She Noticed the Wardrobe

The moment Lin Meng heard the sound, panic flooded her face. Her mind went completely blank; she had no idea what to do.

Su Yutang had clearly heard someone coming upstairs as well. Combined with the look on Lin Meng’s face, it wasn’t hard to guess that whoever was climbing the stairs had come looking for Lin Meng—and that this person was likely someone she knew.

Su Yutang moved toward the door to open it. When Lin Meng saw what she was about to do, a cold sweat broke out all over her body. She didn’t even know what came over her; she just grabbed Su Yutang and pulled her back.

Su Yutang raised an eyebrow at her. “Darling, what are you doing?”

Without a second thought, Lin Meng dragged Su Yutang into her bedroom. Her helpless gaze darted wildly around the room.

Finally, her eyes locked onto the wardrobe—the one just as tall as Su Yutang. She hurriedly opened it, shoved the hanging clothes to one side, and then removed the rod from its brackets.

Su Yutang watched her fumble through all of this, then crossed her arms and leaned against the bedroom doorframe. “Darling, what exactly are you trying to do? Play hide-and-seek with me?”

Lin Meng pulled her over without a word. She wanted Su Yutang to tuck in her long legs like an Arctic hare and curl up inside the wardrobe—but she’d underestimated that supermodel-esque frame of hers.

Just as she was about to force Su Yutang in, the front door was suddenly knocked on.

Lin Meng’s heart leapt into her throat.

She looked at Su Yutang in a frantic panic, clasping her hands together in a desperate, pleading gesture. “Please, Young Miss, the person outside is a guest of mine, but I don’t want you to meet her. I’m begging you—just climb in yourself. Or find somewhere else to hide, anywhere at all.”

Su Yutang’s face darkened instantly at those words. She let out a cold laugh. “A guest? Don’t tell me the person outside is Yun Huaizhu?”

The moment Su Yutang guessed who it was, the excuse Lin Meng had been about to make died in her throat.

Seeing her reaction, Su Yutang grew even more certain that the person outside was Yun Huaizhu.

Hostility flashed across her face, like a hedgehog raising its spines the moment it senses danger. “Well now—you’re making me hide for Yun Huaizhu’s sake. You don’t want her to see me this badly because you’re afraid she’ll get the wrong idea if she sees us together?”

Lin Meng snapped back to her senses at those words. The faint threat in Su Yutang’s voice made her tremble uncontrollably.

That was right—if she still wanted Su Yutang and Yun Huaizhu to end up together, she absolutely could not let Yun Huaizhu see Su Yutang here at home, dressed like some devoted wife and mother!

There had been several knocks outside by now. The visitor was growing anxious; even the intervals between knocks grew shorter. “Mengmeng-jie, are you home? It’s me. Is this a bad time? I’m knocking—if you don’t open the door, I’m coming in, okay?”

Lin Meng was caught in an impossible dilemma. She was about to drop to her knees before Su Yutang. “Young Miss, I’m begging you—just this once. As long as you don’t meet her, I’ll agree to anything you want once this is over!”

Seeing her so frantic, a flood of questions suddenly rose in Su Yutang’s mind.

Did Lin Meng like her, or did she like Yun Huaizhu? Was she hiding her because she liked Yun Huaizhu and didn’t want Yun Huaizhu to get hurt at the sight of her? Or was it simply to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings?

Whether Lin Meng agreed to her demands no longer mattered. By the time that thought crossed her mind, a sour ache had already begun spreading through her chest.

…

Yun Huaizhu had been knocking outside for quite a while with no response from within. She started imagining the worst—that Lin Meng had fainted from anemia.

She knew Lin Meng was the type not to eat breakfast properly, which was why she always reminded her to eat on time in her morning messages. If work hadn’t kept her so busy, she would have come over every day to make breakfast for Lin Meng herself.

After waiting outside for five minutes, Yun Huaizhu let out a helpless sigh and said politely, “I’m coming in.”

The moment she entered, Lin Meng happened to be stepping out of her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and looked up. “Zhuzhu, sorry… I just found a mouse in my room, but it’s taken care of now. Don’t worry.”

