You Lie in Bed, Holding

Once Yun Huaizhu’s gaze locked onto the wardrobe, she crossed to it in a few long strides without the slightest hesitation.

By now Lin Meng’s face had gone stark white, her forehead slick with cold sweat she couldn’t hide no matter how hard she tried.

If she tried to stop Yun Huaizhu now, Yun Huaizhu probably wouldn’t believe her again.

Just as she squeezed her eyes shut to brace for the storm, Yun Huaizhu opened the wardrobe door. Inside was nothing but the detached hanging rod and a pile of rumpled clothes.

At the sight, Yun Huaizhu’s suspicion only deepened.

Lin Meng stood frozen in place for two full minutes. When Yun Huaizhu’s anger-laced voice didn’t come, she slowly opened her eyes.

And what she saw next was almost too incredible to believe—through the wide-open wardrobe doors, she could see the clothes she had messed up earlier when she’d tried to let Su Yutang hide inside. Beyond that, there wasn’t even a shadow of a person.

Su Yutang wasn’t in there either?

Then where had she hidden?

Could a living, breathing person just vanish into thin air from this room?

Just as Lin Meng was flooded with questions of her own, Yun Huaizhu leaned in and sniffed her clothes.

A moment later, as if she’d picked up on something with uncanny sharpness, she turned her head and gave Lin Meng a chilling smile. “Mengmeng-jie, during the time I didn’t come to see you… has a stranger been to your home?”

When Lin Meng saw that expression on Yun Huaizhu’s face, it felt like something had suddenly seized her heart. She got the feeling that if she didn’t answer this question well, Yun Huaizhu’s slender arms would soon be wrapping around her neck.

Cold sweat beaded relentlessly on Lin Meng’s forehead. “Ah… well, actually, you can’t really call them a stranger.”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu closed in on her step by step. Very quickly Lin Meng felt Yun Huaizhu’s shadow swallow her whole, and that chilling sensation spread rapidly from head to toe.

Yun Huaizhu reached out a slightly cool hand and cradled Lin Meng’s guilt-ridden face. Gently, she took out a handkerchief and dabbed at the sweat on Lin Meng’s temples while smiling. “Why is Mengmeng-jie so nervous? I was only asking out of concern. Besides, you live alone—if someone with ill intentions really were hiding in your home, now that would be truly terrifying.”

Lin Meng’s voice trembled slightly. “Th-then that really would be horrifying… but my door has a keypad lock, so a thief shouldn’t be able to break in that easily.”

As she said this, Yun Huaizhu’s terrifyingly smiling face suddenly pressed close to hers, her eyes unblinking in their fury. “Mengmeng-jie, look into my eyes and tell me—the person who came to your home, I know them too, don’t I?”

Though there was still some space behind Lin Meng this time, when she saw Yun Huaizhu’s eyes—pupils dilated like a cat’s in the night—she felt as if she’d been backed into a corner with no way out.

Lin Meng’s voice shook, and she couldn’t help but choke up. “Yes…”

Hearing her honest answer, Yun Huaizhu revealed a dark, satisfied smile. “Good girl. Then let me ask you again—was the person who came to your home Su Yutang?”

When Lin Meng heard this question, her breathing nearly stopped. Though Yun Huaizhu’s hand wasn’t on her neck, she felt a distinct suffocating pressure.

She could barely speak. She wanted to nod, but her face was held in Yun Huaizhu’s hands; she didn’t dare move.

Seeing her reaction, Yun Huaizhu instantly wore a look of disappointment. “So it was her after all…”

She let out a deep sigh, then gazed at Lin Meng with a face full of worry. “Mengmeng-jie, I won’t restrict your freedom to make friends, but do you remember what I told you before?”

Hearing this, Lin Meng instantly took a deep breath, like someone who’d been choked and suddenly released. Her voice gradually returned, though it was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. “Wh-what?”

Yun Huaizhu put on a deeply wounded expression, as if coaxing her along. “I’ve told Mengmeng-jie so many times, and yet you haven’t taken a single word to heart. I’m really so sad. How can I feel at ease leaving you here alone like this?”

Seeing her gloomy expression gradually shift to sorrow, a sudden spark of inspiration flashed through Lin Meng’s mind. She hurriedly said, “I remember!”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu looked at her with slightly reddened eyes full of expectation. Lin Meng didn’t know which corner of her room Su Yutang was hiding in right now, but the most important thing was to calm Yun Huaizhu down. Once she’d coaxed Yun Huaizhu away, she could deal with this Eldest Miss Su.

