The Seductive Pretender: Sister-in-Law is Turning Gay - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: “I Think It’s About to Sprout.”

She was the one who went missing first, yet Lin Yuqing who had been frantically searching for her was the first to apologize. Zhong Manjing remained silent for a long time, swallowing back the lump in her throat. She could hear nothing but their breathing intertwining through the phone.

Time seemed to stretch or compress; she wasn’t sure. But she realized that the aggression and hostility she had felt toward Peng Shirong were gradually ebbing away, leaving her body.

Zhong Manjing let out a soft, genuine laugh.

“Those little rascals, how noisy,” she finally spoke. Her gentle face returned to the camera’s view, her gaze like flowing water, moving slowly over Lin Yuqing’s face on the screen.

Lin Yuqing said, “They were hugging my legs and wailing, making me promise I’d find you. Zhang Xiaohua sobbed that we had to find you ‘dead or alive.’ I told Zhang Xiaolei to make Xiaohua do more homework and watch fewer strange martial arts dramas…”

Zhong Manjing laughed, and Lin Yuqing joined her.

“This is Brother Wang’s phone; I have to give it back to him. Call my number.”

Lin Yuqing nodded and waited for Zhong Manjing to hang up first.

Soon, she called back. When the video connected, Zhong Manjing had just climbed onto the roof of her car. She adjusted the camera to face forward. “Lin Yuqing, look at the stars. Look at how beautiful this place is.”

“I see them,” Lin Yuqing said softly. “How does camping feel?”

“Great. Very quiet. You can only hear the sounds of summer here; the bees are all resting.” Zhong Manjing adjusted the phone again, flipping to the front-facing camera and placing it behind her at an angle.

It captured the starry sky above and just a glimpse of her profile. She stared dreamily at the brilliant stars.

The last time she had seen the stars before her death in her previous life was when she thought she had escaped, walking out of the airport.

At the domestic airport, Peng Shirong had personally seen her off. With a look of regret and sorrow, he told her to take care of herself and promised that VIP services would be waiting for her at her destination to ensure her comfort.

Zhong Manjing had been so moved. She fully trusted this butler who had watched her grow up in the Zhong family, believing him to be the only elder she could rely on amidst the wolf-like struggles of the elite.

As long as I leave… leave and never come back… I can definitely save my own life.

However, her hope vanished when that black car veered into her with precision. As Zhong Manjing lay in a pool of blood, she saw the brilliant stars of a foreign land—so beautiful, so dazzling.

Her life should have ended there, but Lin Yuqing’s people found her.

She was dying, unable to speak. She had watched in terror as Lin Yuqing gripped her wrist tightly, her eyes cold enough to hurt: “I will kill Peng Shirong.”

“No.” Lin Yuqing’s breathing was heavy, her chest heaving. She leaned down close to Zhong Manjing on the hospital bed, like a predator ready to snap a neck. “And your brother, Zhong Suyuan. So you must live to watch them die. Do you hear me?”

I heard you. I heard you, and I’m back.

But until the moment she died, Zhong Manjing hadn’t understood: had Peng Shirong killed her simply on Zhong Suyuan’s orders? After seeing him tonight, everything suddenly clicked.

The Zhong family was already showing weakness before the Lin family, and at that time, Yang Zhaoying had appeared by Lin Yuqing’s side as her secret lover. Yang Zhaoying had always hated her.

Peng Shirong wasn’t acting for Zhong Suyuan; he was securing his own backup plan by removing Zhong Manjing. These things should have happened in silence everyone knew Lin Yuqing loathed everything about the Zhong family, so who would have guessed she had been keeping Zhong Manjing under surveillance the whole time?

“Zhong Manjing, what are you thinking about?” Lin Yuqing’s voice pulled her from the past back to reality.

She looked down at the lens. “There are so many beautiful things in the world; I want to live to see more of them.”

Lin Yuqing: “Don’t say such gloomy things. Did someone upset you?”

“No. Boss Lin, do you know what’s most comfortable about camping? Having a few friends over, drinking some beer, setting up a small grill, and just falling asleep to the sound of cicadas and the breeze. It’s the best. Though, if friends aren’t around, having a lover by your side is also very romantic.”

Zhong Manjing’s voice grew lighter with the wind. “But being by myself is also fine. It’s quiet, allows me to think.”

Lin Yuqing didn’t know what to do or say. She could clearly feel that Zhong Manjing was in a bad mood, even if she didn’t admit it. All she could do was accompany her quietly and listen.

Suddenly, Zhong Manjing shifted the topic: “Lin Yuqing, what’s the range on your electric scooter?”

Lin Yuqing: “150km.”

Zhong Manjing: “That’s impressive! It’s only about 85km from the town to the bee farm.”

She picked up the phone and smiled at the silent Lin Yuqing. “Now then, what are you thinking about?”

Lin Yuqing let out a soft sigh.

Zhong Manjing decided to stop teasing her. She had already received the answer she wanted from that sigh. Her own mood improved rapidly, returning to normal.

