My Marriage Partner is a Crazy Mermaid - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Trust

Xie Yuhan had mobility issues, so whenever she went out, a driver was always stationed at her residence. Seeing her grim expression, Ye Xiaotong draped a bath towel over her, tossed the hairdryer aside, and ran out after her.

Fortunately, Minggang wasn’t far. Once in the car, Xie Yuhan sat quietly for a while, her mood growing increasingly irritable. Others might not know what happened back then, but Xie Yuhan knew the truth of the conflict between the Xie and Lu families better than anyone. Since Lu Jingchuan could use substances designed to counter mermaids against her, it meant he already knew her secret.

First, he used underhanded methods to secretly plot her “sharking”, then he took over as the primary shareholder of the Meng family, and now he was targeting Meng Ke.

Meng Ke was currently in charge of Minggang; a simple investigation would reveal that. Xie Yuhan’s centuries-old intuition was never wrong—something must have happened at Meng Ke’s end. She didn’t know how Lu Jingchuan would deal with Meng Ke. Outside, the moon was high and the wind was dark. There was only a winding mountain road with flickering streetlights. Would he directly manufacture an “accident” to kill her?

Xie Yuhan was rarely this anxious and frustrated. “Faster,” she commanded.

The driver accelerated. Once the sensation of being pushed back into her seat subsided, Xie Yuhan rummaged through the bag behind her and pulled out a phone she hadn’t used in years. She scrolled through the contact list, found Liang Xiao’s number, and dialed. It was picked up after a few rings.

“Did you do this on purpose? Of all the people to put in charge, you picked her. And… there’s no money.”

Liang Xiao curled up and lay flat on her bed, pulling the phone a bit away from her ear. “Calm down, calm down. I did this for your sake.”

“Otherwise, with your personality, when would you ever ‘see the light’?”

“You certainly saw the light early, yet you still haven’t found a wife,” Xie Yuhan let out a light scoff.

“You!” Liang Xiao nearly sat up in anger. “I’m hanging up!”

The two sniped at each other. Before ending the call, Xie Yuhan warned her: “Don’t meddle too much.”

She wasn’t sure of the exact extent of Liang Xiao’s abilities, but the woman could generally perceive the depth of relationships between people. Judging by her frantic meddling, the relationship between herself and Meng Ke was not simple. She also wanted to know what Meng Ke truly meant to her—perhaps she could be the one to send her home.

In front of Minggang, the lights were blazing.

Since she couldn’t call a car at Yihai Villa, Meng Ke had driven herself. Fortunately, Ye Xiaotong had contacted Auntie Sun to cook today, so there was an extra car parked at the villa; otherwise, things might have been troublesome.

“What happened?” Meng Ke asked as soon as she arrived. She hadn’t asked for details over the phone.

Aside from Shao Rou and Zhai Mingchen, a line of people stood at the entrance. Meng Ke realized today was only the second official day of work.

“We just don’t know why those three birds are dying. We can’t figure out the cause. What do we do? If they die without a reason, we’re all going to end up behind bars,” Shao Rou said, her face full of anxiety.

Meng Ke was experienced in wildlife rescue. She had checked those three new members herself; they only had minor injuries. It was impossible for them to be facing death, otherwise she wouldn’t have left after a single glance.

“Let’s go take a look.” Despite this being the first rescue here, Meng Ke remained calm. “What have they eaten these past few days?”

“They didn’t eat the first day. On the second day, they were fed according to the recipe you set. The meat was the freshest available.”

“When was the problem discovered?”

“Roughly around noon today.”

Shao Rou was meticulous and loved small animals. The injured Woodcock had recovered quickly and started “dancing” on the third morning; the Woodcock’s bobbing gait was incredibly cute. Shao Rou had told Zhai Mingchen she had to record a video of it walking, set to a “Free Flying” background track. She had been staking out the spot, waiting for the afternoon when the Woodcock was in good spirits to record.

Instead, she found the Woodcock motionless.

The team, including the staff doctors, observed them all afternoon but couldn’t find anything. As the birds’ condition grew more severe, they hurriedly contacted Meng Ke.

Meng Ke walked into the observation room. The three birds were lying in incubators, and she could tell at a glance that things were dire. Their vital signs were weak, there was almost no chance of saving them. It didn’t look like poisoning or trauma. For a moment, Meng Ke was at a loss.

Was the first rescue mission here going to end in failure? Meng Ke felt a pang of bitterness. Setting aside the fact that this was her job, she genuinely loved wildlife.

“Bring me the food they were given. Also, bring me all the surveillance footage from the past three days that captured the birds.”

“Sister Ke, because the original plan wasn’t to start yet, several surveillance cameras haven’t been adjusted,” a logistics staff member stepped forward to remind her.

“Why aren’t they adjusted? It’s been three days since work started.” Meng Ke questioned them mercilessly. Surveillance protected both animals and humans, how could it not be installed in time?

“Sister Ke, Minggang is an isolated building. The power lines are pulled in from the west side of the city. It rained heavily a few days ago, so Minggang has been running on generators.”

The man hadn’t expected the soft-looking Meng Ke to be so fierce when she lost her temper.

“Sister Ke, it’s a bit of a coincidence,” another person added. “We hurried to fix them on the first day, but some cameras need calibration for the angles. Somehow, two of them weren’t working. We called after-sales, and they said they’d come tomorrow, so…”

It was too much of a coincidence. An excessive coincidence was a premeditated plan.

Meng Ke didn’t have time to think about that now. “Where are the doctors?”

“Sister Ke, I’m here.”

“And me.”

“What do you two have to say? Food poisoning or something else?”

“It’s not food poisoning. We can’t find the cause. We can only provide nutritional support, but it’s having no effect.”