Yun Huaizhu saw that her forehead was beaded with sweat and her breathing still ragged—she really did look like she’d just been chasing a mouse.

Yun Huaizhu’s brows knitted tightly. She’d never seen what a truly filthy, cluttered home looked like, but Lin Meng’s place was at least reasonably clean and tidy.

If there were mice here, it was a problem with the building itself.

Yun Huaizhu set down the large stack of food containers she was carrying beside the table, then walked up to Lin Meng and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe the sweat from Lin Meng’s brow. “Mengmeng-jie, you’ve worked so hard. But won’t you really reconsider staying at my place for a while? Even if it’s only the occasional mouse here, I worry terribly. I’m so afraid of you getting hurt. The mice in places like this crawl up from the sewers—and with all the bacteria down there, if one bit you, I don’t even want to imagine the consequences.”

Yun Huaizhu’s concern only deepened Lin Meng’s guilt. She lowered her head, her slightly reddened eyes on the verge of tears. “It—it’s not that serious. When I lived alone before, I dealt with cockroaches and mice too. I can handle it by myself. You don’t need to worry.”

Even though she was terrified of creatures like cockroaches and mice—the mere sight of one sent her leaping onto tables, screaming for help—she had learned one thing since she’d started living alone as an adult: no matter how loudly she screamed, no one was coming to chase the mice and cockroaches away for her. So for the next fifty-odd years—no, probably not even fifty—she had to learn to coexist with these loathsome things.

Because cockroaches and mice would never go extinct.

Though Yun Huaizhu heard her, she couldn’t stop worrying. Lately, she seized every opportunity to bring up the idea of Lin Meng moving in with her.

They’d been together all this time, and she still didn’t even know where Lin Meng’s hometown was. This place was just a temporary rental. If Lin Meng ever decided to leave her, she wouldn’t even know where to look.

She had many houses. She wanted to build a magnificent cage in the largest old villa—the one her mother had left her. She figured Lin Meng liked things that were dazzling and sparkly. She would keep Lin Meng there forever.

Just the two of them.

Yun Huaizhu knew Lin Meng wouldn’t accept her proposal just yet, so she dropped the subject. She linked her arm through Lin Meng’s and led her to the dining table. “Mengmeng-jie, I specially asked the restaurant to prepare all of these in advance. I ordered all your favorites. Let’s eat quickly while it’s hot—otherwise it’ll get cold.”

Lin Meng nodded.

As Yun Huaizhu bent down to take the dishes out of the containers, she cast an uneasy glance toward the bedroom.

She prayed silently: please, Young Miss Su, whatever you do, hold your temper and don’t come out. Otherwise there’d be no cleaning up this mess.

Yun Huaizhu introduced each dish as she set them out. Every one of them was indeed what she’d ordered when she’d gone to that Chinese restaurant with Lin Meng that day. Lin Meng had only accompanied her once, yet Yun Huaizhu had remembered her tastes perfectly.

Moved as she was, Lin Meng felt a shame beyond measure.

As Yun Huaizhu described the dishes, Lin Meng made conversation—but Yun Huaizhu couldn’t help noticing she seemed distracted, as if her mind were fixed on something else. At one point, she caught Lin Meng glancing toward the bedroom.

Earlier, she’d been knocking outside for ages, and Lin Meng hadn’t come to the door, claiming she’d been catching a mouse.

But knowing Lin Meng as she did, Lin Meng would surely have thought her more important than catching a mouse.

So what had kept Lin Meng from answering the door for so long? Surely there wasn’t someone hiding in that bedroom?

At the thought, Yun Huaizhu stood up. Seeing her rise so abruptly, Lin Meng felt a nervous unease well up inside her. She quickly looked up. “Zhuzhu, what’s wrong?”

Yun Huaizhu didn’t answer. She strode straight toward the bedroom on her long legs. Lin Meng’s eyes flew open in terror, her heart now lodged in her throat. “Zhuzhu! We’re about to eat—what are you going to the bedroom for? Wait a second—”

Her legs nearly gave out from fear. By the time she stood up and tried to run over to stop Yun Huaizhu, Yun Huaizhu had already opened her bedroom door.

