Swap Marriage in Ancient Times: Transmigrated to My Stepbrother's Wife

Xie Rong froze. His eyes, meeting hers, could only blink in guilt, as though the words had struck somewhere he had spent years trying not to look.

"Can’t I do something to fix it... Furen?" His voice was low, almost hesitant, as though even he was afraid of the answer, yet he still could not stop himself from asking.

Wang Gege stared at him for a long moment.

"Fix it?" She repeated the words softly, almost as though she were trying to understand what he meant by them. "How?"

Xie Rong fell silent.

"I don’t even know what you could possibly fix." Her gaze slowly lowered.

"You cannot go back to that day and take those words back. You cannot make everyone who laughed at me forget what happened. You cannot erase the years I spent believing that I had simply been foolish enough to mistake your kindness for affection."

Xie Rong’s chest tightened. "But this husband can explain—"

"I know." She interrupted him quietly. "And perhaps your explanation is true."

That made Xie Rong look at her in surprise.

Wang Gege gave him a faint, exhausted smile. "But knowing the reason doesn’t magically make it stop hurting."

Her fingers slowly loosened from the bedsheet.

"You want to fix it because you regret what you did." She looked into his eyes again. "But what about me?"

Her voice became softer, "What am I supposed to do with all those years I spent hating myself for loving you?"

"Wait..." Xie Rong’s eyes flickered as a thought suddenly occurred to him. "If I can do that... will you forgive me?"

Wang Gege’s eyes widened. "Are you crazy?"

"No—no!" Xie Rong immediately cupped her cheeks, his voice becoming hurried. "Gemi said that if I accumulated enough Favorability Points, I could turn them into time... I could return to a certain point in time that I chose."

"What are Favorability Points?" Wang Gege frowned deeply.

Xie Rong straightened himself and sat properly on the bed, finally giving her some space.

"Gemi said that if I could make you like me or love me, your favorability would increase, and once I accumulated enough—"

He suddenly stopped. His eyes caught the shocked expression on her face.

Wang Gege stared at him in disbelief.

"So..." Her voice was barely audible. "Even in this world, you used my emotions?"

Xie Rong froze. The excitement that had filled his expression moments ago disappeared completely. "Furen, this husband—"

"You were making me like you because of the system?" Her eyes reddened. "All those missions... all those things you did..."

She stared at him as though she were seeing him differently again. "Were they because you actually cared about me?"

Her lips trembled, "Or because you needed my favorability points?"

Xie Rong’s heart sank.

"No." His answer came immediately. "No, that is not what happened."

"Then what happened?" Wang Gege’s nose was already exhaling faster as anger consumed her.

"I did those missions because I wanted to save you!" His voice rose with desperation.

"I never knew who you were at first. I only knew that the system had given me a target, and I thought..." He swallowed hard. "I thought if I completed enough missions, I could eventually return to the past and save the person I had lost."

Wang Gege bit her lip and closed her eyes.

The frustration, the sadness, and the overwhelming sense of betrayal were all too much for her to handle at that moment. She had thought she had finally understood everything, only to discover another layer that made her heart hurt even more.

"Move..." She sat up abruptly and pushed against his chest, forcing him to move aside before getting off the bed.

Xie Rong immediately reached out. "Furen—"

"Don’t." She turned around, her eyes already red again. "Don’t follow me."

Her voice trembled, but there was no room for argument in it. "Please... just don’t follow me."

Xie Rong’s hand remained suspended in the air.

Wang Gege took another step toward the door.

"I need to be alone." She did not look back. "And if you really mean what you just said..."

Her fingers tightened around her sleeves, "Then give me some time to decide whether I can believe you."

She walked out without waiting for his answer.

Xie Rong remained sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the empty doorway.

Qing’er, who had been waiting outside the courtyard, instantly hurried toward Wang Gege the moment she saw her step out of the chamber.

"Young Madam..." Qing’er swallowed nervously. "Where are you going?"

"Qing’er..." Wang Gege turned toward her, her brows furrowing. "Is there somewhere in the Xie Residence where I can calm my mind?"

"Young Madam..." Qing’er suddenly bowed politely. "This servant wishes to ask Young Madam to refrain from going outside right now."

"Why?" Wang Gege immediately frowned, clearly displeased by the request.

Qing’er remained bowed, hesitating before finally speaking. "Master and Old Madam Xie are currently furious because Young Miss Xie is trying to take her own life..."

"What?" Wang Gege’s eyes widened.

Qing’er raised her head slightly, glancing at Wang Gege for only a brief moment before lowering it again.

"They called for both Young Madam and the Young Master earlier, but this servant was afraid of disturbing the two of you..." Her voice became increasingly hesitant. "So this servant held back from telling Young Madam until now."

"What are you talking about?"

Xie Rong’s voice suddenly came from the doorway, making both of them turn.

The moment Wang Gege and Qing’er looked at him, both widened their eyes in surprise.

Xie Rong was standing at the doorway without his blindfold.

His usually concealed eyes were completely exposed, and his hair was slightly disheveled from everything that had happened earlier. He looked nothing like the composed Young Master Xie whom Qing’er was accustomed to seeing.

Wang Gege instantly realized that Qing’er was staring.

"Qing’er!" She rushed forward, immediately cupping Qing’er’s cheeks and turning her face back toward her. "Tell Master and Old Madam Xie that we will be there shortly. Go... now."

She pushed Qing’er toward the entrance of the courtyard.

"But, Young Madam—"

"Hurry up!"

Qing’er hesitated for only a moment before finally obeying and leaving.

Wang Gege waited until she was certain Qing’er had disappeared from sight before rushing back toward the door.

She stopped in front of Xie Rong and glared at him.

"What are you doing?!"