How The Spy Became A Princess - Chapter 2 Who Exactly Am I?

She woke up in stages.

Her mind was jumble of…dreams? Fantasies? There was a palace and a regal queen, but also a beautiful woman calling her “precious baby” and a tall man who called her “princess.” There was blood and death, but also pretty dresses and tea parties.

She doesn’t know what was real, except perhaps for the pain in her head.

She groaned, but quickly bit down her lip, as if her body knew automatically that she was not supposed to make noise or show her pain.

“–an? Are you awake? Lian?” someone was softly saying near her.

Who was Lian?

No, her name is Lian. Zheng Lian.

Then who was Mingmei?

She was even more certain that she had been called Mingmei.

“Your parents are coming, so just sit tight, alright? Mei Lin’s just outside talking to the doctor. You’re gonna be fine, Lian. Don’t open your eyes if it hurts.”

A male. A man was speaking to her softly in a way that she has never heard someone speak to her before. It was how the Empress spoke to her beloved son once when he was fevered and unable to leave the palace.

It was nice, but unnecessary. She had never been sick a day in her life. She–

–had fallen down the stairs. No, she was pushed, she’d felt a hand on her back pushing her.

But she was also whipped and beheaded.

Clearly, either way, she was dead.

But it seems not even death can stop a person from feeling pain, judging by how to ache in her head has only worsened instead of abated.

She opened her eyes a fraction. She was in a dim room–hospital, her mind supplied–and lying on a bed. Surely this is not the afterlife?

She turned her gaze to the side, where the voice had come from, and locked gazes with a boy around her age.

A boy whose jaw had dropped open in shock and was looking at her with wide eyes. Though not even the stupid look he was wearing right now could detract from his noble looks and bearing. She had grown up serving and waiting on royalty and knew a prince when she saw one.

“L-Lian!” he gasped. He quickly stood up and came closer to her bed. He did something on the wall behind her that she couldn’t see. “How are you feeling? I’ve buzzed the nurse so someone will be here in a minute.”

She frowned at him, puzzled. “Who are you, sir?”

The boy’s eyes widened once more in shock. “Lian…you don’t remember?” His gaze then sharpened. “You better not be playing a prank on me, Zheng Lian!”

Her brows furrowed in confusion. “Prank? I don’t–”

She couldn’t continue what she was going to say as a team of doctors and nurses had entered the room and converged upon her.

“Are you in pain, Miss Zheng?” asked the oldest doctor, who was wearing spectacles and had gray in his hair, while someone else put fingers on her wrist, checked the bandage on her head and who knew what else. “Please tell me how you are feeling and if you can see clearly.”

She looked at the boy she’d been talking to for a moment as he’d been pushed to the side the moment the doctors came in. Then she turned to the doctor. “I feel pain in the upper right side of my head, but not anywhere else in my body. I can see clearly, but my head hurts even more when I open my eyes all the way,” she said clearly, having no reason to conceal anything from a doctor. He needed all the information to treat her after all. “I am having a…problem…recalling some things like names.”

The doctor looked troubled by the last part, but otherwise did not express any shock over what she said. “I see,” he said, as he took a metal sheet–medical record–from the nurse, to whom he ordered,”Give Miss Zheng another dose of morphine immediately.”

Before the doctor could go on, the door to her room was once again flung open, this time baring a tall, dignified man in a pristine suit, a gorgeous woman with blond hair and a lovely girl with short black hair.

Who–ah, Lian’s father, mother and closest friend, Sheng Mei Lin.

The beautiful woman’s face paled rapidly as soon as she laid eyes on her and stumbled into her husband, who gently held her close and guided her towards the bed. She had tears in her eyes as she rushed to Lian’s side and touched the uninjured side of her head with gentle fingers. “Oh my precious darling, my baby, what happened?” she said tearfully, her soothing voice a balm to Lian’s soul, as she caressed her hair. “Who did this to you? Who hurt my precious girl?”

Mei Lin seemed to be equally distraught, but was standing behind her mother and giving her parents the opportunity to check on her first But she still looked all over her body with worried eyes as if checking for more injuries.

Her honorable father, normally a man of very few words and who rarely showed a vulnerable side to him in public, stood beside her mother and held her small hand in his with utmost gentleness. “How are you feeling, Lian? Does your head hurt? Tell Dad what you want and I will get it here immediately, alright sweetheart?”

Lian did not recognize them immediately, but as they continued to talk and touch her, more memories of her with her parents came flooding in. She remembered her mother teaching her French and dancing, her father carrying her on his shoulders, her parents holding each of her hands when they spent time together as a family.

Regardless of whether she was Lian the princess or Mingmei the orphan, she could not help but feel blessed to have them now. Tears unknowingly sprang in her eyes as she stared at her mother’s beautiful face. This was her mother. A real mother. If this was a dream, then this was a very good one.

“Oh baby, why are you crying? It hurts? Does it hurt very much, darling?” her mother fretted. “Doctor, my daughter is in pain!”

