My Husband is the Emperor : I Woke Up With a Husband

A few hours ago, before He Chang Min made his message to Li Jun Wei, he stopped at Xie Family’s House. Xie Hue Lin’s expression throughout the evening meal wasn’t as bright as usual. Her parents thought she was saddened by how the expectation of others that had pressured her a little was suddenly switched as another candidate came into picture.

He Chang Min pulled put a brownie cake from his side, placing it in front of Xie Hue Lin that surprised her, "You told me you love brownie cakes before. Are you still upset?"

Xie Hue Lin’s eyes at the brownie cake stiffened. She should have been happy with the brownie cake He Chang Min prepared with her in mind. Yet seeing the brownie cake only filled her with an unexplainable inferiority complex.

In her entire life, Xie Hue Lin disliked brownie cakes unlike Li Lian who loved chocolate and brownie cakes. It was during the time when He Chang Min and Li Lian was still in a relationship that Xie Hue Lin stated her fondness of brownie cakes, in hope for He Chang Min to bring her brownie cakes along with Li Lian. At that time, all she wanted was to steal attention from He Chang Min.

Being a considerate man, the next day He Chang Min come he indeed brought an extra brownie cake for her, but the taste was different as Li Lian ate the cake with him while she ate it alone.

"Hue Lin?" came He Chang Min’s voice to her ears, bringing her awake from her thought. "Are you okay?"

Xie Hue Lin didn’t know why, she was shown caring and doting affection from He Chang Min but her heart was restless, it as as if the anxiety she kept inside her heart doubled, making a sense of emptiness. If she took a step back to look back and take a clearer reflection on her memories, was He Chang Min really happy?

She then noticed how her fiancé who she stole forcefully from her older sister had never take the initiative in their relationship. A voice rang on the back of her mind that came from the call she made an hour ago, ’Do you really think he loved you?’

"Chang Min," Xie Hue Lin suddenly speak and He Chang Min gave her an attentive expression. She held his hand, an expression of eagerness and hastiness came on her face. "Do you love me?"

He Chang Min looked at her with a blank look at first and a chuckle then followed, "Of course I do," he raised his hand to rub the back of her head, "Are you very upset about the candidate? You don’t need to worry, there is only you in this family who would become the next director. You don’t have to hear other people’s words and trust mine because I know it better than anyone how suited you are to become the next Xie Company’s director."

"I see," was her only reply, she stood on her toes, leaning forward with her hand on his shoulder for a kiss on his lips, but suddenly the cake that He Chang Min Held on his hand fell on the ground.

He Chang Min pulled away from Xie Hue Lin, under her gaze he moved toward the cake, "I forgot the cake was in my hands when I was about to hug you," he laughed, "Were you surprised?" Xie Hue Lin didn’t reply but slowly nod her head. "I will clean this, did the cake smeared your dress?"

"The maid could clean that," Xie Hue Lin responded. Does he not want to be with her that much? But this was an accident, He Chang Min said it himself.

"I am a guest in this house, it would be discourteous to let others clean my own mess, especially in your house, I don’t want to look back," He Chang Min watched the complex look on Xie Hue Lin, his brows raised, but he didn’t ask. It was because he didn’t care of what was occupying Xie Hue Lin’s mind. "and it won’t take long," he added, walking toward her, he leaned to kiss her forehead.

Xie Hue Lin spent the rest twenty minutes doubting He Chang Min’s love for her, and then doubting the doubts she had. "It must be because of his words that I’m thinking this, Chang Min isn’t like that," whispered Xie Hue Lin to herself.

A knock suddenly come to her room, and opening it, Xie Hue Lin Was surprised to see grandmother Xie standing in front of the room, "Hue Lin," called her grandmother, Xie Hue Lin wasn’t very comfortable with Grandmother Xie because somewhere she felt the old woman knew her hatred towards Li Lian, but so far Grandmother didn’t say anything about the matter, only during the time of choosing the next director did the old woman went against her.

