Is It Really Beyond Saving?

Su Yutang genuinely wanted to lock Lin Meng away. She even wanted to inject Lin Meng with a pheromone inducer so that every day Lin Meng would crave the comfort of her pheromones with unbearable intensity.

Only then would Lin Meng keep her eyes on her, with no attention to spare for anyone else. But if she did that, Lin Meng would surely hate her, and the two of them would probably never be able to be together properly.

So when it came to Huo Yi, Su Yutang chose to endure it. She didn't believe Lin Meng had deep feelings for Huo Yi, and she'd never once thought Huo Yi could compete with her. But what kept catching her off guard was that Huo Yi would actually betray her by going after her woman.

Huo Yi had always carried herself as ascetic and proper. Even if you put an S-rank omega in front of her and had that omega seduce her day and night, she still might not be moved. As if she were sexually impotent.

So when Huo Yi treated Lin Meng well, Su Yutang never read anything into it. She assumed Huo Yi was looking after Lin Meng for her sake. She never imagined that Huo Yi was harboring designs on her woman.

In recent years, Su Yutang's company had become too deeply entangled with the Huo family in business. And she was still fighting Su Yurong for control of the family. If she acted on impulse and cut ties with Huo Yi, she would not only fail to gain control of the family and fail to protect Lin Meng—she wouldn't even be able to protect herself.

She and Lin Meng had agreed on three months. So she could only endure it. She had to watch Lin Meng be sweet and loving with someone else, and she had to act magnanimous and indifferent.

Su Yutang had been doted on since birth. The moment she showed even a hint of anger, everyone around her would find some way to flatter and coax her.

She had never been wronged like this before.

Lately, Su Yutang always felt uneasy. Maybe it was because she had already prepared to fight her mother to the death, or maybe because she now knew she wasn't the only one in Lin Meng's heart. Either way, a restless anxiety and panic would creep through her whole body at night, in the dead silence of the small hours.

Still, something good had happened recently.

The Miss Cen Su Yurong had set her sights on had suddenly gone missing two months ago. The engagement banquet naturally couldn't be held, and her marriage prospects had vanished into nothing once again. But Su Yurong still hadn't given up on marrying her off. These past few days, she had been scouting suitable, high-quality omegas of matching status for her at home.

Su Yutang really wanted to say: Cen Jingshu had run away at just the right time!

If Cen Jingshu hadn't run at this critical moment, then to temporarily appease Su Yurong, she might really have had to stage an "engagement" farce. Once the media publicized her exploits, Lin Meng would definitely distance herself from her.

To a certain extent, Cen Jingshu had actually helped her. It was just that the Cen family was still searching desperately for her. If they found Cen Jingshu quickly...

At the thought, Su Yutang suddenly pressed the call bell in her office. Not far away, Si Bingxia, who was on standby at all times, hurried over as soon as she heard it. "Young Miss, what are your orders?"

Su Yutang looked at her seriously. "Use my connections in the municipal government to find that omega from the Cen family. If you find her, don't make a fuss yet. Make sure to protect her—don't let my mother or the Cen family find out."

"Yes, I'll go handle it right away."

As Si Bingxia was about to leave, Su Yutang called her back. "Oh, and one more thing. Pull up the surveillance footage from the charity banquet at the manor last time. I want the footage from seven in the evening to two in the morning. The sooner the better."

"Understood, Young Miss."

After Si Bingxia left, Su Yutang sat there restlessly, holding a—

The alpha by Lin Meng's side had already been exposed by her. But there was still an omega. That night at the banquet, after Su Yutang drank the spiked wine, she had felt something was off.

Even if Su Yurong wanted to find someone to force her into sleeping with someone, she wouldn't have chosen Bai Li, a low-quality omega. And indeed, that wasn't the case. When the drug was at its peak, the figure she vaguely saw supporting her was definitely not Bai Li.

Afterward, she endured it with all her strength, restraining her desire. An alpha forcibly induced into heat had senses several times more sensitive than usual. At the time, she seemed to have heard Lin Meng's voice in the corridor... So, burning with unbearable heat, she staggered barefoot to the door, opened it, and pulled that person inside.

