The Seductive Pretender: Sister-in-Law is Turning Gay - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: “It Sprouted.”

While Zhong Manjing was looking down at the time, Wu Liyuan was observing her through the rearview mirror.

Her behavior was normal, her clothes were clean, and her hair looked healthy and lustrous with no split ends. Her complexion was rosy, and her eyes were bright.

Although her outfit was basic, the fabric and cut were clearly high-end; one could tell at a glance she came from a well-to-do family. It was just strange that she carried so much cash on her person. When she handed the money over, she looked at the bills as if they were mere scraps of paper.

If she isn’t sick… Wu Liyuan’s brow furrowed. A sharp intuition told her something was off.

But it was the next sentence that made Wu Liyuan slam on the brakes.

“Director Wu, I don’t have enough time to wait until tomorrow,” Zhong Manjing said. She had tucked away her smile and spoke in a tone of absolute calm. “I am here for your friend, Lin Yuqing.”

The car came to a halt at the side entrance elevator of the Xizhou Mental Health Center. From here, she could access her Director’s office and private clinic. Wu Liyuan stared unblinkingly at the rearview mirror, her voice remaining steady: “Who are you?”

“I am Zhong Manjing, Zhong Suyuan’s sister. I know he has selected Lin Yuqing as his fiancée. You should be aware of this as well.” Although it hadn’t been made public yet, it was already a consensus between the Lin and Zhong families. The Lins were practically racing to “deliver” Lin Yuqing.

At this moment, Wu Liyuan truly began to process the “dreams” Zhong Manjing had mentioned. She was absolutely certain that none of those events had appeared in Lin Yuqing’s hypnosis sessions.

Wu Liyuan stared at Zhong Manjing as if trying to read her soul, but Zhong Manjing merely offered a small smile. “Don’t be nervous, Director Wu. I’m here to tell you that I am on Lin Yuqing’s side.”

“She remembers nothing. I ran into her in Yuhai County. Don’t look at me like that—I escaped from home too. I have no idea how I happened to find her there. Since she already doesn’t remember, why did you still call to confirm?”

Wu Liyuan said, “Get out of the car immediately. Take your money.” She wanted absolutely no dealings with anyone from the Zhong family.

Zhong Manjing, of course, did not move. She was waiting for Wu Liyuan to think it through. Her setup had been long enough; Wu Liyuan only needed to ask one more thing.

“What on earth do you want!” Wu Liyuan killed the engine. Her knitted brows betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

Zhong Manjing said, “It’s not convenient in the car. Can we talk in your office?”

Wu Liyuan said coldly, “She wants nothing to do with the Zhongs. The Lin family’s intentions are not hers. You are Zhong Suyuan’s sister; why should I trust you?”

“Because I’ve known Lin Yuqing’s location for a while now.” Zhong Manjing met her gaze in the mirror. “If I wanted to help Zhong Suyuan, I would have sent his people to find her long ago. You’ve investigated a lot behind the scenes; you should know he has people stationed in town.”

Wu Liyuan fell silent for a long time. When she finally spoke, it was the same question: “Why should I believe you?”

Zhong Manjing whispered, “…I love her.”

“Emotions are the most useless things.” Wu Liyuan’s tone grew colder as she issued her final ultimatum. “Get out.”

Zhong Manjing didn’t persist.

She knew she wouldn’t make it into Wu Liyuan’s office today, despite being only a step away. After getting out, she watched Wu Liyuan drive off with a lingering resentment, whispering softly to herself: “How can they be useless?”

That night, Zhong Manjing couldn’t sleep. She bought a bottle of wine and went back to the guesthouse, thinking that the glass of milk she’d had earlier hadn’t gone to waste. Late into the night, she heard the rain begin to fall.

Would Wu Liyuan call her? Aside from her, where else could she go to learn about Lin Yuqing’s past?

She didn’t want Lin Yuqing to remember. She didn’t want her to go back. At least… definitely not now.

Since her rebirth, the timeline had shifted; she had arrived here before Lin Yuqing. At that time, she had been lost, unsure if the future would follow the path she knew, whether Lin Yuqing would come, or if anything she did mattered.

It was only the moment she actually saw her, knowing she could change everything, that her rebirth truly felt real.

The rain grew heavier.

Zhong Manjing’s phone vibrated. She grabbed it immediately. Perhaps Wu Liyuan had chosen to text instead? Before getting out of the car, she had left her contact information on the back seat.

