The Amnesiac Omega Who Reels Me In Every Day – Chapter 72

Mother’s Killer

You Clearly Hate Her to Death

Jiang Jinyi lay on the floor for a very, very long time.

            

Her mind was in chaos. The four years she had grown accustomed to forgetting came rushing at her head-on, frame by frame replaying before her eyes.

One was the version of herself who lived each day in the agony and loneliness of losing her family and her home; the other was the innocent version, surrounded by her jiejie’s love, happy and carefree.

She couldn’t tell which one was really her, or who she was supposed to be now.

            

She only felt agony and sorrow, almost more than she could bear. She stared blankly at the white ceiling, breathing like someone drowning—gasping, face deathly pale.

She clung to the hope that this was just a nightmare, but the hatred was so intense, the experiences so painful—all of it was real, things she had genuinely lived through and painstakingly survived.

It had torn apart the web of lies Jiang Youwan had woven around her.

            

Jiang Youwan, Jiang Youwan, Jiang Youwan…

Jiang Jinyi repeated the name over and over until her skull suddenly split with pain. She clutched her head, the agony as if it were tearing her into two—one self that loved her, and one self that hated her.

In that moment, Jiang Jinyi truly didn’t know what to do.

            

The phone that had fallen beside her ear suddenly pinged with a message. Jiang Jinyi took a long time to recover before climbing up from the floor, dazed, and picked up the phone to look—it was a message from Jiang Youwan.

She had sent a video. The camera panned to the beach, where Jiang Youwan was using a stick to write something in the sand, murmuring as she wrote, “Xiao Jin is jiejie’s baby~”

In the howling sea wind, Jiang Youwan’s voice scattered, fading in and out, but you could still hear that it was gentle and sensual, her tone especially tantalizing.

            

Jiang Jinyi couldn’t listen anymore. She paused it halfway through.

Scrolling up, she saw the contact name she had given Jiang Youwan—kissing emojis added before and after “jiejie.” Scrolling further up through the chat history, every word was steeped in sweetness and love.

They were obviously a couple deep in love. Before, every time she finished chatting with Jiang Youwan, she would scroll back through the messages, savoring them repeatedly, then smile foolishly with the corners of her lips curling up.

            

Back then, she thought she was the happiest person in the world.

Now it was all unbearably glaring. These things, together with those memories, stabbed at Jiang Jinyi’s heart. Look at you—what are you doing?

You fell in love with the person you hate most. Lay in the same bed with her, intimate and inseparable, so captivated you forgot yourself, so enchanted you even fell in love with her.

            

You clearly hate her to death.

Jiang Jinyi kept her head down. The hand gripping the phone trembled with the force of her grip, her body shaking along with it, the corners of her eyes red.

The phone pinged again with another message—probably from Jiang Youwan. Jiang Jinyi didn’t look, or rather, didn’t dare to look. She just stood there, motionless, for a very long time.

            

So long that Jiang Youwan on the other end started to worry and called her.

Each vibration of the ringtone made her heart quiver. Jiang Jinyi bit her lip and finally picked up the phone to look. Long, curled lashes veiled her eyes, which were pools of darkness beneath. She took a deep breath and answered.

Jiang Youwan had already settled back in the car, shutting out the howling sea wind. She asked with a note of concern, “Xiao Jin, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you replying to jiejie’s messages?”

            

Jiang Jinyi listened to her voice, as gentle as ever, but it no longer made her heart flutter the way it used to. Her heart felt as if it had plummeted from soft clouds into an icy abyss.

Jiang Jinyi swallowed, trying to make her voice sound less strange. She said, “I’m fine, I just…”

She choked. Jiang Youwan asked, “Just what?”

            

She forced a hint of a wronged, tearful tone into her voice: “I just can’t find the gift I was going to give you…”

She knew Jiang Youwan was sharp and suspicious by nature, and must have already noticed something was off. She could only come up with the most plausible excuse she could think of.

