My Ex Told Me She’s Still In Love With Me - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Fading Beauty

The atmosphere in the car was silent, save for the occasional honk from outside.

After a long while, Meng Shuyu let out a cold laugh. “Then you should have felt tired long ago and made your escape early…” At this point, she glanced at the corner of Lan Xining’s eye, her expression unreadable. “It would have been better than dragging it out until now—until you’ve become a fading beauty.”

Lan Xining: “…”

Lan Xining was so angry she laughed. She raised a hand to touch her face. “So, what you’re saying is, I’m now a ‘faded beauty’?”

Meng Shuyu didn’t offer a reply.

Another bout of damn silence followed, as if nothing but stillness was possible between them.

Lan Xining lowered her head. Even in her forties, she felt her nose tingle with the urge to cry because of Meng Shuyu’s words. Why did she subject herself to this humiliation? Why did she fall for such a cold, hard stone?

“So, it’s really impossible for us in this lifetime, isn’t it?” Lan Xining asked.

Meng Shuyu’s eyes flickered slightly as she replied coldly, “Two women… how could it be possible?”

Lan Xining scoffed and tilted her head to look at her. The smile on her face vanished completely. “Two women can’t? I haven’t seen you with a man either.”

Meng Shuyu looked away and said indifferently, “I just haven’t met a suitable one.”

Suitable, not liked.

Lan Xining stared at her profile for a long time. Suddenly, she felt a wave of sorrow. Her pursuit over all these years had merely been a self-inflicted drama of unrequited devotion.

In the eyes of others, she was nothing more than a persistent, disgusting lesbian.

It had been over twenty years. If the other woman were going to accept her, she would have done so long ago, wouldn’t she?

She gave a low, self-mocking laugh. “Fine. Then I wish you the best in finding someone ‘suitable’ for you soon…” She stared intently at her face and enunciated clearly: “A man!”

She pushed open the car door and got out, slamming it shut behind her.

The car shook from the force, and for a fleeting moment, Meng Shuyu’s heart shook with it. She watched Lan Xining’s figure quickly disappear into the night, her brow furrowing slowly.

…

Meng Qingwu was still trying to contact Cheng Zhan. Unfortunately, after the initial connection, his phone just rang without answer, and eventually, it was turned off.

She put her phone down, her heart heavy and disorganized. How serious was his injury that he wasn’t even willing to tell her? As one of the people involved in the accident, did she not even have the right to know the truth?

Meanwhile, Cheng Zhan stood outside the operating room. His hair was a mess from running his hands through it, his expensive suit was covered in wrinkles, and his expression was grim. Watching Mrs. Yu faint in Cheng Gan’s arms only made the irritation in his chest grow.

Although he had grown somewhat distant from the sister who occupied most of their parents’ attention and affection, she was still his sister. Seeing her lying in the operating room with her life hanging in the balance did not feel good.

“Stop pacing,” Cheng Gan said in a deep voice.

Hearing this, Cheng Zhan stopped. His face was pale. “It’s been so long, and they still haven’t come out…”

Cheng Gan’s usually stern face looked dim. To stop himself from overthinking, he changed the subject. “The one calling you just now… was it Qingwu?”

Cheng Zhan went silent for a moment before nodding.

Cheng Gan asked, “Do you remember when your sister was in college, she said she liked someone?”

Cheng Zhan’s expression changed instantly as he looked up at his father.

Cheng Gan’s face wasn’t much better. He remembered when they arrived at the hospital; his daughter was covered in blood yet forced herself to stay conscious just to tell them to keep her condition a secret from everyone. Later, he learned that at the moment of the crash, his daughter had chosen to throw herself over the other person to protect them.

What kind of feelings could make a person disregard their own life?

“No, it couldn’t be…” Cheng Zhan’s voice wavered. If that were the case, then what was going on now?! His sister’s ex-girlfriend was his “girlfriend”? What exactly was Meng Qingwu trying to do?

Cheng Gan asked, “How is her injury?”

Cheng Zhan’s face paled. “Nothing serious. Just some scrapes and a concussion.”

Cheng Gan nodded, carefully holding the trembling Mrs. Yu. His voice was faint. “As long as she’s fine.” Regardless of anything else, she was the person his daughter had risked her life to save.