It wasn’t Wu Liyuan. It was Lin Yuqing.

At 3:00 AM, a message appeared: Are you asleep?

Zhong Manjing collapsed onto the bed, clutching her phone. She replied: I’m awake. Just as she was about to type Why are you awake at this hour?, Lin Yuqing’s message beat her to it: I want to show you something. Is it convenient to call?

Zhong Manjing dialed her immediately. The WeChat ringtone chirped only once before Lin Yuqing answered. Her face appeared under a hazy, warm light before the camera flipped to show the pot of gardenias.

How could Zhong Manjing not recognize that plant? She had nurtured it herself. Likely because of the rain, Lin Yuqing had moved it indoors. Thus, she could clearly see the new sprout emerging from the main stem.

Compared to the nearly grey, lifeless trunk, that tiny speck of green looked incredibly vigorous a miracle.

“It sprouted.” Lin Yuqing’s voice carried no hint of fatigue, only a faint, audible smile. As she moved the camera closer, the tiny green bud filled the screen, its life force dominating Zhong Manjing’s vision.

Lin Yuqing continued, “It started pouring tonight. I was woken up by the noise, and when I looked, it had sprouted. It seems you were right given enough time, even the most barren place can burst with life.”

“Yeah,” Zhong Manjing breathed steadily, her eyes glued to the screen. “I want to see you.”

Having shown enough of the gardenias, Lin Yuqing turned the camera back to herself, staring at the person on the other side. “I went to find you this afternoon, but you were out. When are you coming back?”

“The day after tomorrow, if things go well,” Zhong Manjing said. She didn’t know the timeframe if things went poorly. She was holding her wine bottle in her other hand and didn’t want Lin Yuqing to see, so she took a sip while turning away from the camera.

But the moment she returned to view, Lin Yuqing asked with a slight frown: “Are you drinking?”

Zhong Manjing laughed, not bothering to deny it. “Did you install cameras in my guesthouse?” Since she’d been caught, she stopped hiding it and waved the half-finished bottle of red wine at the camera. “A little nightcap.”

Who drinks a ‘nightcap’ straight from the bottle… Lin Yuqing didn’t call her out. She just watched her quietly for a while, the sound of the rain at their respective locations seemingly merging into one.

“The rain is heavy. Did you bring an umbrella?” Lin Yuqing asked. “Sister Su saw a new pink one with little hearts by the door. She said it was yours.”

Zhong Manjing said, “I meant to bring that one, but I was in a rush and forgot. It’s fine. I have my car, and I can just buy another one.”

“It’s late. Go to sleep. You haven’t even had an hour of rest. Go catch some shut-eye.”

Lin Yuqing seemed to be thinking. After a moment, she nodded. “Goodnight. You should sleep early too.”

After hanging up, Zhong Manjing fell back onto the bed. She stared blankly at the ceiling, eventually deciding not to finish the bottle of wine.

It occurred to her belatedly that Lin Yuqing had called solely to show her the sprouting gardenia, mentioning nothing else and asking no questions about why she was there.

That was good. Zhong Manjing wouldn’t have known how to answer certain questions; she likely would have needed another flimsy lie, and she didn’t want to lie to Lin Yuqing anymore.

The next morning, the rain was still falling when the alarm went off. Zhong Manjing didn’t linger in bed for a second. She got up, washed, put on a windbreaker, and headed out.

At 8:30 AM, she needed to be at Wu Liyuan’s office.

The Xizhou Mental Health Center was a popular hospital. Early in the morning, people were already streaming in and out. Wu Liyuan was consulting on the third floor. Zhong Manjing followed the crowd into the elevator, all moving in the same direction. She knew they were all there to beg for a walk-in slot.

“So many sick people…” Zhong Manjing murmured, watching the digital promotional screen in the elevator. She leaned in close, the light making her face look pale from the late night.

A middle-aged woman in a plaid wool skirt had noticed Zhong Manjing since she stepped in. Hearing this, she whispered comfortingly, “Social pressure is high these days; everyone has some small psychological issues. It’s okay, young lady. My daughter is your age. She’s much better after seeing Director Wu for medication and therapy.”

Zhong Manjing snapped out of it. “Thank you. Director Wu is highly skilled; it’s just that appointments are so hard to get.”