“If you don’t have time in the morning, water the gardenia once in the evening. Just keep the soil moist. Did you see the vegetables in the fridge? Eat the Plum Duck for dinner, and the fried ribs are for your midnight snack. Did you eat them?”

“I did,” Lin Yuqing answered quickly.

Zhong Manjing hummed. “Open the fridge and show me.”

She stared at the screen until Lin Yuqing, feeling embarrassed, moved to the fridge. Inside were the two bags, completely untouched. She hadn’t eaten a single bite.

Zhong Manjing had guessed as much. Between frantically searching for her, managing the shop, and dealing with noisy children, there was no way Lin Yuqing had found time to eat.

Zhong Manjing: “Eat now. Go to sleep after you finish. Hurry up.” She stopped looking at the stars and rested her chin on her hand, focusing solely on watching Lin Yuqing eat.

Only after Lin Yuqing finished the duck and ribs and downed the pear and fig tea was Zhong Manjing satisfied. Knowing Lin Yuqing’s daily schedule, she didn’t keep her on the call much longer, urging her to go to bed before hanging up.

She sat under the stars for a while, a faint smile on her lips. The immediate danger seemed to have passed. The inflatable tent was spacious enough for a whole family it could host a lively group, not just her alone.

In the morning, Zhong Manjing woke up naturally. Sleeping in the mountains was different from the city; her body clock had adjusted to the environment.

Morning was the time to harvest honey. Stepping out of the tent, she saw Wang Cheng in a protective bee suit using a smoker, a honey knife by his side.

It was just dawn and quite cool. Zhong Manjing wrapped herself in a heavy plush blanket and filmed the harvesting process. This was technical work; she watched but didn’t participate.

The sixty-plus hives produced different types: wildflower, osmanthus, nutgall, pagoda tree, and lychee honey. Due to the season, they were only collecting wildflower, nutgall, and early osmanthus honey this time. The early osmanthus honey was the rarest and most expensive; it was the primary reason she had come.

For breakfast, Wang Cheng served freshly centrifuged nutgall and wildflower honey with sliced bread. While Wang Cheng ate it plain, Zhong Manjing fried eggs and ham to make sandwiches, spreading a bit of nutgall honey inside. One bite made her squint with satisfaction. She loved the taste—medicinal, with a clean sweetness that left a slightly bitter aftertaste.

The early osmanthus honey was fragrant and sweet, like waking up in a forest of falling blossoms. The moment she tasted it, she began planning all the treats she’d make for Lin Yuqing: honey pancakes, honey bread, honey-glazed chicken wings, preserved fruits, and sweet soups. Right… I won’t have to worry about the yogurt being too sour anymore; the osmanthus honey will balance it perfectly. Though Lin Yuqing never seemed picky; she never once said the food wasn’t to her taste.

At 10:00 AM, Zhong Manjing was sunning her back on a lounge chair when Lin Yuqing messaged her. She sent a photo of her breakfast—leftover Plum Duck, ribs, and eggplant, plus a plate of stir-fried asparagus—paired with the pear soup.

Message: I’m having a feast. Are you awake?

Zhong Manjing held up a jar of honey against the sunlight and took a photo; it looked crystal clear. I have stolen the labor of the worker bees today.

You call that a feast? Don’t be so easily satisfied. Is the shop busy?

Lin Yuqing replied: Just taking a break to eat. Reporting in: I’ve watered the gardenia.

Zhong Manjing sent a “head-pat” emoji and four words: Go get to work.

The “typing…” indicator on the other end stopped abruptly. Zhong Manjing couldn’t help but laugh as she tossed her phone aside.

She entertained herself in the mountains, breathing the fresh air and enjoying the hard-won relaxation. She watched Brother Wang harvest honey in the morning, hiked in the deep woods before noon, and took a nap in the afternoon before reading, practicing calligraphy, or watching dramas. She also checked the news, keeping a constant eye on developments in Yibei City.

For now, it had nothing to do with her; she was just gathering information. Her phone no longer received messages from Zhong Suyuan; she guessed her threat had worked.

At 9:00 PM, she got another message from Lin Yuqing. This one was direct: “Are you coming back tomorrow?”

Zhong Manjing: Not yet. It’s quite comfortable in the mountains. Night.

The phone went quiet.

On the third day, Lin Yuqing sent a photo of the watering at 8:00 AM. No extra message, but at 2:30 PM, she sent another: Meng Luo said a new shop opened on the street; she wants you to come back and check it out.

Zhong Manjing was in the middle of a wonderful, long nap. By the time she woke up, it was nearly 4:30 PM. She had been scrolling through her social feed before sleeping, so the screen was still on the “Moments” page.

She instinctively refreshed it and saw a post from Lin Yuqing.

It was a photo of that plain, ordinary pot of gardenias, taken from a plain angle on a plain windowsill.

But the caption was anything but plain: I think it’s about to sprout, don’t you?

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