As it turned out, the person outside really was Lin Meng. But how had Lin Meng gotten onto a floor that was off-limits to guests?

Because she had vaguely had Lin Meng that night, when she woke up she was overwhelmed by immense joy and hadn't paid much attention to what happened at the banquet. But thinking about it now, there was layer after layer of suspicion.

But no matter who the omega Lin Meng was hiding turned out to be, if that person dared to compete with her for Lin Meng, they couldn't blame her for being ruthless.

...

After Lin Meng returned from skiing, her life seemed to return to normal.

Huo Yi still sent her things frequently. At first it was food, but later she received clothes, shoes, and bags... Since the packages didn't say what was inside, she signed for them in a daze. She had looked them up—the things Huo Yi sent were all very expensive, so she couldn't accept them.

Although she didn't know how much Huo Yi had spent on that trip, she knew the cost was definitely not something she could afford. She was grateful to Huo Yi and didn't want to trouble her further, so when Huo Yi sent her things again, she refused to accept them.

As for the things she had already signed for, she would pack them all up and send them back to Huo Yi before she left.

And then there was the Australian white pearl necklace and the various clothes Yun Huaizhu had given her.

Su Yutang seemed never to have bought her anything, and she had even freeloaded food and lodging at her home for a week.

At this thought, Lin Meng opened her phone. Recently, she didn't know what was wrong—her phone would occasionally go black and freeze, but it would recover after a second or two.

She had bought the phone a year ago, and she didn't even play games much. It couldn't possibly break this quickly, right? The warranty was only one year. If it really broke, she'd have to buy a new one—just thinking about it made her heart ache.

At that, Lin Meng suddenly remembered Li Wan, who knew how to repair computers.

Li Wan was now working at a big company. She dealt with computers and phones all the time. Maybe she should ask her what was wrong with the phone?

...

In the Mingzhu Technology building in Jing City, after Yun Huaizhu had spent half a day in meetings with the research staff, she kept Li Wan behind alone.

Li Wan felt that her boss's mood had been especially dark lately—anyone who wasn't careful would be crushed by that cold, suffocating presence. So she asked cautiously, "Chairman Yun, is there something else you need me to do?"

Seeing how nervous she was, Yun Huaizhu gently placed a hand on her shoulder and patted it. "Why so tense? I didn't keep you here alone for company business. Since you installed the software on my wife's phone, you should know that I can see everything on her phone."

Hearing this, Li Wan finally understood: Yun Huaizhu had come to check up on her!

Although Yun Huaizhu and Lin Meng's marriage was extremely bizarre and complicated, Li Wan could still tell that Yun Huaizhu cared deeply about Lin Meng. And Lin Meng had once been willing to endure being cuckolded on a monumental scale just to win Yun Huaizhu back.

The two of them were clearly so well-matched, so in love.

Hearing this, Li Wan hurriedly explained, "Chairman Yun, you've misunderstood. I contacted your wife because I happened to run into her when I went out to eat on Saturday. It was because of your wife that I met you, Chairman Yun, so I'm very grateful to her. When your wife added me as a contact last time, she seemed to really like the jewelry I design, so I thought I'd custom-make a set for her as a gift. To express my gratitude."

Yun Huaizhu listened with a slight frown, then her face immediately broke into a smile. "Oh, so that's how it is. You should have told me earlier. By the way, how's the jewelry design coming along? If you're missing any parts or gems, just tell me—I'll get you the best."

Li Wan had been frightened by Yun Huaizhu's earlier expression, which looked like she wanted to devour someone. So she answered honestly, "I've only finished a pair of pearl earrings inlaid with gold thread. Since I don't have much gold on hand that can be made into gold thread, I'm looking for other materials to substitute in the necklace."

Yun Huaizhu nodded in satisfaction. "Gold-thread inlay is a very difficult craft, as I recall. The fact that you taught yourself is impressive. Writing code and developing chips here really is a waste of your talents."

