The Vanishing Beauty - Chapter 6 - 5

Chapter 6 - 5

With anger pent up inside and nowhere to vent it, Luan Chengyun actually came over to add to the chaos.

He had actually sent his youngest son, Zhengyu, to "deliver a message" advising her not to work so hard, not to fight and contend over everything, and warning her that many things were traps from which one could never escape once jumped in. Was this the language of a child? Zhengyu was so pure; could he ever utter such out-of-touch, greasy words?

After a round of interrogation by Yu Meng, Zhengyu cracked. He said his father told him to say it. He also said his father claimed it was a well-intentioned reminder.

Yu Meng sneered. Her first reaction was: Was Luan Chengyun on Weng Yue's side? Or could he not stand Liang Cai being more successful than him? Jealousy! His narrow-mindedness wasn't much bigger than the eye of a needle. Yu Meng went to Yu Jia to vent. She didn't mention asking Liren for help; she only described the current situation and left out the fact that Liang Cai was pulling strings behind the scenes, making it appear to be a fair competition.

Yu Jia advised her, "Take a step back, and the oceans and skies will open up."

Yu Meng was unhappy. "Sister, people are about to climb onto my neck and shit! And you want me to back down?" She left half her words unsaid: You, Yu Jia, are the one who backed down step after step, which is why Di Liren had the audacity to act like that.

The two women sat in a coffee shop, each harboring her own thoughts. Whatever could be said had been said, and whatever remained was unspeakable. Yet, huddled together, they seemed to give each other strength.

Yu Jia was also troubled. With Liren heading west, her colleagues' attitudes toward her had undergone subtle changes. Rumors were already circulating in the grapevine that Yu Jia and her husband had a poor relationship, leading her colleagues to look down on her behind her back. However, with Liren receiving a commendation and public praise across the entire system, everyone's attitude toward her warmed up again. Even Director Zhang patted her on the shoulder and said, "Elder Sister Yu, please take care of me from now on."

Yu Jia felt that Liren was the ocean and she was the boat, rising and falling with the ocean's waves. The glory, the grievances, the love, the hate, the laughter, and the tears of the first half of her life were all tied to this man. How could she possibly let go so easily?

Liren didn't mention divorce again. However, the divorce agreement was still sitting in the drawer. Yu Jia pressed it down to the very bottom, looking like the Mountain of Five Elements pinning down the Monkey King, with the posture of never being able to turn things around for eternity. In private, Yu Jia had re-read the ancient Letter of Release—a thousand-year-old divorce certificate. She felt that the man in it was simply talking total rubbish! Parting ways to wander wide expanses, each living a good life? Women follow a parabola; how could youth ever be compensated?

Seeing that another major holiday was approaching, with both her daughter and husband away, Yu Jia still had to go pay her respects to her parents-in-law. She was still a good daughter-in-law, except that without the accompaniment of the two Di family members, she, a person surnamed Yu, was suddenly transplanted into their midst, feeling terribly uncomfortable.

Yu Jia had a video call with her daughter, mentioning that they should travel to Europe together.

Sisi made a fuss out of nothing. "Did you have a change of heart?" Yu Jia didn't answer.

Sisi asked again, "Is there a change?" Young girls were sensitive. Yet none of these changes could be told to her daughter.

Not long after, Bai Yuankai gave Yu Meng a definitive reply, saying he had put in a word, leveraging a friend's favor in the Science and Technology Commission. Yu Meng hurriedly said she wanted to treat him to a meal to express her gratitude. Little Bai said there was no need, as he didn't know whether it could actually be pulled off. Yu Meng thanked him profusely again, secretly plotting how to find a roundabout way to repay this massive favor.

Wait.

If she repaid him the moment he helped out, it would appear too petty.

Almost immediately, during a gathering, the federation chairperson praised Yu Meng in front of three people, two of whom were Liang Cai's friends. The words naturally made their way back to her.

Yu Meng was anxious and asked, "What did she say about me?"

Liang Cai relayed it, "Capable, serious, and made quite a few contributions."

It looked like there was hope.

Yu Meng was overjoyed. During a women entrepreneurs' association event, Weng Yue didn't show up. Yu Meng thought to herself, Heh, she's probably at home fuming, or pulling strings in secret, using every ounce of strength she has. Was it useful? You may have your brilliant strategy, but I have my own ladder to cross the wall. She was going to execute a full-scale encirclement, capture the prize in one fell swoop, and reign supreme in the pugilistic world.

Yu Meng specifically asked Yu Rui how old Weng had been doing these past few days. Yu Rui replied that her mood was average and rather irritable. Yu Meng felt triumphant. During a video call with Haoyu, she remembered that when she went to the United States, Weng Yue had met that girl, and Haoyu knew her as well.

