Chapter 36
Mu Mian stayed for a while before leaving. Before he left, he even used his camera to record a short video of Song Ci. He wanted to show it to Du Tingting to lessen her worries.
After Mu Mian left, Song Ci gave Han Zhan a big thumbs-up and praised him for his outstanding performance. “Brother Han, I heard everything. You said that you will take good care of me and treat me very well.”
Han Zhan smiled. “Mmm, I am very gentle and considerate, and I will always give in to you.”
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Song Ci’s face grew warm at Han Zhan’s tease.
…
Mu Mian went back to the office after leaving the hospital. He went to visit Mu Qiu at the hospital after work and only returned home after dark. While Du Tingting, on the other hand, spent the entire day at the hospital with Mu Qiu. Since she was exhausted, she went to take a bath after dinner.
Du Tingting was exceptionally tired in the past few days. It was probably because she kept running back and forth in the hospital and didn’t get enough sleep.
Du Tingting dozed off while in the bath.
When Mu Mian arrived home and didn’t see Du Tingting in the living room, he asked Auntie Zhang who was cleaning the kitchen. “Where is Madam?”
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Auntie Zhang said, “Madam went back to her room to rest after dinner.”
Mu Mian grunted and loosened his tie. He trudged upstairs.
“Tingting?” Pushing the door open, he didn’t see Du Tingting and felt puzzled. Seeing that the bathroom door was cracked open, Mu Mian entered and saw Du Tingting unconscious in the bathtub.
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“Tingting!”
Mu Mian thought Du Tingting had fainted and was so terrified that his voice went several pitches higher.
Du Tingting opened her eyes at his shout.
Seeing Mu Mian sprawled by the bathtub with a worried gaze on her, Du Tingting reached out to stroke Mu Mian’s face. She said, “You are back. I must have fallen asleep.”
“You were sleeping just now?” Mu Mian felt exasperated. “I thought you fainted.”
“Carry me into the room. I don’t wish to move,” Du Tingting whispered, and then she wrapped her arms around Mu Mian’s neck. Her voice had a coquettish undertone, but even at her age, it didn’t seem inappropriate.
“Alright.” Mu Mian agreed readily since he doted on Du Tingting.
Mu Mian was just a year two Accountancy student at Wangdong University when he got to know Du Tingting. It was 1996, and the country’s economy was still rather backward. The income disparity in the nation was very wide, and the school fees for an elite university sky-rocketed. Mu Mian had to pay $2,500 for just one year of schooling.
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Since he came from a middle-class family, the school fees, plus dormitory expenses of six hundred dollars and other living costs of over two hundred dollars, were a tremendous burden on Mu Mian’s family.
Meanwhile, Du Tingting was different.
Du Tingting came from a wealthy family. She even had a chauffeur who fetched her to and fro school every day.
Mu Mian was responsible for welcoming Du Tingting on her first day of school. She was wearing light grey shoes and a white babydoll dress when he first met her. She had long hair and had on a white headband.
Standing at the school gates, many people stole glances at her.
The very first time Mu Mian saw Du Tingting, his heart no longer belonged to him. It turned very unruly, thumping wildly without control.
The first time he held Du Tingting’s hand, he was so nervous he could barely remember how to walk. The first time he kissed Du Tingting, his back muscles bunched up into a tight ball. The first time he slept with Du Tingting, he spent an hour in the shower, scrubbing himself until his skin was red.
It wasn’t an easy journey for them. No one approved of this poor boy getting together with the rich girl. But since they got together, Mu Mian took good care of Du Tingting. He was faithful and never even flirted with other women. Their love story was like a romantic fairy tale.
Over the next 24 years, as she turned from a teenage girl to a middle-aged woman, Du Tingting gave all her prime years to Mu Mian. Mu Mian transformed from having nothing to being a wealthy man. But even so, Du Tingting remained the only woman by his side.
Mu Mian placed Du Tingting on the bed. He saw that she already had two faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and frowned. “Why did you fall asleep in the bathtub? Are you already exhausted from running to and fro the hospital every day?”
“Probably.”
Du Tingting couldn’t bother to put on clothes. She just pulled the silk comforter over her body and lazily said, “I called Song Song today. She said she is not badly injured. That girl is still trying to comfort me.”
“I realized you won’t be able to stop worrying about her.” Mu Mian took out his cell phone and found the video he had taken earlier on. He showed it to Du Tingting. “I took a video. Look.”
Du Tingting saw Song Ci wearing a neck brace, speaking cheerily and in a good mood. She finally worried less now. “Alright. How did she get into a car accident? Song Song is truly fortunate. I won’t dare to imagine if she also…”
Du Tingting shut her eyes. She couldn’t bear to finish her sentence.
Qiu-er was already so ill. If Song Ci also came to harm, Du Tingting would collapse.
“Hubby.” Tears brimmed in Du Tingting’s eyes, but she didn’t dare to cry in front of Mu Mian, and instead, she placed her cheek against the man’s palm. She asked, “What if our Qiu-er can’t get a suitable heart? What will happen to her?”
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Mu Mian couldn’t answer.
His silence broke Du Tingting’s heart.
“We never committed any major sins in our entire lives. Why did Qiu-er’s body…” Du Tingting’s tears still ended up dripping onto Mu Mian’s palm.
2
When Mu Mian felt a searing heat on his palm, waves of pain wrecked his heart. “Tingting, go to sleep. I will be by your side.”
Du Tingting nuzzled her cheek against Mu Mian’s hand. She didn’t say another word afterward.
Du Tingting finally fell asleep after a long time. Mu Mian gently drew back his hand and shook it to chase away the numbness. He then got up and went to the study. There were many things he had to think about.
Where was Song Fei hiding?
As long as a person was alive, she would leave some traces in the city. But Song Fei seemed to have disappeared into thin air. They just couldn’t find her.
Did Song Fei leave this city?
Or could it be…
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Mu Mian’s brows shot straight up.
The person who woke up that night—was it really Song Fei?
A spine-chilling notion surfaced in Mu Mian’s heart.
In order to verify his conclusions, Mu Mian contacted a private detective.
“Can you help me check on another thing?”
“Help me check up on Song Ci’s activities in Shunchen City from 11th to 14th of July.”
“As soon as possible.”
Mu Mian hung up the call and his heart raced.
If it proved his conjectures accurate, Song Ci was someone whose depths were truly unfathomable.
Song Ci was in the hospital and didn’t know that Mu Mian was already suspicious toward her. She concentrated on recuperating and occasionally chatted with Yan Jiang about his ‘cat.’ She would also send teasing messages to Han Zhan whenever he was free.
It was already 9:30 p.m.
The nurse came to check on the wards and took Song Ci’s temperature. She also asked about her condition before leaving. After the nurse left, Song Ci took out her cell phone and looked at the time. It was nearly 10 p.m.
A naughty idea surfaced in Song Ci’s mind when she thought of Han Zhan resting.
Flipping through her phone’s photo album, she scrolled up several photos taken before her accident. Song Ci was a very sexy girl. With careful makeup and a sultry pose, her photos could rival that of fashion shoots.
Song Ci chose one that was to her satisfaction and sent it to Han Zhan.
Thereafter, she happily waited for his reply.