“Can’t find the gift for jiejie?” The voice on the other end visibly relaxed, the worry fading. She asked in a languid, casual tone, “Then what? You actually lost the gift you were going to give jiejie. Jiejie is heartbroken—how is Xiao Jin going to make it up to her?”

            

How was she going to make it up?

Jiang Jinyi lowered her eyes, the expression in them unreadable, and parted her lips: “However jiejie says to make it up, that’s how I’ll make it up.”

Jiang Youwan gave a light laugh and comforted her: “Alright, it’s fine if the gift is lost. As long as Xiao Jin didn’t lose herself.”

            

Jiang Youwan tossed her long hair, a smile of anticipation curving her lips. She urged in a sexy nasal tone: “If Xiao Jin doesn’t come over soon, jiejie might just have someone tie you up and bring you here. Jiejie bought this entire beach—no matter how loud you scream, no one is coming to rescue you.”

These words were charged with intimacy.

Jiang Jinyi knew the hidden meaning behind Jiang Youwan’s words, but she could no longer blush. Hearing them, she only felt guilt.

            

They were both guilty.

She knew Jiang Youwan’s methods. She knew that “send someone to grab you” could become reality at any moment. She suppressed her emotions and said to her:

“Jiejie, wait for me a little longer, okay? The gift is really important. I’ll find it soon, and you’ll definitely love it, okay?”

            

Her tone was anxious and coquettish. Jiang Youwan was naturally looking forward to her gift too. After a moment of silence, she urged in a sweet voice, “Hurry up.”

After hanging up, Jiang Youwan turned her head and opened the car window, gazing out at the sea and sky. In a pleasant mood, she rested her chin on her hand, her fox-like eyes narrowing slightly in the breeze, genuinely starting to anticipate what gift that little bastard Jiang Jinyi would give her.

She loved receiving gifts from Xiao Jin. She had carefully preserved every single one, and they were all still by her side.

            

The Little Fox from when they were little—the one she said looked just like her. The White Jade Buddha Bead Bracelet on her wrist, which Xiao Jin had prayed for at a temple for her. And the pearl pendant necklace from her recent birthday, which she had shucked from a pearl clam with her own hands.

Xiao Jin actually dared to shuck a clam? She remembered when they were little, a large oyster soaking in water had been enough to startle her.

What would it be this time?

            

Anything would be fine, as long as it was from Xiao Jin.

Thinking about how Xiao Jin would put her heart into preparing something, keeping it mysterious, and how if she accidentally lost it she would get anxious enough to cry like on the phone just now—Jiang Youwan’s heart stirred and softened. She wanted to praise her, to compliment her, to love her well.

This entire day belonged to the two of them. They would tease crabs on the beach, collect seashells, take photos, take a yacht out to sea for the breeze. At lunchtime they would go to the house just off the beach to cook, then take a nap and wake up at dusk.

            

She would have Xiao Jin carry an easel out to the beach to paint her, seduce her in the middle of it, flustering the focused little artist until she lost her mind, and make love with her on the beach at sunset.

Jiang Youwan opened the box and couldn’t resist taking out the gift she was going to give Jiang Jinyi, examining it in her hands, her anticipation growing. Xiao Jin would look so beautiful wearing this.

At this moment, Jiang Youwan still didn’t know that the beauty she was drowning in was already rotting faster and faster.

            

Two people, each harboring their own thoughts.

Jiang Jinyi first went to the study and rifled through a pile of Jiang Youwan’s documents. She found that while her computer password hadn’t changed, many files were now encrypted. And it wasn’t just the computer—no matter how she rummaged through the cabinets and drawers, she couldn’t find anything useful.

The more this happened, the more certain Jiang Jinyi became: she definitely had secrets—secrets she guarded even against the amnesiac version of herself.

