My Ex Told Me She’s Still In Love With Me - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: I’m Not Going Anywhere.

Meng Qingwu’s expression was peculiar. Watching the interaction between the two women before her, her mind filled with a swarm of questions. As she looked at the drink Madam Meng brought over, she felt even more uneasy.

A 3% alcohol fruit wine.

Something that would never normally appear in front of Madam Meng.

She watched as her mother familiarly retrieved it from the fridge, set two glasses before herself and Lan Xining, poured a third of a glass for Lan Xining, and then dumped the rest into Meng Qingwu’s glass.

“Don’t drink too much at noon,” Madam Meng said coolly.

Meng Qingwu: “…” You’re telling me not to drink too much, but you’re doing fine?

However, the most shocking part was Lan Xining. The older woman looked lazy and relaxed as she picked up the fruit wine, took a sip, and squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

Meng Qingwu was speechless. To her aunt, 3% fruit wine didn’t even count as alcohol, yet she didn’t seem to mind Madam Meng’s “bait and switch” behavior at all.

“You two…?” Meng Qingwu started, her voice trailing off. Had her words from a few days ago truly unlocked Madam Meng’s “governing vessel”?

Lan Xining smiled at her but said nothing. Madam Meng remained calm as ever, lifting an eyelid to say, “You see what you see.”

I see what I see, so what? What’s the result? But Madam Meng clearly had no intention of elaborating. Meng Qingwu pursed her lips and stopped asking. If there really was something going on, time was long; they would have to speak up eventually.

“I came here to ask you something. Why did you arrange for Cheng Yi to go on a blind date with me?” She stared directly at Madam Meng, giving her no chance to be vague.

Madam Meng looked at her indifferently, her peripheral vision catching the woman on the sofa who was clearly enjoying the show. “That kid Cheng Zhan came to me. He said that if I arranged two blind dates for you, they would withdraw from the competition for that plot of land in the New District.”

“Them withdrawing saves us a lot of money,” she added.

Meng Qingwu gritted her teeth, the mole under her eye looking sharp. “So, you just sold me out like that?” I’m not even worth a piece of land?

Madam Meng said nothing.

Meng Qingwu: “…I suspect that if the profit was high enough, you’d marry me off.”

This time, Madam Meng looked at her with slight surprise. “You’re not as stupid as I thought.”

Meng Qingwu: “…”

Seeing that Meng Qingwu was genuinely getting angry, Lan Xining quickly jumped in to smooth things over. “Qingwu, don’t listen to your mom’s nonsense. Your partner is still up to your own choice.”

Madam Meng remained noncommittal. Meng Qingwu had a headache. Looking at her mother’s indifferent face, she felt for the first time that this personality shift was hard to take. When did she develop such a wicked sense of humor? She suspected Madam Meng only agreed because she wanted to watch her daughter struggle with Cheng Yi. She was treating it like a joke.

“Other mothers, when they see someone who hurt their child, might not grab a knife, but they certainly wouldn’t have a kind face. You, on the other hand, are eager to push us together?” Meng Qingwu said gloomily.

Madam Meng took a sip of her wine. “I haven’t formally met her.” Therefore, there was no “face-showing” to speak of. “And even if we meet, given the way you are now, is it even possible for you to be the one who suffers?”

She said it as if it were a law of nature—if Meng Qingwu was still being manipulated by Cheng Yi, she would be failing her mother’s trust.

“Stay out of my business,” Meng Qingwu muttered. She no longer expected Madam Meng to introduce her to anyone; she’d be happy if her mother just stopped making things worse.

After Meng Qingwu left, Lan Xining watched Madam Meng playing with her wine glass. “You’re using my glass,” she said slowly.

Whether it was intentional or not, the spot where Madam Meng’s lips touched was exactly where Lan Xining had drunk from, leaving a faint lipstick mark. Madam Meng simply glanced at her, finished the wine, and pushed the glass back toward Lan Xining.

Lan Xining chuckled. “This ambiguous attitude makes it very easy for me to overthink things.”

Madam Meng’s face stiffened. Lan Xining’s eyes flashed with a hint of mockery as she picked up the bottle. “Don’t bring this kind of wine next time.”