Hearing this, Li Wan's heart suddenly lurched. She waved her hands quickly. "No, no—if it weren't for you, I'd still be living in the slums with nothing to hope for. I'm very grateful to Chairman Yun and the Chairman's wife."

Li Wan's use of "the Chairman's wife" greatly pleased Yun Huaizhu. Her smile became much gentler than before. "Don't read too much into it. You're capable and multi-talented—I know that. But I also need to tell you something. In Jing City, there are people trying every possible way to drive me out, so having an extra skill is a good thing. I happen to know a master jewelry designer abroad. I don't think I'll be staying in the country much longer. Once I get through this rough patch, I'll write you a recommendation letter to go to her. After all, designing jewelry is much easier than working day and night like this, and your future prospects will be limitless."

Hearing this, Li Wan looked at Yun Huaizhu as if she were looking at her own second parent. "Chairman Yun, is... is this real?"

Yun Huaizhu smiled and nodded, then patted Li Wan's shoulder. "Alright, go find my assistant. Tell her what you need, and she'll have it delivered to your apartment shortly."

Li Wan immediately bowed at a ninety-degree angle. "Yes, thank you, Chairman Yun!"

After Yun Huaizhu left, Li Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her mood could only be described as exhilarated. Yun Huaizhu was simply too kind to her. What kind of boss, knowing their company might go bankrupt, would arrange a way out for their employee in advance? Only someone as wonderful as Yun Huaizhu.

Of course, Yun Huaizhu was being so good to her because of Lin Meng.

Just as Li Wan was thinking this, she went to her work locker to retrieve her phone. During work, to avoid distractions from the outside world, she always set her phone to airplane mode and put it in her work locker beforehand.

But when she turned on her phone and connected to the network, she suddenly saw a message from Lin Meng: [Li Wan, can I call you that? You used to work with phones and computers, so I wanted to ask—why does a phone keep going black and freezing when you turn it on? I've only had this phone for a year. Is it broken?]

[Is it really beyond saving?]

When Li Wan saw those two messages, she nearly blacked out.

She could tell at a glance that Lin Meng's phone was having these issues because Yun Huaizhu had been monitoring it too frequently. Even the best phone couldn't withstand being remotely monitored for hours on end!

Li Wan couldn't interfere in matters between Lin Meng and Yun Huaizhu, so she answered evasively: [Um, just bring the phone out and I'll take a look for you.]

When Lin Meng saw that Li Wan was willing to help, she hurriedly replied: [Really? Thank you so much!]

After receiving that message, Li Wan felt a chill on the back of her neck. She turned uneasily and looked toward the door. She was terrified that Yun Huaizhu might suddenly appear in front of her and demand with a fake smile why she had been talking to Lin Meng alone.

Seeing that the message had been sent less than two minutes ago, Li Wan immediately retracted it: [Um, whenever you're free, send me the time and address. Because of the nature of my work, I'm in the habit of retracting messages. I hope you'll delete the chat history as well.]

Seeing this, Lin Meng quickly agreed: [Okay!]

After sending the message to Li Wan, she retracted everything that could be retracted and deleted everything that should be deleted. Her chat box with Li Wan was clean again, as if they had never chatted at all.

Lin Meng didn't know what kind of work Li Wan did now, but even chat history had to be retracted and deleted—was her company really that strict?

...

Since returning from Xia Island, Su Yutang had not set foot in the old estate again. Every brick and tile, every plant and tree in that courtyard made her feel suffocated. Of course, her refusal to come here also stemmed from the psychological trauma of Su Yurong having her confined.

She was afraid that Su Yurong's bodyguards would forcibly abduct her again. So from the day she returned to the country, she had instructed Si Bingxia to recruit strong, capable bodyguards.

This time, when she came to the old estate, she brought over a dozen bodyguards with her.

Seeing this display, Su Yurong calmly set down her teacup. "It seems the past six months have taught you quite a bit. It's just that you've aimed your efforts in the wrong direction. Tangtang, you and I are blood relatives, yet you've turned all the tricks you've learned against me."

