Zhou Wan felt as if all the blood in her body had reversed its flow. Though the autumn breeze wasn’t biting, it pierced right through her clothes.
She quickly turned her head, not wanting Guo Xiangling to see her.
But in such a situation, it was ultimately futile.
How could Guo Xiangling not see her?
A flicker of shock and surprise crossed Guo Xiangling’s face, but she didn’t let it show. Her acting skills were better than Zhou Wan’s, and she maintained an ingratiating smile.
After a pause, she continued, “A Xiao, tomorrow’s the weekend. Come home with me to stay.”
When he didn’t respond, Guo Xiangling added, “Your father may not say it out loud, but you’re his son—he definitely misses you. Come home this weekend, A Xiao.”
What a perfect image of a virtuous and considerate stepmother.
Lu Xixiao stopped walking, lowered his head, and lightly stamped his feet on the spot before suddenly letting out a laugh.
It was sarcastic and mocking.
“Do you really think you’re my mother now?”
He looked at Guo Xiangling, his gaze devoid of warmth. “If you have this much energy, you should think of ways to give Lu Zhongyue another son.”
The words were harsh, and Guo Xiangling’s expression shifted slightly.
Though unpleasant to hear, it was a practical suggestion.
Guo Xiangling had certainly thought about it. Though she was nominally Lu Zhongyue’s partner, he was no fool and had no intention of taking her to register their marriage, always making excuses.
Guo Xiangling had considered having another child. Even at her age, which was no longer ideal for childbirth, a child could secure a life of wealth and stability for her future.
She had truly struggled to get to this point.
But Lu Zhongyue never let her schemes succeed.
After speaking, Lu Xixiao turned and walked away.
Zhou Wan didn’t follow, still frozen in place.
He glanced back and said calmly, “Zhou Wan.”
“Ah.” She responded unconsciously, dazed.
Lu Xixiao watched her for a moment, noticing her discomfort, and without further ado, stepped forward, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
He wore a loose, unzipped jacket, and with this movement, Zhou Wan seemed to be drawn into his embrace, appearing unusually intimate.
Guo Xiangling opened her mouth to speak, but as she watched their retreating figures, her brow suddenly twitched, and she found herself unable to say anything.
Zhou Wan walked a good distance with Lu Xixiao before she remembered to glance back.
The black car remained parked for a moment before turning around and driving away.
“Aren’t you going to ask who that was?” Lu Xixiao’s voice suddenly came from above her head.
“What?”
He didn’t repeat himself.
Suppressing her erratic heartbeat, Zhou Wan said slowly, “Your stepmother?”
Lu Xixiao sneered, “Stepmother? She doesn’t deserve the title.”
“...”
Lu Xixiao tapped her lightly on the head and said casually, “If anyone else said that, they’d get a beating.”
Zhou Wan glanced at him. “Do you hate her that much?”
“She’s annoying.”
“Then, does your father like her a lot?” Zhou Wan asked.
Lu Xixiao chuckled. “He just needs a beautiful, obedient woman who’s easy to control.”
Zhou Wan was taken aback.
She had heard similar remarks from neighbors’ gossip, but she found it hard to understand. If it wasn’t out of affection, why would someone do such a thing? Guo Xiangling needed it, but Lu Zhongyue didn’t.
The tip of her shoe kicked a small pebble, sending it rolling to the side and falling into the gap of a manhole cover.
“Then what if—” Zhou Wan paused, “she does something your father doesn’t like?”
“Then he’ll dump her, of course,” Lu Xixiao said indifferently.
When they reached the entrance of the neighborhood, Zhou Wan said goodbye to him and reminded him to take his medicine when he got home.I thought Lu Xixiao would be very impatient with such reminders, but he merely tugged at the corner of his mouth: "Too bitter."
Zhou Wan patiently replied, "Good medicine tastes bitter, but it cures the illness."
He chuckled softly, leaning in slightly with a playful tone, "Then if I drink it, will there be a reward?"
Zhou Wan froze, confused. "What reward do you want?"
He grinned and lifted his chin, spreading his arms.
