Dream Or Not: A Devil Or An Angel

"Ouch! My head hurts, my hips too... Why does it hurt everywhere?" Alina Li groaned as the pain rushed through her entire body. It felt as if she'd just been run over by a truck.

Her nose scrunched up as a strong smell of disinfectant wafted towards her. From the smell, it seemed that she was in a hospital. She wasn't dead.

Her shoulders sagged in relief.

The bullet train that she'd taken went off the rails. With everything happening in just a minute, she thought that she was about to die. Now, lying in one of those hospital beds, she felt incredibly blessed.

'I'm safe...' she thought repeatedly, her lips inching up into a smile.

However, even then, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the people who must've died in the bullet train crash. Her eyebrows furrowed mournfully. 'God bless those souls.'

Alina Li glanced at her surroundings and pursed her lips, noticing the lack of beds and patients beside her. If it weren't for the pure white decorations and the distinct smell of disinfectant, she'd think that she was living in a five-star hotel room.

It seemed the country truly did improve its healthcare budget.

As she admired the room even more, someone opened the door. Alina Li turned her head to see a beautiful woman in her thirties rushing in.

'Do the nurses wear luxurious uniforms now?' Alina Li tilted her head.

"Alaina! You're awake," the woman exclaimed, hurrying to her side. "How are you feeling? Do you feel anything–anything at all? Do you need me to call the doctor?"

Alina Li was even more confused when the woman started addressing her so intimately. "I'm sorry, who are you? I think you have me confused for someone else," she said politely.

The woman was stunned for a second. Her lips quivered. "Alaina," she started. "I'm your mother. Are you okay, dear? Do you remember falling down the stairs?"

'What?' Alina Li furrowed her eyebrows. From what she remembered, her bullet train got derailed. She didn't fall down the stairs. 'When did that happen? Why didn't I know?'

Besides, this woman was not her mother, not even close! Alina Li might have been on a bullet train accident, but she could recognize her own mother.

From the woman's curly hair and expertly placed make-up, the woman looked more like her sister!

"Please, Alaina, don't scare me." Her eyes were glassy now.

"Wendy, why are you crying? Is Alaina awake?" A powerful voice sounded from the door. Alina Li turned to see a middle-aged man come in. He wore a pair of rimless glasses, a straight suit, and polished shoes. From the way he walked, he looked like a successful elite.

"Honey, Alaina doesn't seem to recognize me. She doesn't know who I am!" she cried. "Did she hit her head that hard?"

The man frowned. "Alaina, do you remember me? I'm your father."

Alina Li narrowed her eyes. Who was this man, and why the hell did he assume he was her father?

"Alaina, do you remember Dad?" The woman tried once again, taking Alina's hand into her own.

Following the woman's movement, her gaze fell on the hand her 'mother' had taken. Her eyes widened. It wasn't her hand.

Her hands were filled with callouses and blisters. These hands–these hands were ones belonging to an elite!

'What's going on? What happened? Who am I? Where am I?' Although she was shocked, Alina didn't show it.

"Alaina, Alaina," the woman cried, waving exasperatedly at her. Alina was only staring blankly ahead. "Please, say something. Anything!"

Alina plastered a smile on her face as she leaned back on her bed. "I–I'm fine. I'm just a little dizzy."

The woman heaved a sigh of relief. "You scared me! I thought you had a head injury!"

The middle-aged man walked over to his wife, gazing affectionately at the both of them. "You're fine now, right? If you feel uncomfortable, tell me, and I'll get the best doctor here right away!"

"It's fine. I feel much better now." Although Alina was still confused as to what was happening, she wasn't going to meet with some random doctor – not now, anyway.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man sighed in relief. "That's all right then. I still have things to do in the company, so I won't be able to be there for you. If you want anything, tell your Mom, okay? I'll be leaving."

Alina bowed her head in response. "Okay."

As soon as he left, the woman's face darkened as she held onto Alina's hands. "Tell me honestly, how did you fall from the stairs last night? Did Sheffield push you? He's been acting weird all the morning..."

Upon hearing the name, it felt as if a light bulb had lit up in her mind. "Wait, my Dad's Eric Xu, right?"

The woman furrowed her eyebrows, slowly nodding her head. "Yes."

"And you're Wendy Li."

The woman, however, was not amused with her daughter stating their names. "Yes, yes. Have you finally figured that out?"

