Chapter 383: Chapter 345 Let Her Self-Destruct
Yunshan Sanatorium.
Cheng Menghong is in good spirits today; this morning, Cheng Jinyang bought her a bowl of lean pork porridge, and she ate more than half of it.
"Sister, you are recovering better and better, I think it won’t be long before we can leave the sanatorium." Cheng Jinyang’s restaurant was facing closure, and it was Mu Shuoqian’s money that saved him once, enabling him to sit here leisurely.
He sighed, "Is there still no news about Yunxi?"
"No." Cheng Jinyang shook his head, "Sister, Yunxi might already..."
"Shut your damn mouth." Cheng Menghong glared at him angrily, "Yunxi will be alright, how could she not want me, her mother."
Saying this, Menghong shed a few tears.
"Alright, you can go out now." She waved her hand weakly.
Cheng Jinyang, feeling rebuffed and slightly angry, got up. Just as he reached the door and was about to open it, the door was pushed open from the outside. He staggered backward three or four steps and looked in surprise at the person who walked straight in.
"You, you are—"
Behind her, four black bodyguards stood in two rows, firmly blocking the doorway.
Cheng Menghong heard the sound and looked over. When she saw Qiu Lan, she visibly shrank back; her hands inside the blanket clenched into fists, the nails digging into her palms.
Qiu Lan had a moment of daze when she saw Cheng Menghong. This old friend of hers, there was no joy of reunion, but she saw intense jealousy in her eyes. It seemed Shuoqian hadn’t lied to her, Cheng Menghong was indeed involved in things from the past.
"Hahaha," Cheng Menghong suddenly laughed eerily, the sound was chilling to hear.
Qiu Lan quickly regained her composure, a graceful smile playing on her lips, "Long time no see, Menghong."
"Indeed, it’s been a long time, over thirty years, right? I almost forgot what you looked like," Menghong’s teeth grated, "You’re still so beautiful,
"Tell me, what exactly happened back then?" Qiu Lan fiddled with a strand of shiny beads, her eyes and eyebrows cast downwards elegantly as she demanded, "Tell me everything."
Cheng Menghong sneered, "Don’t you already know everything? You’re quite something, being someone else’s mistress, getting Gu Dezhong to truly fall for you. When you were in trouble, he wanted to help you at all costs, but I’ve been by his side for so long, and he didn’t even spare me a glance."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Lan looked up in shock, "What did you say? Gu Dezhong liked whom?"
"You, don’t you know? Gu Dezhong loved you to death. When we were together, all he could talk or think about was you. But you, you were only trying to please Mu Haotian, the rich guy, willing to be his mistress and bear his children, never sparing him a glance. But me, I always thought of him, yet he only saw me as a friend. The two of you are just selfish to the core, blind to the goodness in others."
Qiu Lan seemed still in shock from this revelation, gazing blankly at the somewhat grotesque face of Cheng Menghong, still digesting her words.
She said Gu Dezhong liked her? How is that possible?
She and he were just friends, he was always polite, never overstepping, she had no idea he actually liked her.
"Wasn’t Gu Dezhong with you?" Back then, Cheng Menghong often hinted at her relationship with Gu Dezhong in their conversations, so Qiu Lan thought they had feelings for each other and had silently wished them well.
"Which eye saw us together? Gu Dezhong, that heartless bastard, overlooks my years of devotion, even after you left, he still wouldn’t love me. My wholehearted devotion ended up like this; I utterly hate you two adulterers." As she spoke, Cheng Menghong suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, laughing while tears streamed down uncontrollably.
"Qiu Lan, did you think I truly wanted to be your best friend? I approached you just to get closer to him." Cheng Menghong said, laughing again, then suddenly lunged over in a somewhat crazed manner.
The two bodyguards behind Qiu Lan hurriedly grabbed her, while Qiu Lan was startled,
"Gu Dezhong thought of everything, huh? He stole all the money from the Mu Family for you and your son, planning your escape perfectly, but what he didn’t count on was my betrayal, hahaha, Qiu Lan, you deserve it."
