CHAPTER 248: CHAPTER 211

Zhou Yuwei was so angry that she trembled all over, her little face turning pale and then blue, blue and then pale. Lan Tian uttered the word ’love’ with such seriousness, without any expression of sarcasm on her face, nor a disdainful look in her eyes. But Zhou Yuwei just knew Lan Tian looked down on her.

No, it should be said, it was a kind of indifference. Whether she entangled herself with Mo Junhua or slept with Chu Yang, Lan Tian simply didn’t care. Her face was always composed, a light breeze on a clear day, which was even more detestable than mere disdain.

Why should she struggle for a livelihood, trying to cling to others, yet Lan Tian could live so comfortably and carefree?

Not knowing where the thought came from, a panic spread from deep within. Her affair with Chu Yang had been so secretive, how did Lan Tian know about it? If Lan Tian knew, did that mean others knew too? Could it be that Mo Junhua also knew?

"You’re spouting nonsense." Zhou Yuwei suddenly stood up and yelled uncontrollably.

In the quiet cafe, a woman’s angry shout suddenly arose, attracting the attention of the customers at the nearby tables, their eyes seeming to carry reproach. In a public place, couldn’t she keep it down?

Zhou Yuwei’s face flushed slightly, feeling all the surrounding people laughing and despising her, as if pointing at her directly. Unaccustomed to such looks, Zhou Yuwei felt as though she had been stripped of her clothes, exposed under the public gaze. She hastily averted her gaze and tried to ignore others’ stares and sit calmly.

Lan Tian could see Zhou Yuwei’s sense of loss, guilt, and panic. With the recent days being a string of discontent, Zhou Yuwei was paranoid, feeling as if everyone she saw was mocking her.

Lan Tian spread her hands and casually said, "You say there’s none, then there’s none. But everyone is not a fool; they know in their hearts what’s true."

The disinterest in her voice could not be overemphasized.

Zhou Yuwei clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms until the fresh red blood trickled out, unable to feel the slightest pain as her eyes fixed on Lan Tian with venom.

Lan Tian was indifferent to her gaze, responding with a smile. The sweeter Zhou Yuwei wished her to be dead, the more thoroughly Lan Tian wanted to flay her and pull out her tendons, the more brilliantly Lan Tian smiled, her eyes seeming to hold the entire galaxy, shining and dazzling.

Hatred would not change a thing. Zhou Yuwei couldn’t do anything to her. She would no longer be accepted in the military, was about to be dismissed from the Military District Hospital, and even her backer Chu Yang was not dependable. Mo Junhua was even less likely to care about her. Now that she had fallen so low to daringly kidnap Chunhua as a threat, compared to her previous life as the resplendent Marshal’s wife, it was like the difference between the clouds and the mud.

Tsk tsk tsk, I will indeed kick you while you’re down. In this lifetime, I’ll make you long for something you’ll never get, be absent-minded and sorrowful, crying in jealousy, watching Mo Junhua dote on me every day, treating me like a treasured pearl. If you can’t stand it, why not just go kill yourself?

Just thinking about it, how exhilarating!

My goodness, no wonder so many people love playing the role of an evil supporting character, tormenting the pure and innocent white lotus without any pressure, pure exhilaration, especially tormenting one that’s turning dark, it’s so satisfying I can’t get enough.

Lan Tian’s mood was uplifted, and she even felt like having coffee, occasionally glancing at Zhou Yuwei, feeling more blissful than if she had taken a spirit pill. It’s just a pity that she didn’t have the standard fare for a spectator: a bench and sunflower seeds. Of course, the coffee wasn’t bad either.

The target of Zhou Yuwei was her, Chunhua was safe for the time being. Summoning the waiter to serve the coffee, Lan Tian sipped it slowly, her brows subtly knitting together at the taste—she realized something had been added, colorless and tasteless, imperceptible to the average person. But she knew: low-level sedatives.

Excitement and bloodlust flickered in the depths of Zhou Yuwei’s eyes. Seeing Lan Tian take a small sip and stop, she couldn’t help feeling anxious. Why did she stop drinking? Could this bitch Lan Tian have discovered it? Impossible. She had obtained these sedatives through her old connections and no one had ever noticed before; there was no way Lan Tian could have.

Glancing at the nervous Zhou Yuwei across from her, Lan Tian hid the cold murderous intent in her eyes and continued to sip her coffee. Seeing Lan Tian resume drinking, Zhou Yuwei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, shifting her gaze away to avoid being discovered.

You bring disasters upon yourself with your own deeds. Lan Tian felt not the slightest sympathy for Zhou Yuwei’s current plight. If Zhou Yuwei dared to scheme against her with underhanded tactics, Lan Tian would dare to plot against her in return, with double the retribution.

"Can I ask you something? It’s okay if you don’t want to answer." Out of pure curiosity, Lan Tian asked without waiting for Zhou Yuwei to agree, "One thing I’ve never understood is about Chu Yang, a favored son of heaven, talented and promising, from a distinguished background. They say his family is among Shanghai’s powerful elite. With him, you have both power and fame. Why couldn’t you appreciate him?"

Lan Tian truly couldn’t comprehend. In both her past and present life, Chu Yang’s background was far more superior to Mo Junhua’s, yet Zhou Yuwei just couldn’t appreciate him, married but acting in a way that led to divorce, living with Mo Junhua but still entangled with several other men. Was Zhou Yuwei naturally fickle, the kind of person who can’t be taught?

Lan Tian’s smile was too radiant and blinding, making Zhou Yuwei wish she could splash a bottle of sulfuric acid on her just to see if she could still smile.

Taking several deep breaths, Zhou Yuwei managed to suppress the raging fury within her and sat down again with grace and dignity, adopting an air of arrogance, "You can now enjoy your moment of mouthing off, but soon you’ll be crying."

Lan Tian smiled nonchalantly, "Now that we’ve talked and I’ve had my coffee, you can tell me where Chunhua is!" She gestured towards the two of them, "No matter how you look at it, you’ve coveted my man, that’s a fact. We definitely can’t be friends. I won’t speak to you with an open heart, and the idea of sitting down for a heart-to-heart chat is much too demanding for me. Of course, if you wanted to share your heartfelt troubles with me, I don’t mind, but I don’t have the time."

In other words, even if you want to speak, I’d rather not listen. Zhou Yuwei’s upbringing was darker than the water used to rinse out ink brushes. It’s better to just get straight to the point—Chunhua is less safe the longer she’s in your hands.

For a moment, Zhou Yuwei’s face twisted in distortion, the impulse to dismember Lan Tian alive surging within her.

Lan Tian put down the coffee cup she was holding, staring at Zhou Yuwei with a smile as refreshing as a gentle breeze, causing Zhou Yuwei to feel as though she faced a formidable enemy, her hair standing on end.

Lan Tian’s smile was filled with malice as she spoke in a tone dripping with spite, "I’ll tell you a secret: Mo Junhua is not only patriarchal but also has a cleanliness obsession. Anything used by others, he refuses to touch—things and people alike."

So even without her presence, Zhou Yuwei and Mo Junhua never stood a chance, especially because Zhou Yuwei had slept with Chu Yang. In the past life, Mo Junhua lived with Zhou Yuwei for decades and never touched her once, spending decades celibate, which shows how particular he was.

Zhou Yuwei’s memories of being a deeply affectionate couple, almost like immortal companions that everyone envied, turned out to be a performance Mo Junhua put on for her, spending her whole life enveloped in lies, only to end up in a tragic fate.

Thinking about it, Zhou Yuwei’s life was still worth it; she had experienced wealth and luxury before dying.