Lin Meng’s heart went cold.

It’s over. There’s no salvaging this today.

When Yun Huaizhu opened the bedroom door, the first thing she saw was Lin Meng’s small, clean bed. The only difference from usual was… Lin Meng apparently hadn’t smoothed the sheets when she got up that morning; the bedspread looked a bit wrinkled.

At the same time, she carefully sniffed the air—which carried a faint scent of jasmine mingled with Lin Meng’s own—for any unfamiliar pheromones.

There were none.

Had she really been overthinking it?

With lingering suspicion, Yun Huaizhu closed the bedroom door and turned to face a crestfallen Lin Meng. She smiled. “Mengmeng-jie, sorry… I thought I heard mouse noises just now too, so I rushed to check your bedroom. You’re not angry with me, are you?”

Lin Meng was stunned for a moment, hardly daring to believe it.

Yun Huaizhu hadn’t found Su Yutang?

Then that really was…

Wonderful!

Lin Meng didn’t care where the Young Miss had hidden herself now. Her mind was entirely focused on one thing: as long as Yun Huaizhu’s suspicions were dispelled.

Snapping back to the moment, she quickly took Yun Huaizhu’s hand. “All right, Zhuzhu. You said yourself the food should be eaten while it’s hot. You’ve been busy all day—you probably haven’t eaten either, right? Why don’t we eat first?”

Seeing Lin Meng take the initiative to hold her hand, Yun Huaizhu decided to set aside her doubts for now. Her Mengmeng-jie was about to go hungry.

After dinner, she could always search Lin Meng’s bedroom for that ‘mouse’ again. It wouldn’t be too late.

With that thought, Yun Huaizhu flashed Lin Meng an incomparably sweet smile. “Of course.”

…

At Huo Yi’s villa, Huo Yi was draped in a silk robe, filing her nails with a silver file. A woman who looked faintly uneasy sat across from her.

After Huo Yi had filed all five nails neat and even, she blew on them lazily. The woman opposite finally seemed unable to bear the oppressive silence and spoke up. “President Huo, why did you call me here so late?”

Huo Yi set down the file and smiled. “Weng Hong, don’t be so formal with me. If you’re Tangtang’s friend, then you’re my friend too. I only asked you here tonight to chat about what happened at the Su family’s auction banquet that day.”

Weng Hong let out a small breath of relief. “I did attend the banquet that day, but with my family’s status, I couldn’t even get near Tang-jie.”

Huo Yi narrowed her eyes, smiling at her. “You couldn’t stand beside her—but you could put Bai Li beside her. I heard Bai Li disappeared right after attending that banquet. Since you’re the one who’s been in contact with her ever since she returned to the country, you must know where she went, don’t you?”

The moment Weng Hong heard this, her guard went up.

She had wanted to use Bai Li to get close to Su Yutang and curry favor with her—but what she hadn’t expected was that even the woman Su Yutang had long cherished was useless now.

The Su family’s eldest daughter was just that eccentric. Perhaps in their circle, apart from those closest to Su Yutang, only Huo Yi truly understood her.

The reason Bai Li had agreed to her terms was that Weng Hong would keep everything Bai Li did a secret. If she told Huo Yi now, wouldn’t she be betraying Bai Li?

Seeing her hesitation, Huo Yi pulled a document from a drawer beneath the crystal table and slid it toward Weng Hong. “This is the cooperation proposal for the new airport being planned in the west of the city. If you tell me, I can let your Weng family take a share of it.”

As she spoke, she gave Weng Hong a foxlike smile. “Consider it compensation for breaking your word to Bai Li.”

After all, getting Weng Hong to tell the truth meant putting real money on the table—but getting Bai Li to talk had only required a card worth five million.

When Weng Hong saw the document Huo Yi produced, she was indeed tempted. This was a prime opportunity to break into Huo Yi’s business circle. Never mind a share of the cooperation—even a bit of the broth would pull her company out of its current obscurity.

Profit, in the end, could move the human heart. Weng Hong spent half an hour examining the document before finally relenting. “Bai Li went back to Country M. She said she wants to forget everything here and start over.”

When Huo Yi heard this, her expression—usually so relaxed—betrayed the faintest flicker of doubt.