Qiu Lan couldn’t listen anymore. She left the room, and behind her came the sounds of Cheng Menghong pounding her head against the wall in madness. She turned back to see Cheng Jinyang rushing over, shouting, "Sister, sister, doctor!"
Qiu Lan didn’t stay any longer. She walked out of the sanatorium, leaning against a tree on the roadside, and kept taking deep breaths.
"How could this happen, how could this happen?" Her fingers dug into the tree bark, sharp pain transmitting through her fingertips.
Qiu Lan’s expression was impassive, as if she had lost her soul. It took her a long while to finally speak, "Stop all her treatments and let her fend for herself."
Cheng Menghong had already gone insane. Dealing with a madwoman, there was no more Qiu Lan needed to do; letting her continue in madness was even more satisfying than letting her die.
"Get me a ticket back to the country," Qiu Lan lifted her head and gazed towards the distant horizon, her gaze drifting far away once more.
~
Mu Shuoqian had a meeting today. At the year’s end, leaders from various regions came to report on their work.
Gu Qili was still working at the winery when she received a message from him: Won’t come over tonight.
He reported his schedule to her every day, as if she were the housekeeper, detailing everything big and small. He even sent a WeChat message yesterday telling her he was in the bathroom.
Who would have thought that a busy man entangled in public duties would still find time to send messages while using the bathroom.
Gu Qili put down her pen and replied: Got it.
He ran to her house every three days, leaving the little boy alone at home, and she had opinions about that.
The house he bought had never been lived in for even a day. He must not have planned to live there from the start; his obsession with cleanliness was so serious. How could he live in a second-hand home? Even if the furniture was completely replaced and thoroughly disinfected, he would not like it.
After sending the message, Gu Qili went on to take care of other things.
Just coming out from the storage area behind, Mei Zi ran over and said, "Qili, someone is looking for you."
"Who is it?" Gu Qili took off her gloves, laying them aside, and casually wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Don’t know her, a woman, very beautiful, dressed all fancy," Mei Zi muttered, "her eyes looking upwards."
Gu Qili couldn’t think of who this person might be. After instructing Mei Zi, she went into her office, and as she pushed the door open, there was a woman standing facing away from her by the window, looking at the grapevine outside.
It was winter now, and the grapes had not yet begun to grow; the vineyard was bare.
"May I ask..." Gu Qili had only spoken two words when the woman turned around. Against the backlight, her graceful features seemed to be haloed.
Gu Qili was stunned; she never expected Qiu Lan to find this place, but nothing was surprising considering her capabilities.
Seeing Gu Qili again, Qiu Lan felt incredibly complicated emotions. The woman who had once been her enemy was now the mother of her grandson, the lover of her son.
Gu Qili didn’t know what to say; after a pause, she walked over, took down a clean cup from the shelf, and poured some water. "Have some water."
Qiu Lan’s silent gaze rested on her face, and upon closer observation, one could indeed see the shadow of a familiar figure.
Just when Gu Qili thought Qiu Lan would not take the cup, it was already in Qiu Lan’s hand. She sat down on a nearby chair and looked around the room.
"Is this your father’s former office?"
"Yes, it was remodeled."
Gu Qili couldn’t think of how to address her, so she simply avoided a direct address: "Is there something you wanted to see me about?"
Qiu Lan took a sip of water, "Did your father leave anything behind when he passed away?"
Gu Qili had a hunch. Qiu Lan probably knew about the past. How did she find out? Did Mu Shuoqian tell her, or did she ask Cheng Menghong herself?
"Yes." Gu Qili felt some things shouldn’t be hidden; she owed her father that much for his innocence.
Gu Qili took a rigorously wrapped diary from the safe and handed it to Qiu Lan. "This was my father’s diary, always kept in a secret room. I didn’t even know about it. If it weren’t for the villa fire that exposed the secret room, these secrets might have remained buried with his bones."
Qiu Lan looked at the diary, her fingers trembling slightly as she took a deep breath before taking it, like receiving a burning iron that weighed immensely.