Dear, Help Hold My Legs

Though most of Jing City had already modernized, one forgotten stretch remained within the urban area.

This place had once been marked for demolition and redevelopment, but government planning and a string of other problems had stalled the project. Now the old street was known as the slums.

Rent was cheap here, the population was a complicated mix, and public security was poor, so theft was common.

The streets were dirty and chaotic—ordinary cars couldn't even get through. Yun Huaizhu got out and walked toward the cheap but effective computer shop that had been wildly recommended on an anonymous forum.

Dark and damp, exactly the kind of place rats would love. Ordinary people, upon hearing that desperate criminals lurked here, might be too scared to set foot inside. Yet Lin Meng had mustered the courage to come to a place like this just to meet her.

Just thinking about it made the corners of Yun Huaizhu's lips curl into an uncontrollable smile.

Most people hated this kind of messy, dark environment, but Yun Huaizhu didn't mind it. Perhaps because of her childhood, arriving here gave her a sense of comfort.

Just as she was slowly making her way down the road, a group of rats in studded leather jackets and yellow-dyed hair—clearly up to no good—surrounded her.

The good mood that had just surfaced was instantly ruined by these people.

She looked at the rats blocking her path, a smile that didn't reach her eyes. “May I ask what you want?”

The leader of the small-time thugs pointed his baseball bat at her. “Hand over all your money, and take off all your jewelry too.”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu's smile only widened, as if he'd just told her a joke. “Do you know that what you're doing right now is illegal?”

The thug leader spat his cigarette butt onto the ground. “Illegal? In this area, I am the law. If you don't hand over your things, we won't mind stripping you bare.”

Yun Huaizhu smiled and crooked a finger at the man. “My valuable jewelry is all inside my clothes. Come get it yourself.”

This woman had just been acting wary, but now she was willing to let someone get close, as if she feared nothing at all.

The men hesitated at her words, but Yun Huaizhu deliberately taunted them. “I'm the only one here. Are you really too afraid to even come near me? That's pathetic.”

Hearing this, the thug boss pointed at one of his underlings behind him. “You, get over there and take it!”

The underling seemed to sense something unsettling about the woman standing across from them, so he forced a smile. “Big brother, how about we just forget it? She's just a weak woman; why bother with her? Let's just leave it for next time.”

The boss, as if angered into laughing, walked up to the underling and lightly tapped the man's face with his baseball bat. “So you've learned to play the hero, huh? Then should I give you my position as boss too? Get the hell over there right now, or I'll crack your skull open today!”

The underling was frightened and quickly ran forward. “Yes, yes, big brother, I'm going right now.”

After saying that, he hurriedly walked out from the crowd. He actually couldn't get a read on what this woman wanted, but he mustered his courage and stepped forward. “You... you'd better hand your things over obediently right now, or don't blame me for being rude!”

His voice lacked conviction; the threat came out weak and unconvincing.

Seeing him like this, Yun Huaizhu spread her arms. “What are you afraid of? Like you said, I'm just a weak woman, and I'm not carrying any weapons.”

“Yeah, Lao Si, hurry up! Otherwise you really are a useless coward!”

Hearing the jeers from behind him, the man gritted his teeth and walked toward the woman as if throwing caution to the wind.

Just as his hand was about to touch her clothes, a sharp, blinding light flashed before his eyes, and then a bloody gash appeared on his hand.

For a moment, the man didn't react. Three or four seconds later, the pain caught up with him, and he let out a scream like a stuck pig.

But before he could respond further, the knife that had nearly severed his hand was already pressed against his neck.

Like a venomous snake, the woman faced him with a dark, sinister smile. “Have you ever studied law? Do you know that if I kill you in self-defense, I won't go to prison?”

Everyone present paled at her words.

Seeing this, the thug leader said, “You... let him go right now! There are so many of us. If you kill someone, you won't get away either!”

Yun Huaizhu looked at him with contempt. “Of course I know there are many of you. I'm giving you one chance now: get out of my sight immediately, or you're welcome to try and see if you can take anything from me.”

The thug leader scowled and cursed through gritted teeth. “Damn it, we ran into a tough one. Let's go!”