Alina closed her eyes. She finally knew where she was.

On the train, she'd been reading a novel. She was on the last few chapters when the accident happened.

The title of the novel was "My CEO". It was a novel about a man who had been bullied and oppressed by his stepmother and stepsister. After returning from abroad, he worked hard and became the rich and powerful man he was. He fell in love with the heroine and crushed all his enemies one by one.

In the novel, the stepsister was Alaina Li.

Eric Xu was Alaina Li's stepfather and the hero's biological father. Wendy Li was her biological mother and the hero's stepmother.

That was why Wendy Li called her Alaina and not Alina.

In the novel, Alaina Li had fallen down the stairs when she was sixteen years old. The hero was only fifteen. Back then, he was a thin and sickly boy but with a rebellious streak as well.

Alaina Li was jealous that Eric Xu generously gave the hero a limited edition sports car for his birthday gift, so she deliberately missed a step and fell down the stairs. When she woke up, she framed the hero for pushing her down.

The hero, Sheffield Xu, was repeatedly hit by his parents before being grounded at the end of the night. After that incident, he had every reason to hate them.

Because of Wendy Li and Alaina Li, his father sent the hero abroad after high school. After he came back, he became a cruel and capable businessman.

Once he came back, that was when the real story began. He met a kind heroine. Although they quarreled plenty of times, they later fell in love with each other.

Alina didn't see the ending, but she knew what happened to the stepsister and stepmother.

The hero coldly watched them be continuously raped by several AIDS patients. At his suggestion, the video was posted online and made public. The infected pair ended up living miserable in the end with no dignity left.

At the thought of the ending, Alina got goose bumps. In her opinion, although the Alaina was vicious, she was nothing compared to the hero.

The hero was a devil incarnate.

She pursed her lips.

"Hey! I'm talking to you," Wendy snapped, raising her eyebrows at her daughter's blank stare. "Did Sheffield push you down the stairs?"

She knew that her daughter didn't get along with Sheffield Xu. She herself hated her stepson. If it hadn't been for Eric Xu, she would've gotten rid of him long ago.

If Sheffield Xu really did it, Wendy would go all out to break any relation he had left within this family.

Once he wasn't there, she'd use every opportunity to have Eric's baby. Their child would be the heir to the Xu Family, and she'd be the matron – just like she wanted.

Wendy had even thought out their entire future already.

"No, it had nothing to do with Sheffield. I fell down by accident," Alina replied hurriedly, seeing the excitement in her mother's eyes.

She already knew what the man was capable of. She wasn't that crazy!

A flash of disappointment appeared on Wendy's face. "I saw him standing behind you. Are you sure you fell down all on your own?"

"Yes." Her eyes widened in sincerity.

Wendy was silent for a second, before slyness flashed in her eyes. "Don't you want to get Sheffield out of the Xu Family? If you want to, you can tell Dad someone pushed you off the stairs."

"No, that's not a good idea." Alina shook her head.

She was not crazy enough to go against the hero of the novel.

"Don't you want to drive him out of the Xu Family?"

Alina didn't even know how to explain herself anymore. After all, this must've been bizarre for her mother. She needed to make peace with her stepbrother before it was too late.

It was the only way she could leave peacefully in this life.

"Sheffield is Dad's son. Please, Mom, I don't think he'll want to get rid of him." She held her mother's hands, hoping to dispel her evil idea.

Wendy frowned suspiciously. "What's wrong with you? You used to hate him, and now you speak for him. Have you lost your mind?"

No matter what happened, Alina made a promise that she wasn't going to allow Wendy to make any trouble. After all, they were a duo. If something were to happen on him, he'd take revenge on both of them.

"Ouch, Mom, I suddenly feel dizzy..." Alina groaned, trying to divert her attention.

"Alaina? Are you okay?" Wendy's eyes widened in fear as she quickly called for the doctor.

Soon, the doctor and nurse rushed over. After doing a regular check, he turned to Wendy. "The patient has a mild concussion. She needs to recover by resting. Don't worry."

Wendy breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Dr. Tang."

After that, she didn't mention Sheffield any more.

Lying in a quiet ward, Alina opened her eyes and stared at the white ceiling.

Silently, she pulled out her hand and analyzed it. It was indeed not her hand.

Her left hand had whorls around her four fingers and callouses dotting her palms. This hand was smooth, with only one whorl looping around one of her fingers.