"What's the situation with that girl?" Yu Meng asked her son. Haoyu assumed his mom was snooping into his romantic life again and replied impatiently, "Mom, this is privacy!" Yu Meng said solemnly, "Son, look at me, look at Mom." On the video screen, Haoyu turned his head over, adopting a serious attitude. Yu Meng continued, "This is exceptionally important to Mom. Remember Auntie Weng? She went with me to see that person you were with, and we also saw that Han... that girl surnamed Han." Haoyu acknowledged that he knew.

Yu Meng said, "What on earth is going on with her family?"

Haoyu had already broken up with Han Xiqian; they had been holding out, and it had been a while since they last contacted each other. He had heard that Xiqian had traveled back to China.

"What do you mean what's going on? Her family has money. That's it." Haoyu drooped his face.

"Right, they have money," Yu Meng said. "That's why your Auntie Weng is sucking up to that girl."

"She's her maternal aunt," Haoyu muttered casually.

"Whose maternal aunt? What maternal aunt? Her real maternal aunt?" Yu Meng grew tense. Haoyu gave an affirmative answer.

Good heavens, this was a brand-new continent! Her son wouldn't lie. Yu Meng continued her investigation, but there were no traces to be found. The past between Weng Yue and Han Guang seemed to have been wiped clean from the Book of Life and Death. Even the King of Hell wouldn't know.

Weng Yue was Han Xiqian's maternal aunt. Then... Han Guang was Weng Yue's brother-in-law?! Yu Meng's brain felt a bit scrambled. She communicated with Liang Cai at the first opportunity. Liang Cai was also somewhat startled. "Just check to see if Weng Yue has an elder sister," Yu Meng said. This wasn't difficult to investigate. After some maneuvering, it was quickly verified that Weng Yue and Weng Yang indeed had an elder sister named Weng Qin, who had passed away many years ago under unknown circumstances.

Yu Meng increasingly felt that matters were complicated.

"Can we stir up some trouble using Weng Qin?" Yu Meng asked. Liang Cai remained silent. After a long moment, he only told her not to touch the dead, and to watch which way the wind was blowing first.

Kanglong walked into Yu Shuang's home carrying a sense of grievance.

Yu Shuang rarely saw Kanglong like this. In the past, he was always gentle and refined, taking blows without striking back, and rarely getting angry. Today was different. Chun'er greeted Uncle Kang and went inside her room; Yu Shuang had hired an English tutor for her to provide private lessons at home. Yu Shuang poured Kanglong a cup of tea. He didn't drink it, sitting there reading a book instead.

The English tutor arrived—a female college student. Chun'er came out to greet the teacher. The female college student looked at Chun'er, then at Kanglong and Yu Shuang, and offered a forced, polite smile. "Father is so young." Yu Shuang nodded awkwardly without offering an explanation, quickly bundling them off into the room to get to work.

Kanglong hadn't lifted his head the entire time.

"What's going on?" Yu Shuang flared up slightly. She was dissatisfied with his lack of politeness and disrespect toward women.

Kanglong put down his book and let out a deep sigh.

"Got fired by the university?"

"No."

"Got your research project stolen?"

"No."

"Got beaten up by someone?"

"Pretty much."

Huh? Yu Shuang was astonished. What did that mean? "Who beat you up?"

"My dad came." Kanglong looked somewhat depressed.

Old Man Kang had arrived, and apart from Yuankai, no one else knew. Kanglong had thought he could handle this old man, but reality had dealt him a solid, heavy lesson. He and his father had been separated since childhood, with the betrayal of his mother wedged right in the middle. Kanglong felt his father owed his mother, and deep inside he hated him, though he had never shown it in front of outsiders. Yet once they were under the same roof, conflicts erupted instantly. Their living habits were different; Kanglong was used to staying up late, while Old Man Kang insisted on going to bed at nine-thirty. When his scientific research momentum surged, Kanglong ordered takeout all day long, which Old Man Kang couldn't get used to. When Kanglong wanted to hire a nanny, Old Man Kang found it repulsive, saying he had too much money to burn!

More importantly, regarding history, their interpretations differed and their opinions were unaligned, especially on the issue of evaluating his mother. Old Man Kang maintained that Kanglong's mother was a good woman, but not a good wife. That completely blew the lid off for Kanglong. This was his bottom line! No one was allowed to touch it! And so he had bolted out the door. Once outside, he realized he had nowhere to go, so he had no choice but to throw himself on Yu Shuang's mercy.