Only after watching them all turn and walk far away did Yun Huaizhu release the man in her grasp. He collapsed onto the ground as if his soul had been scared out of his body.

As if he were contagion itself, she wiped her hands over and over with a handkerchief.

The underling who had approached her earlier was now too terrified to move.

He clutched his still-bleeding hand tightly, unsure if it was crippled, knowing only that he should never have provoked a madwoman.

Yun Huaizhu looked at the person lying in her path blocking her way as if he were trash. She took a wallet from her coat pocket and pulled out a stack of bills, throwing them onto his face. “Medical expenses.”

A shower of bills scattered down, mixing with blood on the dirty, broken-brick road.

Yun Huaizhu lifted a foot and stepped over him, continuing forward.

Unpleasant as that little interlude had been, the thought of soon knowing Lin Meng's location in real time made the gloom in her heart vanish in an instant.

The computer shop that was so highly praised on the anonymous forum was just as dirty and messy as the street. The moment Yun Huaizhu stepped inside, she choked on the dust-polluted air and coughed nonstop.

A woman wearing glasses with lenses as thick as bottle bottoms, looking about thirty, hurried to greet her. “Do you need your computer repaired?”

She pushed her glasses up and suddenly caught sight of the earrings on the woman's ears. As if startled, she abruptly fell silent, mouth open, not daring to say a word.

Yun Huaizhu had deliberately worn these earrings this time. As if hinting, she reached up and touched the earring on her earlobe. “I heard online that you can custom-make micro trackers and listening devices here. Lately my wife keeps staying out for no reason and won't reply to my messages. I suspect she's cheating, so I need you to make me those two things.”

Li Wan's expression upon hearing this was indescribable.

Previously it was her spouse who had come to custom-order these things, and now the wife had come too. Li Wan couldn't help but think: were these two playing some new kind of game?

Catching each other's third party?

But Li Wan didn't do two-way business, and she couldn't expose a client's privacy.

With that thought, the woman put on an awkward smile. “Miss, as you can see, this is a computer repair shop. Listening devices, trackers... I've never even heard of such things. Maybe try somewhere else; perhaps someone there can make them.”

Hearing that this person wanted to refuse her, Yun Huaizhu stepped closer, one step at a time. “Is that so? But my wife custom-ordered something from you before. Did she give you a good review? To be honest, your device really works well—it even let her find me.”

Though the woman was smiling as she approached her, Li Wan felt as if this person might kill her the moment she let her guard down.

What did she mean by that?

Had that cuckolded lady from last time found this cheating wife through her tracker?

Honestly, the wife really was beautiful. No wonder she'd rather put up with being cheated on than divorce her.

But the important thing was, now the wife had come to settle scores with her!

Anyway, custom orders here came with no receipt, so she steeled herself and pretended to know nothing. “Huh? What... nobody ever custom-ordered anything like that here. Miss, did someone give you wrong information?”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu smiled and looked around her dirty, messy computer shop. “Although the security here is poor and it's not really under the city's jurisdiction, illegally selling trackers and listening devices that violate others' privacy could probably land you in prison for quite a while.”

Li Wan could see from this woman's demeanor that if she didn't admit it today, this woman was going to send her to jail.

At this moment, Li Wan finally deflated like a punctured ball and hung her head. “Fine, I admit it. Your wife did custom-order something from me. But... you were in the wrong first. You can't blame her for using something like that to find you.”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu seemed to grow interested. “Oh? What did she tell you back then? Tell me too.”

Li Wan kept glancing at her; this woman's gaze seemed to hide a killing intent. She truly didn't dare lie anymore. “She said you were cheating, but you're too beautiful and she couldn't bear to divorce you, so she had me make this thing. She said she just wanted to beat up the mistress you were cheating with...”

When Yun Huaizhu heard this, her eyes lit up.

She hadn't expected Lin Meng to have such a cute side.

So in Lin Meng's imagination, even if she cheated, Lin Meng couldn't bear to divorce her and only wanted to use a tracker to find the mistress and beat that person up—her Mengmeng-jie loved her so much.

After saying all this, Li Wan quietly looked up at the woman. Not only did the woman not seem very angry, but a strange pleasure even appeared on her face.