She had seen the credentials of these two doctors; they were capable and had saved many endangered animals. She didn’t know how Liang Xiao had scouted them. If even they were helpless, Meng Ke felt a throbbing headache coming on.

“Two people stay here, everyone else go back. I’ll think of something.”

One doctor stayed, along with a few people responsible for monitoring the birds. The others left one by one.

Meng Ke stood in place, glancing at the incubators before walking toward the door. Since her own office hadn’t been arranged yet, she didn’t know where to go. Stepping out of the room, she found herself in a courtyard with a bionic ecological environment—lush green and full of life. Her mood improved slightly.

Shao Rou and Zhai Mingchen followed far behind her, looking as if they wanted to say something but hesitated. Hearing the movement behind her, Meng Ke sighed softly and called out across the corridor, “You two should go get some rest. You’ve been busy all day.”

“We’re not tired. Is there anything we can help with?”

“No. Staying up for the sake of it won’t help.”

This was true. Since even the doctors were at their wits’ end, staying there would make them about as useful as telephone poles. Zhai Mingchen nudged Shao Rou. “Let’s go.”

They had originally planned to go down the mountain today, but stayed because of the emergency. “We’ll head back first, settle things at home, and then come back.”

As they reached the entrance of Minggang, they happened to see Xie Yuhan’s car. The license plate was T666888. Shao Rou recognized it instantly as the Xie family’s. She then scanned the car—a new Maybach released this year, low-key on the outside but luxurious on the inside. The only downside was the limited interior space.

Shao Rou nudged Zhai Mingchen. “That’s the Xie family’s car.”

Just as she spoke, a wheelchair slowly approached from the other side. The figure was hard to see against the light, but as she drew closer, they saw a cold, beautiful woman sitting there. She was covered with a black blanket, and her skin was a bloodless, cold white. Her face was expressionless, her lips tightly pursed, her head slightly turned to reveal a sharp, defined jawline. Her hair looked like it had just been dried—voluminous, blue, and curly.

Shao Rou’s jaw dropped. She didn’t react until the woman spoke.

“Where is Meng Ke?”

“In…” Shao Rou stammered. “In Area A3. There are signposts over there. Do you need us to lead the way?”

“No.”

Xie Yuhan was brief. Having asked, she headed straight inside. Even in a wheelchair, her noble aura wasn’t diminished in the slightest. Shao Rou and Zhai Mingchen hurried to move out of the way. As the wheelchair passed, a faint fragrance wafted by, like a sea breeze.

Shao Rou couldn’t help but sigh. “She smells so good.” Her eyes couldn’t leave the woman, watching her until she disappeared into the night.

“Stop staring.”

The moon hung high, and all was silent.

Meng Ke leaned against a nearby parasol tree and sighed. She felt this wasn’t an accident, but a conspiracy aimed at her. Even if it wasn’t an accident, she still felt terrible for the innocent animals caught in the crossfire. She had intended to save animals, but in the end, they were suffering because of her.

“In trouble?”

Immersed in her emotions, Meng Ke hadn’t noticed the sound behind her. She froze when she saw Xie Yuhan. “Why did you come here?”

“Did you forget something?”

Meng Ke: “…”

“Tonight won’t work.”

She wasn’t in the mood for anything—whether it was sleeping “platonically” or “romantically.” She didn’t want to play a game of wits with her over this.

“Tell me, what’s the matter? Need money? Or people?” Xie Yuhan asked bluntly.

“Neither,” Meng Ke replied somewhat dismissively.

Looking at Xie Yuhan, Meng Ke suddenly remembered that the Xie family’s current focus was on electronic information, which included collaborations in the production and sale of high-tech medical instruments.

“The birds I rescued a few days ago have a problem. Do you know any veterinarians?”

Hearing this, Xie Yuhan didn’t even have to think to know what had happened. Those people were truly despicable, actually attacking animals with no spiritual intelligence.

“Take me to see them.” Xie Yuhan spoke at an unhurried pace, looking full of confidence.

Perhaps it was because of her identity, but Meng Ke felt a strange sense of security seeing her.

“This way.” Meng Ke led the way.

It was a “treat a dead horse as if it were alive” situation. The people of Tan City praised Xie Yuhan’s abilities to the heavens; perhaps she really did know some extraordinary people.

The two entered the emergency room. The doctors had just finished their work and were leaning against a table, wiping sweat from their foreheads. The three birds only had a breath of life left in them; they likely wouldn’t survive the night.

Seeing Meng Ke, the two stood up straight. “Boss.”

“This is…” Meng Ke glanced at Xie Yuhan. She hadn’t officially introduced her to outsiders before. Without overthinking, she said directly: “This is Xie Yuhan, my fiancée.”

Hearing this rare prefix, Xie Yuhan raised an eyebrow at Meng Ke before looking at the birds behind the two doctors. They lay dying in their cages, not far from death’s door.

“Is there any way?” Meng Ke asked.

“You want to save them?” Xie Yuhan didn’t answer but looked into her eyes and asked instead.

“Yes!” Of course she did.

“You two!” Xie Yuhan looked up at the doctors. “Get out.”

The two looked at each other, then at Meng Ke. With great situational awareness, they scurried out.

Once they were gone, Meng Ke leaned down slightly, resting against the wheelchair. She leaned in close and asked, “Do you really have a way?”

“You get out, too.”

Meng Ke: “…” She wanted to ask more, but she knew Xie Yuhan didn’t like chatter, so she obediently left the room.

The three people stood outside in the wind. One asked, “Sister Ke, does your fiancée really have a way?”

“I don’t know,” Meng Ke said honestly. “But she’s not one to make empty promises. Since she told us to come out, she must have a way.”

She trusted her.