Su Yutang sat in the pavilion outside, then waved a hand at the people behind her. The dozen or so understood her command and withdrew to wait by the path.

Su Yutang poured herself a cup of tea. "Mother, it's not that I want to move against you. It's that I'm afraid you'll lock me up for no reason. The days of being confined alone are hard to endure, so I won't repeat the same mistake."

Hearing her sarcastic words, Su Yurong's expression darkened. "You know perfectly well why I confined you. I'm not stopping you from fighting for power—after all, the entire Su family will be yours one day. As long as you don't cross the line, obediently marry someone of matching status, then after that, you can play with whoever you want and date whoever you want. You know you're a daughter of the Su family. Lifelong fidelity—that sort of thing doesn't exist in our Su family."

Su Yutang hadn't come here to listen to a lecture. "Since you can't do it yourself, Mother, don't guilt-trip others. I came here today only to ask you one thing: did you collaborate with Yun Huaizhu on something, and that's why you sent her into my room that night? I kept the wine glass I used afterward—the drug in it is very rare. Even if someone wanted to seduce me by drugging me, they wouldn't use something so exotic. So everything that happened at the banquet that night was your design, wasn't it?"

Seeing that she had guessed the whole sequence of events, Su Yurong couldn't help but applaud her. "Yes, my Tangtang is getting smarter and smarter."

Seeing her like this, Su Yutang's expression gradually turned sinister. In front of her was her own birth mother, and the mother she had once loved most had used such despicable means to scheme against her. In that instant, her world seemed to turn upside down, and she was caught in a whirlpool.

"Why... why, why?!" Su Yutang slammed the table and stood up, demanding furiously.

Her collaboration with Yun Huaizhu had now fallen apart, so there was no reason to keep hiding it from Su Yutang anymore. "Because that child of the Yun family is an S-rank omega."

Su Yutang felt as if she had been struck by lightning. "Wha... what?"

Su Yurong looked at her as if reprimanding her years of rebellion. "Because you've become more and more disobedient. You're hot-tempered, and you insist on doing things your own way. Even though I've disciplined you so many times, you've shown no improvement. You should also know that an S-rank alpha and an omega of the same rank will definitely produce excellent children. So I wanted to leave a way out for the Su family. At the time, Yun Huaizhu agreed. As long as I helped her gather all the scattered shares of her company into her hands, she was willing to be your nameless mistress, with no status at all."

Hearing this, Su Yutang nearly laughed herself into a fury.

Now not only had she been played, but her mother—and the entire Su family—had been played by Yun Huaizhu!

Su Yutang couldn't accept that Su Yurong had schemed against her. All the tenderness of a loving mother from the past had in that instant turned into hateful memories.

Su Yutang stood before Su Yurong, and without realizing it, she had already grown taller than her.

Even now, Su Yurong still looked at her with that same self-righteousness.

Su Yutang let out a cold laugh. "Fine. That's just wonderful. Mother has truly exhausted herself scheming for the entire Su family. Am I just another piece in your plan?"

Su Yurong stared at her expressionlessly. "You should know that your birth had a purpose. So you're free to think that way if you like."

Hearing this, Su Yutang suddenly let out a desolate laugh. Then she placed both hands on the table, her whole body leaning toward Su Yurong with overwhelming pressure. "Since I was born because of your plan, then I'll tell you this: I will not marry into some so-called family of matching status that you pick out. The person I love is an ordinary person! I'm going to be with her, and you can't stop me!"

Su Yurong had already had her heart broken by Su Yutang countless times. Besides, Su Yutang had said these words to her many times before, so she didn't take them to heart at all.

Su Yutang had merely cleared away a few stubborn thorns of the Su family, yet she thought she had the ability to wrestle with the one who held power over the Su family.

Facing Su Yutang's resentment and fury, the woman merely said calmly, "You're welcome to try."

Those words were like a basin of cold water poured over Su Yutang's head. She straightened up and took several steps back.

For a moment, mother and daughter held their posture, looking at each other in silence.