Were these two really playing some kind of game?

There wasn't a single spot in this place fit to stand in. Yun Huaizhu slowly walked behind the counter; the chair here was relatively clean. She sat down with practiced ease and then looked up at the woman.

“Li Wan, you were once the young miss of a middle-class family. But when your parents were doing business, they were schemed against and ended up losing everything. You were in high school then, about to go to university. Your parents couldn't bear the blow and both jumped to their deaths. You, who had excellent grades and could have gone to university, were hounded by creditors until you had to hide your name and rely on the computer skills and craftsmanship you'd learned to live here repairing computers.”

When Li Wan heard this person recount her life, her eyes instantly reddened. In that moment, she suddenly raised her head in fury and glared at the woman. “Who are you? Why did you dig up all these things about me?”

Yun Huaizhu continued, “Don't be anxious. I investigated you because my wife had dealings with you; otherwise, with your status, you wouldn't be worth my special investigation. But after I learned of your experiences, I felt great sympathy for what happened to you. I'm willing to give you a chance.”

Hearing this, Li Wan's heart suddenly pounded. As if bewitched, she couldn't help asking, “What chance?”

Yun Huaizhu stared intently into her eyes. “Come work for my company. I'll give you a chance for revenge.”

Li Wan hesitated for a long time. Finally, she commanded her stiff legs to walk up to Yun Huaizhu. “Alright.”

...

Another weekend. Lin Meng lay in bed, lazy as ever. She had just woken up when Su Yutang bombarded her with messages: [Darling, look below. Did you apply the medicine yourself?]

[If you can't apply it well yourself, want me to come help you?]

[Why aren't you answering me? There's nothing to be shy about with this kind of thing. Can I come over today?]

[I had someone make your favorite omurice, plus a fully cooked steak and cake. Want some? Want some?]

Lin Meng had already told Su Yutang that she didn't need anything and that even if Su Yutang came over, she wouldn't open the door. Right now, she was enjoying her wonderful weekend.

Annoyed, Lin Meng put her phone on silent. Just then, she spotted the tube of ointment on the bedside table, and her face flushed red again—

That day, Lin Meng didn't know what had gotten into her. After Su Yutang finished washing her, every pore in her body seemed to relax and open up. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but she didn't dare fall asleep on Su Yutang's territory.

Lin Meng was hazily led into the bedroom by Su Yutang. When she lay down on that soft, comfortable bed, drowsiness kept tempting her to close her eyes.

When Lin Meng desperately wanted sleep, her rational restraint was completely useless.

Just as she was truly about to fall asleep, she suddenly felt Su Yutang's hands grip her thighs and then part them the same way she had during the bath.

Lin Meng snapped awake. She hurriedly pressed her legs together, but Su Yutang was holding them apart, and her strength was outrageous—Lin Meng couldn't close them at all.

Lin Meng was embarrassed and furious. “Didn't you already finish washing me? You swore before the bath that it would just be a bath!”

Su Yutang put on her most innocent look. “That's right, just a bath. But I saw that your body is in a sorry state, so I need to apply some medicine.”

Lin Meng said hastily, “No need. These small injuries will heal on their own in a few days.”

Actually, her body only had some bruises; they couldn't even really be called injuries.

Hearing this, Su Yutang's expression turned cold. She finally released Lin Meng's legs, but with a dark look, she slowly crawled up her body and lifted Lin Meng's chin. “How is this a small injury? If you walked into a police station covered in bruises and reported someone for abuse, I'd end up in jail for half a month. Don't treat yourself like you don't matter, alright? Besides, this was my fault to begin with.”

For some reason, when Lin Meng saw how utterly serious she looked, a hidden emotion tugged at her heart.

She lowered her head. “It really doesn't matter.”

After she said this, Su Yutang slumped down and hugged her. “It does matter. You think it's nothing, but I think it's very serious. My heart aches. When I feel heartache, I really will cry. My heartbeat and pheromones go haywire, and I might even die. Do you have the heart to watch me die?”

Hearing this, Lin Meng's brows knitted tightly. She began to doubt the Eldest Miss's words again. But right now, she could genuinely hear Su Yutang's rapid heartbeat as she held her.

