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

Xie Hue Lin happily stride her way out of the car when she reached He Chang Min’s house. It had been days since she last meet He Chang Min and now that her mental condition had gotten better, she naively went to He Family’s house, seeking for the warmth and love from the man who she loved.

She came when the maid gave her a long stare— a very long stare that both irritated her and made her look around herself. She didn’t look strange anywhere. Why does this lowly maid gave her that stare then? She was about to lash out on the maid, only to remember how she was currently in He Family’s house and doing so would only incite terrible rumors about her in her in-law’s house which she didn’t want to risk on.

"Tell Chang Min that I have come," said Xie Hue Lin to the same maid, her chin tipping to give an air that she should be obeyed.

The maid pulled a thin smile that Xie Hue Lin didn’t miss and she clenched her fist tightly to calm her anger. "Please wait," said the maid tonelessly without a hint of politeness.

Xie Hue Lin spent her time outside the house while waiting for He Chang Min. When ten minutes had passed, her face was marred by a frown. "Where is Chang Min?" she then asked the maid who passed by the door.

"Young master? Do you wish for me to call him, milady?" Unlike the earlier maid, this maid was more polite.

"I have asked one of the maid to do so ten minutes ago," Xie Hue Lin added.

"Strange, then young master should be here now. I will see what is going on," the maid bowed and then left the place.

Xie Hue Lin waited again, seeing some maid looking at her and she felt conscious about the gaze they threw at her. Even though their gaze on Xie Hue Lin bears no ill intent, she felt like it hold a stinky look and a judging eyes, as if everyone around her was looking at her like she was a clown.

"Hue Lin," He Chang Min called, causing a smile to appear on her lips but she frowned when seeing the first maid who she had ordered to call He Chang Min passed by the foyer with a laughter on her lips.

"Chang Min. Earlier I called a maid ten minutes ago, did she not call you?" Xie Hue Lin asked with a patient smile.

"There was no maid who came to inform me your arrival, only this maid," said He Chang Min pointing his hand toward the second maid who she ordered.

That damn maid! She had done it on purpose by not calling Chang Min over her instruction! Anger laced her eyes and she set her lips in a thin line to tittle tattle on the maid’s atrocious act of demeaning her and treating her like a joke when He Chang Min sighed, "It’s great that you came. We need to talk. Alone. Thankfully stars is on our side and Mother isn’t here for now which is good."

"Why is it good if your mother isn’t here? I was here to visit her too," but He Chang Min shook his head to tell her to drop the idea. She raised her brows even higher.

"Come with me," He Chang Min requested and thus she went. They left the foyer, walking inside the house and leaving toward his room. He Chang Min’s room had been one of the places Xie Hue Lin had always wanted to go to and looked forward to enter only this time, she was feeling terribly uneasy with how a look of worry and concern passed by He Chang Min’s face.

"How are you?" He asked first, question that showed kindness but only worsen her fear now. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"I am fine, what do you mean about mother?" Xie Hue Lin pressed, taking a step that caused He Chang Min to sigh further as if it was hard for him to bring the matter up but had no choice but to.

"I guess you haven’t heard it yet? Didn’t your mother or father tells you about it?" He Chang Min’s delay of answering only riled questions to havoc on her mind.

"I don’t get it. What haven’t they tell me about? What is this about? Answer me, Chang Min," Xie Hue Lin became more urgent to know the answer, pressing her words after words for answer.

"The engagement between us," He Chang Min started, and his eyes behold the amazing shock that strike Xie Hue Lin’s face like thunder. "My mother had broken the engagement."

Xie Hue Lin’s expression break and if she was made out of a thick glass by now it would have shattered sharply on the floor. Her eyes went so wide it could almost touch the roof of her head, her lips parted and a wry smile appear on her face after as if she was trying to convince herself what she heard was wrong.

"No way. That’s no way it is true, right? We are going to get married next month. The arrangements have been made.. and... and..." her words disappear as she felt her heart went cold upon seeing He Chang Min’s silence.

