Free Fall (Pyramid of Gold) - Chapter 1: Half-Forgotten Dream

“I already have a child with another man.”

It was a lie made in order to refuse the proposal of the leader of the most feared mercenary company in the entire country. But his response was unexpected.

“It doesn’t matter who the child is. Just birth it.”

She couldn’t understand.

What could this man possibly want with the princess of a failing nation?

In the rural northeastern mountainous regions stands a tiny Buddhist temple, named One Finger Temple. It isn’t a large one but it is extremely miraculous.

The temple has rice that emanates an aromatic fragrance.

The temple has sweet and refreshing water that rivals ambrosia.

The temple has Buddhas that grant wishes to the sincere.

The temple isn’t large but it has everything. The temple isn’t large but it has flourishing incense offerings that far exceed all temples. The temple isn’t large but it attracts both citizens and foreigners that line up overnight…

The temple has a bald but handsome monk. Every day, he would bawl, “I want to renounce asceticism! I want to marry a chick that’s not too pretty, have a cute baby, and lead a stable life!”

Who made the rule that a woman can't be the first to confess her feelings to a man?

If there was one, then it didn't matter to this young woman.

In order to escape from her stepmother and stepsister, Zhang Liling sought help from Mr. Fang, a Business Mogul, specially invited to take her department on Business Management, and she was rejected because of her absurd request.

But through his Personal assistant, she managed to cunningly secure a home-work contract and moved into his villa.

A few weeks of living together as a Boss and Employee was enough time for Mr. Fang to see all the crazy sides of Zhang Liling and also for her to discover his health secret, hyperosmia. But the irony of her scent not affecting him baffled her.

Mr. Fang not being used to Zhang Liling’s unrestrained behavior and coupled with the rumors about them threatened to throw her out of his villa. But when she finally left, he began to long for her return.

At last, Zhang Liling returned. To others, she was a different person, but to Mr. Fang, she was the same feisty woman he has always known.

Together as a couple, Zhang Liling and Mr. Fang unmasked her stepmother’s deep dirty secret that will threaten the Zhang Family’s reputation.

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EXCERPT

“Mr. Fang, do you accept stray cats?” Zhang Liling asked a little breathlessly as a layer of sweat formed on her forehead. She had just run over in other to catch up with him.

Mr. Fang paused briefly in his steps and turned to give her a good glance after adjusting his reading glasses. “You look like one,” he said in a deep voice before continuing in his steps.

How could Zhang Liling let him leave like that when it was a matter of urgency? She quickly chased after him and yelled, “Mr. Fang, you really have to take this stray cat in.”

“I don't accept stray cats, I only accept humans,”Mr. Fang replied as a slight smile turned up on his face.

Tang Qiu was a substitute bride–forced to take her half-sister’s place and marry the young master of the Jiang family, a deformed cripple with less than 6 months left to live.

“Who would have thought that even a sickly whelp like Jiang Shaocheng would find himself a bride?”

“I hear that he’s practically on his deathbed and he’s only marrying the Fengs’ daughter to improve his lifespan.”

Tang Qiu ignored the whispers around her and focused on her husband-to-be, who coughed violently in his wheelchair. At the altar, after they had said their vows, she lifted her veil and knelt in front of Jiang Shaocheng, pressing a hesitant kiss to his lips.

The marriage contract was signed. No matter his physical deformities, he was now her husband.

She wasn’t afraid of the scars that marked his face, nor was she repulsed by him being confined to a wheelchair. Every morning, she made him breakfast, attended to his needs, and thought of little else beyond her duties as a wife.

“Young Master Jiang is a cripple who can’t get it up,” her best friend argued. “When he dies, you’ll still be untouched. You should set your sights higher.”

“A sickly invalid like Jiang Shaocheng can’t give you happiness,” her ex-boyfriend insisted. “I’ll wait for you.”

But Young Master Jiang only scoffed. “I have plenty of time left to be with her.”

Later in their marriage, Jiang Shaocheng wanted to enjoy his little wife in all ways–the press of her lips against his, the brush of skin on skin; the way a husband and wife were supposed to. But Tang Qiu refused him, blushing. “No, we can’t. The doctor says you can’t exert yourself.”

Jiang Shaocheng’s desire was surging through him, a heat in his core that demanded to be satiated. He cursed, I should have gotten rid of that doctor and the wheelchair long ago.

But he yearned to make love to his little wife, and so he revealed his true identity. In the blink of an eye, the deformed cripple transformed into a powerful businessman–tall, dark, and handsome. He quieted Tang Qiu’s protests, his body positioned over hers, his arms caging her as she lay on the bed. His voice was low when he asked, “What about now?”