It seemed that in the novel, Su Yutang's pheromones were so high-grade that many omegas and alphas couldn't get near her during her heat period. Only an S-rank omega as powerful as Yun Huaizhu could accept her.

Back then, Su Yutang really was like a 52Hz whale; on that isolated island, only Yun Huaizhu was her own kind.

That was why the two of them could become a couple.

But two people so well-matched shouldn't have to go through all that suffering.

Thinking of this, Lin Meng reached out and patted Su Yutang's back. “Alright, I understand. Just applying medicine, right... then don't try anything else.”

Hearing this, Su Yutang looked up in delight, her eyes instantly brightening. “Really?”

Seeing her reaction, an ominous premonition surged in Lin Meng's heart. She nodded uneasily.

At this, Su Yutang immediately crawled back down and sat between Lin Meng's legs.

She was the one who wanted to apply the medicine, yet now she rubbed her hands together as if shy and said bashfully, “Darling, open your legs a bit. Otherwise how am I supposed to apply it?”

Hearing this, Lin Meng's face was nearly as red as a ripe apple. “Alright, alright, I got it. Stop talking so much!”

After saying that, Lin Meng closed her eyes and, utterly mortified, did as Su Yutang asked. Just when she thought she had reached her limit, Su Yutang still wore a pitiful expression. “Darling, can you hold your legs with your hands? Otherwise I can't get through.”

Even a cornered rabbit will bite. No matter how low Lin Meng's bottom line was, she still had one. So when she raised her head, ready to yell at Su Yutang, she suddenly saw Su Yutang's glistening eyes.

Su Yutang really did look terribly wronged. She pouted, on the verge of tears. “But applying medicine is just like this. Did I do something that made you uncomfortable?”

Lin Meng: “......”

Forget it. Applying medicine was like this. Besides, she had work tomorrow; she couldn't show up in front of her colleagues covered in bruises.

Lin Meng gritted her teeth, then tremblingly reached down and hugged her legs, assuming that mortifying, humiliating position.

Seeing this, Su Yutang crawled on her knees between Lin Meng's legs and squeezed out the cool ointment.

The ointment coated her two fingers.

Then came the slow, gentle touch against the bud that had been left red and swollen from roughness.

The ointment felt cool and cold. The deeper Su Yutang went, the more Lin Meng's body trembled. It was just applying ointment—did it really need to go that deep?

Lin Meng wanted to fiercely question Su Yutang, but her voice came out strange and off-key. The cool ointment touched that warm, secret place, was rubbed open and pressed in by Su Yutang, then melted.

The medicine took a full ten minutes to apply. By then, the blush on Lin Meng's face had spread to the roots of her ears. Perhaps Su Yutang sensed that her “medicine application” had taken too long; if she kept going, Lin Meng might get angry.

Although Lin Meng's anger had no real power, Su Yutang didn't want to see her unhappy right now.

Her two slick fingers slowly withdrew, and a translucent thread stretched through the air, tracing an ambiguous path.

Su Yutang crawled over and lay down beside Lin Meng. “Sleep at my place tonight.”

Lin Meng's voice, still overly sweet and off-key, hadn't returned to normal. “But I have work tomorrow.”

She said something so mood-killing, yet to Su Yutang it sounded like pure coyness. Su Yutang said helplessly, “Didn't I already say? What's so great about that crappy job of yours? Your monthly salary isn't even enough to buy a box of lipstick. Quit and come to me; I'll take care of you.”

Lin Meng shook her head. “I don't wear lipstick.”

That killed the conversation. Su Yutang looked as if she'd been choked, her expression constipated. But when she saw Lin Meng's lips, kissed red and swollen by her, her heart felt much better.

She gently stroked Lin Meng's soft lips with her thumb. “True. Darling is naturally beautiful; you don't need lipstick.”

Su Yutang then surprised her by kissing the corner of her mouth. “Then tomorrow I'll drive you to work. It's a bit far from here to your place, after all.”

Lin Meng was already so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open. She nodded as if by default. “Mm...”

