Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Zhu Yin asked in a low voice, “Aren’t you going over there?”
She raised her chin slightly, signaling for Meng Qingqing to look.
Meng Qingqing gritted her teeth and shook her head.
She thought Zhu Yin had a point.
Emotionally, she disliked Liu Ruyan and certainly would not go help her.
But Wanwan… By the standards everyone else applied, wasn’t she a mistress?
Meng Qingqing might not be a good person, but aside from illegitimate children, how many people in their social circle did not despise mistresses and kept women?
She folded her hands on her knees, her expression serene. “No. I think it’s quite comfortable here. Peaceful and pleasant.”
Zhu Yin gave her an approving look that said, You have excellent judgment.
.
The instant Liu Ruyan saw Wanwan, half the smile vanished from her face.
She instinctively looked at her husband. When she saw Li Nanfeng staring at Wanwan without blinking, she nearly lost the other half as well.
Her fingers tightened slightly around Li Nanfeng’s arm, and she raised a gentle smile. “Miss Gu, I thought you were unwell and worried that coming here might interfere with your recovery, so I didn’t send you an invitation. I hope you don’t mind.”
Zhu Yin arched a brow. The female lead had evolved. She had even learned to smile while mocking someone. She was ridiculing Wanwan for coming uninvited.
“It’s all right,” Wanwan said gently. “Nanfeng made a special point of telling me. Nanfeng and I have known each other for years. How could I miss such an important day?”
A sharp intake of breath came from beside her.
Zhu Yin turned to look. Meng Qingqing squeezed out a smile and said with difficulty, “So they really are… that blatant.”
Biting her spoon, she wondered in confusion how she had failed to notice something so obvious before.
Liu Ruyan clung tightly to her husband’s arm. “I see. Thank you, Miss Gu, for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend Nanfeng’s and my anniversary celebration.”
She deliberately stressed the words “Nanfeng’s and my” and watched with satisfaction as Wanwan’s face paled.
As if suddenly weak, Wanwan took a small step backward and steadied herself against a chair. She forced a smile, but her limpid eyes remained fixed on Li Nanfeng without blinking. “Yes… Nanfeng, I wish you and Mrs. Li every happiness.”
Crack!
At the sound, Zhu Yin turned her head. Meng Qingqing had bitten straight through her ice cream spoon.
“She’s so fake!” Before Zhu Yin could ask, Meng Qingqing looked thoroughly disgusted. “Now I can’t even eat my ice cream. It’s too sickly sweet!”
Meng Qingqing decided she must have been blind before. What idealized love? Wanwan was clearly manipulative, hiding her schemes behind a pure and innocent facade.
Amused, Zhu Yin said, “You aren’t the only one who’s blind.”
The blindest one of all stood in the middle of the crowd.
Of course, it was also possible that scumbags simply liked that sort of thing.
Meng Qingqing focused on the scene. Sure enough, a trace of heartache appeared on Li Nanfeng’s face.
Ignoring Liu Ruyan’s attempt to hold him back, he pulled free of her hand and strode to Wanwan’s side to support her. “Wanwan, you’re in poor health. You shouldn’t have come out. This isn’t an important occasion. It wasn’t worth making a special trip.”
“Fuck!”
Zhu Yin heard Meng Qingqing swear under her breath.
This was probably the first time in her life Meng Qingqing had viewed the relationship among the three of them from Liu Ruyan’s position.
She asked in disbelief, “Nanfeng…”
For some reason, the familiar form of address suddenly felt disgusting. She corrected herself at once. “Is Li Nanfeng blind, or is there something wrong with his brain?”
With her new spoon, she stabbed viciously at the ice cream in her hand and gave a sinister laugh. “If my future husband ever tells another woman our wedding anniversary isn’t important, I’ll make him regret ever coming into this world.”
What an asshole!
She felt her former self had been an asshole too.
“And Liu Ruyan still won’t divorce him?”
The same words held an entirely different meaning now than when she used to say them.
Before, Meng Qingqing’s brain had been muddled. She thought Liu Ruyan should know her place, hurry up and divorce him, and make room for the couple she shipped.
