Weakness Trap - Chapter 41

Yu Qingluan sat in the speeding car, wrapped in a blanket, listless and curled up in her seat.

“Feeling better?” Zeng Lan, who had just finished a call with Yu Shuhua, sighed beside her.

Yu Qingluan forced a weak smile and turned her gaze to Zeng Lan.

“Sorry.” Sorry for burning down the shop they had worked so hard to open. Sorry for acting without thinking. Sorry for the impact her actions had on their business.

“Don’t say that. It’s not your fault.” Zeng Lan patted her shoulder and sighed again.

“I’m at fault too. When I rented the place, I didn’t inspect it carefully. I thought I’d stumbled upon a bargain and rushed to sign the contract, thinking nothing could be that cheap.” Zeng Lan clicked her tongue in frustration, feeling utterly exasperated.

She should have known from the start. Something that cheap for no reason had to be a trap.

She had only gone along with it because the landlord seemed nice and the explanation sounded reasonable.

Who would have guessed it was Yu Lingxue who had arranged it for them?

Ugh.

Using something like that felt downright unlucky.

“Burning it was for the best. It wasn’t really our shop anyway. As long as you’re safe, nothing else matters.” Zeng Lan tried to comfort Yu Qingluan.

“Lan Jie, I.” Hearing such understanding words, Yu Qingluan felt a lump form in her throat, her nose tingling with emotion.

When she had set that fire, she hadn’t thought about anything.

Not about Zeng Lan, not even about Yu Shuhua.

Her mind was filled only with the thought that she hadn’t been kept by anyone, that she hadn’t accepted Yu Lingxue’s money or gifts.

In a moment of impulse, she started the fire.

She almost ended up burning herself along with it.

Luckily, her phone still had battery.

As she lay on the ground, choking on the smoke, about to lose strength and consciousness, she spotted her phone lying nearby.

On the screen was the word “Mom.”

Yu Qingluan couldn’t describe the feeling.

It was like someone had thrown a bucket of cold water on her in the midst of the blazing fire.

Her feverish and chilled limbs regained their strength.

She crawled toward the phone, answered her mother’s call, and without saying a word, only wept softly and coughed.

Later, Zeng Lan, who hadn’t been able to reach her for over a day, rushed back and found her at the back of the shop, bringing her to safety.

They had just finished reassuring Yu Shuhua that she was okay.

Zeng Lan had also seen the cause of the incident.

The news had spread quickly.

Compared to someone like Yan Lanshen, who lacked neither money nor power, being labeled a homewrecker, the public was more inclined to believe that Yu Qingluan was the one at fault.

Moreover, the Yan family tightly controlled Yan Lanshen’s public image, so many of the favorable articles never had a chance to circulate.

Only the slanderous ones about Yu Qingluan spread widely online.

Yu Qingluan had been thoroughly vilified from head to toe, even her ancestors for eighteen generations had been cursed.

Zeng Lan was furious just reading the comments.

How old was Yu Qingluan?

Never mind their romantic histories.

She was only twenty years old. Why should she be subjected to such baseless abuse from these people?

Anyone would crumble under that kind of vitriol.

So Zeng Lan could understand why Yu Qingluan had acted the way she did in the end.

As long as she was safe, that was all that mattered.

Heaven knew how terrified Zeng Lan had been when she saw Yu Qingluan coughing incessantly amid the flames her legs had gone weak with fear.

Thankfully, her friend was there too. Together, they managed to get Yu Qingluan into the car and escape the inferno. They also fled Hong Kong.

Perhaps they would never return.

That person was too terrifying, too persistent.

Regardless of whether her actions were malicious or not, the harm she had caused Yu Qingluan couldn’t simply be overlooked.

I should probably avoid Harbor City from now on.

After all, there’s always been a divide between Harbor City and the mainland.

Fortunately, Yu Qingluan’s incident didn’t spread to the mainland.

Zeng Lan rinsed a towel with hot water and pressed it against Yu Qingluan’s face.

“Alright, stop blaming yourself. To be honest, I actually support you burning down that shop. It wasn’t yours anyway ill gotten gains are better off destroyed. But just don’t get yourself caught up in it. You’re so silly. Was that person really worth sacrificing your life for?”

Zeng Lan continued wiping the marks off Yu Qingluan’s face with the towel.

There were still patches of black on Yu Qingluan’s face, stains left by the fire.

Yu Qingluan closed her eyes, and tears silently streamed down.

“It wasn’t because of her.” Yu Qingluan took the towel and wiped her own face, but the more she wiped, the more tears fell.

Was it really not because of Yu Lingxue?

Yu Qingluan scrubbed her face vigorously, as if trying to scrape her skin raw, using the pain to numb the ache in her heart.

