked the question with great composure.

"Mingzheng!"

In the headlights, a woman in a green dress rushed towards him with red eyes, calling his name hoarsely.

But the policeman with the baton pulled him toward the car.

"West! What's going on?!"

Jiang Mingzheng shouted excitedly and struggled frantically.

"Come back! He's innocent!"

The woman's shrill screams went unnoticed by anyone; the master, mistress, and servants forcibly dragged her back.

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky.

Three days later, the verdict regarding Jiang Mingzheng was announced swiftly.

"When we were in love, we were innocent and brave..."

Cao Yanan broke ties with her family, but during a prison visit, she firmly believed in her lover's innocence.

Time flew by, and the two lost contact.

Jiang Mingzheng spent three long years in prison in silence and solitude.

No one visited him, and no one cared; he seemed to have been forgotten in this filthy corner.

But his heart remained passionate, and his love for that woman remained steadfast.

July 7, 1937.

The war, known in history as the July 7th Incident, broke out. The Japanese army openly attacked the 29th Army stationed at Lugou Bridge, shocking the entire country.

A war that will sweep across the country is about to ignite.

The Nationalist government issued a statement on the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, calling on the military and civilians of the whole country to unite and resist the Japanese invaders.

A massive conscription began, covering cities and rural areas across the country, including prison inmates.

"Jiang Mingzheng, are you willing to join the army and atone for your sins?"

"I am innocent! But I participated!"

"Very good, you're out of prison! You'll be heading to recruit training camp in two days, and then to the battlefield in two months!"

The day I was released from prison.

Jiang Mingzheng sent out the letters that had carried his fervent emotions over the past three years.

“My dearest Cecilia, our fate is not yet over…”

"That evening, as I walked, I planned our future. I would once again tread through the dusty garden, wearing my best suit, smugly believing I had a bright future ahead of me. I would bring that naked passion to the study and fall in love with you..."

(End of this chapter)