Lian couldn’t help but giggle, but instantly regretted it when she accidentally moved her head and the pain came back with a vengeance.

“Mira, honey, calm down, we cannot excite her,” her father said, putting a soothing hand on her panicking mother’s back while his other one continuing gently caressing Lian’s hand. “Lian, princess, don’t move your head.”

“I’m fine, m-mother,” she said, stumbling at the last word. It feels foreign in her tongue, both as Mingmei and Lian. As Mingmei, she’d never had someone to call mother, despite treating the Empress as the mother she never had, and as Lian, it did not seem like a familiar way to address her honorable mother.

It seems she was right because Madam Zheng seemed to be all but wringing her hands in worry now. “You have never called me mother before, it’s always Mommy or Maman,” she said, then turned to her husband and the doctor. “What’s happening to my little flower, doctor? Why haven’t you given her something for the pain?”

Now even President Zheng was glaring at the doctor like he was deliberately prolonging their daughter’s suffering. Stronger men than Dr. Yang Shukun have trembled and buckled under her father’s gaze, so it was unsurprising that the doctor, despite being a few years older than the Zheng family patriarch, seemed to sweat in nervousness.

The doctor cleared his throat and began explaining, “Madam, Chairman Zheng, we’ve administered morphine just now, it will kick in a few minutes. As of now, we cannot raise her dosage for fear of overdose and morphine dependency.”

Both of her parents looked at worriedly, so she gave them a smile that was hopefully reassuring. Based on how they only seemed to grow even more worried, clearly it hadn’t worked. “I’m fine, m-mommy. I can’t feel the pain anymore,” she said, feeling awkward about addressing her honorable mother this way. But that seemed to have made her better, so it was worth it.

“What exactly happened to her? And how is she doing?” her father inquired in a tone that warned immense pain to anyone who lied to him.

“Young Mistress Zheng fell from the top of the stairs in her school three hours ago and hit her head on the way down,” Dr. Yang continued, causing her mother to gasp once more. “Young Master Wang was able to catch her body before she hit the ground, thus preventing her from sustaining more injuries.”

This caused her father, who had yet to notice the extra person in the room also waiting to hear about Lian’s condition, look at Wang Li Jun for the first time. The Wang heir met President Zheng’s sharp gaze head on, only giving him a nod in acknowledgment and ignoring to look at the doctor instead.

The doctor, who hadn’t noticed the exchange, went on, “The young miss was rushed to the hospital within 30 minutes after sustaining her head injury. We decided to give her 300 cc of blood as her red blood cells were dangerously low due to the blood loss and the young miss’ chronic anemia. Her wound required 12 stitches, which would take three to five weeks to heal completely. As for her head injury…”

The doctor paused and turned to look at Lian with a frown for a moment.

“What?” Madam Zheng said, gaze darting from the doctor to Lian. “What is it? Is there something even worse?”

President Zheng’s grip on her hand also tightened for a moment as he held his wife in one arm while they waited for news from the doctor.

“We will need to conduct another CT scan on the young miss today to confirm if she has underlying issues and she will need to be monitored for the next few months, but…” the doctor hesitantly, “But she informed me earlier that she has trouble recalling certain information.”

“What?!” This time, the shout did not come from her mother, but her best friend, who couldn’t keep quiet any longer. She pushed her way to the side of her bed, the opposite one from where her parents were standing, and gripped her arm. “Lian, you remember me, right? Your parents? You can’t have amnesia!”

Lian smiled fondly at the girl who was tearfully looking at her. Even without her memories telling her, she knew this girl was someone close to her. “I remember you and my parents, don’t worry. I just had trouble recalling names, like Young Master Wang’s.”

“Young Master Wang?” Mei Lin shrieked. “Doctor Yang, my best friend’s injury must be worse than you thought, she’s saying crazy things!”

“I told you, I’m fine,” Lian said, smiling in amusement. “I’m sure my memory will be fine after a night’s rest.”

“What can we do, doctor?” her mother asked, cradling her daughter’s face gently with one hand.

The doctor seemed relieved by her mother’s interruption of what was sure to be another one of Mei Lin’s rants. “For now, she’ll have to stay in the hospital for at least three days to monitor her wound and watch out for infections. I’ve prescribed her with a pain reliever, and we have antibiotics and fever reducers should she develop an infection. For her memory, we’ll have to monitor her and see if it worsens, but we will be conducting tests and memory exercises every day to see how she does. You can also help jog her memory by talking about the people around her and showing her photos of familiar places and things,” the doctor explained. “We will also prepare a list of therapists and psychiatrists whom she can talk to regarding the trauma of her fall.”

The worry in the eyes of Lian’s parents seemed to lessen a little as the doctor continued explaining what needed to be done.

“Don’t worry Uncle and Aunty, I’ll only let the best doctors and therapists take care of Lian!” Mei Lin vowing, earning a grateful smile from Madam Zheng.

The doctor didn’t stay for long after telling her he will be back in a few hours to check on her personally, the nurses and other residents leaving with him.