Lin Meng looked at Yun Huaizhu and said with utter seriousness, “Su… Su Yutang isn’t a good person. She’s not sincere with anyone. I know that… I know all of that. I’ll keep my distance from the Young Miss.”

Hearing her awkwardly force out these words, Yun Huaizhu couldn’t help but step forward and embrace her. “Mengmeng-jie is just too kind. If it were me, I’d never see her again. After all, the Su family’s eldest daughter is of such noble status—why would she shamelessly cling to someone who deleted her and won’t even meet her?”

The more Lin Meng listened to Yun Huaizhu, the more her heart pounded with dread. Her hope of bringing Yun Huaizhu and Su Yutang together was now more than half dead.

Could two people who’d fallen out this badly really hate each other back and forth the way they do in novels and then get a happy ending?

Right now it was basically pure hatred, wasn’t it?!

Lin Meng tried to salvage things one more time. “M-maybe you’ve misunderstood Su Yutang a little, Zhuzhu. She’s not as bad as you think. Sure, she has a temper sometimes, and she’s headstrong and does whatever she wants, but she’s never actually done anything to hurt anyone…”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu’s gaze sharpened. She looked at Lin Meng with utter seriousness. “See, even you can’t say it without hesitating. Mengmeng-jie, a person’s temper is very hard to change—especially someone like Su Yutang, who’s been doted on since birth. You and she were never people from the same world. There’s no benefit to you in associating with her. She might even treat you as a plaything, and once she’s bored she’ll toss you aside. If you don’t want to get hurt, stay far away from her.”

Huh? Su Yutang hadn’t hurt her at all from start to finish, had she?

If a celestial being like Su Yutang really wanted to hurt her, she wouldn’t still be living intact in this world.

Though Lin Meng didn’t understand why Yun Huaizhu thought Su Yutang saw her as a toy, she still prioritized soothing her and nodded. “Mm, I understand…”

Hearing this, a faint, seemingly ambiguous pink slowly crept up Yun Huaizhu’s cheeks. She reached out and tightly hugged Lin Meng. “Mengmeng-jie, you’re really so good… Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. I hope you can wait for me. Half a month from now, I want to hear your answer, okay?”

Only then did Lin Meng realize Yun Huaizhu was referring to the matter they’d discussed at dinner earlier.

Lin Meng lowered her head, somewhat embarrassed. “Okay…”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu’s mood improved even more.

And at that very moment, in a place Lin Meng couldn’t see, Yun Huaizhu’s beautiful eyes shifted. “Mengmeng-jie, a bad person left her S-rank pheromones on your clothes. After I smelled it, I felt a little unwell. Touch my face—is it very hot?”

Lin Meng’s eyes flew wide open in shock. While she was still dazed, Yun Huaizhu had already taken the initiative to lift her hand and press it to her own cheek.

When her palm touched Yun Huaizhu’s smooth, delicate skin, she did indeed feel that Yun Huaizhu’s temperature was a little higher than normal.

Damn that Su Yutang. Hadn’t she told her many times not to scatter her noble pheromones everywhere? How could this person let every word go in one ear and out the other?

Yun Huaizhu didn’t want Su Yutang to know she was an omega, and yet what Yun Huaizhu was doing right now would expose her omega identity!

Seeing this, Lin Meng said, flustered, “Zhuzhu… since you’re feeling unwell, how about you go home first?”

Yun Huaizhu suddenly leaned against Lin Meng as if her legs had gone weak. “But… Mengmeng-jie, I don’t have any strength in my body right now. I can’t even drive.”

Hearing this, Lin Meng ground her teeth even harder at Su Yutang’s behavior of casually releasing pheromones in someone else’s home.

Su Yutang hadn’t just ruined her—she was going to ruin Yun Huaizhu too!

Lin Meng’s eyes darted around frantically; she could almost smell Yun Huaizhu’s sweet scent about to spill from the back of her neck. At that moment, she steeled herself. “Then I’ll call a car to send you back first!”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu quickly took Lin Meng’s hand and placed it over her own racing heart. “Why go through all that trouble? Mengmeng-jie, it’s already so late outside—do I not even have the right to sleep at your place for one night? We’ve slept together before.”