She felt her chest secretly with her right hand, frowning. There was a little mole on her left chest, but there was absolutely nothing on this body.

She smiled bitterly.

Alina wanted to think this was nothing but a dream, but the pain that ran down her body continued to prove to her that this was no her dream.

Just then, she felt someone glaring at the back of her head. She turned to see a slim and good-looking boy leaning at the door.

The boy was about fourteen or fifteen years old. He looked pale and thin. His dark hair fell upon his face, emphasizing his hallowed out cheekbones and pursed lips. He looked at Alina with disgust and indifference.

When she turned her gaze back on him, he walked into the room slowly before stopping two meters away from the girl. He sneered.

Alina narrowed her eyes, not saying a word.

'Is this guy mute? What a shame,' she thought.

His gaze hardened even further. "Pity that my sister woke up," he said, with no emotion in his voice.

'Sister?' Alaina only had one brother, and he was Sheffield.

Her eyes widened in disbelief. 'The boy in front of me is the hero?' she thought.

"Why... Why are you here?" 'Did he see me lying here and decide to take his revenge?'

In the novel, there weren't many things that were said before the hero went abroad. She only got to read a few flashbacks, so Alina had no idea what would happen next.

Looking at her surprised and defensive position, Sheffield raised the corners of lips and lowered his head slightly. His long eyelashes and messy hair made it difficult for her to see what he was thinking.

Suddenly, he said, "What a coincidence."

His cold words made the hairs on Alina's neck stand up. Alaina was stupid to take this man as a weak sheep, that was for sure!

Realizing that the male lead was warning her, Alina quickly plastered a smile on her face. "It was just an accident, purely accidental." She waved her hands exasperatedly, breaking out of character.

This time, Sheffield finally looked up at Alina. He pursed his lips, confused at her reaction.

Alaina had always been arrogant and mean when they were alone. In fact, never once had she shown such a sweet smile directed at him. If it hadn't been for the fact that she looked just like her, he would've thought that he entered the wrong room.

'Did the fall change her overall temperament?' Sheffield furrowed his eyebrows.

Faced with his questioning gaze, Alina's heart raced in her chest. Would he suspect her for breaking out of character? Was that even possible?

She shook the thought away. No one would believe this anyway. Although the hero was clever, he'd never figure out that she wasn't Alaina at all.

The idea made her all the more confident. "It's getting late," she said calmly. "You'd better go back home, little brother."

'I just called him little brother!' she thought with amazement.

Alina saw his eyes twitched, and he was stunned at the way she addressed him. After a while, he turned and left, without saying another word.

The ward was quiet once again, giving more time for different thoughts to race through her mind.

The only reason why the leading man hated Alaina and Wendy was because they didn't treat him well. In fact, they were very manipulative in the novel. If she'd be a good sister and take care of her brother from now on, maybe the hero would sympathize with her. Maybe then, they could become a happy and healthy family.

If only her dream would come true! Alina wasn't one to care so much of her money or fame. She was extremely confident in her ability to earn a living. Now, all she wanted was to keep the hero out of her trail.

Besides, according to his age, they still had a few more years left before the main plot. Their relationship could be improved still!

Although the road was hard, she believed she could do it.

Time went by quickly. In the past four days, Eric had only visited twice, while Wendy visited every day with various bowls of soup and congee.

Although it was easy to digest them, Alina usually found herself rushing to the toilet if she had too much. Fortunately, her body had only suffered minor injuries, so she had no problem with getting up and going to the toilet.

Today was the day that she'd be reexamined. If everything went well, she'd be able to go home.

Since Alina was a VIP patient, the examination results came out fast.

The doctor informed them that she was fine and that she could be discharged anytime soon.

Alina almost jumped from her chair at the sound of that. Although the room was incredible, she'd die of boredom if she spent one more day in there.

That morning, Wendy took her back to the Xu Family's villa.

The Xu Family was one of the richest families in the local area. They lived in a very high-end villa, specifically built for the well-endowed. The villa had a garden with more than ten acres of land.

When they arrived, Alina found that Eric and Sheffield weren't home. One was working while the other was studying.

As Wendy rambled about school, Alina quickly recalled that Alaina was still in high school. Just with the realization, she groaned at the thought of having to take the college entrance examinations.

Although her soul had travelled to this world, their memories weren't the same. When Wendy ordered her to go back to her room to rest, she chewed her lip as she gazed at the spacious villa.

