Yun Huaizhu Knows

In the laboratory, Bai Li was carefully recording data. Ever since she returned, all those tangled thoughts had cleared from her mind; even her research progress had sped up considerably.

She did hate saints, but that day, that saint's words had pulled her back from a fork in the road of life. She truly had wanted to climb into Su Yutang's world—not only because of their childhood connection, but because she wanted to leap an entire social class in one step.

She knew perfectly well that with Su Yutang's status, even eight lifetimes of effort wouldn't be enough to catch up.

So from the moment she realized that, she had wanted to cross that insurmountable gulf by marrying Su Yutang.

Unfortunately, she had been wrong. Completely and utterly wrong.

If she had actually done it, she might have crossed the class divide, but the rest of her life would have been precarious, tossed about in constant instability.

She knew Su Yutang no longer liked her. Even if she forced herself to get pregnant, using a child to threaten Su Yutang into marriage, she wouldn't find happiness.

Besides, the child would be innocent. Her own childhood had been miserable enough; she didn't want her future child to suffer the same pain.

If her life could continue through a child, she wanted that child to be happy.

Bai Li sat nearby and rested for a while, preparing to continue with the next round of experiments. Just then, a classmate came in from outside and called for her: “Lillian, someone's outside looking for you.”

Bai Li frowned at that.

She had no friends in Country M, no family here either. Besides her advisor, who would come looking for her?

With that doubt, Bai Li removed her mask and walked out. But when she saw Yun Huaizhu standing at her laboratory door with that dark, sinister expression, her heart felt as if something had seized it.

The weather today wasn't good; the gloomy sky paired with a face like Yun Huaizhu's made Bai Li feel a chill.

She knew Yun Huaizhu was a famous star, and had once caught Su Yutang's favor. Apart from two brief encounters, she'd had no real interaction with this person.

Could this be about the charity gala that night?

She had fled at the last moment that night; Yun Huaizhu wouldn't be here to settle scores over that, would she?

People occasionally passed by the laboratory entrance. Bai Li had changed out of her pitiful white-lotus getup into the standard white lab coat, and she looked much more presentable.

When Yun Huaizhu saw her, she stepped forward, her voice hoarse: “I have something very important to discuss with you. This place isn't convenient. Can you come somewhere with me?”

Bai Li's frown deepened at those words. She glanced at the extended Rolls-Royce behind Yun Huaizhu—being able to drive such a flashy car openly onto campus and park it right at her laboratory door meant this person probably had some connection to the school's upper echelons.

No matter how far Yun Huaizhu had fallen, her status was still more than a dozen tiers above someone like Bai Li. Bai Li knew she couldn't escape today, so she nodded with practiced tact. “Of course.”

Bai Li got into Yun Huaizhu's car, and Yun Huaizhu brought her to a presidential suite in a hotel downtown.

Yun Huaizhu's complexion was terrible now, dark circles under her eyes that even foundation couldn't cover. Bai Li also noticed that the fingers of both her hands were wrapped in bandages.

At that moment, Bai Li felt this woman was extremely dangerous, so she spoke cautiously: “Miss Yun, what exactly did you want to see me about? I still have experiments to finish.”

The vast room held only the two of them. Yun Huaizhu went straight to the point: “That night, did you sleep with Su Yutang?”

Bai Li's expression nearly twisted at the question. Yun Huaizhu was being far too blunt—it didn't match the sweet, adorable image she had on the big screen at all.

Bai Li saw no reason to hide anything: “No. I thought it over carefully that day, but living under someone else's roof for a lifetime—what was the point? So I ran.”

When Yun Huaizhu heard this, the string that had been holding her sanity taut finally snapped with a sharp crack.

She suddenly laughed as if possessed, a laugh that sounded desolate and crazed. Bai Li, sitting across from her, stared in disbelief—she thought Yun Huaizhu had gone insane.

Yun Huaizhu pushed herself up with both hands on the table, half her body leaning over, a shadow like a venomous snake falling over Bai Li: “Is every single thing you just said the truth?”