Wang Li Jun, who had been quiet this whole time, was about to leave with the doctors and nurses, since he only stayed to hear that Lian was going to be alright. He honestly didn’t want to stay in the same room as the entire Zheng family and Mei Lin and Huo Cheng must be freaking out right now since he stayed back at the school. But before he could go, a soft voice called out, “Wang…Li Jun?”

Everyone looked surprised that Lian called his name, but none so more than him. He’d also never heard Lian call his name without a tone of mockery, anger or amusement before. Maybe he was still affected by seeing her injured and bloody, but he couldn’t ignore it even if he wanted to.

“You remember?” he responded, gazing at her pretty, pale face and bandaged head. He knew they had to shave part of her light brown hair for the stitches, but she still managed to look beautiful.

Jeez, save someone once and now I’m all sentimental about her.

“I remember,” she said, piercing gaze locked on his. “You saved me?”

Li Jun, to his embarrassment, felt warmth creeping up his neck from having the full attention of those probing light brown eyes. “Anyone else would have had they been there,” he said as nonchalantly as he can, shrugging. “It’s no big deal.”

“Are you saying my daughter’s life is not a big thing, Mr. Wang?” the deep rumble of Zheng Shi Huang suddenly interrupted their exchange, reminding Li Jun that there were other people in the room. President Zheng was looking at him with the same piercing gaze as his daughter, but while Lian’s was trying to see into his soul, the Zheng patriarch’s eyes seem to be judging him for all his worth and finding him wanting.

In contrast, Madam Zheng was much calmer, most of her attention on her daughter. Mei Lin, on the other hand, looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on when she noticed his existence again.

Li Jun straightened up instinctively. He too was his father’s heir and had been trained never to show weakness to a Zheng. “Of course not, President Zheng. I was merely saying anyone in my position would have saved her as well. I was just in the right place at the right time,” he said diplomatically.

“Hm,” President Zheng responded, face emotionless, but tone betraying the fact that he didn’t buy Li Jun’s words. Well, tough luck then. “Nevertheless, I am willing to fulfill one request from you as thanks to my daughter’s savior.”

An open-ended request grant from Zheng Shi Huang? That was akin to winning the lottery 20 times in a row. Li Jun’s family’s wealth was equal to the Zheng’s, but he could request the shares of one of their most profitable companies and he knew Zheng Shi Huang would hand it over. There may be bad blood between their families, but the Zhengs were as family-oriented as the Wangs and Zheng Shi Huang would do anything for his daughter’s sake.

Still, Li Jun wasn’t taking anything from the Zhengs if he could help it. “Sir, I–”

“No.”

Everyone in the room turned to Lian, who had calmly said that one word.

“Darling?” Lian’s mom asked. “Do you want Mr. Wang to leave the room?”

“No, mom,” Lian just smiled at her mother, before directing that look at Li Jun. “I meant that since I was the one who was saved, I will be the one to repay his kindness.”

Li Jun was suddenly the target of two very heated, very angry glares from President Zheng and Mei Lin, as if he was the one who’d made the suggestion.

“There is no need to make a fuss, Lian,” he replied stiffly, pointedly ignoring the two angry mama bears. “Just focus on recovering.”

Lian just smiled at him calmly, not acknowledging his words. Somehow, that gave him a bad feeling, but it’s not like he can ever tell what goes on in that girl’s mind.

He sighed, then turned to protective mama bear no. 1. “President Zheng, I would like to tell you something outside before I leave, if that’s alright.”

Lian’s father did not reply, but walked to the door nonetheless. As soon as Li Jun closed the door shut behind him, he said, “Lian’s fall was not an accident.”

Clearly, Zheng Shi Huang did not need it spelled out for him as his face immediately contorted in icy rage. This man had the blood of emperors and ruled over an empire that reached beyond the corners of China. Li Jun almost felt sorry for whoever attacked Lian. Almost.

“Who?” was the only thing he said, his voice an icy tundra that sent shivers up Li Jun’s spine.

“A male student of our school about my height. He had a mask covering his face and a hat on his head so I couldn’t see his face, but the school cameras may have caught him,” he replied. “He probably hid in a classroom or blended into a crowd of students right after, but someone besides Huo Cheng and I may have witnessed him pushing Lian and seen where he went after.”

Their school wasn’t all that big to begin with, being the elite of the elite. It offered no scholarship programs, so even the most intelligent upper middle-class kids won’t be accepted if they are not a legacy. And there were not that many guys who were around his height in their school of less than 100. The school had top-notch security that prevented anyone who wasn’t a student, a vetted staff, a parent or a listed guardian from coming in. You could never be too sure especially when it came to the safety of the precious children of the most powerful people in the city and government. Finding the culprit would not be difficult at all.

The problem was, what if he wasn’t acting alone? And why exactly was he targeting Lian out of the many elite students in the whole school?

President Zheng only nodded in thanks and returned to Lian’s hospital room, leaving him alone in the hallway.

+

Wang Li Jun didn’t realize until a week later that he should have just taken President Zheng’s offer instead of giving Zheng Lian a chance to “repay” him.