This lotus flower caught Lu Ming’s attention. He asked casually, “Mengxin, when did your mother get the lotus tattoo on her body?”
Tattoo?
Jiang Mengxin was stunned, as if she didn’t understand Lu Ming’s question.
“What tattoo?” Jiang Mengxin asked, puzzled.
Lu Ming pointed to the tattoo on Xu Qin’s neck. “That one, see?”
Jiang Mengxin looked closely and indeed saw a lotus tattoo. From Jiang Mengxin’s expression, it was clear that this lotus must have been tattooed recently, as she was unaware of its existence.
She said, “I don’t remember my mother having such a tattoo. Lu Ming, you’ve met my mother too. It wasn’t there before. Maybe she just got it on a whim. What’s wrong, is there something wrong with this tattoo?”
Lu Ming said faintly, “Nothing, I just found it a bit glaring.”
Next, Jiang Mengxin and Jiang Xueyi agreed on the time to return, and then she took out her phone to buy plane tickets for the next day.
No matter how expensive, they had to rush back immediately!
Only…
Su Wanran felt miserable.
Jiang Mengxin’s departure meant Lu Ming would leave with her, and then Su Wanran wouldn’t be able to spend time with Lu Ming anymore. Her plan to ‘snatch’ Lu Ming was likely to fall through.
But she couldn't ask Lu Ming not to go back; that would be improper.
Su Wanran was preoccupied all day.
Especially at night.
Lying in bed, Su Wanran tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind filled with Lu Ming. The thought of Lu Ming leaving the next morning made her cry with distress.
Wronged, pained, helpless, resigned.
The next morning.
When Lu Ming and Jiang Mengxin woke up, they were surprised to find that Su Wanran had woken up before them and had even prepared a loving breakfast for them.
This was incredibly rare.
After all, Su Wanran disliked cooking. Normally, Anna handled the cooking, and she was responsible for eating.
But today, she had inexplicably woken up early to cook.
Not for any other reason.
It was only so that Lu Ming might remember her one day, remember that she had cooked for him.
All her efforts were just to secure a place in Lu Ming’s heart.
Jiang Mengxin naturally understood what Su Wanran was thinking. In fact, if it were two or three months ago, Jiang Mengxin would have unhesitatingly dumped Lu Ming and handed him over to Su Wanran to fulfill their wishes.
But now… she couldn’t.
Ever since she learned of Lu Ming’s death that night, Jiang Mengxin had cried buckets. She knew then that she could no longer do without this man.
After finally starting to see Lu Ming in a new light, she couldn’t easily give him up to another woman.
Therefore, Jiang Mengxin remained silent, her silence conveying her stance: Lu Ming was her fiancé, Jiang Mengxin’s!
After breakfast.
Departure.
No one spoke on the way; all three had heavy hearts.
Jiang Mengxin was worried about her mother’s illness, Su Wanran was still heartbroken over losing Lu Ming, and Lu Ming was contemplating the white lotus.
Why would Xu Qin, who was in Jinling, have the same tattoo as Wu Lingxuan in Wudu?
It made no sense.
What secret lay hidden behind this?
The journey was silent.
Arriving at the airport, they bid farewell.
Before leaving, Su Wanran looked at Lu Ming one last time, mustered her courage, and, in front of Jiang Mengxin, stood on her tiptoes and kissed Lu Ming on the forehead.
Everyone around was stunned.
What was going on?
Lu Ming and Jiang Mengxin seemed to be a couple, but Su Wanran had kissed Lu Ming on the forehead.
The relationship was a bit complicated; no one could figure it out.
Finally.
Su Wanran took two steps back and said with a smile, “Lu Ming, Mengxin, thank you for your support and care during this time. Thank you!”
She bowed deeply to Lu Ming and Jiang Mengxin.
Then, Su Wanran said, “After this parting, I don’t know when we will meet again. Lu Ming, Mengxin, I wish you a long and happy life together.”
As she uttered these blessings, Su Wanran’s heart bled.
Handing over the person she loved most to another woman was torture for Su Wanran, even though they were seemingly already a couple.
Jiang Mengxin smiled and said, “It sounds like a farewell for life and death. Wanran, if you have time to visit Jinling in the future, I will definitely host you well.”
Su Wanran nodded. “In another month, the cherry blossoms will bloom in Jinling. I’ll go to Jiming Temple to pray for a good marriage then.”
Jiang Mengxin smiled and replied, “I’ll be waiting for you in Jinling.”
The two women hugged.
After seeing Lu Ming and Jiang Mengxin off on the plane, Su Wanran could no longer suppress her emotions and burst into tears, like a child who had lost her favorite toy.
Farewell, Lu Ming.
If fate permits, may we meet again.
…
After several hours of flight, the plane smoothly landed at Jinling Airport.
Upon disembarking, the Jiang family of Jinling had arranged a special car to pick them up.
On the way.
Jiang Mengxin asked the driver, “How is my mother’s condition?”
The driver replied, “With the doctors’ efforts, her life can be saved, but she remains unconscious and is barely breathing. The situation is not optimistic. Miss Jiang, you’d better be mentally prepared; your mother’s current appearance is somewhat frightening.”
“Alas…”
Hearing this, Jiang Mengxin sighed deeply.
What a sudden disaster.
Who would have thought that Xu Qin, a perfectly healthy person, would suddenly fall seriously ill? She was fine a few months ago in Modu.
What had Xu Qin gone through in Jinling during this time?
Everything would only be known when they returned.
The car drove through the streets, Lu Ming leaning to the side, looking out the window.
Hmm?
Suddenly, a billboard by the roadside caught Lu Ming’s attention.
It was a huge commercial billboard, with nothing on it except for an enormous white lotus flower!
Another white lotus!
Just like the tattoos on Xu Qin and Wu Lingxuan.
A sense of foreboding.
Lu Ming asked, “Driver, what is that white lotus on the billboard?”
Jiang Mengxin also looked at the billboard. “That flower looks so much like the one my mother has tattooed. No, it’s exactly the same.”
The driver glanced at it and said, “You’ve been away for too long and aren’t very familiar with the situation in Jinling. Jinling is changing rapidly. Many major events have happened in the past few months, and this white lotus is one of them.”
What was so significant about a flower?
Jiang Mengxin asked curiously, “What’s with the white lotus?”
The driver said, “This lotus flower is quite remarkable. It’s the embodiment of freedom and fraternity, a guardian deity sent from above to Jinling! Behind it is the White Lotus Holy Cult, whose power is unfathomably deep!”
“White Lotus… Holy Cult?” Jiang Mengxin grew more confused. “When did Jinling have such a sect?”
The driver replied, “It’s only been in the last six months, right after you left Jinling. The White Lotus Cult gradually grew stronger until it has now become a unique landscape of Jinling. Miss Jiang, I must warn you of one thing: in Jinling now, you can offend anyone but the White Lotus Cult! This cult is terrifying.”