Seeing Lin Meng's drowsy look, Su Yutang felt warm inside. If only Lin Meng could lie beside her like this every day.

The next day, Su Yutang had a set of work clothes sent over, and only then did Lin Meng hurry to the company. When Su Yutang dropped her off, she even said she'd pick her up after work. Lin Meng shook her head like a rattle-drum. “No, no, no. Eldest Miss, you're busy with a thousand things a day. There's really no need to run back and forth because of me. I have my own things to do. Please don't come!”

Hearing this, the smile on Su Yutang's face seemed to vanish instantly, and her mood was no longer as pleasant as when she'd driven her over.

Lin Meng knew Su Yutang's character: as long as she rejected her, this lofty Eldest Miss would never shamelessly cling to her.

After all, she was the sole heir of the Su family, Jing City's proud crown princess.

How could she...

She would...

Yes. When Lin Meng got off work that evening, she saw the same car that had driven her in that morning.

...

Although from that day on, Lin Meng always told Su Yutang not to come pick her up or drop her off anymore, it was obvious this Eldest Miss was not going to listen.

Over the course of the week, the only benefit was that she saved on transportation, and her salary card received both this month's wages and her bonus.

Clearly, all good things were rushing toward her. So why did she feel a faint unease?

Just as she thought this, someone knocked on her door.

Lin Meng thought it was Su Yutang coming to bother her again, so she quickly covered her head with the blanket and pretended she wasn't home.

But as time passed, the knocking outside didn't stop.

Today was the weekend; many people were resting. If the person outside kept this up, wouldn't it disturb the neighbors?

With that thought, Lin Meng finally threw off the blanket. She put on her slippers and stormed to the door. The moment she opened it, without even looking at who it was, she yelled, “Seriously, you're so annoying. Are you ever going to stop?!”

The person outside immediately teared up. Her voice was soft and wronged. “I... I'm sorry, did I disturb you, Mengmeng-jie?”

Only after hearing that voice did Lin Meng finally come to her senses. The person who had been knocking nonstop outside was Yun Huaizhu!

Seeing this, Lin Meng's tone immediately softened. A bit at a loss, she said, “No, no! I thought you were...”

She didn't dare say Su Yutang's name, because every time she mentioned Su Yutang in front of Yun Huaizhu, Yun Huaizhu would become very unhappy.

Seeing that Yun Huaizhu was about to cry from her shouting, Lin Meng quickly reached out and took Yun Huaizhu's hand. “Zhuzhu, I'm sorry... I didn't know it was you just now. I was in a bad mood. I'm really, truly sorry.”

When Yun Huaizhu saw Lin Meng take her hand first, the pent-up frustration in her heart dissipated. But she still put on a delicate, helpless look. “It's alright. I'm the one who disturbed you at this hour. It's my fault. Mengmeng-jie, you didn't open the door for so long—did something happen? Should I just go back today?”

Hearing this, Lin Meng quickly shook her head. “No, no, nothing happened. I just had my head under the blanket and didn't hear clearly. Don't stay outside; come in and talk.”

Yun Huaizhu nodded obediently. She stepped inside first. As Lin Meng closed the door behind her, an uncontrollable smile appeared at the corner of Yun Huaizhu's lips.

After Lin Meng welcomed Yun Huaizhu inside, awkwardness and guilt gradually welled up in her heart.

No matter what excuse she'd used to sleep with Su Yutang that night, a mistress was a mistress—she had cuckolded Yun Huaizhu.

So during this time, besides messaging Yun Huaizhu as usual, she had been desperately maintaining her normal image in front of Yun Huaizhu.

In fact, a few days ago Yun Huaizhu had mentioned wanting to come see her at night, but she'd rejected her with reasons like “I want to rest first” and “I don't feel well.”

After the banquet incident, she'd already been wracked with guilt before even seeing Yun Huaizhu—let alone now.

Lin Meng twisted the hem of her pajamas with both hands. She stood by the door for a long time—so long that Yun Huaizhu was almost impatient. “Mengmeng-jie, what are you standing there for? Come over here.”

Only then did Lin Meng snap out of it. She forced down the guilt on her face and walked over. “Zhuzhu, why did you come all of a sudden? You didn't tell me. What do you want to drink, water or juice?”