            

She took out her phone. The email address Huo Qi had previously used to message her had been blocked and deleted by Jiang Youwan, so she went to Xu An for Huo Qi’s phone number. She dialed, wasted no time on pleasantries, and asked directly: “Hello? Is this Huo Qi? I need to see you. Right now.”

The address Huo Qi gave her was somewhat remote, in a suburban villa area. Having learned from last time, she injected herself with several doses of suppressant and applied a suppressant patch, in case Huo Qi tried that underhanded trick on her again.

Finally, she threw away her SIM card, picked a random car from the garage, and sped toward Huo Qi’s location.

            

On the way, Jiang Jinyi thought about many things. She couldn’t tell whether her love or her hate for Jiang Youwan weighed more, but deep down in this moment, she hoped that the true identity Huo Qi claimed Jiang Youwan had was just something Huo Qi had made up.

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The villa door was unlocked. Jiang Jinyi pushed it open and walked in. The lights were off and it was dim inside. She peered in and vaguely saw someone sitting on the sofa. She felt for the light switch and turned it on.

It was indeed Huo Qi, sitting lazily on the sofa.

            

“You’re here?”

Huo Qi smiled and met Jiang Jinyi’s eyes. Seeing her terrible expression, she couldn’t help but laugh, using the same casual tone as always between them: “Well, well, Jiang Eldest Miss has her memories back? How does it feel? I was right, wasn’t I? How are you feeling right now? Disgusted? Regret not listening to me sooner?”

Jiang Jinyi’s expression visibly worsened. She said coldly, “Where’s the thing you wanted to show me?”

            

Seeing her displeasure, Huo Qi smiled even more brightly and didn’t drag it out any further. She tossed the prepared envelope onto the coffee table. “Take a look. You’ve been curious about who Jiang Youwan really is, haven’t you? This took me a lot of effort to get. You know how hard I had it? She was hounding me so hard I had to hide out in a place like this. Don’t get the wrong idea—I’m not going to do anything to you.”

Jiang Jinyi opened the envelope and looked. It was an Old Family Photo, a timestamp in the bottom-right corner marking it as over ten years ago.

The photo showed an entire family standing together, the background a grand old estate. Jiang Jinyi squinted, searching carefully, and found Jiang Youwan at the far edge.

            

Though far more youthful than the present Jiang Youwan, her aura, her features—Jiang Jinyi recognized her at a glance. It was Jiang Youwan.

Standing beside her was a man. Seeing that face, Jiang Jinyi also found it familiar. She thought hard for a moment and remembered—it was the man she had encountered when Xu An took her to catch Wen Ye cheating at the hotel, the man who had been intensely hostile toward her.

He was Su Yi.

            

Su Yi of Su Corporation!

Jiang Jinyi’s eyes widened in disbelief. Why would Su Yi be standing in the same family photo as Jiang Youwan?

Huo Qi saw her bewilderment and smiled, then explained to her patiently: “Your so-called jiejie, your so-called Jiang Youwan—her original name is Su Lin. She and Su Yi are full biological siblings, both illegitimate children of the Su family.”

            

“That’s why they appear in the same family photo.”

“The Su family…?”

Jiang Jinyi thought back carefully about this name. She recalled that many years ago, she had overheard her mother talking with a subordinate—the Luo City Su family and the Jiang family were business competitors. Not just competitors—there was also a grudge from the previous generation. In short, something like a hostile rivalry.

            

If the Jiang family had a hostile relationship with the Su family, yet Jiang Youwan, who had assumed a false identity, appeared in the Su family’s family photo…

No explanation was needed—it was clear enough what had happened.

No wonder Jiang Youwan had never explained her identity four years ago, before the amnesia. It seemed she simply couldn’t have come up with a reasonable explanation.

            

She was nothing but a rat hiding in a gutter!

