Weakness Trap - Chapter 19

Not just Yu Qingluan.

In the classroom, the other members of the Chu Embroidery Club fell silent together, turning their heads to look at Yan Wenying.

As if sensing that no one had clearly heard her, Yan Wenying spoke again.

“I said, break up with Yu Lingxue. You are Yu Qingluan, right? I didn’t get the wrong person.” She had spent a fortune to uncover this name.

Only afterward did she connect Yu Qingluan with the stubborn little wolf who frequently visited Yu Lingxue and even tried to assert dominance over her.

Yan Wenying still couldn’t wrap her head around it.

How could Yu Lingxue actually break off their engagement for a girl like this?

Had she lost her mind?

What could a poor embroiderer, so destitute that she had to patch her clothes, possibly offer Yu Lingxue?

She had assumed Yu Lingxue was just keeping Yu Qingluan around for fun.

Before the marriage, Yan Wenying could turn a blind eye to such things.

But after the wedding? Absolutely not.

Who would have thought Yu Lingxue had no intention of marrying her at all?

The thought made Yan Wenying’s anger flare. “Cat got your tongue? How many times do I have to repeat myself?”

Confronted by her explosive temper, Yu Qingluan finally snapped back to reality.

Someone was actually telling her to break up with Yu Lingxue.

Could this person really be Yu Lingxue’s fiancée?

Yu Lingxue had never mentioned it to her.

Yu Qingluan’s gaze swept over the unsuspecting seniors and juniors in the classroom before she lowered her eyes.

“Sorry,” she said, her tone as unhurried as ever.

But Xiang Yan, standing beside her, sensed something off in her demeanor and looked at her with concern.

“Who are you talking about?” Yu Qingluan slowly lifted her eyelids, meeting Yan Wenying’s gaze.

She had long despised that fiery red wavy hair.

So much so that she sometimes dreamed of this woman preventing her from seeing Yu Lingxue.

She never imagined that dreams could come true.

Yu Qingluan wished her dreams would never become reality, whether good or bad.

Unfortunately, reality loved to play tricks, always handing her the worst of it.

“Is it the legendary Yu Lingxue you’re referring to?” Yu Qingluan even managed a faint smile.

Her acting skills of feigning unfamiliarity came in handy once again.

It had been nearly a year since she last resorted to this.

“Ah Yan, did I hear that right?” Yu Qingluan patted Xiang Yan’s shoulder.

Xiang Yan froze for a moment before playing along. “I don’t think so. There isn’t a second person named Yu Lingxue in our school. Wait, you actually know Yu Lingxue? Why didn’t you tell us? I want to take a photo with her!”

Xiang Yan’s acting was still a bit stiff.

But the other students in the classroom immediately grew enthusiastic, chiming in one after another. “Yeah, Qingluan, that’s not cool. I want to get close to the goddess too!”

“Step aside, Qingluan! I met you first introduce me to her!”

At this moment, Yu Qingluan blinked. “I’d like to meet her too. Who doesn’t like Yu Lingxue?”

“But breaking up? Miss, that’s quite the joke. And it’s not April Fools’ Day today.”

“Ah, what a pity. I really thought.” Hearing Yu Qingluan’s words, murmurs of disappointment filled the room.

Seeing that Yu Qingluan didn’t seem to be acting, they all turned to Yan Wenying.

“Miss, did you get the wrong person? Shouldn’t you be asking Su Lian?”

“Yeah. The closest Qingluan ever got to Senior Yu was embroidering an outfit for her during the school festival, and that was only because of inter club exchanges. It’s unlikely she actually knows Senior Yu.”

Faced with so many voices denying her claims, Yan Wenying began to doubt herself.

Could she really be mistaken? Maybe Yu Lingxue wasn’t actually in a relationship with this person?

Who exactly was this “Su Lian”?

Yan Wenying muttered under her breath, grumbling as she stormed out of the classroom, her red hair swishing behind her.

“She didn’t even apologize. How rude,” someone in the classroom scoffed, rolling their eyes.

