ebookland Chapter 174
Chapter 174
"What else could it be? She must have a screw loose," Meng Yingying blurted out instinctively.
Cough, cough...
"But she seems perfectly normal in the head," Song Nianchu cleared her throat slightly.
"Normal? Then either she enjoys suffering, or this place holds some special meaning for her—maybe someone she cares about is here," Meng Yingying thought for a moment.
"You think so too!" Song Nianchu's eyes lit up at the words, feeling understood.
But Meng Yingying found Song Nianchu's mood today noticeably off and looked at her hesitantly.
"Did something happen?"
Song Nianchu didn't beat around the bush and recounted her encounter with Zheng Lanhui at the hospital to Meng Yingying.
She didn't have many friends here, and having been through thick and thin with Meng Yingying, she felt close enough to confide in her.
"What did you say that girl's name was?" Meng Yingying's tone turned eager after hearing the story.
"Zheng Lanhui," Song Nianchu repeated.
"Are you sure her name is Zheng Lanhui?" Meng Yingying pressed.
Song Nianchu nodded. "I'm sure."
"Is she also that Comrade Mu's teacher's daughter?" Meng Yingying asked further.
"You even know that?" Song Nianchu was genuinely surprised this time.
Meng Yingying, however, looked even more astonished than Song Nianchu, as if frozen in place.
"What's wrong with you?" Song Nianchu waved a hand in front of her face.
"I..." Meng Yingying didn't know how to explain.
"Do you know Zheng Lanhui?" Song Nianchu inquired.
Meng Yingying's lips moved, but she didn't know where to start.
In her past life, she had heard the name Zheng Lanhui— as Mu Shi'an's wife.
But that was much later, after Mu Shi'an had been rehabilitated and his entire family had left Qinghe Fishing Village.
She saw him again when her youngest son fell gravely ill, and she traveled all the way to a hospital in the capital city.
Zheng Lanhui was her son's attending physician then. She saw Mu Shi'an when she went to find Zheng Lanhui in her office and happened to see him bringing her a meal.
That was the first time she'd set eyes on him since he left Qinghe Fishing Village.
Time hadn't left many marks on his face; instead, it had added a certain mature charm.
Zheng Lanhui was also gentle and beautiful. Standing together, they looked like a perfect couple.
Later, she had asked around among the hospital staff and learned that the two had a wonderful relationship, widely recognized as a devoted couple.
She had originally thought that since Mu Shi'an was now married to Song Nianchu in this life, Zheng Lanhui would never appear again. But it seemed she had come anyway.
If that were the case, would she disrupt the marriage between Song Nianchu and Mu Shi'an?
Meng Yingying's mind was in a mess. Seeing her still silent, Song Nianchu snapped her fingers in front of her.
"Come back to earth."
Meng Yingying snapped out of it and looked at Song Nianchu blankly.
"What are you thinking about? Have you met this Zheng Lanhui before? What kind of person is she? How close is she to Mu Shi'an?" Song Nianchu asked curiously.
She felt awkward asking Mu Shi'an directly, as if she didn't trust him. It would be better if she could get some useful information from Meng Yingying.
"I don't know her well. I only know her mother is a doctor, and her father seems to be a prominent researcher. Her grandparents are also well-known figures—basically, she comes from a scholarly family. She's ambitious too, got into medical school, and she's pretty and very popular," Meng Yingying said after a moment.
"She sounds like an impressive girl," Song Nianchu nodded.
"She is," Meng Yingying agreed, but then fixed her gaze on Song Nianchu. "But no matter how impressive she is, she's not as impressive as you."
"Huh?" Song Nianchu was caught off guard by the sudden shift.
"Zheng Lanhui is indeed remarkable, but part of that comes from her privileged family. If she had come from our background, she might not have reached such heights. But you—you have no family support to rely on. By yourself, you led our village to achieve what we have. Don't ever think you're less than her!" Meng Yingying's tone was unusually earnest as she spoke.
Afraid Song Nianchu might not believe her, she even gripped her hand tightly.
Song Nianchu paused for a moment, then laughed.
"I don't think I'm less than her."
She just wanted to know more about Zheng Lanhui; she didn't like going into things unprepared.
"That's good to hear," Meng Yingying sighed in relief but added, "But I've heard she might have a secret crush on Comrade Mu. If possible, you should keep them apart."
Meng Yingying found Zheng Lanhui quite threatening—after all, she had been Mu Shi'an's wife in her past life. But now, since Song Nianchu was already married to him, Zheng Lanhui had no business breaking up their family.
"I figured as much." Song Nianchu nodded but quickly let it go.
With Mu Shi'an looking the way he did, it would be strange if no girls had a crush on him.
"You have to take this seriously. Whatever you do, don't let them be alone together!" Seeing Song Nianchu's nonchalant attitude, Meng Yingchu added.
"Thanks for caring, but I don't think it's my job to guard against that. You can be on your guard every day for a thousand days, but there's no such thing as a thief who's always on the lookout. If Mu Shi'an can be easily lured away by another woman, then he's not the right man for me." Song Nianchu had been curious about Zheng Lanhui, but she had no plans to take any action yet.
Meng Yingying looked stunned by her words.
"Is that true? But everyone says you have to keep a close eye on your man," she said slowly.
"Define 'keeping a close eye.' Following him around 24 hours a day? If a man is bent on cheating, even if you leave him alone for just half an hour, he can use that time to do something shady." Song Nianchu recalled a news story about a man who could slip away to a hotel even while picking up his daughter from school, or in the time it took to buy soy sauce.
Besides, spending so much energy keeping tabs on one man was exhausting.
There were plenty of men in the world—if one wasn't up to par, you could just find another.
If none of them worked out, being single was perfectly fine too.
"Is that so?" Meng Yingying looked dazed.
"Yingying, no matter what, we always have to put ourselves first. We can live perfectly well without a man. If they're not faithful to their wives or their families, you can just trade them for another one—just like you did before." Song Nianchu gazed seriously into Meng Yingying's eyes.