Madam Meng stammered, wanting to say something, but ultimately kept silent. After one more drink, Lan Xining stood up. “I have an appointment. I’m leaving.”

…

Meng Qingwu returned to her office and called Cheng Zhan.

“Hello—”

Meng Qingwu looked at the screen; it was definitely Cheng Zhan’s name. “Did you take the wrong medicine? You can’t even recognize my voice?”

The other end went silent before a cold voice asked, “What is it?”

“You really took the wrong medicine?” The man sounded bizarre today.

Cheng Zhan sighed, his tone softening. “Work is tiring. What do you want?”

Meng Qingwu didn’t believe his lame excuse, but she didn’t care. “Did you personally arrange the date between me and Cheng Yi?”

Cheng Zhan: “…” He didn’t expect Madam Meng to sell him out. His initial anger was now replaced by guilt.

Meng Qingwu sneered. “Cheng Zhan, you’re quite the brother, delivering your sister to my door to be beaten down.”

“Qingwu, Cheng Yi, she…”

“Enough. I don’t want to settle old scores, but from now on, I don’t want any more of this.” She hung up.

…

A week after the hiking trip, Meng Qingwu went abroad for a month-long project. By the time she returned, it was full-blown summer. The scorching sun baked the earth, and the plants along the road looked wilted—much like the woman herself.

Meng Qingwu hated the heat. She cursed her past self for being “mentally ill”—instead of sitting in a nice air-conditioned office, she had insisted on coming out for a site inspection.

At the dusty construction site, the sound of metal clanging was incessant. Since stepping into this area, Meng Qingwu felt like her head was going to explode.

“President Meng, you came in person!” A man in a white safety helmet hurried toward her, his crisp suit looking out of place in the dirt.

Meng Qingwu was dressed more practically: a simple white T-shirt and gray casual capri pants. She looked like a college student. As she looked at the steel and cement, a gust of wind kicked up a cloud of dust, getting into her eyes. She gritted her teeth, but to save face, she didn’t crouch down. She waved the man away and turned around to blink frantically to clear the grit.

“President Meng…” her assistant said worriedly.

“I’m fine,” Meng Qingwu said, her eyes red as if she had just cried. If others could stay here, why couldn’t she?

As she toured the project, she saw the workers toiling in the heat and told her assistant to buy some cooling refreshments for them. She was satisfied with the progress but worried about the contractors cutting corners, so she had called professional inspectors, who were currently stuck in traffic.

The sun made her dizzy. Then, her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, her face cold, and hung up.

The ringtone persisted. Hang up again. Ring again.

She lost her temper and answered. “Say what you have to say!” No pleasantries.

The person on the other end seemed startled; even her voice became softer. “Qingwu, I’m outside your company, but the front desk won’t let me in.”

It was funny; she was the landlord, yet she was being blocked.

“What are you doing at my company?” Meng Qingwu snapped. Cheng Yi had stood her up, disappeared for a month, and was now playing the attentive suitor?

“It’s lunchtime. I wanted to bring you lunch,” Cheng Yi said gently.

Meng Qingwu sneered. “Please go back. Looking at your face makes me want to vomit.”

The other end went quiet. Just as Meng Qingwu was about to hang up, she heard a loud shout: “GET OUT OF THE WAY!”

Meng Qingwu instinctively looked up—a black object was falling rapidly toward her! Her pupils constricted.

BOOM—

At the company, the lunchbox in Cheng Yi’s hand dropped to the floor, the packaging breaking and soup splashing onto her pants. She didn’t notice.

“Qingwu! Qingwu!”

All her attention was on the phone. She had heard the urgent shout, followed by a dull, heavy thud. Her heart shuddered. She leaned against the front desk, her eyes red. “Is your President Meng not in the company?!”

That sound hadn’t come from an office. The receptionist was terrified by the sudden ferocity in Cheng Yi’s eyes.

“Where is she!” Cheng Yi hissed.

“She… she went to the New District to inspect the construction site…” the receptionist stammered.

Cheng Yi took a deep breath to slow her racing heart, her legs feeling like jelly. Don’t collapse. Don’t collapse. She ran to her car. Her hands were shaking so much she could barely grip the steering wheel.