When Lin Meng heard Yun Huaizhu’s last sentence, her pupils quaked. Her heart nearly leapt into her throat. “We just slept in the same bed, that’s all. It… it wasn’t as ambiguous as you’re making it sound.”

If Su Yutang really was hiding somewhere in the apartment, there was a very high chance she’d burst out and kill her the next second.

With an intense will to survive, Lin Meng continued, “You’re too tired from work. Taking a nap here is fine. I can even tell you stories, sing you a lullaby…”

She was trying to spin the fact that Yun Huaizhu had slept over before into this: Yun Huaizhu was too tired and just needed a quiet place to rest.

Hearing Lin Meng already starting to say anything to save herself, Yun Huaizhu’s smile grew even deeper. She practically buried herself against Lin Meng. “Yes, Mengmeng-jie is just too gentle. This gentle Mengmeng-jie—am I the only one who’s ever seen her like this? Has Mengmeng-jie ever treated anyone else the way you treat me?”

Lin Meng’s mind went completely blank. Her thoughts and her mouth were operating independently. “No, no.”

Yun Huaizhu smiled, then pulled Lin Meng down onto the bed with her. “Mengmeng-jie, I’m so tired today too. Can you let me sleep at your place for one night? After all, I’m leaving tomorrow—we won’t be able to see each other for a long time. Do you really have the heart to chase me away?”

Caught off guard by her pull, Lin Meng tumbled onto the bed. Yun Huaizhu’s arm clamped around her so tightly she couldn’t move at all.

Now it wasn’t even a question of whether she had the heart to chase Yun Huaizhu away—she simply had no way to chase her away, because at this moment she couldn’t even get up.

Just as she was about to answer Yun Huaizhu’s question, a sudden noise came from under the bed, like something violently knocking against the bed frame.

Hearing that sound, Lin Meng’s heart was once again seized in a death grip.

Clearly Yun Huaizhu heard the unusual noise too. She lifted her head slightly, trying to find the source, and at that exact moment Lin Meng forcefully pushed Yun Huaizhu’s head down.

Yun Huaizhu hadn’t expected Lin Meng to do that to her, so she was caught completely off guard and pressed into Lin Meng’s chest. The gentle sweetness and soft touch seemed to bring back the feeling of when her mother had still been alive.

Actually, before her mother passed away, she had been a little girl who adored her mother deeply.

It was also because she’d been so clingy and spoiled as a child, always stuck to her mother’s side, that the woman had developed the habit of reminding her of everything, big and small.

Maybe children loved their mother’s reminders, but as she grew older, she began to find the same words repeated day after day somewhat tiresome.

One time when she was in a bad mood, the woman had reminded her as usual before dinner, and she’d coldly thrown down her chopsticks and shouted at the woman.

Thinking about it now, she really regretted it. Why had she done that back then?

Now, even if she wanted to hear that woman’s voice again, she couldn’t.

Lin Meng’s heartbeat was fast. She could tell from it how guilty and panicked this person was. But she didn’t care much. She wanted to take that heartbeat as proof that Lin Meng cared too much about her, afraid of being misunderstood, constantly sending out ambiguous signals.

After pushing Yun Huaizhu down so suddenly, Lin Meng immediately regretted it. Just as she began racking her brain for an excuse to fob Yun Huaizhu off, she suddenly felt her chest grow wet with a warm liquid.

Lin Meng froze for a moment, then reached out and gently lifted Yun Huaizhu’s face.

That person’s cheeks were flushed pink, and the tears clinging to her eyelashes trembled. The moment Yun Huaizhu looked up, Lin Meng felt as if this person might shatter at any second.

After a brief daze, Lin Meng said, flustered, “S-sorry, Zhuzhu, I didn’t mean to do that just now.”

Yun Huaizhu sniffled, her voice a little hoarse. “It’s okay.”

Hearing this, Lin Meng let out a small sigh of relief, but the fact remained that she’d made Yun Huaizhu cry again. Now she not only had to figure out how to fob Yun Huaizhu off, she also had to figure out how to comfort her.

Lin Meng’s gaze drifted uneasily. “It’s just… I think that noise earlier might have been a mouse. How about I send you home first, then come back and catch the mouse?”