Cheng Zhan hesitated. “She… she said she wanted to come see her…”

If Meng Qingwu really was the woman Cheng Yi once loved, would it be wrong to stop her from coming?

Cheng Gan closed his eyes, his hand on his wife’s shoulder shaking. “No. Since your sister said to keep it a secret, she must have her reasons.”

Cheng Zhan fell silent. Feeling frustrated, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and went to the fire escape to smoke.

Time ticked by. It was past 3:00 AM, and the Cheng family was still waiting outside the OR. Finally, the bright red “In Surgery” light went out.

The Cheng family stood up immediately. They watched the doctor walk out—tense and agitated, yet suddenly unable to speak as if their throats were blocked.

Exhausted from the long, high-intensity operation, the doctor said weakly, “We saved her. But we need to keep her under observation. Call us immediately if anything goes wrong.”

Upon hearing she was saved, the tension in Mrs. Yu’s body snapped. she collapsed, laughing and crying at the same time. Cheng Gan hurriedly held her, whispering comfort.

Seeing his parents like this, Cheng Zhan rubbed his swollen forehead. “Dad, Mom, go get some rest. I’ll stay here and watch over Yi-yi.”

Cheng Gan looked at his wife, but she shook her head and choked out, “I want to stay with her.”

In the end, the three of them guarded the outside of the ICU all night, their hearts hanging by a thread.

…

The next day, after confirming there were no issues, Meng Qingwu checked herself out of the hospital. She called Cheng Zhan, but his phone was still off. She even worked up the courage to call Mrs. Yu and the others, but no one answered.

This silent rejection made Meng Qingwu feel as though she were being deliberately excluded.

For three consecutive months, Meng Qingwu received no news of Cheng Yi. Her life continued as usual, as if that person had never appeared—a brief flash that quickly vanished into nothingness.

“President Meng, regarding that plot of land in the east of the city, Chairman Meng wants you to handle it,” Assistant Zhang said.

“The East City plot?” Meng Qingwu murmured. It seemed Madam Meng wanted to find her something to do. This reminded her of the conversation the mother and daughter had a while ago.

“The girlfriend you had before… was it Cheng Yi?” Madam Meng had asked directly, sounding as if she already knew the answer.

After a moment of silence, Meng Qingwu replied, “Yes.”

The atmosphere turned dead silent. Under her mother’s scrutinizing gaze, Meng Qingwu suddenly felt very tired. She had faced much criticism over the years for liking women, but she didn’t think she was in the wrong. She wasn’t wrong, but she was still tired.

Meng Shuyu’s voice was cold. “Then what’s the deal with Cheng Zhan?”

Meng Qingwu: “He’s a fake.”

Meng Shuyu: “…”

Even though she had suspected it, Meng Shuyu was still so angry at her daughter’s behavior that her chest hurt.

“Meng Qingwu! You’re twenty-five years old!” Meng Shuyu’s voice rose. Then she thought of Cheng Zhan, and her face darkened further. “And Cheng Zhan joined you in this nonsense!”

No wonder they say men mature later than women; he’s thirty years old and still doing something so out of line and childish!

Meng Qingwu pursed her lips, unable to argue.

The more Meng Shuyu looked at her, the angrier she got. She slammed her hand on the desk with a loud thwack and barked, “Do you have any respect for my reputation?! If I had actually gone to discuss a marriage with them, where would I put my face?”

Meng Shuyu’s blood pressure was skyrocketing. If Mrs. Yu hadn’t missed the meeting for some reason, how could she face them now after discussing such things?

Meng Qingwu was stunned for a moment. She felt a flicker of confusion—why was Madam Meng so focused on her “reputation” this time, rather than the fact that she still liked women?

However, she couldn’t argue with her mother’s words. At that time, she really hadn’t considered the consequences.

Meng Shuyu took a deep breath. “And now? Do you still like Cheng Yi?”

“I don’t!” Meng Qingwu said categorically.

“If you don’t like her, why did you play-pretend at being a couple with Cheng Zhan!” The blood pressure that had just settled slightly spiked again.

Meng Qingwu: “…”

Does Madam Meng not understand the concept of ‘revenge’?

But looking at how furious her mother was, she wasn’t sure if the woman who had never hit her since childhood might actually strike her if she admitted it was for revenge…

She was twenty-five. If she got hit now, it would be quite embarrassing to tell people, wouldn’t it?