The layout of the villa was described in the novel, but Alina had only been concentrated on the plot that she didn't really pay attention to such trivial details. She only remembered that her room was on the second floor.

She decided to go up to the second floor first.

Alina rubbed the back of her neck once she reached the second floor, not knowing which way to go first.

"Click!" Just then, one of the maids came out of a room.

"Hello, Miss Alaina." The servant was a middle-aged woman. When she turned around and saw one of her employers, she bowed immediately to greet her.

"I haven't slept in my room for several days. Can you help me change the bedding?"

Surprise flashed on the servant's face, but she quickly nodded. "Yes, of course."

The helper immediately hurried down the staircase. She came up holding clean sheets and a quilt.

Without another word, the maid turned right and headed to the third room.

At least now Alina knew where her room was.

She stood outside the door and waited for the servant to change the bed sheets. Once she was finished, Alina walked inside.

The room was incredibly spacious. The white walls and high ceilings magnified the space even further. The French window was half open as the lacy curtain waved with the wind. Next to the window was a two-meter-wide pink desk, and when she looked up, the walls were decorated with huge star posters.

Fortunately, the room wasn't too girly for her taste.

Alina walked and threw herself on the bed. The new bedding smelt of laundry detergent – fresh and pleasant.

Although she was hard to accept the fact that she was Alaina at first, this was her life from now on.

In the past few days, she struggled with the idea a lot. In fact, there was a day when she tried to dial all the phone numbers of her families and friends. It only ended up as wrong calls.

Unwilling to accept the fact at first, she had to check many of the celebrities on her phone once again. She found that people in the ancient times and modern times were the same as the ones in her world.

That was understandable, given that these types of books usually based their facts on reality.

After struggling to accept the truth, she finally understood that she actually had traveled into an alternate dimension.

Alina lay in bed for a while before getting up again, realizing that she still didn't know much of her way around this house.

She looked around the room before narrowing her eyes at the desk in front of her.

The desk had two layers. There were different books on the shelf, containing textbooks and comic books that were neatly stacked together.

However, the lower shelf was incredibly messy.

Her computer, pendant, pens, and notebooks were scattered across the desk.

Her lips twitched sheepishly as she tidied it up.

The desk had three drawers. The one in the middle was locked. She decided to open the left one first to see a variety of accessories like head bands, hair pins, rings, and bracelets.

Alina opened the right one to see a photo album on top. She scanned them, seeing pictures of her classmates, male stars and models from those magazines.

Under the photo album were all kinds of makeup products. From the looks of it, they all seemed extremely expensive and exclusive.

At last, Alina's eyes fell at the biggest drawer in the middle. She tugged it, pursing her lips when it still wouldn't budge. Since she didn't know where the key was, she had to give up.

After she'd gone through her bedroom, she decided to explore the villa for the time being. She found that there weren't any locked doors, so she decided to poke her head into each room one at a time.

It was almost noon when she was finished.

Since the villa wasn't that huge, there were only a few servants and a housekeeper staying in the villa. Two were in charge of the cleaning, one was in charge of the cooking, another was in charge of mowing the lawn, the other two were in charge of driving them around.

Usually, Wendy was the only one having lunch at home during the weekdays. Now, there were both of them.

The table was made of marble, and it was about three meters long and one meter wide. Once they had sat down, the housekeeper and the cook quickly placed the dishes on the table.

As the plates piled up, Alina's eyes glowed in excitement. When she was at the hospital, all she could eat were porridge and soup. Now, she could finally eat real food!

Seeing her delighted expression, Wendy laughed. "Well, don't just sit there, eat up."

It didn't take long for Alina to start gobbling it all up.

If it was before the accident, Wendy would comment on her rude behavior, but this time, she decided to let it slide.

After all, her daughter had just come out of the hospital.

After the meal, they sat on the couch to rest.

"Alaina, since you're all right now, why don't you go to class tomorrow?" she said gently. "It's not good to pile up on homework."

Alina nodded. "I understand."

"Once this semester is over, you'll be a sophomore! Have you decided which strand you'll choose? Science or Art?"

Science or Arts? Alina couldn't help but recall her own memory. Back in high school, she'd chosen to major in science because she was too impatient in learning about history and politics.

It turned out that it was much harder for her to understand Science.

Back then, she had no other choice but to suck it up and push through.

Now, it seemed that she had to go through all of it again!