Yun Huaizhu, as if returning to her own home, sat down on Lin Meng's sofa with its warm yellow plaid cover. “I did tell you, Mengmeng-jie. You just never replied to me.”

Only then did Lin Meng realize—she had put her phone on silent mode to block Su Yutang's harassment.

Yun Huaizhu had been knocking outside for so long; she must have sent many messages too, but Lin Meng hadn't seen any of them.

Thinking of this, the guilt in Lin Meng's heart deepened.

Yun Huaizhu leaned back comfortably on the sofa. “No need to trouble yourself. After all, I came today to take Mengmeng-jie out to play. It's almost April; the weather outside is lovely, and so many flowers have bloomed. I want to go on an outing with you.”

When Lin Meng woke up today and checked her phone, Su Yutang's messages had kept popping up, and at that point she'd lost all interest in her phone.

Because last time's proposal had helped the company secure a big deal, and her former supervisor Liu Yun had resigned, the company had promoted her. This week her work hadn't been too tiring. On Saturday she'd already slept the whole day. Actually, going out for a walk didn't sound bad.

Of course, that was on the premise that Yun Huaizhu was by her side. Otherwise, the old her would rather die than go out.

Lin Meng nodded slightly. “Sure.”

She could agree so easily today because this was when her guilt toward Yun Huaizhu was deepest.

She truly couldn't imagine how Yun Huaizhu would feel if she ever found out that her best friend had cuckolded her.

Hearing Lin Meng agree so easily this time, Yun Huaizhu happily stood up and walked over. She reached out and took Lin Meng's hand first. “Mengmeng-jie, you're the best.”

But when the cold of Lin Meng's palm seeped into Yun Huaizhu's hand, her brows knitted tightly. “Mengmeng-jie, are you very cold? Why are your hands so icy? I felt something was strange today—why didn't you come to the door when you heard knocking? Has someone been doing bad things to you lately? Are you feeling unwell? Maybe you should rest at home today.”

Lin Meng had almost forgotten that Yun Huaizhu's perceptiveness was several times that of an ordinary person—her cold hands and feet were only from guilt, and Yun Huaizhu had nearly guessed the truth.

Hearing this, Lin Meng slowly withdrew her hand. “No, I just wasn't under the blanket earlier, so I caught a bit of a chill. I'll wear more when we go out and it'll be fine.”

Hearing this explanation, doubt gradually rose in Yun Huaizhu's heart.

But just now Lin Meng had told her that she hadn't come to the door when she heard knocking because she'd been under the blanket sleeping.

It seemed Lin Meng really was hiding something from her.

Yun Huaizhu smiled. She reached out with the hand that had just held Lin Meng's and gently tucked the stray hair from Lin Meng's forehead behind her ear. “It's alright, Mengmeng-jie. If you're not feeling well, we can go out another day. Once this busy period is over, I can accompany you out every day.”

Yun Huaizhu was so gentle, yet she had betrayed her.

The more Lin Meng thought about it, the more uneasy she became. “It's fine, I'm really okay. I wanted to go out anyway, but I figured it'd be pointless alone.”

Hearing this, Yun Huaizhu's hands slid to Lin Meng's cheeks and, with extremely gentle force, slowly lifted her face to meet her eyes. “Really?”

Lin Meng's eyes trembled slightly. “Mm.”

Yun Huaizhu stared into her flickering eyes for a long time, then revealed a gentle smile. “If you really don't feel well, you must tell me.”

Lin Meng nodded again. “Mm, mm, I know.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Yun Huaizhu ended the pose that had felt so dangerous to Lin Meng. “Alright, go change clothes.”

Lin Meng didn't know why, but under the weight of her guilt, every time she met Yun Huaizhu's eyes, her heartbeat would speed up uncontrollably, as if she might stop breathing at any moment.

Sure enough, people shouldn't do bad things.

The instant Lin Meng walked into the bedroom, Yun Huaizhu's expression darkened.

From Lin Meng's behavior just now, she knew Lin Meng was definitely hiding something from her, and it must be related to her; otherwise Lin Meng wouldn't show such a guilty expression when facing her.