“Don’t mind her. She probably got the wrong person,” Yu Qingluan said, trying to restore order.

She managed to gloss over the incident for the time being.

But afterward, she couldn’t even bring herself to embroider the simplest flower.

Xiang Yan sent her a message.

[Are you okay? That person I’m afraid it might really be.]

Yu Qingluan quietly picked up her phone to read the message and sighed.

[Lingxue didn’t tell me.]

Because of this, Yu Qingluan didn’t want to believe it.

What if Yan Wenying was just secretly in love with Yu Lingxue?

Besides, Yu Lingxue had asked her to trust her.

Yu Qingluan didn’t want to argue with Yu Lingxue again. Their last fight had been too painful, and looking back now, it wasn’t even a big deal.

Yu Lingxue had been busy, and she had apologized. Yu Qingluan knew she had a lot on her plate.

All she wanted was to be with Yu Lingxue peacefully.

So, she wouldn’t throw a tantrum again.

Yu Qingluan sat alone, staring blankly out the window.

At the same time.

Yan Wenying barged angrily into the sanatorium where Yu Lingxue was staying, clutching a recording.

Yu Lingxue was in the middle of telling her younger sister a story when the door was abruptly pushed open, startling Jian Xi.

Yu Lingxue quickly soothed her by gently stroking her forehead. “It’s okay, I’ll go see what’s going on.”

“Alright…” Jian Xi was frightened and sweating, but she didn’t make things difficult for Yu Lingxue, only giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Yu Lingxue opened the door and saw Yan Wenying standing in the living room.

“Who let you in?” Even Yu Lingxue couldn’t muster a pleasant expression for Yan Wenying.

She had been pretending to be polite with Yan Wenying before.

But now, Yu Lingxue couldn’t even bring herself to pretend. Her face was devoid of warmth, let alone a smile.

Without a word, Yan Wenying pressed play on the recording device.

Yu Qingluan’s voice echoed from it.

“I’d like to meet her too. Who wouldn’t like Yu Lingxue?”

The words, light as a feather, severed the connection between them.

Yu Lingxue froze in place.

“I couldn’t have mistaken the person,” Yan Wenying said, clapping her hands after the recording finished. Her assistants entered the room carrying certificates, a laptop, and a projector.

“She said that. Do you still want to be with her?”

Yu Lingxue just stared at Yan Wenying without responding.

“If you break off the engagement, I won’t provide any of this to the Yu family anymore.” Yan Wenying resorted to both threats and incentives.

She patted the contract they had previously agreed upon. The laptop displayed the investments they had made in the Yu family over the years.

Yu Lingxue’s head throbbed with pain, her lips pressed into a thin line, her face pale with discomfort.

Suppressing her anger, she spoke. “We’ll see about that.”

“Don’t bother seeing me out.” Then she turned and went back into the bedroom, locking the door behind her.

She didn’t spare Yan Wenying another glance.

Left alone, Yan Wenying was so furious she felt her lungs might explode. No matter how much she made a scene, Yu Lingxue ignored her completely.

“Big sister, are you in trouble?” In the bedroom, aside from the strong scent of traditional medicine, there was also a faint fragrance of roses.

Little Jian Xi watched as Yu Lingxue sprayed perfume, somewhat confused.

Her sister seemed to really like roses.

On the balcony, the plant her sister had brought was also a rose vine.

It was said that someone had given it to her.

“It’s nothing,” Yu Lingxue said, waiting for the perfume to dissipate before gently patting Jian Xi’s head.

“Rest well and focus on your recovery. I’ll make sure you can walk again, just like a normal person…” As long as they don’t drag her sister into it.

What did the Yu family’s affairs have to do with her?

“I believe you, sister.” Yu Jian Xi, being young, naturally trusted whatever her sister said.

After lulling Yu Jian Xi to sleep, Yu Lingxue finally dared to glance at her phone.

Yu Qingluan hadn’t sent her any messages.

Had she given up on her?