"It isn’t wrong," came another voice which Xie Hue Lin was very familiar of as the door of He Chang Min’s room slammed open. Mrs. He stood with her hands on her hips. Her flapper dress was similar to one that younger women would wear but as she was quite young herself in age, it didn’t look out of place for her. "Indeed the engagement had been broken. You and my son now are not fiancé but stranger."

Rendered speechless, Xie Hue Lin could only muttered a few words, "W-Why?" She had done everything Mrs. He wanted. She had helped the woman to drive Li Lian away from He Chang Min’s life, giving her support and she thought she had done it perfectly yet now.... she was casted away like a garbage.

"Do you even need to ask?" The woman asked with a stifled laughter between her lips as if she was trying to be polite. "You and your family. What do you have now? He Company had been taken over by Li Lian while you..." the woman looked up and down, "Remind me again of what do you have. Do you have anything that could be use for my advantage?"

Li Lian. Li Lian again. Anger raised on Xie Hue Lin, anger strike and her nose flared unflatteringly, "You cannot do this to me. I have helped you many times and my family had supported your company too. A-Also Chang Min," she turned to the man who stood like a wall, "You wouldn’t like this either, do you? He love me and I-"

"Love is a simple thing to replace," Mrs. He cut in between. "Didn’t I told you that a year ago too? I have said this to Li Lian too. A shame that I replaced her to you now that I know she proof to be more useful than you or your entire family. Anyway. I don’t need you in my son’s life. We have arranged another person for him. Someone who is more suitable than you. You call the guards and bring her away."

Xie Hue Lin snatched her glance to see that it was the same maid who had ignored her order earlier. This only shove her further down to shame. She didn’t know what to do. The shock had taken the space in her mind to think on what she had to do whether she had to leave. As sly and clever as Xie Hue Lin like to claim herself to be, she was still a spoiled child. A child who had been sheltered and people would give her recited questions, letting her answer it as if to serve her a confirmation that she was smart even though in truth they knew how much of a fool she was.

She went toward He Chang Min, clutching to his clothes, "Chang Min. You don’t want this either do you? I-I know you feel the same way as me. Please convince your mother."

He Chang Min set a woeful expression on his face, wrapping his hand over Xie Hue Lin. "I don’t have any choice," he answered and leaned forward, whispering, "Just like a year ago," he reminded, feeling the twitch on Xie Hue Lin’s hand. "Hatefully to say, I am still a very weak person with no status and a puppet that everyone play to their liking. You should know this better than me as you and mother were the one who played me that way last year. As you see now, I don’t have the title or will to defy my mother."

"W-What?" stuttered Xie Hue Lin.

"Are you still confused and wondering what will happen next? Don’t worry you have seen it happened before so you know what will come for you next," and Xie Hue Lin’s freezing expression stiffened as she wondered what he meant. "Isn’t this similar to what you did to Li Lian that one year ago?"

Xie Hue Lin’s smile had faded, her face turning as pallid as a paper, anger had disappeared, and only immense shock that caused her knees weak caught her. "Chang Min?"

He Chang Min showed a smile, "I allowed you to enter this house to have you feel what you did to Li Lian as well as what she felt that day and what I also felt. Humiliation, sadness, and disappointment. The last two emotions you have felt and now is for the first one." His eyes shifted to the guards who have came.

"Enjoy," He Chang Min offered one last smile. He enjoyed his time watching the extreme expression of sadness and shock flickering unimpressively over Xie Hue Lin’s expression, he had been wanting to see this since the day he had to break his engagement with Li Lian.

He pushed away her hands on his clothes, and Xie Hue Lin had turned to a stone when she was pulled back by the guard, kicked out of the house. The guards took her out off the house with no effort as the woman was too weak to retaliate.

From the top of the house, He Chang Min looked down on Xie Hue Lin who was thrown harshly on the ground and she flopped like a broken doll.

"We can move on to your next engagement, Chang Min," announced Mrs. He and she didn’t wait for answer before closing the door of his room

He Chang Min for a brief moment met Xie Hue Lin’s eyes but cold-heartedly, he pulled the curtain, tearing her gaze away before looking at the door where his mother have left, "And next is your turn, mother." He Chang Min shifted his eyes to look at his phone where Li Jun Wei’s name was written on his chat.