She just wanted to completely break free from Yu Lingxue.

By faking her death, she hoped this person would stop harassing her.

It was really annoying, and terrifying too.

Yu Qingluan didn’t want to ever revert to her old self because of Yu Lingxue’s persistent clinging.

That version of her was humble and repressed, tormenting herself with mere crumbs of affection.

Just the thought of regressing to that state was unbearable she’d rather die.

But after calming down, she also knew that Yu Lingxue wasn’t worth it.

She still had her mother.

Yu Shuhua was waiting for her at home, worried about her. If she were to leave like this, what would her mother do?

Besides.

Her life no longer included Yu Lingxue. Why let the past ruin her future?

By now, Yu Lingxue probably thought she was truly dead.

This time, she’d sincerely pray to the gods that Yu Lingxue would never come looking for her again.

“I know I was wrong,” Yu Qingluan obediently lowered her head in admission.

“That’s more like it. You must never think that way again. We’re going back to Chu City, and we can still sell products online for a while. In August, I’ll take you to M Country to start a new life,” Zeng Lan said, pulling out her phone.

“Overseas is much more open. The school you’ll be attending has lots of international students too, I guarantee you’ll make plenty of friends. And there are plenty of lesbians; let me show you one of my seniors.” She wanted to change the subject to lift Yu Qingluan’s spirits.

Yu Qingluan wasn’t in high spirits, but she didn’t reject Zeng Lan’s kindness.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Zeng Lan showed Yu Qingluan the photo.

“There will be many more beautiful women like her in the future. Don’t waste your thoughts on that scumbag anymore.” That was her main point.

Yu Qingluan let out a choked laugh. “Lan-jie, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ve already stopped caring about her. Besides, I won’t be getting into any more relationships it’s a waste of time and emotions. I have too many things to do.”

Losing a day like this meant missing out on memorizing a hundred words and studying a couple pages of her textbooks. If she kept this up, she wouldn’t even be able to speak properly when she got to M Country. The thought genuinely made her regret it.

Suffering over people and things from the past for so long was utterly meaningless.

How much better to use that time for work and study.

A flicker of emotion passed through Zeng Lan’s eyes. “Alright. Career is good career won’t betray you.”

Yu Qingluan smiled at her, then took out her phone and called Yu Shuhua herself.

After that, she made another call to Xiang Yan.

“Guess where I am right now?” Xiang Yan chuckled dryly. Finally remembered her, huh?

“Uh, you didn’t come to Hong Kong City, did you.” She had already entered Guangdong City.

“No. I’m at your place.” During this period when Yu Qingluan wasn’t home, Xiang Yan had practically become Yu Shuhua’s second daughter.

“Then help me comfort Mom.”

“You finally realize it. Forget it, I won’t stay angry with you. What matters is that you’re safe.”

Hearing these words again, Yu Qingluan let out a sigh and genuinely felt a bit more at ease.

Life was never just about romance.

Behind her, there were still many friends and her family.

Why dwell on the past?

A faint, sincere smile appeared in Yu Qingluan’s eyes.

She leaned back and took a light nap before boarding the plane back to Chu City.

Yu Shuhua, who hadn’t slept all night, picked her up at the airport and finally felt relieved.

“Mom!” Yu Qingluan ran toward Yu Shuhua.

Yu Shuhua’s eyes welled up at the call, quickly spreading her arms open.

After hugging Yu Qingluan, she couldn’t resist giving her a couple of light taps on the forehead.

“Ouch!” Yu Qingluan exaggeratedly covered her head.

“You still know it hurts!” Yu Shuhua grabbed her by the ear and led her out of the airport, scolding her the entire way.

“Oh, you, my girl.” Even after arriving home, Yu Shuhua was still upset and continued lecturing Yu Qingluan.

“Burning down her shop, what could we possibly say about that? But don’t burn yourself along with it.”

“I know,” Yu Qingluan said, spreading her arms to hug her mother.

“Really, there won’t be a next time.” She patted Yu Shuhua’s back, breathing in the familiar scent of home, and a tear slid down her cheek.

This matter ended here.

She wouldn’t waste another second on it, nor shed another tear over it.

But peace didn’t last even a day.

Just as Yu Qingluan had managed to get her life back on track and hadn’t yet made up for the losses from her emotional breakdown,

Unexpected troubles always came too quickly.

She remembered that morning clearly.

It was a June morning, and the heat was already rising from the ground.

Yu Qingluan got up and splashed cold water on her face twice, then read a page of a book to ease the restlessness.

She remembered it was a bright, sunny day with few clouds veiling the sky.

The sunlight was dazzling, shining directly ahead, enough to make one dizzy.