"I'm actually not sure yet."

"Well, you can pick Arts. Science is usually for boys," Wendy suggested.

Alina remained silent. That same sentiment echoed to her reality as well.

Wendy continued, "I'm a very open-minded person. The decision's still up to you, as long as you don't rank last in your class."

Alaina's grades weren't that great. She usually ranked at the bottom half of the class, so Wendy had grown used to it.

However, Sheffield's grades were far worse. Compared to him, Alaina was already considered a good student.

In Wendy's opinion, a good marriage was still better than a good education. This was why she never really pressured her daughter into studying hard.

"Thank you, Mom." If this were her real mother, she'd beat her up with a broom when she knew that Alina's grades were that bad.

Wendy frowned, noticing how polite her daughter was sounding. She smiled teasingly. "When have you become so polite?"

Alina winked. "It's all just an illusion, Mom. Don't think it's the end of the world."

Seeing that her daughter was already returning to her livelier self, Wendy felt relieved. She smiled. "Well, I have an appointment in the afternoon. Have a good rest, okay?"

"Okay."

Once Wendy left, Alina was already all alone. At the thought of going to school tomorrow, she groaned.

Although she already went through all the same process, she'd forgotten what she learned, and now she had to pay the price!

She spent the entire afternoon reading her high school books that time had passed by very quickly.

Alina was so immersed in one of the history books that she didn't even notice the time till she heard a door open. She sat up, glancing to see that it was already six o'clock.

She stood up and opened her own door to see who arrived.

Carrying his schoolbag, Sheffield twisted the doorknob and entered his own room. Just as he was about to close it, he raised his head to see Alina peeking at him.

'With so many rooms in the villa, why do they have to be beside each other?' she thought. 'It wasn't as if they got along!'

"You're back!" Alina smiled.

A strange expression flashed in Sheffield's face before he closed the door hurriedly.

Alina raised her eyebrow before closing her own door in response.

'Something's wrong with her,' Sheffield thought once the door closed behind him. His father wasn't there, so there was no need to pretend that they got along.

Since she'd already made up her mind to be a good sister, Alina had to face his brother's cold face, even if she was still feeling uncomfortable.

After a few minutes, Wendy and Eric had also returned. Alina ran out of her room in excitement.

"Dad, Mom, you're back!"

In the novel, Eric treated Alaina really well. If she hadn't been so unreasonable in the stories, Eric would've given the Xu Group to her to manage.

"Alaina! You're finally out of the hospital. I'm glad you're all right!" Eric exclaimed, raising his arms up in the air. "Did Sheffield come back?"

The smile on Wendy's face faltered the moment her stepson was brought into the topic once again. Just as she was about to speak, her daughter replied quickly, "He's back. He's probably studying upstairs." She turned to her mother.

"Mom, I'm really hungry. Are you hungry? How about you and Dad rest for a bit, and then we can have dinner, okay?" The way Alina spoke was similar to that of a young girl. Her eyes glistened at the thought of finally eating after a long day.

As she grew older, she began to look more and more like Wendy. Wendy was a beautiful woman. It was one of the reasons why Eric had chosen her, despite the fact that she had a child.

Alina was afraid that her mother would start speaking ill of the hero, so she veered the topic away.

"You're always hungry. You shouldn't always think about food," Wendy scolded, but she still couldn't help but laugh at her daughter's adorable looks.

Eric patted Wendy's hand. "A good appetite is a blessing. Alaina just survived a disaster, so she must be really blessed. Since you're hungry, let's have dinner."

Peter, their butler, treated that as a signal as he rushed to the kitchen to ask the staff to prepare their food.

Seeing that his son still hadn't come down the stairs, Eric motioned to Alaina. "Go and ask your brother to come down," he said gruffly. "It's bad to stay in the room all day."

"Okay, Dad. I'll call him." Without hesitation, Alina ran up the staircase.

Sitting in front of his desk, Sheffield could hear their laughter ringing up the second floor from time to time. He couldn't help but sneer at the sound.

He couldn't see what his father had seen in them. They were just a pair of social climbers – nice when you were in front of them and completely vicious when your back was turned. His father, however, treated them like treasures!

"Knock! Knock! Knock!" There was a polite knock coming from the door.

Sheffield quickly shifted back into the frail boy they thought he was and called, "Come in."

With a click, the door opened. His eyes darkened when he saw who it was.