BANG! She slammed the steering wheel. The pain helped her snap into focus. The car sped off like a mad thing. The call hadn’t disconnected. She called Meng Qingwu’s name repeatedly but got no response—only chaotic noises and someone shouting to call an ambulance.

…

The construction site was in chaos. “President Meng, hold on, the ambulance is coming!” the assistant cried, her voice trembling.

“I’m…” Before Meng Qingwu could finish, the crowd of onlookers erupted.

“What’s wrong with you!” “Can’t you see we’re crowded here!” “Move, let me through…”

Meng Qingwu looked up. A moment later, she fell into a soft, warm embrace scented with forest greenery. It cleared the dust from the air.

She was stunned. Cheng Yi’s jaw was tight, her gentle face replaced by raw obsession and fear. Her eyes were rimmed with red. “Qingwu, how do you feel?”

Cheng Yi looked at Meng Qingwu’s leg. Red blood was flowing out in a large pool, soaking the ground. Meng Qingwu’s brow, already furrowed in pain, tightened even more at Cheng Yi’s presence.

“What are you doing here?” She looked at Cheng Yi. The woman was covered in dust and grime, as if she had rolled through the mud.

Cheng Yi’s face dimmed for a second. She ignored the question. “How long until the ambulance arrives?”

“It’s on the way!” the assistant shouted.

Cheng Yi’s throat bobbed. She barked at the onlookers, “Is there no first aid equipment? You’re just letting her sit here?!”

She wanted to help stop the bleeding but saw her own hands covered in lime and dust. Her heart ached with a dull throb. Eventually, a first aid kit was found just as the ambulance arrived.

As Meng Qingwu was lifted inside, Cheng Yi tried to follow but was blocked. All she saw was Meng Qingwu’s cold, indifferent gaze. She stood frozen, her feet feeling like they were made of lead.

…

At the hospital, after stitching a long gash caused by a piece of rebar (luckily no bone or tendon damage), it was late afternoon.

Meng Qingwu stepped out of the treatment room in a wheelchair pushed by her assistant. She saw Cheng Yi sitting on a bench in the hallway. The woman had cleaned herself up and looked elegant again.

“Qingwu!” She stood up immediately.

Meng Qingwu gave her a cold look and said nothing. Cheng Yi tried to take the wheelchair handles from the assistant.

“Get lost,” Meng Qingwu said. Her voice was quiet but clear.

Cheng Yi’s fingers had just touched the handles. She lowered her gaze, her long lashes casting shadows of loneliness. The assistant felt awkward enough to dig a hole with her toes. She felt like a total outsider.

“Qingwu…” Cheng Yi pleaded.

Meng Qingwu was unmoved. Cheng Yi took a deep breath, gave the assistant a look to move aside, and took control of the wheelchair. She knelt beside Meng Qingwu and looked up earnestly.

“I’m not going anywhere. No matter what.”

Finally, Meng Qingwu looked at her properly and sneered. “Is that so? If I date someone, or get married, you still won’t go?”

“Are you planning to be the ‘third party’ home-wrecker?”

Cheng Yi looked at her quietly. “But you don’t have anyone now, do you?”

Meng Qingwu’s face went cold, and she looked away. Despite the coldness, she was still beautiful. Cheng Yi stared at her, dazed.

The doctor suggested staying for a few days for observation. While the assistant went to handle the paperwork, Cheng Yi pushed her to the ward.

“You didn’t have lunch. Do you want anything to eat?” Cheng Yi asked softly.

Meng Qingwu didn’t speak. She felt disgusting—sweat, dust, and blood were dried on her skin. She called her assistant to find her a caregiver. With her leg injury, she couldn’t even stand, let alone bathe herself.

Cheng Yi noticed her looking toward the bathroom. She understood.

“Wait a moment,” Cheng Yi said.

Meng Qingwu gave her a strange look but ignored her. Soon, there was a knock at the door. Cheng Yi spoke to someone outside, came back with a bag, and then—casually—locked the door.

Meng Qingwu: “…” “What are you doing?”

She couldn’t help but worry. Cheng Yi wouldn’t be that crazy, would she? She was injured!

“Helping you bathe.”

“*(Son of a…)” Meng Qingwu actually swore.