Chapter 13: Lipstick Stain on the Collar of an Undershirt

Meng Shutang had no time to call Meng Zhibang to question him, nor did she eat. She put her phone in her bag and left in a hurry.

The waitress came over carrying the dishes, only to find the person had left.

She hurried to the front desk to ask whether table 301 had settled the bill.

Front desk: "Yes, it's paid. The girl in the white dress settled it."

Waitress: "See? Our original wife is still the gracious one."

Front desk: "What? You're saying the girl who left first is the other woman? I never would have guessed. So young—why do that instead of anything else, having to steal another woman's man!"

Meng Shutang drove to Jiangcheng Yiyuan.

Zhou Xingfan was still being resuscitated in the ICU.

Nurse Li: "Your mother had phlegm blocking her airway. The moment we discovered it, we called the doctor right away. After examining her, the doctor transferred her to the resuscitation room, but she still hasn't been out of danger."

For a vegetative patient, phlegm blocking the airway is extremely dangerous.

Zhou Xingfan had experienced it twice before. The doctor had told her tactfully that Zhou Xingfan had been bedridden for over a decade, so this was a normal occurrence.

Meng Shutang stood at the ward door, her whole body stiff and cold, her clear eyes fixed on the resuscitation room's light, her fingertips white from gripping.

A phone ringtone broke the silence. She took the phone from her bag and saw it was Li Xiuyun.

It turned out Li Xiuyun and Zhou Xingfan shared a mother-daughter bond. "Sweetie, my heart hasn't been settled all day. Just now while cooking, I even dropped the clay pot.

Is something wrong with your mother? Or is she blaming me—blaming me for giving up on her before and moving her from the special care ward to a regular ward?"

Fortunately, Zhou Xingfan was in the special care ward, with someone present around the clock.

If phlegm blocking had occurred in a regular ward, it was unthinkable.

"No, my mom is doing fine. Grandmother, did you hurt yourself?"

Li Xiuyun: "I'm fine. The skin on my wrist just got scalded a little. I'll rinse it with cool water and it'll be fine. As long as your mom is okay."

After speaking, the old woman hung up the phone.

Meng Shutang was uneasy, so she called Gu Yunci.

"President Gu... could you do me a favor?"

Meng Shutang's voice came through the phone, tinged with a crying tone, completely unlike her usual cool composure. Gu Yunci was taken aback for a moment.

Gu Yeheng saw Gu Yunci answering a phone call during such an important group meeting and said with a cold face, "Yunci, what are you doing?"

Gu Yunci said softly into the receiver, "I'm in a high-level meeting with the board of directors right now. I can't step away. Handle it yourself for now."

After speaking, he hung up directly.

Meng Shutang listened and said impatiently, "Gu Yunci, don't hang up. My grandmother is injured..."

She had barely opened her mouth when the beep-beep of disconnection came from the other end.

So whatever she said, Gu Yunci didn't hear.

Nurse Li saw how anxious she was. "How about I watch things here, and you go back?"

Meng Shutang shook her head, then called Ruan An. "An'an, my grandmother is injured. I have something I can't step away from. Could you go check on her for me?"

Ruan An was also busy, but upon hearing this, she immediately set aside her work. "Sister Sweetie, don't cry. Send me Grandmother's address. I'll hail a cab and head over right now."

An hour later, Zhou Xingfan was out of danger and wheeled out of the ICU.

Just as Zhou Xingfan was settled into the special care ward, Ruan An sent a WeChat message from Grandmother's place. She had carefully helped treat Grandmother's burn and had been staying with the old woman the whole time.

Seeing this, Meng Shutang replied with a faint smile, "An'an, thank you!"

Once Zhou Xingfan was taken care of, Meng Shutang left the hospital and went straight to Grandmother's house without stopping.

She had already troubled Ruan An for the entire afternoon and felt bad about keeping her any longer, so before coming over, she had let her go home.

Li Xiuyun was a bit surprised to see her come over.

Today was her birthday. After marriage, it had always been Gu Yunci who spent it with her.

But she didn't think much of it, only assuming Meng Shutang was worried about her and had come to check on her.

But when she saw her go into the kitchen to make longevity noodles, she suddenly stopped her. "Are you going to eat here today?"

Meng Shutang nodded. "To keep you company."

Meng Shutang worked efficiently. Two bowls of longevity noodles, done in a few minutes.