Hearing Lin Meng still trying to fob her off with such a pathetic lie, Yun Huaizhu laughed out loud. “No rush. I’m not afraid of mice anyway. Mengmeng-jie, you were catching mice all by yourself for so long before I came in—you must be exhausted, right? How about I catch that mouse with you? Don’t let my city upbringing fool you; I’m actually quite good at catching mice.”

Hearing this, Lin Meng felt like she could die right then and there. She frantically shook her head and waved her hands. “No, no!”

Yun Huaizhu propped her chin on her hand and watched Lin Meng’s amusing reaction with a doting gaze.

Lin Meng hurriedly explained, “It’s just… as long as that mouse stays quietly under the bed, it’s fine. It’s so late already—catching a mouse would be so tiring. Why don’t we just sleep first? You still have to go on your business trip tomorrow. You need to rest up so you can do well abroad.”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu’s eyes sparkled. “Mengmeng-jie, are you saying you agree to let me stay the night?”

Lin Meng was caught in a dilemma. On the verge of tears but with none to shed, she nodded.

Seeing this, Yun Huaizhu quickly pulled up the blanket from beneath her and lay down beside Lin Meng. “Then goodnight, Mengmeng-jie.”

Lying beside her, Lin Meng forced a smile. “Goodnight.”

The moment Yun Huaizhu closed her eyes, Lin Meng began to worry about Su Yutang. Mainly, she hadn’t expected Su Yutang to hide in such an awkward spot. She kept glancing at Yun Huaizhu, wanting to get out of bed and let Su Yutang out.

She thought, at the very least, she should let Su Yutang go out and book a room for the night.

But when she tried to carry out her plan, she found that no matter how she pried, she couldn’t break free from Yun Huaizhu’s death grip around her arm.

After a few attempts, Lin Meng gave up. She was afraid that if she moved any more, she’d wake Yun Huaizhu beside her.

And so, with an uneasy heart, she sank into sleep.

Moonlight slipped in through the small window without curtains, falling on the person standing before the bed, her hair still stuck with cobwebs from under the bed that hadn’t been cleaned. Looking at the two people sleeping peacefully in each other’s arms, she wanted nothing more than to grab a knife and kill them both.

Just then, Yun Huaizhu—who wasn’t sleeping deeply—sensed an unknown shadow fall over them and slowly opened her eyes.

The person standing before the bed, pupils constricted, face twisted with a hatred that made her want to strangle both Yun Huaizhu and Lin Meng, stared fixedly at her.

Seeing this, Yun Huaizhu revealed a very gentle smile. She pulled out the hand that was intertwined with Lin Meng’s from under the blanket, then pressed a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. “Shh.”

Su Yutang nearly went mad with rage at this provocation. She truly wished she could grab a knife and hack this woman to death right then and there.

What did this woman think she was? Before, she’d just been a dog wagging its tail and begging at her feet. She’d only won Lin Meng’s sympathy through some act of playing pitiful. Lin Meng didn’t like her at all!

At the same time, because Yun Huaizhu had let go, the sleeping Lin Meng was freed and unconsciously turned over, her cheek now facing Su Yutang.

She mumbled in her sleep, “Young Miss… come up and sleep.”

Hearing this, the fury surging in Su Yutang’s heart instantly subsided. She gave Yun Huaizhu a look of certain victory.

See that? Even in her dreams, Lin Meng thinks of me. I’ve already walked into her heart.

Yun Huaizhu really disliked communicating with fools—it wasted time and energy—so at this moment she simply wrapped her arms around Lin Meng again and returned to dreamland.

Being able to see Su Yutang hopping mad made her incredibly happy, and she felt her taut nerves relax quite a bit.

…

The next day, when the sun had climbed to the nine o’clock position, Lin Meng was shaken awake by the natural light streaming through the small window.

Seeing this, Lin Meng turned over.

Today was Saturday. She wanted to laze in bed a little longer, so she kept her eyes squinted and didn’t get up immediately.

But when she turned over to go back to sleep, she felt a warm, ticklish breath coming from in front of her.

Lin Meng frowned slightly and slowly opened her eyes. What greeted her was Su Yutang’s face, gloomy enough to kill.

Opening her eyes first thing in the morning to a face like that nearly sent Lin Meng into cardiac arrest. Her mind snapped fully awake. “Why are you here?”