Why deny it?

What exactly had Yan Wenying said when she came to see her?

Yu Lingxue couldn’t sit still any longer.

Just as she was about to get up, her phone rang it was a call from a business partner.

“Regarding Miss Jian Xi’s condition…” It was the cardiac surgeon introduced by Li Ran.

“Is there any new development?” Yu Lingxue halted her steps toward the door.

And so, until the scent of perfume she’d sprayed on her hair had completely faded, she never left the sanatorium.

Yu Qingluan waited in vain for Yu Lingxue, who should have come to find her.

Yu Qingluan waited all night.

Truthfully, no one had promised to meet her.

She had simply assumed that the woman claiming to be her fiancée would “complain” to Yu Lingxue.

And then Yu Lingxue would come to find her.

She was always like this so self-assured, yet losing sleep over her own assumptions.

By the time the morning light began to brighten, she still hadn’t received a single message.

Perhaps that person hadn’t relayed her words to Yu Lingxue after all.

Yu Qingluan caught an hour of sleep before heading to her 9 a.m. class.

She went through the motions attending lectures, finishing assignments, reviewing notes.

At dusk, outside the library, she spotted Yu Lingxue.

Their eyes met, and Yu Qingluan was slightly taken aback.

“Why didn’t you let me know you were coming?” She jogged over, her crossbody bag rustling against her clothes, just like old times.

“You’re not angry with me?” Yu Lingxue’s eyes were still tinged with red.

“What?” Yu Lingxue hadn’t caught on.

Yu Lingxue shook her head.

“Are you free tonight?” She had finally found time to come see Yu Qingluan.

Seeing Yu Qingluan’s lukewarm attitude nearly brought tears to her eyes out of fright.

“Yes. Let’s go.” Yu Qingluan didn’t linger with her outside.

That time Yan Wenying had recklessly sought out Yu Qingluan, it was only thanks to Yu Qingluan’s quick thinking.

The incident hadn’t caused any stir on the campus forum.

Yu Qingluan was far too inconspicuous so much so that even when her name was placed alongside Yu Lingxue’s on the forum, no one paid any attention.

The post had only garnered a handful of replies, all asking, “Who is Yu Qingluan?”

By the time Yu Qingluan refreshed the page, the post had already been deleted likely because the poster found it uninteresting.

Ah.

So that was it.

Yu Lingxue had rushed over because of this.

But why had she waited three days to come?

When Yu Qingluan said they didn’t know each other, hadn’t Yu Lingxue been worried?

Or did Yu Lingxue actually agree with what she’d said?

After all, in public, they had to pretend not to know each other.

Something similar had happened last year too.

Yu Qingluan sat in Yu Lingxue’s car, staring blankly out the window, her gaze unfocused.

Someone had noticed them meeting and even managed to snap a photo.

The incident sparked quite a discussion on the forum for a while, and at the time, Yu Qingluan had still held onto a sliver of hope.

She thought that even though theirs was a contractual relationship, they were still nominally a couple.

Maybe, just maybe, Yu Lingxue would want to “go public.”

But that post lasted only until noon.

It was deleted swiftly, clearly the work of someone intervening.

Yu Qingluan figured it could only have been Yu Lingxue who handled it.

That evening, Yu Lingxue, who had originally planned to meet her, ended up canceling at the last minute due to an unexpected matter.

Perhaps Yu Lingxue was upset about that post and that’s why she didn’t come to see her.

So, Yu Lingxue wanted them to keep their relationship a secret, right?

She would do just that.

Yu Qingluan was merely fulfilling her role as the discreet lover.

She wasn’t angry with Yu Lingxue either.

Really.

Yu Qingluan looked at Yu Lingxue.

“Little bird.” Yu Lingxue cautiously tested the waters with a soft call.

“What’s for dinner tonight?” Yu Qingluan played along with a considerate joke.

She wasn’t angry.

Yu Lingxue breathed a sigh of relief and, without overthinking it, embraced Yu Qingluan.