Reborn Young Miss: Phoenix Burning Red-Chapter 97: Brother and Sister (3)
Hunter was startled. As Adrienne revealed her tear-stricken face to him, he could only remain in his spot, standing motionless. He then heard her laugh lightly as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
"Addie..."
He had expected her to be upset, but why did she look so broken now? Hunter immediately felt guilty. He didn’t mean to upset her by hiding his identity from her.
Adrienne suddenly fell on her knees, much to his surprise. Hunter immediately knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. He seized her up. He wondered what compelled Adrienne to act like this. Did she hate the idea of him being her older brother? Did she think he had deceived her and made a fool out of her?
The young lady before him had shed the childish nature other eighteen year old girls normally still retained. His younger sister had already grown up and he didn’t even get a chance to see the transitions she went through in life. He and Adrienne didn’t get a chance to grow up together as Camilla had robbed everything from him since his birth.
Actually, there was another secret that Hunter was keeping from everyone, especially from Adrienne. For some reason, he had returned in time and was given a second chance to live. However, the time he was reborn was after his mother’s murder and during the time, he was being tried for insubordination at the camp.
In his previous life, he was killed by Camilla Yan with the help of the Ji family. During one stormy night, Hunter was abducted by some unknown men and was thrown into the raging river of Changshi City. It was only before he faced death did he find out the reason for the tragedy that befell his family.
"Your entire family is dead and you’re the only one left," Camilla told him, her eyes gleaming with happiness. "I killed Rosemary Zhao as well as that foolish sister of yours. Do you know? You and your younger sister’s existence are a thorn in my eyes and now, I can finally get rid of you once and for all!"
Hunter was astonished to find out that he was the son of the illustrious socialite, Rosemary Zhao and that he had a younger sister. From a young age, Hunter had always known that he was adopted but he never dared to question his mother about his biological parents because he held some grudge towards them. He thought that they had given him away because they didn’t want him. If they didn’t want him, Hunter decided that they had no place in his life.
Hunter Nian was raised by his adopted mother alone and would’ve never guessed that he was actually a member of an affluent family. He grew up as a commoner and experienced the tragic bitterness in life, but he managed to overcome all the obstacles with his adoptive mother’s support. Who knew that after returning from the camp one day, he would be greeted by the bloodied corpse of his adoptive mother?
The suspect was easily apprehended by the authorities, but for some reason, he managed to get a lighter sentence than what Hunter expected. It was only before his death did he find out the real reason for his mother’s murder.
His adoptive mother, Eleanor Nian, was a close acquaintance of Camilla Yan during their college years. Camilla got pregnant with Lewis Jiang’s illegitimate child and after a few months of not seeing each other, Camilla asked Eleanor to help her get rid of the baby. Eleanor, whose husband had recently passed away, couldn’t bear to do it and decided to raise the baby herself, assuming it was Camilla’s son.
However, as Hunter grew up into a fine young man, Eleanor started having doubts about his identity. She noticed that he did not look like Camilla no matter the angle, so Eleanor decided to check on how Camilla and the Jiang family were faring back then.
Her suspicion only grew when she saw a photo of Cayden and Rosemary on the internet. Cayden looked very much like Lewis and Camilla, while the young boy Eleanor was raising bore some resemblance to Madam Jiang.
Eleanor confessed in her diary — a diary that eventually fell into Camilla’s hands, that she was afraid of what Camilla would do to Hunter and decided not to mention it to the boy. However, she had never thought that Camilla would eventually find out that she was raising Rosemary’s son and decided to tie up the loose end.
Hunter Nian, who had just recently graduated from a military school and became a special force soldier, was devastated with the death of Eleanor. After his rebirth, he managed to find his mother’s diary and hid it where Camilla Yan wouldn’t be able to reach. As for Camilla’s involvement with the psychopath who killed his mother, Hunter had yet to find out.
However, he never expected that Adrienne would come to him that day, bailing him out of his cell. The young woman was nothing like the foolish woman Camilla had told him about before his death. Hunter considered the possibility of Adrienne being reborn like him, but she had yet to display instances that prove these assumptions, aside from the fact that her personality had changed once she turned eighteen - according to Mother Wang and Uncle Mo.
Hunter gently gazed at his younger sister, who was still weeping on her knees. The Adrienne Jiang he’d observed so far was decisive and would handle matters accordingly based on the occasion. Not only did she manage to destroy Camilla’s reputation, but she had also humiliated Cayden Jiang in one night.
With every manner, every word she uttered, there wasn’t any semblance of the foolish sister Camilla claimed he had. As he noted this, Hunter felt sad and gratified at the same time. At what cost did Adrienne grow up to be like this? What did she have to sacrifice to become this calm, mature and decisive woman that she was now?
Hunter decided he would definitely protect Adrienne this time and not allow her to be taken advantage of by anyone.