Bai Li sensed something was very wrong; she stood up quickly too, adopting a posture ready to defend herself at any moment. “Why would I lie to you?”

Yun Huaizhu's expression was like the storm clouds outside—a torrential downpour breaking loose. She glared at Bai Li with hatred and screamed, “But what did you tell me that day? Didn't you say you loved her? Didn't you say you'd travel all the way back from Country M just to be with her, to become Mrs. Su? How could you run away? You'd already put the drug in her cup that night; you were one step away from your dream, so why did you leave? Answer me!”

The dark circles under the woman's eyes were deep and heavy, her eyes shot through with blood vessels. When she roared and leaned close, she looked utterly monstrous.

Bai Li was so frightened she kept backing away, her gaze darting furtively around the room. She had every reason to suspect that if she didn't grab a weapon, the enraged Yun Huaizhu would lunge forward at any moment and kill her.

“I—I just didn't go through with it. Su Yutang's fine anyway, isn't she? I don't like her anymore, I don't want to be with her anymore, it's that simple... Besides, you were the one who handed me the drug that night. If something had happened, you wouldn't be innocent either!”

If something really had happened to Su Yutang, she'd have been torn limb from limb long ago—she wouldn't be back here continuing her studies.

When Yun Huaizhu heard Bai Li's defense, it was as if a needle had pierced her heart: “You're right... that drug, I was the one who handed it to you... But if you hadn't run, if you'd just gone upstairs like I told you, none of this would have happened. You might already be carrying Su Yutang's child...”

Hearing the words of this crazed woman, Bai Li finally seemed unable to hold back: “And why should I? Just because of one moment of greed, I should throw away my whole life and drag an innocent child into it? Is everyone in your upper class this twisted?”

“But you promised me!”

Bai Li trembled as she looked at this person. She spoke as if to bolster her own courage: “I changed my mind, all right? Changed my mind—is that a crime? You're really something, you know that? You obviously don't even like Su Yutang, yet you're worried about this. What, did Su Yutang cheat on you or something?”

Her words landed like a heavy hammer on Yun Huaizhu's heart. Yun Huaizhu staggered back, her cold, hoarse voice echoing through the empty room: “What did you say?”

Bai Li genuinely felt the kind of danger that triggered her survival instincts. Without a moment's hesitation, she ran to the door: “I still have experiments to finish. If there's nothing else, I'll be going.”

She tested the door of the presidential suite. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be locked. She opened it and, like a fugitive fleeing for her life, vanished down the corridor in a flash.

Ever since Bai Li had returned from Jing City, she knew that Su Yutang's habit of treating people like dogs was far from normal. And now, this madwoman Yun Huaizhu's thinking was even more unhinged.

She had to stay far away from these lunatics—best if she never saw any of them again.

...

Yun Huaizhu swept everything within reach onto the floor. After the clatter of objects falling subsided, she collapsed onto the sofa behind her as if all strength had left her.

She was now infinitely close to the truth, but deep in her heart there was still a tiny, faint hope. She truly wished she was wrong—that Lin Meng really had gone home that day, just as she said. That Su Yutang had spent that night alone in that room.

That nothing at all had happened between them.

Yun Huaizhu didn't know how long she sat slumped there, eyes vacant. Then her phone suddenly buzzed with a message: [Zhuzhu, good morning! No... it should be nighttime on your end, right? I should say good evening then. Today my breakfast is xiaolongbao!] [Image]

It was as if that message touched a nerve. The faint comfort in her heart gradually grew stronger, and she hurriedly picked up her phone, replying with bandaged fingers: [That's great, Mengmeng-jie. Mengmeng-jie, my work is almost finished. That answer I wanted—have you thought it over?]

Lin Meng had finished breakfast and put her phone on silent to start work. But Yun Huaizhu, anxious and unsettled by the lack of reply, took the silence as proof that Lin Meng had something to hide.

Yun Huaizhu grew more and more uneasy. If she had to rely only on messages and video calls, she would go insane.