She knew Lin Meng was trying hard to hide it, but a person's eyes couldn't lie—especially when she knew Lin Meng so well.

What exactly had Lin Meng done that made her feel she'd wronged her?

If she asked now, it would probably scare Lin Meng badly. It seemed she would have to investigate this herself.

Ten minutes later, Lin Meng came out in a denim outfit. A sunflower was printed on her jacket, warm just like her.

Yun Huaizhu temporarily put away her suspicions and smiled, nodding. “Mengmeng-jie is very cute today.”

Lin Meng lowered her head shyly. “Thank you.”

Yun Huaizhu walked up to her and looked her up and down. “Mengmeng-jie, why didn't you bring your phone? Not even a bag?”

Lin Meng kept her head lowered. “Mm... I just feel that with you by my side, I don't need those things.”

At this sudden statement from Lin Meng, Yun Huaizhu felt as if her heart had been struck. Then a sweet, blissful feeling beyond words spread through her.

So Lin Meng had already come to need her this much.

Overcome with emotion, as if unable to control herself, Yun Huaizhu stepped forward and hugged Lin Meng. “Mengmeng-jie, do you know? You're really cute. I really, really like you so much.”

Hearing this, Lin Meng felt even guiltier.

She hadn't brought her phone because she was afraid that if Su Yutang sent her messages, Yun Huaizhu would discover them.

Of course, she could have just muted the notifications or blocked that person, but the next moment Su Yutang would come straight to her door. So to avoid exposing what she'd done, she chose not to bring her phone.

Actually, when Yun Huaizhu heard that Lin Meng hadn't brought her phone, she felt a bit disappointed. She'd wanted to add something to Lin Meng's phone today, just like how Lin Meng had given her the earrings back then. But this matter couldn't be rushed either, or it would scare Lin Meng.

...

Su Yutang sent a pile of messages, but Lin Meng didn't respond to a single one. She kept checking to confirm she hadn't been blocked.

Once she settled down, as if she'd suffered a huge grievance, she sat angrily on the cradle on the balcony with her legs crossed.

Now she finally understood how Lin Meng had felt when she sent so many messages and Su Yutang ignored them all.

Anxiety and unease, mixed with a hint of suspicion, twisted together in her heart. She really wanted to run over to Lin Meng's house right now and see her.

But Lin Meng had just told her on WeChat that even if she came over, she wouldn't open the door.

How could this person be so excessive, so heartless?

They'd only just slept together not long ago—how could she act as if nothing had happened?

Su Yutang stared at the blank message screen, stewing in her gloom. But soon she seemed to coax herself into a better mood and revealed an inexplicable smile.

Actually, she quite liked the feeling of read-but-unreplied; at least it meant Lin Meng really had seen her messages.

Just as Su Yutang sat in her three-hundred-million-yuan villa in a bad mood, drinking 1982 Lafite and stewing, her phone rang again.

Su Yutang, almost without hesitation, set down her wine glass and picked up her phone to see if Lin Meng had replied. But the next moment, when she saw the caller ID—Huo Yi—her expression fell.

She leisurely picked up her wine glass again, and only after the phone had rung for over thirty seconds did she slowly answer. “Hello, what is it?”

Huo Yi's tone was cheerful. “The weather's so nice today. Aren't you coming to the mountain track for a lap?”

Su Yutang frowned and sipped her red wine. “Not in the mood.”

“But then again, a profiteer like you, who only knows how to talk business with me every day and skim profits off me, actually invited me to go racing. You never visit a temple without a reason. Come on, what exactly do you need my help with?”

Hearing this, Huo Yi's tone grew even lighter. “I don't need your help with anything. I just really want you to come out and have fun. I was outside enjoying the scenery just now and saw some friends. Seeing them having such a good time made me think of you—I wanted you to come out and relax too.”

Su Yutang gave a contemptuous smile. “No time. If you want to have fun, go by yourself. Don't bother me!”

Just as she said this, a WeChat notification chimed. Huo Yi's cheerful voice came through the line. “Don't be in such a hurry. Take a look at the scenery photo I sent you first, then decide whether to come over.”