"Why are you here?" he snapped. It wasn't the butler, but his stepsister.

Before the accident, when his stepsister would come to find him, she'd usually open the door as loud as possible to irritate him. However, this time, she actually knocked.

Ignoring his cold demeanor, Alina smiled kindly. "Brother, Dad asked me to call you. It's almost time for dinner."

Brother, brother... If she called him brother often, maybe then he'd change his mind about her.

Hearing her call him brother, his eyes darkened further. He wanted to scream and shake her. Who the hell did she think she was to call him 'brother'? However, he could only reply with an "Okay".

"Come down, brother." After that, Alina closed the door and left.

Sheffield stared at the door with mixed feelings. He couldn't help but wonder what happened when she fell down the staircase. She changed a lot.

As Alina skipped into the living room, she saw that Eric was the only one in the room. He was too busy reading the newspapers for today.

"Where's Mom?"

"She's changing her clothes," he responded.

"Have you had a busy day, Dad? Do you want me to massage your shoulders?" Alina walked towards him. Alina decided to use this opportunity to get close to Eric. 'If he supports me now, he might also put in good words for me with Sheffield, if he wouldn't let me go in the future,' she thought.

"You're growing more and more sensible now that you're a high school student." He chuckled, happy that his daughter wanted to spend more time with him.

"You've worked hard, so I should thank you." She moved to the back of the couch and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Alina spoke so sincerely that Eric couldn't help but smile.

Since he wasn't her biological father, he couldn't help but be estranged from her daughter at first. At the beginning, he wasn't that close to his little stepdaughter. However, he couldn't resist his wife's insistence. Plus, the little girl was adorable. He couldn't help but adore her all the more.

He had wanted to be close to her all this time, so Eric was glad that she was close with him.

When Sheffield walked downstairs, he pursed his lips at the scene. "Dad," he said coldly.

Looking at the boy's thin and pale face, Eric furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't stay in the room all the time, Sheffield," he instructed. "You're not in good health. Get out and do more sports."

"Got it." Sheffield nodded, indifferent to his father's concerns.

Ever since his mother passed away and his father remarried, there had been a gap between them. With Wendy and Alaina always causing mischief every now and then, the gap had grown even bigger. It had been a long time since they had a good chat.

"I don't like your tone, son." His son's coldness agitated him. He knew that his son hated him, but he just couldn't understand why. Eric had done nothing wrong. Was it really a despicable thing to remarry? It wasn't as if he cheated on his mother. Months had passed when he remarried, so he just couldn't understand why his son was still mad at him.

All of a sudden, Sheffield stared at him with sadness in his eyes before it shifted to a more rebellious glare.

Eric had always tried to teach his son a lesson, but Sheffield always ignored him.

As a rich and powerful man, Eric wasn't used to being ignored that easily.

He didn't like that Sheffield wasn't treating him with respect.

Although, Alina had been silently massaging Eric, she'd been secretly watching their exchanges since Sheffield went downstairs. She caught the sadness in his eyes.

Seeing that Eric was about to lose his temper, Alina stopped. "Dad, he's still young," she said smoothly. "Don't be angry, please."

Her words caught Sheffield's attention. His heart softened slightly. This was the first time his stepsister ever stood up for him.

In the past, Alaina never tried to persuade Eric or stood up for Sheffield. Instead, she'd even add salt to the injury.

"Look at your sister! If you're half as obedient as her, then maybe I'd get to live for another twenty years,"

Eric scolded. Sheffield shot her a cold glare.

Alina froze.

She thought that the hero would definitely misunderstand her intentions. If he thought that what she said was adding more salt to the injury, this would be bad for her in the future.

"Dad, Sheffield is a boy. If you ask him to be as obedient as a girl, then that still wouldn't be right for him."

Eric was stunned by Alina's words. She was right.

Sheffield was also stunned by her words. If she had spoken for him just once, he thought that she was just doing this for herself. Now, she continued to speak up for him. It didn't make sense.

Eric felt much better after hearing his stepdaughter's side, but he continued to keep a poker face.

Once Wendy came out in her home clothes, Alina clasped her hands together. "Mom has already changed her clothes. Can we have dinner now, Dad?"

Not wanting to be rude to his only son, Eric decided to back down. "Fine. Peter, it's time for dinner."

Hearing this, Alina ran happily to Wendy. She held her mother's hand and walked towards the dining table.

