All Chapters of The Return Of The Scorned Son In-law : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
44 chapters
The In-between
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't lying on the prison bunk or burning concrete. I was lying on something soft. It felt like clouds but was solid enough to support my weight.The air was cool and clear. It had this sweet-smell, like spring rain and incense.I sat up slowly, as my mind struggled to process what I was seeing.I wasn't in the prison quite alright but where I was didn't make sense because the space around me was vast and empty, stretching infinitely in all directions. The "ground" beneath me glowed with a soft, white light. Above, the sky—if it could be called that—swirled with colors that shouldn't exist. "Where..." I tried to speak then stopped because my voice sounded strange."You're in the Between," a voice said and I spun around.A figure stood behind me. It didn't look human at all because no human was this tall or had limbs that bent at angles that defied anatomy. It had no face–I mean, I didn't see any because it felt like looking at someone through frosted glass
Reborn Into hell
Chapter 32I tried to scream and scramble away, but what came out was a high-pitched wail. My arms flailed uselessly, weak and pudgy."Shh, my little boy," Tang Mei cooed, lifting me with practiced ease. "Mama's here. You're safe."No. No, no, no, no. This can't be happening.As she held me against her shoulder, patting my back gently, I caught sight of my reflection in a nearby mirror. I had round cheeks with big blue eyes. I was maybe a year old, judging by my size.Horror crashed over me like ice water. The Arbiter had sent me back but not to the prison, or the trial, not to any point where I could fix things.The Arbiter had sent me back as Tang Mei's son.A maid entered the nursery which was expensive in itself, nothing like the cramped cells or even the modest Phoenix Solutions office. "Madam Tang, the photographer is ready for the family portrait.""Excellent. Is Yue here yet?""She just arrived with her husband and daughter."My tiny baby's heart stopped. Wait so Lin Yue had m
The Nursery Prison
Night fell over the Tang mansion, and I laid in this stupid crib staring at shadows dancing across the ceiling.My body was exhausted, I never knew being a one-year-old was this draining. I mean, every movement requires so much effort. My neck still wobbled when I tried to hold my head up for too long, then my fingers couldn't quite grip things properly.But my mind was still painfully sharp. I'd been awake for sixteen hours in this new body, and every minute had been psychological torture.The nursery was beautiful with cream walls, and hand-painted murals of rabbits and clouds, a mobile hanging above my crib playing soft music while expensive toys lined the shelves. Everything a wealthy heir could want. It was a cage dressed as paradise.I raised one pudgy arm and watched it shake with effort. I managed to roll to my side after three attempts, breathing hard from the exertion.Years, I thought with growing despair. I'll be trapped like this for years.The door opened softly and Tang
Saying My First Words
I turned two on a cold December morning. The mansion was decorated with elaborate birthday arrangements and Tang Mei had invited fifty guests from her social bubble to celebrate her son's milestone.But I barely noticed the party preparations as I was focused on something far more important.For months now, I'd been fighting against this toddler body's limitations. My mouth wouldn't form the shapes my adult mind demanded. His tongue was thick and uncooperative as my vocal cords produced only babbles and cries when I tried to speak coherently.It was maddening. I had two lifetimes of vocabulary trapped in a skull that wouldn't let me access it but lately, something had shifted. My motor control was improving and just yesterday, I'd managed to say "ma" clearly enough that Tang Mei had cried with joy, thinking it was my first word.Today, I was determined to say something real.The party began at noon and I already hated it because I was dressed as a tiny businessman."This is Director
The Kindergarten Years
The month I turned five, was the same month I was enrolled in the city's most exclusive kindergarten.The school was called Golden Phoenix Academy, a name that made me want to laugh bitterly every time he heard it. Fate is such a cruel bitch."You'll excel here," Tang Mei said on my first day, adjusting my navy blazer with that maternal care. "The best families send their children to here, you are on the path to greatness."I nodded looking all serious and composed. I didn't act like my age mates, I rarely smiled and play like other children. Even my teachers were concerned about my behaviour but Tang Mei saw it as a thing of joy. I am just five yet, I'm already thinking like her but the realization didn't bother me as much as it should have."Class, we have a new student," the teacher announced brightly. "This is Tang Rui. Let's all say hello!""Hello, Tang Rui!" the children chorused. "Wonderful! Now, who wants to show Tang Rui around during playtime?"Several hands shot up but th