Lu Xixiao truly had the charm to attract girls.
Even with his terrible reputation and endless romantic rumors, countless girls still fell for him.
It wasn’t just his good looks—it was more about the aura and intensity he exuded in every gesture.
Like now.
He stood tall and relaxed under the dim streetlight, his shoulders broad and straight, his waist sharply defined by the wind. With his eyes lowered and a lazy smile playing on his lips, he radiated an unrestrained and indulgent charm.
Zhou Wan stood in place, watching him for a moment, then slowly stepped forward and approached.
She didn’t raise her arms to hug him, and neither did Lu Xixiao.
The gesture felt somewhat awkward. After a couple of seconds, Zhou Wan reached out and lightly wrapped her arms around his waist.
Lu Xixiao chuckled softly.
Zhou Wan immediately let go and took a step back. "I’m going home now."
"Alright."
The house was quiet. As Zhou Wan was changing her shoes in the entryway, Grandma pushed the door open and came out. "Wanwan, you're back."
"Grandma, why aren’t you asleep yet?"
"I napped too long this afternoon, so I can’t fall asleep now."
Zhou Wan changed her shoes and went inside, placing her backpack on a chair. "We need to go to the hospital tomorrow."
"Why are we going to the hospital again?"
"Nothing serious, just a check-up. I already talked to Dr. Chen a few days ago."
"Didn’t we just have a check-up last month?" Grandma said. "Wanwan, I’m really fine. Don’t waste money on me."
Zhou Wan smiled. "This check-up is different. There won’t be any more after this."
Of course, this check-up was different.
It was for the kidney transplant surgery.
Back in her bedroom, only the desk lamp was on.
Zhou Wan lay down on the bed, and her gaze suddenly fell on the Kusukobo Figurine on the desk—its face comically distressed.
Lu Xixiao had won it for her from a claw machine.
Zhou Wan stared at it for a while, then suddenly let out a soft, amused laugh.
It was at that moment that Guo Xiangling called.
Seeing the caller ID, Zhou Wan knew a storm was coming.
She got up and locked the door, hesitating for half a minute before answering.
"Hello."
As soon as she spoke, Guo Xiangling’s voice drowned hers out. "Zhou Wan! What exactly are you trying to do?"
Finally, the insincere "Wanwan" was gone.
Zhou Wan pressed her lips together tightly.
Guo Xiangling’s lowered voice was filled with fury and resentment. "You knew, didn’t you? Zhou Wan, I’m asking you—did you know everything?"
Zhou Wan gave a self-mocking smile. "Know about you and Lu Xixiao’s father?"
"Zhou Wan!"
Her once obedient and quiet daughter was now showing sharp claws for the first time. Guo Xiangling was not only shocked but also furious, her anger nearly consuming her.
"How do you even know Lu Xixiao? What exactly is your relationship with him?"
When Guo Xiangling had run into them on the street earlier, she’d initially thought they might just be classmates—she couldn’t imagine her well-behaved daughter dating at such a young age.
But then she saw Lu Xixiao casually wrap his arm around her daughter’s shoulder, intimate and natural, as he led her away.
Zhou Wan silently lowered her head, staring at a pattern on the blanket, her eyes gradually filling with coldness and resentment.Guo Xiangling was only focused on venting: "Zhou Wan, you've been an ungrateful wretch since you were a child! Even back then, you only clung to your father. What, now that your father is dead, you still want to force me to remain a widow on his behalf!?"
"The worst mistake I ever made was marrying your father and giving birth to you! One was a spineless good-for-nothing, the other is a heartless ingrate!"
Zhou Wan's hands turned icy cold, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
But when she spoke, her voice was eerily calm, just as Guo Xiangling had described—heartless and ungrateful.
"Mom." She called out softly.
"Don't call me Mom," Guo Xiangling sneered. "I don't deserve that title."
Zhou Wan stopped, her tone indifferent. "Can't you see what my relationship with Lu Xixiao is?"
This time, it was Guo Xiangling's turn to fall silent.