During the meal, Grandmother praised Ruan An, saying she was well-behaved and sensible.

Meng Shutang listened. "Yes, she's quite sensible."

Grandmother noticed she seemed down. "Is it because of your mother?"

Meng Shutang shook her head. "No." She paused. "Grandmother, besides my mom, does my dad have another woman?"

The old woman was startled. "Why do you ask that all of a sudden?"

Meng Shutang: "I ran into a girl. She had a bracelet that looks a lot like my dad's."

Li Xiuyun picked up food for her. "Your mother has been ill for so many years and can't help much. Your father has been holding up the enormous Meng family all on his own—it hasn't been easy for him either. Stop thinking about these baseless things."

Her gaze drifted, not daring to meet Meng Shutang's eyes.

Meng Shutang: "That's what you say, so I'm relieved. I didn't think so either. That girl is only three months younger than me. My dad wouldn't be that scummy."

After speaking, she hastily downed a few mouthfuls of noodles and stood up.

Li Xiuyun stood up as well. "Where are you going?"

Meng Shutang hesitated a little, but still feigned shyness and said, "Yunci is waiting for me at home. If I'm back late, he'll throw a tantrum again."

Li Xiuyun smiled. "You two have a good relationship. That puts my mind at ease."

She smiled as she spoke, watching her granddaughter leave.

She was the only one left in the room. She sat down desolately, looking at the spot where Meng Shutang had just been sitting.

Meng Shutang returned to Qian Shui Wan.

Just like last year, she personally made the food and birthday cake and waited for Gu Yunci.

She waited and waited, but Gu Yunci did not come back.

Fortunately, she had eaten at her grandmother's house and wasn't hungry, so she took paper and pen and began drawing.

Zhang Ma's son had returned, and she had taken the day off today.

Only Sister Li was left alone to serve.

Seeing that it was already pitch dark and Gu Yunci still hadn't returned, she walked over to Meng Shutang's side. "President Gu probably won't be coming back tonight.

Young Madam, if you ask me, it's no use a woman just being pretty — she has to learn how to capture a man's heart.

Just look at Miss Bai."

Meng Shutang slowly rose and looked at her, her tone flat but devoid of warmth. "Pack your things and leave. I'll pay you double your wages.

Before Gu Yunci comes back, don't let me see you in this house again."

For three years, Sister Li had only thought of Meng Shutang as meek and easy to bully, someone anyone could push around and shape at will.

She never expected that one day she would say something like this.

"President Gu won't agree to this."

"We haven't divorced yet. I'm still his wife, and this house is jointly owned by him and me.

My telling you to leave is enough."

With that, she sat back down and resumed her work.

Sister Li went back to her room and dawdled for a while with muffled sobs, but in the end she still left reluctantly.

In the evening, nearing nine o'clock, Gu Yunci still hadn't returned.

Meng Shutang called him, but the call didn't go through.

She sent him a WeChat message, but it sank like a stone into the sea.

At half past nine, Gu Yunci still hadn't come home.

Meng Shutang hesitated over whether to call him again to urge him — after all, it was already this late, and if the old lady didn't receive the photos in a moment, she'd come charging over again.

Idly scrolling through her Moments, she came across a post by Gu Yunci's childhood friend Shen Duan.

The caption read: "Live it up, no limits."

Meng Shutang tapped open the photo. The background looked like some high-end club, an environment of extravagance and debauchery.

Gu Yunci sat sunk into a leather sofa, elegant and refined. His suit jacket was off, and two shirt buttons were undone below the collar, the neckline slightly open, lending him a few extra degrees of languid ease.

The photo was taken from the side, capturing Gu Yunci's long legs crossed one over the other. His hand resting on the sofa arm had well-defined knuckles — quite good-looking — with a cigarette held loosely between his fingertips.

Bai Cixian, in a white dress, sat gently and gracefully beside him, her eyes brimming with tender affection as she looked at him.

Meng Shutang closed her Moments.

Tonight, with a beauty by his side, Gu Yunci probably wouldn't be coming back.

She still had to deal with the grandmother's side. Meng Shutang sat down next to the cake, held up a peace sign, and planned to take a photo herself to send over.

Bang — the door opened.

Gu Yunci came in reeking of alcohol, and the lipstick mark on his shirt collar was glaringly conspicuous.