It was an ordinary morning the most common kind of early summer morning in Chu City.

Everything was fine during breakfast. Yu Qingluan said a few comforting words to soothe her mother, who hadn’t fully recovered yet.

She even planned to make Hong Kong-style sweet soup for her mother later.

Suddenly, the door was shoved open.

Both of them froze.

Although their door was old, it shouldn’t have been possible to break open with mere physical force.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Yu Shuhua was the first to recognize the visitor. She breathed a sigh of relief but tensed up again at the same time.

Yu Meiying’s expression was off.

“Grandma?” Yu Qingluan also put down her book and stood up to greet her.

But Yu Meiying clenched her teeth, veins bulging, her scalp taut with tension.

As soon as she saw Yu Qingluan, she struck her leg with the cane in her hand.

Yu Qingluan frowned, confused.

“Mom, what are you doing all of a sudden?” Yu Shuhua hurried forward to shield her daughter.

“You how dare you even ask!” Yu Meiying took a deep breath.

“You really thought I wouldn’t find out? You really thought you could fool me, didn’t you!”

The over seventy year old woman, usually in poor health and breathing weakly, only raised her voice like this when she was furious.

“Mom, calm down. Don’t hit the child,” Yu Shuhua pleaded, still hoping it might be some misunderstanding.

Yu Meiying flung her hand away and pulled out her phone.

“See for yourself!” She slammed the phone in front of Yu Qingluan.

If Yu Qingluan hadn’t instinctively dodged, the phone would have hit her squarely. Instead, it crashed heavily to the floor, leaving a noticeable dent. Yu Qingluan caught a glimpse of the screen it was the news article accusing her of being the other woman.

The fragile thread of composure she had barely managed to mend in her mind snapped with an audible crack.

Yu Meiying belonged to the older generation rigid in her views, stubborn in her thinking. Even the slightest innovation, like incorporating embroidery into modern designs, was enough to unsettle her. How could she possibly accept something like this? Or rather, these things?

Homosexuality, being the other woman, Any one of these labels attached to her granddaughter was enough to make Yu Meiying choke with fury.

“Yu Shuhua, you’ve truly raised a fine daughter! Being a lesbian is one thing, but how could she, how could she do something so shameless!” Yu Meiying spat out each word like a thunderbolt, striking straight into Yu Qingluan’s heart.

Yu Qingluan’s face turned deathly pale.

Her mind flashed back to that time with Yu Lingxue in M Country. She remembered how Yu Lingxue had come to her after getting engaged, pleading, begging. Night after night, they had lost themselves in reckless passion. She was nothing but a pitiful, tragic clown, wedged between Yu Lingxue and Yan Lanshen’s legitimate, publicly acknowledged marriage.

Thoughts she had never dared to confront were now violently dragged back into the light by her grandmother’s words. The pain was raw and tearing, leaving her speechless.

“Qingluan.” Yu Shuhua whispered a gentle reminder.

As her mother, she knew it was all a misunderstanding. Why couldn’t Qingluan just explain? Clear up the misunderstanding before their grandmother choked on her rage.

But Yu Qingluan just stood there, frozen, as if she had truly committed every sin detailed in that report.

“How could our Yu family produce someone like you!” Yu Meiying trembled from head to toe, her pointing hand shaking uncontrollably.

Yu Qingluan merely lifted her gaze, her eyes hollow and lifeless.

“Mom, Mom! It’s a misunderstanding! How can you believe what the media says?” Yu Shuhua tried to restrain Yu Meiying. How could someone with high blood pressure afford to be this enraged? Her heart clenched with worry as she desperately signaled for Yu Qingluan to speak up.

“Then let her explain! See if she can come up with a reasonable excuse! It’s all over the news, a huge scandal, our Yu family’s reputation is ruined!” Yu Meiying shoved Yu Shuhua aside and snatched up her cane.

“I’m going to teach you a lesson today you’ve shamed us publicly! Do you even know what propriety means? What about integrity? Have you no sense of shame?!” Too weak to wield the cane effectively, she resorted to using her hands.

“Mom! Calm down!” Yu Shuhua struggled to intervene.

Guilt, disgust, fear Yu Qingluan trembled, on the verge of finally uttering a defense.

“N-no, it’s not ” She hadn’t she hadn’t done what the media claimed.

She had only.

Her mouth hung open, tears streaming down her cheeks. How could she possibly explain?

It was true she really had been involved in that hidden, unspeakable affair with Yu Lingxue.

Just then, Yu Meiying suddenly collapsed.

“Grandma?!” The sound jolted Yu Qingluan back to reality.

“Mom? Mom?!” Yu Shuhua caught Yu Meiying, shaking her frantically.

Yu Meiying’s eyes rolled back, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.