Who is the real Mrs. Lu? - Chapter 9

The next day, I woke up in Lu Zhan’s arms.

Last night, he held me tightly, making me call him husband over and over.

“Wife,” he said, his hands gently caressing my cheeks, his voice hoarse, “Do you know I’ve been waiting for you to acknowledge me?”

“Why aren’t you angry with me?” I cried incessantly, “I lied to you, why aren’t you angry?”

“I was angry.” He held me close, sighing, “I was angry…”

“Angry that you didn’t tell me, angry that you changed without any hesitation.”

He stroked my head, “Even angry at myself for possibly misplacing my feelings, yet angry that I can’t let you go.”

“I thought,” I sobbed intermittently, “you liked her all along… I was just a poor imitation, I, I…”

“March 26, 2020, was that the day?”

I was stunned, looking up at him through tear-filled eyes.

That was the day I first met him in the hospital as “Lv Qingqing.”

“Fool…” He pressed his forehead against mine, sighing softly.

“But…” My oxygen-deprived brain felt even more muddled, “Earlier, you clearly, clearly…”

Clearly liked Lv Qingqing.

But he didn’t let me finish asking, and under his intense onslaught, my mind went blank, almost losing the ability to think about anything.

I don’t know how long it was before I felt weak all over, closing my eyes and drifting into sleep.

“Wife, if you find out,” his chin lightly brushed against my forehead, “that I’m not really a good person, would you still like me?”

I opened my tear-filled eyes, staring at him blankly, not understanding what he meant.

“Sleep,” he kissed my forehead, “have a good rest.”

Unexpectedly, I slept until almost noon.

I hadn’t slept this late in a long time.

I sat up, feeling slightly sore, picked up my phone, and found that the caregiver had called me three times in the morning.

Startled, I quickly called back.

“Ms. Yin, it’s nothing, just wanted to inform you that the hospital won’t allow visits in the afternoon due to disinfection. I wanted to ask if you’re still coming in the morning.”

“I’ll come, I’ll come.” I hung up the phone, hurriedly searching for my scattered clothes on the floor.

Suddenly, a strong force pulled me into a warm embrace, my chin gently lifted, and my unspoken gasp was silenced at my lips.

After the kiss ended, he patted my head, “I’ll take you to the hospital first, then buy lunch. What do you want for lunch?”

I thought for a moment, meeting his gaze.

“Chili stir-fried pork,” I wrapped my arms around his neck, “with egg strips.”

He smiled, kissing my forehead, “Alright, whatever my wife wants, I’ll buy.”

When I arrived at the hospital ward, the caregiver was chatting with my father.

“Oh, you’re truly blessed to have such wonderful daughters, both so beautiful. When you were in danger last time, both of them were here to watch over you…”

“They look so alike, I can’t tell who’s who…”

She looked up and saw me, quickly standing up with a smile, “Ms. Yin is here, I’ll go do the laundry.”

I sat by the bed, my father raised his hand, touching my eyes.

“Why are your eyes swollen?”

I smiled, holding his hand, “It’s nothing, just didn’t sleep well.”

“Your sister…”

I paused, nodding, “I saw them, sister, and mom, I’ve seen them.”

He nodded, closed his eyes, and sighed, “Che, it’s your father who has wronged you.”

As I left the ward, Lu Zhan arrived carrying lunch.

“I’ve confirmed with both hospitals, Hai City also suggests that since dad has woken up, he should stay at An County Hospital for observation for a while, and transfer once his condition stabilizes.”

I nodded, “Okay.”

“What’s wrong?” he looked down at me.

“Dad…” I hesitated, “told me some things from the past.”

“Hmm?” Lu Zhan took my hand, sitting with me on the hospital corridor bench, “What things?”

“He said… not to hold too much resentment towards my birth mother. He mentioned that when I was young, she came back once with Lv Qingqing. But at that time, my father had just lost his job at the factory due to a fight, and he was drinking heavily every day. So when she returned, my father blamed all his misfortunes on her and drove her away.”

“After that, she never came back.”

Earlier in the hospital room, my father held my hand, wiping away tears, and said, “Che, I’ve thought more than once that if I hadn’t driven your mother away back then, you would have had a better life and wouldn’t have had to suffer so much with me.”

Lu Zhan wrapped his arm around my shoulder, “Honey, it’s all in the past.”

“Yeah,” I leaned on his shoulder, “I just find it a bit strange.”

“What’s strange?”

I sat up straight, “Isn’t it quite a coincidence? My father was provoked by someone at the factory, which led to the fight, and just at that time, my birth mother regretted it and came back with Lv Qingqing.”