The woman asked, “You didn’t get one either? Is it urgent? If there are too many people asking for add-on slots, sometimes you can’t get one. I’m here to pick up my daughter’s medicine. Tell you what follow me, and when the doors open, we’ll make a dash for it! You—”

Zhong Manjing shook her head. “It’s okay, you go ahead. I’m fine for now; no rush. If I can’t get a slot with Director Wu, I’ll see another doctor.”

But the woman looked at Zhong Manjing’s pale face and noticed the dampness on her clothes—she probably hadn’t brought an umbrella. To come this early for an add-on meant she must be struggling. However, as soon as the doors opened, Zhong Manjing found a gap in the crowd, took the woman’s hand, and rushed her to the front of the triage desk before vanishing.

Zhong Manjing didn’t try to get a slot. Seeing so many patients, she didn’t want to take a spot from someone who needed it. She stood outside the closed consultation room for a while. When the first patient arrived, she stepped aside.

From 8:30 AM onwards, the door opened and closed repeatedly. Zhong Manjing stood by for over two hours. Finally, at 11:30 AM, she sighed and left the center. She didn’t return to the guesthouse but sat by the window of a café across the street.

At 11:40 AM, the middle-aged woman got her daughter’s prescription. Wu Liyuan had switched her daughter to a new medication. Wanting to ask about side effects before the lunch break, the woman went back to Wu Liyuan’s office.

“Director, I met a girl this morning. She didn’t look well. She said she couldn’t get a slot and stood outside all morning,” the woman sighed. “She was there for the walk-ins too, but she seemed to see the crowd and gave up, even giving her spot to me. She was so pale and looked like she’d been in the rain.”

Wu Liyuan, having confirmed several immediate admissions, subtly checked the security monitors outside. Identifying the person, she looked up and said gently, “Alright. If she comes early this afternoon, I can fit in one more.”

But that afternoon, Zhong Manjing never showed up.

Wu Liyuan’s clinic was supposed to end at 8:00 PM, but she had to check on three new inpatients, so she headed down at 7:00 PM. Still, there was no sign of Zhong Manjing.

“Director,” her assistant, Wu Lishan, called out at the front desk, pointing to a white paper bag. “Someone delivered this for you this afternoon. It smells amazing and it’s heavy looks like homemade pickles.”

Family members of patients often brought gifts for Wu Liyuan. She usually refused them, but some patients would leave homemade items at the front desk to be passed on. If they were tokens of gratitude with no monetary value and couldn’t be refused, she would accept them.

It was a plain white paper bag, laminated inside and out the first time she’d seen a delivery like this.

Wu Liyuan lifted it. It was indeed pickles. Only then did she notice small handwriting on the bottom right corner of the bag in a delicate “Slender Gold” script: Eight Immortals Noodle House.

Beneath the pickles was a still-warm mochi milk pastry wrapped in kraft paper, radiating a baked aroma. It was clearly fresh, the scent intense.

Looking inside, she found a drawing on the inner wall of the bag…

She took everything out and inspected it under the light. For a split second, she froze.

It was a vivid sketch.

In the drawing, Lin Yuqing was riding her electric scooter with an unfamiliar child in front and Zhong Manjing sitting behind her. Some flowers were hanging from the front of the scooter, the petals rendered in orange colored pencil. Two waterfall-like curtains of flowers draped down, trailing stylishly in the wind.

What surprised Wu Liyuan more was Lin Yuqing’s expression she was leaning back slightly and laughing, looking so relaxed and free, much like the wild-growing flowers.

At the bottom was a Polaroid. It was Lin Yuqing and Zhong Manjing crouching by a roadside sentry box, holding a phone and seemingly memorizing something. From the corner of a uniform in the frame, they were with a traffic officer. Lin Yuqing looked serious and focused, while Zhong Manjing’s body naturally leaned toward her and Lin Yuqing didn’t pull away, seemingly long accustomed to it.

Wu Liyuan had never seen Lin Yuqing so relaxed.

“Lishan, tell Cui Ran to come to my office for a meeting immediately. A young woman named Zhong will be coming by soon; take her to Consultation Room 1 to wait for me. Go now.” After giving her sister instructions, Wu Liyuan pulled out the card she had kept in her pocket and dialed.

“Ms. Zhong, come to the hospital. I have things to ask you. I’ll only wait twenty minutes.”

Sitting in the café, Zhong Manjing allowed a faint smile to play on her lips. “Director Wu, no need for such a serious tone. You should try the pastry; it’s the flavor Lin Yuqing likes, right? See you soon.”

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