Staring at her retreating figure, mixed feelings rose in Sheffield's chest.

The dishes were soon placed on the table. The first dish was duck soup. Wendy quickly filled their bowls for each of them.

"The duck soup has been cooked for four hours and it is very nutritious. Honey, Sheffield, Alaina, have the soup first. It can warm your stomach." She was always considerate in front of Eric.

Eric's gaze softened.

"Thank you, Mom. The soup is delicious. It's not greasy at all," Alina smiled.

She glanced at Sheffield, noticing that he didn't seem happy with the soup.

As expected, he sneered at the bowl in front of him, pushing it back.

When Wendy noticed it, her face darkened. She pulled her hand out from Eric's grasp and placed on a worried mask. "Sheffield, don't you like the soup? It's good for you."

Sheffield wanted to vomit at her hypocrisy.

Eric turned to see his son's angry face. He frowned. "Why are you so angry? Your mother cares for you so much. Have you forgotten what to say?"

Sheffield gritted his teeth. This woman had always annoyed him to no end. If this continued, he'd...

Lowering her head, Wendy placed a hand on her chest. "Honey, forget about it. If Sheffield doesn't like it, I'll ask Jane to cook another soup next time."

Eric's male chauvinism surged again. He pounded the table with a loud bang. "If he doesn't want to eat, then he won't eat. You don't have to accommodate for him," he snapped.

Sheffield took that as a final straw. He threw his chopsticks and ran up to his room.

It had happened so fast that Alina couldn't process what was going on. She was just drinking some soup, and suddenly the whole dinner table turned into a battlefield.

She knew that her mother was unforgivable. If Wendy knew that this sensitive teen would be a strong and emotionless businessman, she wouldn't dare stretch the gap between him and his father.

Alina knew for a fact that this had just increased Sheffield's rage towards her and Wendy.

Now, they were one step closer to his death list.

As her mind replayed the tragic scene of Wendy and Alaina, a part of her wanted to jump up and race after him.

"Look at him!" Eric glared at his son's retreating figure, his chest heaving.

Seeing that her goal was reached, Wendy quickly patted her husband's chest to calm him down. "Don't be angry. The boy has a temper," she softly said. "You don't have to discipline him now. Let's have dinner. Have some duck soup, it will cleanse you."

"If that child's mother was still here..." Eric shook his head, his eyes shining with sadness. "Forget it, let's eat."

When his son was still young, he was an obedient boy. When his mother died, he became silent and sensitive. Since Eric had been busy with his growing career, he wasn't able to give Sheffield the attention he needed. When his son became more and more anti-social, he wondered if it was maternal love that his son had been missing.

That was one of the reasons why he remarried to Wendy, a gentle, considerate, and beautiful woman. However, it turned out his son hated his own stepmother.

He didn't know why since the pair were so good to him.

If Alina had known what Eric was thinking, she would've snorted. 'Wendy wouldn't give Sheffield what he needs. She doesn't even love him.'

Seeing Eric's saddened expression, Wendy lowered her eyes and held his hand.

They finished the meal in silence.

After dinner, Alina said her farewells and returned to her room.

She took a bath and lay on her bed, her mind filled with her character's miserable ending.

It was nearly eleven o'clock and she was becoming restless. She just couldn't sleep, still knowing that Sheffield was probably cursing her to her deathbed.

She needed to do something to eliminate that hatred.

At the thought of this, Alina silently opened the door and walked out in her pajamas.

It was eleven in the evening, and the servants had already gone to bed. The villa was quiet, so the girl turned on her flashlight and snuck into the kitchen.

To reduce his hatred, she might as well make some midnight snacks for him.

There were potatoes and carrots in the basket so Alina decided to look in the fridge.

There was a variety of food displayed in front of her, but she could only cook noodles.

Alina decided to make an omelet first. Once the water boiled, she placed the noodles in and took them out once they became malleable. On top of that, she placed some stir-fried vegetables.

Finally, the noodles were ready. However, Alina still felt as if something was missing. She clapped her hands together once she figured it out. It was coriander!

She grabbed and washed a few before sprinkling them over the noodles.

It was perfect. Alina quickly cleaned up the kitchen and walked up to the door of Sheffield's room. With a hand holding the noodles and the other holding the flashlight, Alina tentatively knocked three times on the door.

She hoped he hadn't gone to sleep, or else all her efforts would be futile.