Su Yutang might not be pestering Lin Meng for now, but there was still that vixen Huo Yi. It seemed the only option was to return home as soon as possible.

...

After finishing her morning work, Lin Meng headed to the break room to slack off a bit—and saw the message Yun Huaizhu had sent that morning.

Honestly, she couldn't quite accept dating Yun Huaizhu, a former superstar. She understood romance in novels perfectly well, but when it came to reality, she was completely clueless.

Besides, look at Yun Huaizhu's status and look at hers—the two of them were never possible to begin with.

Being good friends was already the limit of what she could accept.

Huo Yi had said strange things that day too. She felt she really wasn't suited to be around any of these people. They were all wonderful; it was just that her personality was awful, that she wasn't good enough. So to let those people return to their normal lives, she could only quietly withdraw from that dazzling, radiant world.

An unknown corner was what suited her best.

During this time, Lin Meng had been keeping an eye on rental listings around the office. She'd found several candidates.

One was an apartment. Apartments were cheaper, but utilities were billed at commercial rates. The other two were old, run-down units nearby. The environment couldn't compare to a renovated apartment, but the utilities were cheap, and the prices were about the same. She was still torn about where to move.

Just then, Tang Xiaoman walked into the break room. After greeting Lin Meng enthusiastically, she pretended to fill her water, but her eyes were fixed entirely on Lin Meng.

When she noticed Lin Meng looking at rental listings, she suddenly spoke up: “Mengmeng-jie, are you looking for a place to rent?”

Lin Meng quickly put her phone away, smiling a little awkwardly at Tang Xiaoman: “Oh... yeah. My lease is almost up, and the place I'm in now is a bit far from the office. I wanted something closer this time.”

A glint flashed through Tang Xiaoman's eyes. “Oh, what a coincidence! I live in Bihu Community right now—it's a one-bedroom. My next-door neighbor just moved out yesterday, and the landlord's about to list it. The layout is the same as mine, and it's very quiet there, no one to bother you. If you moved in, Mengmeng, we could go to work together and grab meals on weekends!”

She said a whole lot, but Lin Meng only caught one thing: “very quiet.”

Lin Meng really did love quiet places. Her current place wasn't exactly noisy, but the soundproofing was terrible; any slightly loud movement from upstairs or in the hallway and she could hear it.

Lin Meng was genuinely tempted by Tang Xiaoman's offer, but soon her expression turned troubled: “But I've looked at that community before. The rent is a bit expensive...”

Tang Xiaoman leaned in closer to Lin Meng. “What's the big deal? I'm very close with the landlord next door. As long as you say yes, I'll haggle the price way down for you. But Mengmeng, try to choose a long lease, okay? If it's short-term, it'll be harder for me to negotiate.”

Lin Meng knew that community had a good environment and well-decorated units. At that thought, she nodded firmly at Tang Xiaoman: “If I rent it, I'd definitely rent for a whole year.”

Tang Xiaoman grabbed Lin Meng's arm happily: “That's wonderful! Then come look at the place with me after work today. If there are no problems, we can get everything settled tomorrow.”

Even though it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, Lin Meng still felt that going to see the place right after work was a bit rushed. She hesitated: “Well... my current place isn't up for a while yet, and I need to pack some things first. How about we go look on Saturday instead? I don't know if the landlord can hold it until then.”

Tang Xiaoman paused at Lin Meng's words.

Saturday?

Actually, Saturday worked too! After they saw the place on Saturday, they could go shopping and grab a meal nearby. It would be so much like a date!

Tang Xiaoman immediately agreed: “Of course! As long as you're the one renting, I'll make sure everything gets done for you!”

Lin Meng, thrilled, grabbed Tang Xiaoman's hand: “Thank you, Xiaoman!”

When Tang Xiaoman saw Lin Meng take her hand on her own initiative, a pink flush spread across her face. After all this time together, she'd noticed Lin Meng really disliked being touched by outsiders—but this time Lin Meng had reached out to her first. She lowered her head shyly: “I-It's nothing. I think of Mengmeng as my good friend, after all.”