After Su Yutang came back to her senses, she let out a disdainful laugh. "Fine, then I'll go try. But don't expect me to have children with an omega! Mother, your health still seems decent. While you still can, hurry up and have a second child. Otherwise, if the Su family ends up with no descendants, you can't blame me!"

These words did indeed anger Su Yurong. Her phoenix eyes widened in fury as she gripped the table and stood up. Just as she was about to point at Su Yutang and berate her, Su Yutang gave her no chance at all and turned to leave.

Su Yutang had just reached the corner of the pavilion when the sound of teacups and bowls shattering on the ground rang out behind her.

She had been right to bring so many bodyguards this time. Otherwise, given what she had just said, Su Yurong would definitely have had her detained at the old estate again.

When Si Bingxia saw Su Yutang walk out safely, she finally let down her guard. After all, before entering the old estate, Su Yutang had instructed her that nothing was certain.

If even the dozen or so bodyguards Su Yutang had brought inside proved insufficient, she was to activate the government connections as Su Yutang had ordered.

After getting into the car, Su Yutang felt exhausted. She lowered her head and was silent for a long time, remembering the happy times she had spent with her mother in the past. Ever since the kidnapping when she was a child, there were very few people she could trust.

Huo Yi had grown up with her and knew her inside and out, so she trusted her. But Huo Yi, knowing full well that she liked Lin Meng, had deliberately seduced Lin Meng and betrayed her deeply.

And Su Yurong—the mother she had once loved most, the one who held power, the one she had admired since childhood—would also scheme against her for the sake of the entire family.

Was there anyone in this world who loved her purely for who she was?

After who knew how long, Si Bingxia in the front seat pulled her back from her low spirits. "Young Miss, where are we going now?"

No! There was still one person who loved her purely.

At this thought, a glimmer of light rose in Su Yutang's dim eyes. "To Biihu Residential Community."

"Yes."

...

Lin Meng and Li Wan still met at the same small noodle shop as last time. Li Wan arrived ten minutes early and had already bought Lin Meng a drink.

When Lin Meng walked into the noodle shop, she found Li Wan sitting in the same corner seat as before.

She walked over, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting long?"

Seeing her arrive, Li Wan quickly stood up. "No, please sit. By the way, what kind of noodles would you like today? Last time you treated me, so this time it's my treat—you can't refuse."

After Lin Meng sat down, her brows knitted together. Why did Li Wan seem so strange today? She kept saying "please" and using such formal language. It wasn't as if Lin Meng had done anything to earn such respect from Li Wan.

Could Li Wan need a favor from her?

But she was just an ordinary office worker, and Li Wan now worked at a big company. How could she possibly help Li Wan?

Lin Meng had no objection to Li Wan paying, but the next moment she looked up. "Li Wan, you don't need to be so polite. Just call me by my name. I came today because I need your help with something—do you also have something you want me to help you with?"

Hearing this, Li Wan quickly shook her head. "No, no. You... Miss Lin, please sit down first. I'll go order."

Lin Meng found this even stranger.

After Li Wan came back from ordering, Lin Meng showed her the malfunctioning phone. After examining it, Li Wan's expression gradually became complicated—could Yun Huaizhu really be monitoring Lin Meng's phone whenever she had free time?

Lin Meng probably didn't even have the energy to check her own phone that often.

The phone was indeed a year old, but it had been worn out by the software's constant surveillance. If they wanted to fix it, they'd have to replace the hardware, and at that point it would be cheaper to just buy a new one.

Seeing Li Wan's expression gradually turn grave as she held the phone, Lin Meng's heart also clenched. "Is it really beyond saving?"

Li Wan was pulled back to reality by her words. "No, no, it's still salvageable. I have a spare phone here—you can use it for now. Give me two days to repair it. I can fix it for you!"

As Li Wan spoke, she pulled out a phone from her canvas bag that looked similar to Lin Meng's.

Seeing this, Lin Meng immediately became excited. "Thank you, Wanwan. You're so good!"

Hearing Lin Meng call her so affectionately, Li Wan's heart suddenly tightened. Then she instinctively looked behind her.