“All right, you can go now. I’ll have my secretary handle the contract signing with your people later.”

Weng Hong’s face instantly broke into a smile. “Yes. Thank you for your trouble, President Huo.”

With that, Weng Hong took the contract and left Huo Yi’s villa in high spirits.

After Weng Hong left, Huo Yi fell into an eerie silence.

A woman driven by profit, who always wanted an emotional payoff too—why would she suddenly want to forget everything and start over?

From the very day Su Yutang had taken Bai Li on as a hanger-on, Huo Yi had seen through this woman: her selfishness, her flamboyance, and the inferiority complex she couldn’t hide even in her bones.

Someone like Bai Li wouldn’t give up until she got what she wanted. And after living so well at Su Yutang’s side for so long—was she really just going to let it go?

Moreover, since that day, Su Yutang’s attitude toward Lin Meng—that cold indifference—had undergone a dramatic shift.

Something major must have happened at the banquet that day. Something she didn’t know about.

What a pity… she’d been attending an international business conference that day, so she hadn’t seen the show firsthand.

If she probed Lin Meng indirectly, Lin Meng might let something slip—and then she’d know what had happened at the banquet. But right now Lin Meng was monopolized by Su Yutang. If she went to ask outright, Lin Meng would probably be wary of her too.

It seemed she’d have to work on Bai Li as well, not just Lin Meng.

Tomorrow was the day Su Yutang had set for Grace. She was already beginning to look forward to it.

…

By the time Lin Meng and Yun Huaizhu finished eating, it was past eight in the evening. Yun Huaizhu had brought far too much food this time; Lin Meng packed the leftovers into disposable containers and stashed them in the fridge—enough to last three or four days.

But considering there was another mouth to feed at home, it would probably be gone in two days.

Would someone like Su Yutang eat leftovers?

She didn’t want to order another takeout meal just for Su Yutang. Otherwise all this uneaten food would go to waste.

Seeing that Lin Meng was full, Yun Huaizhu reached over and gently touched Lin Meng’s slightly rounded, soft belly.

Lin Meng flinched at the sudden touch and unconsciously shifted away.

Seeing the frightened look that flashed across her face, Yun Huaizhu smiled. “Why so nervous, Mengmeng-jie?”

Coming back to herself, Lin Meng felt she’d overreacted and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry—I guess I’ve just got a lot of ticklish spots on my stomach.”

At those words, a faint, unreadable smile appeared on Yun Huaizhu’s face. “Oh? So Mengmeng-jie’s stomach is a sensitive spot.”

Lin Meng: “?”

Were they really discussing this right after a meal?

Yun Huaizhu looked like she wanted to plaster herself against Lin Meng. She leaned close to Lin Meng’s ear and whispered in a voice like a lure, “Mengmeng-jie, my heat cycle is coming up again right around when I get back from my business trip. You know it’s not good to keep using suppressants. When the time comes, can you help me again?”

Lin Meng was left gaping, frozen in place.

“??”

Yun Huaizhu sat on the small sofa pressed close to Lin Meng. Her hand crept quietly up to Lin Meng’s neck, then slid downward. “I’m telling you this because I trust you, Mengmeng-jie. You know that besides an aunt who’s completely useless, I only have Aunt Fang by my side. When I’m at my most fragile, my most unbearable, there’s no one to stay by me—only you…”

Fearing Yun Huaizhu’s hand would wander somewhere it shouldn’t, Lin Meng quickly caught the hand tugging at her shoulder strap. “Zhuzhu, even though we’re good friends, helping you with that kind of thing so often isn’t really appropriate. You should find a partner…”

Hearing Lin Meng repeat the same line from before, Yun Huaizhu was no longer angry. She suddenly smiled, a smile that sent a chill down the spine, then wrapped both arms around Lin Meng’s neck. “Mengmeng-jie, didn’t I already tell you? I like you. I want to develop a romantic relationship with you.”

Yun Huaizhu was so utterly frank, laying it all out like that, that Lin Meng didn’t know what to say.

Her mind went blank, and she fell back on her old script. “B-but… I’m not good enough for you.”