Lu Zhan pondered for a moment, “You mean…”

“And Liao Fan,” I said, “Liao Fan also ended up in the hospital after a fight, just like my father back then… I just feel, I just feel…”

“The Lv Family.”

“What?” I looked up.

“Are you suspecting that your father being provoked, fighting, and getting fired back then might have something to do with the Lv Family?”

I nodded, hesitating, “Am I being too sensitive?”

“Not necessarily,” he shook his head, “From what I know, Lv Ning is very shrewd and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. Can we still find the people from the factory back then?”

Lu Zhan and I went to the dormitory building that the factory had allocated years ago. Many old employees still lived there.

“You’re talking about Zhang Hu?” An elderly man shook his head, “He left the county a few years ago when the factory closed down. No idea where he went.”

Lu Zhan and I exchanged a glance, and I sighed, “As expected, it’s been too long.”

The elderly man’s gaze swept over my face a few times, “You… wouldn’t happen to be Yin Hao’s daughter, would you?”

I was taken aback for a moment and nodded, “Elderly man, do you know me?”

“Looking at your face, you resemble your father a lot,” he laughed heartily, “After all, in our small place, there aren’t many people who look as good as you.”

“You’re looking for Zhang Hu?” The elderly man squinted, “Is it because of that incident back then?”

“Elderly man, do you know anything about my father being fired after fighting with Zhang Hu?” I asked urgently.

“Oh, that matter…” The elderly man coughed, “How should I put it, I know a little about it…”

Lu Zhan stepped forward, lit a cigarette for the elderly man, and also handed him the remaining pack.

The elderly man glanced at the cigarette pack and nodded at Lu Zhan, clearly pleased.

He exhaled a smoke ring and said slowly, “Actually, back then, those people approached me too.”

“Those people?” Lu Zhan asked, “Who were they?”

“I don’t know either. Actually, the matter of Yin Hao’s wife, ahem… running away, wasn’t something people were interested in discussing at that time. But then, one day, someone came and offered me money to use the incident of Yin Hao’s wife running away to provoke him into fighting and causing trouble.”

“Being a person of integrity, I don’t like doing such things, so I refused. That person might have thought I was timid and scared, so they said I just needed to provoke him into a fight, and the factory would definitely fire him afterward without affecting me.”

“Did that person have any distinctive features? Like an accent, clothing, age…” I asked anxiously.

The elderly man waved his hand, “It was so many years ago, I can’t remember. Later, I was transferred to a branch factory in the neighboring county, and two years later, I heard that Yin Hao was fired after fighting with Zhang Hu. Zhang Hu really wasn’t a decent person…”

Suddenly, I understood.

At that time, Xie Qian had regrets.

Although I didn’t know the reason, she indeed regretted it and came back with Lv Qingqing, hoping to reconcile with my father.

At that moment, Lv Ning orchestrated this situation, or as Lu Zhan said, he understood human nature too well, knowing exactly how to provoke my father, making it impossible for him to accept Xie Qian again, and showing Xie Qian the worst side of my father.

In this way, Xie Qian had no way back and could only return to Hai City with Lv Qingqing, never daring to return to An County.

“This indeed seems like Lv Ning’s style of doing things,” Lu Zhan said when we returned home.

“But even if we suspect it’s him, there’s no evidence,” I said softly. “It’s been too long, and besides, it was indeed my father who got into the fight back then…”

“What about Liao Fan?” he asked, “Could there be any evidence with Liao Fan?”

I was taken aback, suddenly remembering that the hospital had given me Liao Fan’s phone and wallet at the time.

I just never had the chance to look at them.

“When we return to Hai City, I’ll try to find them.”

As I spoke, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“You…” I stepped forward, hesitating, “You haven’t gone back for two nights. Over at my sister’s place, wouldn’t she…”

“Don’t worry,” he turned around, pulling me into his embrace, “Nothing has ever happened between me and Lv Qingqing.”

He paused, “I think, if I don’t go back, she should be happier.”

“What do you mean?” I didn’t understand.

He sighed, “Do you think it’s a happy thing for two people who don’t like each other to live under the same roof every night?”

After speaking, he smiled again, “Look, these past few days, has she called me or sent me a message?”

I stared at him blankly, still unable to grasp the meaning behind his words.

He pulled me to sit beside him.

“She was unwilling, and how could I be willing?” He shook his head, pulling me into his embrace, “But I had no choice. Lv Group’s methods are not clean. If I didn’t show active cooperation with the marriage alliance at that time, Lv Group would attack, and Lu Group would suffer greatly. The company that my father painstakingly built bit by bit couldn’t be destroyed in my hands.