Bamboo Forest Manager - Chapter 15: Soup Kitchen

ExcerptAristia could not help but stare at the platinum blonde a few steps in front of her. She seemed to sparkle with a glow that drew people in around her. Something that only happened to the main character of a novel.[Is that stupid book sure I'm the female lead?] She thought, her jaws almost going slack.At this point, she was sure she was deluding herself— or the book was deluding her.She didn't know why, but she already disliked the girl.[This is definitely not jealousy.]She rubbed her brows, watching how the innocent, naive looking girl exuding female lead aura was being flocked around already by others.“Fuck, I'm in deep shit!”—Excerpt Two“What do you mean this is where I belong?!!!” She asked incredulously.“It is the truth. It might sound extremely absurd and unbelievable, but it is the truth.” He said, his voice tinged with helplessness.“Hell, it is absurd.” She threw her hands up in the air exasperatedly. The seriousness in his eyes told her he wasn't at all joking or messing with her. He was damn serious.“Ugh. What shit am I involved in?” She asked frustratingly to no one in particular at the news she was still trying to wrap her head around.***Aristia Andrews had just come back home from work and prepared to go to sleep, when she was given a novel.Nothing strange about that though, huh?But just after she had completed the novel, she woke up to find herself tossed into a whole new world. Taken from her world and the life she deemed perfect, and tossed into a not-so-ideal world.Now part of royalty, she has to get accustomed to living in a backward world of Kings and Queens, Dukes, Marquises, Earls, Viscounts and Barons. Just the titles and hierarchy were enough to make her smart head spin.With beautiful and loving parents and relatives, a cute younger brother, loyal servants and a smart brain, join Aristia as she enjoys eating and making new and delicious cuisines, forms unique friendships, and creates successful businesses.However, she finds all is not as she thought it was; there just might be something bigger than she expected, that the book did not reveal.Now... she has a lot of mysteries surrounding her to unfold, and secrets to uncover, and perhaps she'll find a dash of love along the way.

In the land of magic and beasts, Sylvia was betrayed by her family and sold off as a slave. She was expecting the worst, but fortunately, it was a handsome prince who had ‘bought’ her! Who doesn’t love a charming, benevolent, and kind prince, not to mention ridiculously handsome?

But, little did Sylvia know that the charming handsome prince was no angel but rather a devil in disguise!

The calm, kind and good-hearted Sylvia found herself slowly changing under the devil's influence but worst of all, she found herself becoming more and more addicted to the two-faced devil who harbored dark and dangerous secrets.

But could she ever fully trust the shameless devil? Or was he just one of the many who desired her hidden powers? Let the games begin!

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Excerpt:

“Are you getting ready for your engagement, my sweet kitten?” The devil's familiar voice drawled, making Sylvia's entire body tingle with an unfathomable need.

She gazed into his dark coal black eyes, lost within them, as he rubbed her lips with his thumb. This man... This man in front of her alone had the power to make her knees weak and her heart crumble.

“Heh. Being silent, are we?” The devil chuckled, his hand moving away from her lips to the back of her head. He clutched a handful of her soft silver hair and pulled her closer to him, capturing her lips with his.

Sylvia snapped out of her trance and commanded her body to push the devil away but her traitorous body only yearned for him more and she wrapped her hands around his neck instead.

The devil's lips curved upwards, his grin widening in satisfaction. His hand then moved down to her gorgeous engagement gown laced with diamonds and rubies which came undone as soon as he touched.

The laces, the veil, the flowers, the jewelry, everything was ripped to shreds, leaving behind only herself. An entire morning spent on getting ready and dressing up gone to waste just like that!

“You!” Sylvia glared at the shameless devil angrily. She had given him an inch but he went for the mile!

She pushed him away with all the force that she could muster, pinning him against the wall, imprisoning his rude mannerless hands.

“Heh? Why are you angry, my darling? Aren't I helping you? Why waste your time attending the meaningless engagement, when you already know that you belong to me and me alone?”

“Go to hell! Who said I belong to you! I belong to no one.”

“Is that so?” The devil leaned forward, gently knocking his forehead with hers. “Shall I leave then...?” He whispered, his warm breath caressing her cheeks.

Sylvia's face instantly reddened as she couldn't resist the devil's sweet temptations anymore...

She gave into the man's wicked allure and pressed her lips over his, stopping his mouth from taunting her and teasing her any further.

I don’t know why I die, I don’t know why I live.

Divided hunters die of loyalty,

The witch who plays with emotions dies of love,

Cautious fortune-tellers die of trust.

The thief who steals everything has nothing,

The visionary who created everything never existed.

The traveler fell on his way home,

The twilight giants rest before dawn.

Lawyers sacrifice for order,

Judges forget the law.

The sleepless sleeps in the dark,

The corpse collector lay in the coffin.

We are guardians, and a bunch of poor creatures who are constantly fighting against danger and madness.

This journey is life and death.

While drowning was inevitable, they had struggled.

This is the worst of times, this is the best of times.

- Description from novelbuddy

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?”