Friend?

Lin Meng froze at those words. She realized she'd gotten overly excited, and quickly pulled her hand back: “Mm... I think of Xiaoman as a friend too.”

Tang Xiaoman had gone to so much trouble for her; that should count as a friend.

...

When Lin Meng got used to doing something, she would do it without thinking.

For example, she'd once followed a super-topic online. Even though she didn't particularly like the character it was about—didn't even know what that person did—in order to check in for her favorite 2D character, she'd ended up checking into that random person's super-topic too.

So one morning, when she habitually went to send Su Yutang a “good morning,” she discovered that Su Yutang had deleted her.

Hadn't she always hoped Su Yutang would turn her gaze elsewhere?

Now she'd finally gotten what she wanted. So why did her heart feel so stuffy, so... uncomfortable?

Huo Yi, on the other hand, had been very fond of messaging her since that day. Through the various cocktail photos Huo Yi sent every day, she'd learned that this Miss Huo loved drinking.

Huo Yi had also tried to invite her out for a drink, but her alcohol tolerance was too low—she really couldn't drink. So Huo Yi temptingly said: [A low tolerance is a good thing! One drink and you're tipsy. Don't you think a buzz makes you feel all light and floaty? It's good to relax now and then. Mengmeng, don't keep everything bottled up inside.]

Seeing Huo Yi's daily messages, Lin Meng had a question—her mood wasn't heavy, so why did Huo Yi keep telling her to relax?

Transmigrating into a book was so absurd that no normal person would believe it, so she'd never told anyone.

Was that stuffy feeling in her heart because of that?

At that thought, Lin Meng looked at the packed and sorted luggage in her rental. Some small trinkets really couldn't be brought along—the journey was long, and forcing them into a suitcase might break them.

But she was a very nostalgic person. As long as she'd used something, she couldn't bear to throw it away.

Which was why her things kept growing—more and more, messier and messier.

While sorting, Lin Meng saw the pot she'd used and remembered how Su Yutang had blackened the kitchen with it. The Young Miss was hard to serve; even if you asked her to clean the kitchen, she'd make a complete mess.

After her anger had subsided that day, she'd cleaned the kitchen herself. But during the process, Su Yutang had watched her with a guilty look, then clumsily tried to copy her, rag in hand, wiping here and there in the kitchen.

She felt Su Yutang wasn't naturally malicious. If someone taught her how to interact with normal people, maybe Su Yutang could become a good person.

As Lin Meng thought this, she pulled out Yun Huaizhu's pearl necklace, stored in a blue velvet box.

This necklace was far too valuable. Yun Huaizhu might have said she wouldn't take it back, but Lin Meng couldn't accept it. Fortunately, she already knew Yun Huaizhu's home address. Once she moved, she'd mail the necklace back.

Some things were too old—the moment you moved them, they'd break. Lin Meng needed a long time to prepare herself mentally before deciding to part with those items.

The wardrobe and the smaller things outside were just about packed.

On Saturday, Tang Xiaoman took her to see the apartment. Overall, she was very satisfied, and the price the landlord quoted made her sign the contract on the spot.

Although she still had over a week left in her current place, she was already eagerly packing to move to her new home.

Looking at the bedroom she'd carefully arranged, Lin Meng felt a pang of melancholy. When she thought about it, this place held a lot of happy memories too.

...

Just as Lin Meng was about to tidy up the bed, there was a sudden knock at her door.

Hearing it, she stepped over the scattered luggage bags and went to the door: “Hold on, coming, coming!”

When she opened the door, she was greeted by a face she knew well—only it was deathly pale, without a trace of color.

Lin Meng was startled by how haggard Yun Huaizhu had become. Concern showed on her face: “Zhuzhu... what's wrong? Why do you look so awful? Are you sick?”

Yun Huaizhu's eyes had been somewhat vacant and dark, but at the sound of Lin Meng's voice, a bit of light gradually returned. She smiled eerily at Lin Meng: “I came today because I have something to discuss. Aren't you going to invite me in?”