"What can I help you, grandma?" asked Xie Hue Lin with a sweet smile, wanting to be seen as an obedient child to her grandmother.

"I was thinking about your parent’s idea of not inviting Li Lian to your marriage," started her grandmother much to Xie Hue Lin’s disappointment. Grandmother Xie continued to speak but Xie Hue Lin barely put an ear to her conversation.

The ire inside her burnt like a heap of coal that could never be extinguish no matter how many water one use. Instead with her grandmother speaking about Li Lian so fondly, her anger spike again.

Li Lian, Li Lian, and Li Lian! Do no one care about her?! Is it because she is ’Hue Lin’ and not ’Li Lian’?

"...Li Lian told me she doesn’t feel any angry toward you-"

"Grandma, do you really love me?" Xie Hue Lin interjected between Grandmother Xie’s words, surprising the old woman whose eyes went wide at her question. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Xie Hue Lin knew this expression, it was the same as the expression He Chang Min gave and soon a robotically reply would came from their mouth as if they had recite the words many times in their mind.

That was what Xie Hue Lin thought when grandmother Xie pulled her hands out and bring her to her embrace. The older woman was shorter than Xie Hue Lin, therefore when she was pulled to the hug, Xie Hue Lin had to bent her body.

"Are you upset? Who in this family doesn’t love you, Hue Lin?" the lone question had Xie Hue Lin’s brows to furrow. "I love you, your mother also love you, so is your father."

But they don’t, thought Xie Hue Lin. They only love the her who they look now who was always so kind, so pure hearted, so loving. It was only now did Xie Hue Lin realized her act had never bring others to love her. What they love was the different her. If they know what she did, they wouldn’t like her. The only reason why her grandmother could say this was because she had only shown her the fake side of hers.

Xie Hue Lin never knew there would be a day come to her where she would regret what she did. Where she would feel sad for the attention directed to her.

Her anger raise when she thought only Li Lian was loved, just like in the past where everyone would naturally shower her with love unlike her who had to work for it.

Grandmother Xie suddenly felt Xie Hue Lin pulling herself. She wasn’t able to meet Hue Lin’s eyes as the latter quickly bowed her face, letting the shadow filled her upper face which denied her from meeting her eyes.

"I want to rest," Xie Hue Lin stated, seeing her grandmother didn’t move, her brows tightly knit, "I will give the invitation to Li Lian later if there is a chance." and suddenly she saw a smile on her grandmother.

"Thank you Hue Lin, I know you are actually a kind girl," was the words grandmother said before she left.

"Liar," whispered Xie Hue Lin, she knew the reason why her grandmother was happy is because she had agreed to let Li Lian be invited to her marriage. The number one granddaughter in Grandmother Xie’s heart was Li Lian and not her.

She then recalled the words that man told her through the call that told her why she doesn’t try to test the love He Chang Min had for her. That’s correct, she still had that choice, thought Xie Hue Lin.

When He Chang Min came back not long after cleaning the cake he dropped, Xie Hue Lin met him with a wide smile. "Last time I didn’t get to show you."

"Show me?" He Chang Min asked with a raise of her eyebrow.

"Yes, there is an unlimited bag and jewelry that I bought that I think would suit the dress you gifted me last time, I wanted to show you how they look."

"In your room?" came He Chang Min’s next question.

"It won’t take long, and we won’t do anything anyway. Also soon, we will be married there’s nothing wrong for us to be in single room," Xie Hue Lin watched He Chang Min choosing his option by suspending the silence between them.

Xie Hue Lin kept her hands around his. She wanted to see whether He Chang Min would enter her room. "Or is there another reason why you never want to enter my room?" came her skeptical tone that she didn’t bother to hide.

"There is nothing, you are thinking too much," He Chang Min rubbed her forehead with a smile, but she wasn’t the least convinced. "Okay, if that’s what you want."

Xie Hue Lin felt joy pulling her lips but it lowered a little as He Chang Min again said if that was what she want. Once again, he never took an imitative as if he didn’t care and only stayed to service her. Was she thinking too much?