At that, Yun Huaizhu put on a show of indignation and reached out to cover Lin Meng’s mouth. “How could that be? Mengmeng-jie is the most beautiful treasure in this world. I’m the one who worries that one day you’ll abandon me. Mengmeng-jie, I like you—I like you so, so much… Because we hadn’t known each other long before, I didn’t ask you to respond to me. But we’ve known each other such a long time now. Whether you accept or not, you owe me a clear answer.”

Lin Meng: “??”

Hadn’t she just rejected her clearly enough?

Yun Huaizhu’s arms around her neck tightened gradually, like a viper. “I won’t ask Mengmeng-jie to give me that answer right now. You can take these two weeks to think carefully about what we are to each other. Are we really just ordinary good friends? As long as you say yes to me, I’ll give you the very best of everything. I’m so lonely in this world all by myself. I want you to stay with me. Don’t leave me alone forever, all right?”

Lin Meng opened her mouth, but she seemed to have forgotten what she meant to say.

She’d intended to reject Yun Huaizhu outright. But hearing such sorrowful words from her, Lin Meng’s heart felt as if it were stuffed with cotton—a dull, stifling discomfort.

In the novel, Yun Huaizhu’s most beloved mother had died. Ever since she lost the mother she loved most, she had only herself left in this world. She was forced to humble herself before Su Yutang and fawn over people she once disdained, all to protect herself and what her mother had left behind.

The lofty moon fallen into the dust, doing the very things she most despised—that was the most heartbreaking thing in the world.

Lin Meng had cried countless times for Yun Huaizhu in the novel. Someone as beautiful as Yun Huaizhu shouldn’t have to live like that.

Even fallen to the bottom, covered in dust, she was still a treasure unmatched in this world.

Because Yun Huaizhu was false with everyone else, the sliver of genuine feeling she revealed now was all the more precious.

But… Yun Huaizhu didn’t belong to her.

Everything in this novel was predestined.

Just as she was about to respond to Yun Huaizhu, Yun Huaizhu’s brows suddenly knitted tight. She clapped a hand over her mouth as if something had disgusted her.

Seeing Yun Huaizhu’s expression of revulsion, Lin Meng rushed to steady her. “Zhuzhu, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

After a brief moment, Yun Huaizhu came back to herself, then suddenly looked up and gave Lin Meng a sinister smile. “Yes, I’m feeling a bit unwell. Because I’ve caught a whiff of a very familiar pheromone—one that makes me sick.”

Lin Meng was dazed for a moment. “Pheromones? What pheromones?”

Su Yutang wouldn’t be causing trouble, would she?

At the thought, Lin Meng’s heart leapt into her throat. She’d already tried to keep her eyes from drifting toward the bedroom door. But now, provoked by those pheromones, Yun Huaizhu could no longer suppress the fury in her heart.

Ignoring Lin Meng’s attempts to stop her, she stood up once more and walked toward the bedroom.

Afraid of frightening Lin Meng, she restrained the force with which she opened the door.

Lin Meng scrambled to her feet and ran after her. “Zhuzhu, don’t—wait for me—”

Once inside Lin Meng’s bedroom, Yun Huaizhu began searching every hidden corner. The room wasn’t even ten square meters; there were only so many places a person could hide.

She went first to the curtains. When she pulled them aside, there was nothing behind them.

She was so blinded by rage that she even searched the narrow corner where the nightstand met the wall.

A tiny space like that couldn’t possibly hide a grown woman.

Watching Yun Huaizhu move as if possessed, Lin Meng’s panic reached its peak. She hurried to grab Yun Huaizhu’s arm. “Zhuzhu, what are you doing? Please, don’t be like this… You’re really scaring me.”

Lin Meng’s trembling voice didn’t bring Yun Huaizhu back to reason. Yun Huaizhu’s eyes, gradually filling with bloodshot veins, fixed on the wardrobe across from the bed—the one big enough to hide someone.

Seeing the expression on Yun Huaizhu’s face—one that looked as if she wanted to drag whoever was hiding in the room out and kill them on the spot—Lin Meng was so terrified that the hand gripping Yun Huaizhu’s arm began to shake.