Lin Meng didn't know why, but the moment she saw that strange smile, she felt a chill in her heart. Yun Huaizhu hadn't done anything, and she even wore such a pitiful expression—yet Lin Meng felt afraid.

Snapping back to herself, she didn't actually want Yun Huaizhu to come inside. The moment Yun Huaizhu entered, she would see the packed luggage.

But just then, Yun Huaizhu's ice-cold hand covered the hand Lin Meng had on the door. The chill of Yun Huaizhu's fingers made her flinch, and in that split second when she let go of the door, Yun Huaizhu walked in on her own.

By the time Lin Meng tried to stop her, it was too late. Yun Huaizhu saw the bags and packages of luggage, and she asked in a deliberately casual tone: “Mengmeng-jie, you're moving? Where are you moving to? Why didn't you discuss it with me? What's the new address—I can help you move your things.”

The more Lin Meng heard, the more wrong it felt. She left the door slightly ajar, then cautiously stepped forward: “Ah... I think the soundproofing here isn't great, and it's far from my office, so I wanted to change places.”

Yun Huaizhu narrowed her eyes and turned around. She walked up to Lin Meng, practically enveloping her: “I asked—what is Mengmeng-jie's new address?”

Lin Meng was moving precisely to draw a line between herself and everyone in her current life. Her gaze darted around guiltily: “Well... I think when the time is right, I'll invite Zhuzhu to come visit my new home, but as for the move, I've already found a moving company, so there's no need...”

“Ngh—”

Before she could finish, Yun Huaizhu's cold hand clamped down hard on her chin. She instantly felt unable to breathe; the air around her was swallowed by Yun Huaizhu's icy aura.

Yun Huaizhu's red, swollen eyes stared fixedly at Lin Meng: “Mengmeng-jie isn't moving to cut ties with me, is she? You think it's awful when I show up at your place unannounced like this, don't you? Or is it that being around me makes you uncomfortable?”

Lin Meng didn't know why Yun Huaizhu had suddenly become so extreme. She hurriedly denied it: “No, that's not it, Zhuzhu, you're wonderful! It's me who's not good enough. It's me who can't accept your feelings. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. I've made a mess of the life that should have been yours. I just want us both to get back on track...”

Yun Huaizhu stepped forward and sealed Lin Meng's chattering mouth with her lips. Those lips were so soft, so maddeningly tender to kiss—but the words that came from them were all things she didn't want to hear.

Last time, Yun Huaizhu could still fool Lin Meng with the excuse of rehearsing a kissing scene. This time, she couldn't even be bothered to make an excuse. The fact that she was restraining her temper enough not to strangle Lin Meng on the spot was already generous.

“Mmph... listen to me...” Lin Meng tried to explain, but Yun Huaizhu's brutal kiss stuffed all her words back into her mouth. She could even taste blood.

The suffocating sensation made her pound desperately at Yun Huaizhu, but Yun Huaizhu kept going.

Lin Meng truly couldn't endure this storm-like, chaotic kiss. She really was about to suffocate. In that critical moment, she bit down on Yun Huaizhu's tongue, and a heavier taste of blood spread through her mouth.

Yun Huaizhu frowned and released her. At the same time, a thin trail of blood stretched between their lips.

Tears welled in Lin Meng's eyes: “Zhuzhu, what are you doing?”

Yun Huaizhu stared fixedly at Lin Meng: “Mengmeng-jie, I really love you. I believe you're an angel sent by heaven to save me. I thought that even if I never got a response from you, as long as I stayed by your side, one day I'd warm you, even if you were a stone. But why did you betray me?”

Hearing this, Lin Meng no longer cared about her bitten tongue and lips. Her pupils contracted sharply, as if she'd been gravely frightened.

Yun Huaizhu must have found out something. The way this person was looking at her now—it was as if she wanted to swallow her whole, alive.

Lin Meng's mind went blank for a moment. Then, with hardly any hesitation, she broke free of Yun Huaizhu's grip and bolted toward the gap she'd left in the door.