"I'm staying at your place tonight," Kanglong said.

"No problem," Yu Shuang agreed immediately. "Over the weekend, we'll go visit your dad."

"Forget it, he could bite someone's head off."

"That's toward you. Toward me, I guarantee he'll be as polite as can be," Yu Shuang said smugly. "My current status is, after all, fiancée—parenthesis, wedding to be held fifty years later." Yu Shuang amused herself with her own joke.

Kanglong resolutely refused to allow it. Yet Yu Shuang was confident. She knew that Old Man Kang had constantly been pushing him to get married. If a girlfriend, a fiancée, suddenly appeared with good credentials, refinement, and decent looks, how could the old man's anger not dissipate?

Yu Shuang's judgment was spot-on. Almost the moment she stepped into Old Man Kang's field of vision and stated her identity, this old man, who originally wore a stern expression, immediately broke into a smile.

He looked as benevolent as the Maitreya Buddha. Old Man Kang then shifted his gaze toward Chun'er.

Yu Shuang hurriedly explained, "My niece."

Old Man Kang reached out to cup Chun'er's little face. "How lovely." As he spoke, he reached into his pocket to pull out some money, but Yu Shuang quickly said it wasn't necessary. Yet Old Man Kang insisted on giving it; he was the elder.

After finishing the meal, Yu Shuang felt that the Kanglong's father she experienced was completely different from the father described in Kanglong's words. In her eyes, Old Man Kang had not a single strand of hair out of place, was very particular, possessed benevolence without losing his dignity, and knew how to respect women. It had been many years since she had experienced paternal love, and Chairman Kang (he had previously served as a labor union chairman) happened to match her ideal image of a father.

Chairman Kang was also very satisfied with Yu Shuang, thinking she was cheerful and generous, unlike some girls who whined and put on affected, coy airs. She was true to who she was—straightforward and breezy. On this point, the son and the father happened to reach a consensus by coincidence.

Chairman Kang said bluntly, "Kanglong, you are far inferior to Xiaowang."

His words carried the weight of gold and admitted no doubt.

Yu Shuang hurriedly told him not to say that. Chun'er smiled with her lips pursed.

Kanglong felt he had lost face.

"When do you plan to settle the wedding?" Chairman Kang's voice was deep, carrying the tone of a family patriarch. Yu Shuang mischievously tossed a difficult problem to Kanglong. "I'm fine with anything; it depends on A-long."

Chairman Kang's expression shifted toward his son. "You're still hesitating? Such a good girl, and you keep her locked up at home for fear she'll fly away!"

Ahem. What a metaphor. Locked up. Yu Shuang felt her scalp go numb; not getting married was indeed the right choice.

What was originally a conspiracy had now turned into a solo crime, but Yu Shuang took the initiative to seize the initiative, and Kanglong had no choice but to shoulder the blame. "I know," he answered briefly, refusing to argue further.

Chairman Kang raised a hand and slapped his son on the back of the head. "Your brain isn't clear; you've eaten too many chestnuts."

After chatting for a while, Yu Shuang brought up the housing issue. Chairman Kang immediately stated that he couldn't live under the same roof with his son. Yu Shuang, eager to return the favor, guided the conversation step by step. "Uncle, here is how I see it: it definitely won't work for an elderly person and a child to live together. Their living habits are different, and their views on things are different. People who start out close will end up turning into enemies if they live together for too long."

Chairman Kang thought this was deeply profound. Seeing that Yu Shuang was about to stir up more trouble, Kanglong wanted to interrupt her, but it was already too late. Yu Shuang went right along with it. "Uncle, what do you think of this? Renting a separate place outside is unnecessary. Why doesn't Kanglong keep living here, and you move over to my place? I have a spare room there. You can just treat yourself as a tenant; I won't charge you rent. Besides, with more people around, there's a bit more warmth of human life. Elderly people fear loneliness and isolation the most; if it goes on too long, you'll get senile dementia." Kanglong hurriedly tried to stop her. Chairman Kang, however, preemptively expressed that this was a decent proposal, but demanded that he must pay rent.

Yu Shuang was determined to repay this favor, and nothing could stop her—especially since she got along reasonably well with Chairman Kang. She had already thought it through: there were three rooms; the outermost one near the front door would be given to him, and a sliding door would be added to the living room so the women could live in the inner part. The house had two bathrooms, ensuring they wouldn't disturb each other. After staying for a while, once the old man grew tired of living in the big city, or found a new direction and prepared to remarry, he would naturally move out. The favor she owed Kanglong would be squared away. Her heart would feel a bit lighter. Fairness—it had to be fair.