Huo Qi watched the shift in her eyes and didn’t forget to fan the flames, continuing: “As I understand it, the Su family had always been suppressed by your Jiang family, unable to lift their heads. So five years ago, they carefully devised a plan—sent Jiang Youwan to infiltrate the Jiang family, to win trust bit by bit, swallow the assets bit by bit, and then—murder to silence them.”

“Why would your mother, who was perfectly fine, suddenly commit murder? Why would she flee to escape punishment? And how could it be such a coincidence that she was killed in a car crash while fleeing? And during your mother’s flight, Jiang Corporation actually started cooperating with Su Corporation—isn’t that miraculous?”

            

Huo Qi stared at her, enunciating every word heavily, syllable by syllable, and finally sneered: “Disgusting, isn’t it? Falling in love with your mother’s killer?”

Mother’s killer…

Jiang Jinyi clenched the photo in her hand so hard her entire body shook. The fingertips of her other hand had dug in until they bled. Her eyes were red beyond recognition, blurred with tears.

            

How laughable. She had still held onto a sliver of hope.

She looked again at the old photo. The young Jiang Youwan stood beside that man, both gathered under the arm of the woman behind them, smiling happily.

A family. They were a family.

            

She turned her head stiffly, bloodshot eyes fixed on Huo Qi. “Who gave you this photo?”

Huo Qi said, “Wen Ye. Isn’t that a coincidence? Wen Ye is actually the adopted daughter of the Liang family. Liang Wei and Su Yi are… best buddies? It wasn’t hard for Wen Ye to get her hands on this photo.”

“Why would she help you?”

            

“Because she likes Liang Qi—you know, the Liang family’s youngest daughter. But now Liang Wei wants to marry her off to Su Yi, so of course she’s not happy about it. To overthrow Liang Wei, she naturally needs to work with you and me,” Huo Qi said with a smile.

Jiang Jinyi bit her lip and fell silent. Huo Qi kept talking, not stopping:

“Forgot to tell you one more thing. You know why that chandelier came crashing down right on you? Because it was planned. The Su family wanted to eliminate you—the last remaining threat!”

            

“You know why Jiang Youwan killed your cat back then? She used your temper—made you throw a huge fit, made you alienate your mother, made you run away from home. With you, the real Eldest Miss, gone, it was that much easier for her to carry out her schemes and plans!”

“This day was planned five years ago. Jiang Jinyi, you and your mother were fooled so terribly…”

Huo Qi looked at her with aching sympathy and raised a hand to stroke her head in comfort, but the moment she touched her, Jiang Jinyi pulled away.

            

Huo Qi didn’t give up. She just sat with her, letting her take it in, letting her digest the news.

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On the other side, Jiang Youwan had been waiting for Jiang Jinyi for nearly an hour. Looking at the location tracker, she was still showing as at home—not replying to messages, not answering calls.

Jiang Youwan called the household servant and asked if something had happened to the Second Miss. The servant’s response was: “The Second Miss drove out a while ago.”

            

“Drove out a while ago?” Jiang Youwan’s expression changed abruptly. She snapped at the person on the phone, “Then why haven’t you gone to find her?!”

The servant jumped, then realized—the amnesiac Second Miss didn’t know how to drive at all.

Jiang Youwan hung up on the servant and made another call, ordering her subordinates to find Jiang Jinyi and bring her back at any cost.

            

Jiang Youwan looked out the car window. The sunshine, the beach, the sea—still as beautiful as ever. But her originally gentle, enchanting eyes were now clouded with a heavy layer of hostility, cold and dark.

All this beauty was just an illusion. Jiang Jinyi had lied to her. Jiang Jinyi hadn’t gone looking for a gift. Jiang Jinyi had no intention of coming to spend the Qixi Festival¹ with her.

Jiang Jinyi had remembered everything. Jiang Jinyi’s memories had returned.

            

An immense fear enveloped Jiang Youwan. She couldn’t bear the pain of losing Jiang Jinyi. The beautiful facade collapsed completely in this moment, beyond all recognition.

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