Zhou Wan seized the opportunity presented by Lu Xixiao's earlier, easily misinterpreted gesture and smiled. "He likes me."
She narrowed her eyes, lifted her chin, and clenched the bedsheet tightly. "If his father finds out that Lu Xixiao's girlfriend is your daughter, do you think he'll be angry at his son or at you?"
Guo Xiangling was so furious that her voice and body trembled. "Zhou Wan!"
"By then, you might have to slink out of the Lu family in disgrace."
Zhou Wan had never used such a mocking tone in her life.
She couldn't control her venom, but deep down, she despised and loathed herself. In this state, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Guo Xiangling.
Guo Xiangling: "What do you want to do?"
Zhou Wan closed her eyes. "Give me 300,000, and I'll keep my mouth shut."
"This is extortion." The sound of high heels clicking rapidly came from the other end of the line, as if Guo Xiangling had moved elsewhere. She lowered her voice, hoarse with anger. "Zhou Wan, you're extorting 300,000 from me. I could call the police right now and have you thrown in jail!"
Zhou Wan felt as if she could no longer feel sadness.
Her own mother was threatening to send her to prison, and she could still laugh.
"Have you forgotten that you're my mother? If you really call the police, how do you think they'll handle it?" Zhou Wan said. "Besides, aren't you afraid this will become public knowledge?"
Guo Xiangling was heartless, but when it came to ruthlessness, she was no match for Zhou Wan.
Zhou Wan was like a wolf cub baring its fangs. Even if she was outnumbered, once she sank her teeth into someone's neck, she would never let go. At worst, it would be mutual destruction.
After all, those with nothing to lose fear nothing.
Guo Xiangling stopped shouting insults.
She was weighing her options.
Zhou Wan knew she was halfway to success.
Even if it was only by leveraging the misunderstanding that Lu Xixiao had inadvertently created.
She knew full well that if the police were called, she would lose completely.
If Lu Xixiao found out she had approached him with such motives, he would never speak to her again. He despised betrayal.
Guo Xiangling's predicament would naturally be resolved.
After a long silence, Guo Xiangling said, "I only have 150,000. There's 50,000 in your father's card, and I'll give you another 100,000."
Zhou Wan remained silent.
Guo Xiangling gritted her teeth. "That's all I can give you. My life isn't as easy as you think. Lu Zhongyue is wary of me—I can't ask him for that much money."
She was telling the truth.
Zhou Wan: "You have three months to give me the remaining 150,000. Otherwise, on this day three months from now, Lu Zhongyue will know everything."
Guo Xiangling suppressed her disgust, her nails digging into her palms until they turned white, before forcing out a single word: "Fine."
Zhou Wan had never intended to do this today.Everything happened too suddenly. She never expected to encounter Guo Xiangling today.
It was her harsh words that had pushed things to this point.
But perhaps this was for the best.
As long as Grandma could receive treatment, as long as Grandma remained healthy, she would go her separate ways from Guo Xiangling from now on, never interfering in her affairs again.
Only, three months.
There were still three months.
Three months later, would Lu Xixiao still be interested in her?
Exhausted, Zhou Wan lay down on the bed. Before long, her phone received a transfer notification.
150,000 had been deposited.
She stared at the zeros at the end, counting them over and over.
This was the first time Zhou Wan had ever possessed so much money, yet she couldn’t feel the slightest bit of happiness.
This heavy sum felt like evidence of a crime, branding her with an indelible mark.
There was no turning back now.
She had ultimately reached this point.
Greedy, dark, malicious, hypocritical, selfish, deceitful.
She lay quietly on the bed, an arm draped over her eyes, so still she seemed asleep.
A long time passed before Zhou Wan slowly curled up.
Her heart sank heavily.
Her jaw ached from clenching, but she couldn’t suppress a choked sob. Burying her face in the blanket, her breathing grew rapid and ragged, her knuckles turning pale.
In the end, all her efforts felt futile and powerless.
In that quiet, dark night, she wept bitterly.
Fate had guided her, finally plunging her into a patch of Mud, staining her entire being, tainting her with darkness, and blocking out all light.
OpenNovel