Hearing this, Su Yutang let out a cold laugh. “If not me, then who should it be? Yun Huaizhu? Oh right—yesterday you made me hide, just so you could cuddle and sleep with Yun Huaizhu? From the sound of it, it seems you two have done this more than once. Darling, just how many horns have you put on my head?”

Her barrage of questions forced Lin Meng to retreat again and again, but Lin Meng’s bed was only so big. She hadn’t backed up more than a few steps before she reached the edge.

Just as half her body was suspended in the air, certain she was about to fall, Su Yutang’s strong arm yanked her back hard.

Lin Meng crashed heavily into her embrace. Su Yutang held her tightly, encircling her. “Darling, do you know how angry I am? It’s because you wanted to sleep with her that I had to suffer such humiliation. Tell me—should I kill her first, or you first?”

Her grip was so tight that Lin Meng felt like her chest couldn’t even draw air.

Su Yutang really didn’t seem to be joking.

In an instant, Lin Meng’s face filled with terror. “No, no, no, Tangtang, listen to me—Zhuzhu and I really have nothing. She really just slept over…”

As soon as she said it, she sensed it was wrong and quickly corrected herself, “I mean, the kind of sleeping where you’re under a blanket. I’ve slept at your villa like that before!”

Hearing this, Su Yutang released her. Seeing this, Lin Meng hurriedly wrapped herself in the blanket. She absolutely would not give Su Yutang another chance to strangle her.

She huddled under the blanket, trembling for quite a while. But after a long time with no reaction from Su Yutang, she quietly poked her head out and stole a guilty glance in Su Yutang’s direction.

She saw Su Yutang with a deeply aggrieved expression, her eyes and nose red. As if unable to hold back, she looked at Lin Meng and choked out, “You always call me Tangtang when you need something, and Young Miss when you don’t. You heartless, faithless wretch!”

Lin Meng: “?”

Though she really wanted to explain yesterday’s events, she felt that the more she said, the more Su Yutang would feel her head turning greener. So for now, she should focus on soothing Su Yutang.

Seeing Su Yutang’s hurt, aggrieved expression, Lin Meng stealthily crawled out from under the blanket.

Like the little dog Su Yutang loved most, she slowly crawled to Su Yutang’s side, lowering herself as much as possible. “Tangtang, don’t be angry. Yesterday I didn’t let you two meet because I didn’t want you to argue. I think you’ve misunderstood Zhuzhu a little. Her reluctant fawning over you is because her mother passed away when she was very young. Her personality has always been this cold. To take up her family’s burden, she had no choice but to approach you, hoping you’d help her. She’s also a pitiful…”

Before she could finish the word ‘person,’ Su Yutang snapped, “Enough!”

Lin Meng flinched.

Su Yutang stared fixedly at this person who seemed to have no heart. “Whether she’s pitiful or not is none of my business. So many people in Jing City want to curry favor with me. Everyone’s about business—I’m not going to spend over a billion to help someone just because they say a few pitiful words. Who is she to me? And why do you pity her so much? Do you like her?”

Lin Meng was pressed by Su Yutang’s barrage of questions until she couldn’t lift her head. She hurriedly shook her head. “No, the relationship between us isn’t what you think. We’re just friends!”

Hearing this, Su Yutang grew even angrier. “Friends? Friends hug and cuddle, friends sleep in the same bed? If your behavior with her counts as friends, then you’ve already slept with me—what does that make me to you?”

Lin Meng really was about to cry.

She didn’t know. She really didn’t know.

At this moment, Lin Meng buried her head in the blanket, as if she couldn’t face Su Yutang. “Don’t take what Zhuzhu said last night seriously. Even though she told me to stay away from you, I don’t think you’re a bad person, and I didn’t do that. Didn’t I take you in when you had nowhere to go? Please don’t ask me like this…”

Last night, when Su Yutang had been hiding under the bed like a dark, skulking rat, she’d heard Yun Huaizhu give Lin Meng time to answer.

Su Yutang didn’t need to think to know what answer Yun Huaizhu wanted.

And what about her?

She, the heir to Jing City’s wealthiest family, was being tossed aside like someone who’d been taken for free. Every time she asked Lin Meng with utter seriousness what their relationship was, Lin Meng always evaded the question and kept bringing up that third party, Yun Huaizhu.

How could she not be furious?

If she didn’t truly like Lin Meng, anyone else who treated her like this would have already been ruined by her.

TL Note:

head turning green means being cheated on or cuckolded.