Now she wondered how Liu Ruyan could bear it when this wretched pair were so revolting.
She heard Zhu Yin laugh again.
By now, Meng Qingqing no longer dared underestimate Zhu Yin’s laughter. She had known this mysterious woman for less than an hour, but every laugh had inevitably been followed by a devastating blow.
Sure enough.
Zhu Yin said, “What are you thinking? Liu Ruyan won’t get a divorce.”
A question mark appeared over Meng Qingqing’s head.
Zhu Yin said with certainty, “She’s madly in love!”
Confusion appeared on Meng Qingqing’s young face. Zhu Yin said nothing more. She would understand in time.
Liu Ruyan stood amid the crowd. A moment ago, she had been the absolute center of attention. Everyone had flattered and fawned over her, praising the love between her and her husband.
Now, those people were still watching her, but their gazes had turned meaningful and mocking.
Liu Ruyan bit her lip lightly and followed the other two.
Li Nanfeng helped Wanwan sit in the lounge area, then turned and saw her.
His face filled with apology. “I’m sorry, Ruyan. Wanwan is in poor health.”
Liu Ruyan lowered her eyes and met Wanwan’s gentle gaze.
She covered her abdomen and let out a soft moan.
When Li Nanfeng looked at her, she said quietly, “I’m fine. Our guest comes first. Take good care of Miss Gu. It’s only that my health is much worse than before…”
Li Nanfeng’s expression darkened. Her health was much worse than before.
He thought he knew the reason.
A trace of guilt rose in his heart. He remembered what the woman before him had lost for his sake, and he remembered what he had promised her.
Placing a hand on his wife’s shoulder, he looked at the woman on the sofa. “Wanwan, rest here. I’ll arrange for an attendant to stay by your side. Tell her directly if you need anything.”
As she left, Liu Ruyan glanced back at the woman on the sofa, the corners of her lips lifting faintly.
She had won.
In everyone else’s eyes, Li Nanfeng had chosen her in the end.
But in the eyes of Zhu Yin and Meng Qingqing–
“No, wait.” Meng Qingqing nearly tore at her own hair. Completely baffled, she asked, “What does Li Nanfeng mean by this? Which one does he actually love?”
If he chose his wife, he should never have said their wedding anniversary was unimportant. Besides, a married man should keep a proper distance and observe a husband’s virtue. Supporting another woman so intimately was going far too far, all right?
If he loved his idealized love, then why had he taken Liu Ruyan’s hand and left with her afterward?
She bit her spoon and agonized for a long time before reaching a horrifying conclusion. “He isn’t trying to enjoy both women at once, is he?”
That was a path Zhu Yin had not considered. She pondered briefly. “Hmm… Hard to say.”
Meng Qingqing said, “Ptooey! Scumbag!”
All in all, the female lead appeared to have won the anniversary celebration by a narrow margin.
Zhu Yin watched a good show and also acquired a one-sided friend.
Meng Qingqing stayed with her in the corner for the entire evening. Before leaving, she pestered Zhu Yin shamelessly until Zhu Yin added her contact information.
Once she learned Zhu Yin’s profession, she grew even more enthusiastic.
“Doctor, I’ll come visit you when I have time.” She waved her phone at Zhu Yin. “Remember to share any new developments with me!”
She had a strange intuition that the Li family’s drama would not settle down so easily.
.
After the anniversary celebration, Zhu Yin enjoyed a relatively peaceful stretch of time.
She traveled to every corner of Haicheng, sampled all the local specialties and delicacies, and even took a long annual vacation.
Barbara dutifully gave her regular reports on the male and female leads’ progress.
Wanwan’s scenes diminished dramatically, while Liu Ruyan gained a great deal of ground.
The male and female leads’ relationship advanced by leaps and bounds. The male lead gradually seemed to realize that he no longer saw Liu Ruyan as a substitute. Instead, he was increasingly drawn to her and had developed real feelings.
Liu Ruyan brought her husband and armfuls of gifts home to visit her parents.
When the door opened, however, a stranger stood before her.
“The owner? That’s me,” the stranger said. “I just bought this place through an agency. The previous owners sold it. I don’t know where they moved.”