The Weight of Years
I woke up one morning and found out I was ten years old and was beginning to forget why I came back. It happened during a family dinner at the Tang mansion, you know, it was one of the meetings people attended and pretended to be happy with each other. Lin Yue sat across the table with Chen Hao, both of them looked exhausted, I wondered why. Yifan, now eight, sat between them, quieter than she'd been in kindergarten. The years had taught her to read the room and sense tension, and most importantly not to talk when elders were talking. Tang Jun occupied his usual seat at the end, nursing the bottle of whiskey instead of eating. He'd aged badly, all his hair were now grey and his hands trembled slightly. The worst were his eyes that kept swinging like a pendulum. At the head of the table,Tang Mei sat like an overfed rooster with me of course by her right. "Rui received the highest marks in his grade this semester," she announced, as she served me an extra portion of my favorite di
The First Fracture
I waited until no one was looking to open the flash drive. The house was silent with Tang Mei asleep in her wing, the staff had long retired, if I dropped a pin, it would echo through the house. I sat there with the laptop in front of me, and the small piece of metal and plastic that Tang Jun had pressed into my palm like a grenade with the pin already pulled.My hands were shaking as I plugged it in.There were a couple of folders but only the one labelled 'Medical' caught my attention.My cursor hovered over that folder. Something about it made my skin crawl, though I couldn't say why. Medical records seemed harmless enough right ? Boy was I wrong. Because as soon as I clicked, my identity came crashing down.The first few files were exactly what I'd expected. Intake physical examination, dental records, standard blood work, vision test. I was disappointed and almost slammed the laptop shut, when my eyes caught the words "FERTILITY SCREENING - MANDATORY PER FACILITY PROTOCOL"I stare
The Investigation
I lasted only three days before I broke. I spent the last three days sitting across from Tang Mei at breakfast, watching her smile at me while my mind screamed questions I couldn't ask. Three days of pretending nothing had changed while my entire understanding of existence crumbled. I spent the last three days clutching the flash drive like a talisman, reviewing the files until I'd memorized every damn word, every date, every damning coincidence. On the fourth day, I stopped pretending I could handle this alone. I would have gone with the evidence in the flash but I wasn't going to fall for her tricks twice. I decided to get hard copy evidence one tuesday evening. Tang Mei had a board meeting that would run late—she'd mentioned it that morning, kissed my forehead, told me not to wait up. The house was empty except for staff who knew better than to disturb the young master when his door was closed. I picked the lock on her cabinet until it clicked open. Tang Mei journal stared at
The Confirmation
Friday arrived and I hadn't slept properly in five days. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those words. Every time I looked in the mirror, I searched for traces of Li Feng in my features. Every time her hand touched me, my skin crawled with the knowledge of what she'd done. "You're not eating," Tang Mei observed, her eyes sharp with concern. "Rui, you've barely touched your food all week. Are you feeling ill?" "Just nervous about exams," I lied smoothly because I had become an excellent liar. Tang Mei had trained me well. "You always ace your exams so there's nothing to be nervous about." She reached across the table, touching my hand. "But if you're truly stressed, perhaps we should see Dr. Wang and have him run some tests to make sure everything is alright." Bingo. "Actually," I said carefully, "I have been feeling strange all week" Tang Mei's concern deepened immediately. "Strange how?" "Hard to describe. Just... off. Like my body doesn't quite work right." I looke
The Confrontation 2
I didn't remember deciding to go home.One moment I was riding aimlessly through the dark streets, the DNA report crumpled in my jacket pocket, my mind was a wasteland of fractured identities. The next moment, I was standing in front of the Tang mansion gates, my bicycle discarded on the sidewalk, my hands shaking so violently I couldn't work the keypad.The gates opened anyway. Someone had been watching for me.She stood in the doorway, backlit by the mansion's warm interior lights. She looked smaller than usual. Her perfect composure finally cracked around the edges."Come inside, Rui.""Don't call me that." my voice was hoarse from screaming. "That's not my name. That's the name you gave your trophy. Your weapon. Your stolen child.""Come inside," she repeated, her voice harder. "We're not having this conversation where the staff can hear."I walked past her into the house, my legs moved on their own disconnected from conscious thought. Everything felt distant. Unreal. Like I was w