Chapter 20: Schemes, and Also… a Taste of Romance?

The doctor said Lu Chichuan fainted from excessive sadness and would feel better after some rest. Once Lu Sheng felt reassured, she asked Yi Han for her phone.

Despite the car accident, her phone was well-protected in her bag, only the screen was slightly damaged, which wasn’t a big deal.

She searched her phone thoroughly but couldn’t find the recording. It seemed like they had gotten rid of it.

Suddenly, a notification popped up: it was a call from Sang Yuwan. She was overjoyed. “Hello, Wanwan!”

“Lu Sheng, is it really you? You’re awake?!” Sang Yuwan’s voice trembled with excitement.

“Yes, um… Wanwan, do you know where… Ah Mo is buried?” Lu Sheng asked cautiously, regretting that if she had woken up sooner, Ah Mo wouldn’t have suffered humiliation and committed suicide.

“You know… Her ashes are with me. She wanted to go back to my hometown to see the mountains and enjoy rural life…” Sang Yuwan tried to sound happy but couldn’t. Lu Sheng couldn’t help but choke up. “That sounds nice. Ah Mo loved traveling and seeing beautiful sights…”

Lu Sheng sniffed and asked, “By the way, how did you know I was awake? Didn’t Ah Chi tell the doctor to keep it a secret?”

“Your doctor is a classmate of a friend of mine. He mentioned it to me, and I didn’t expect him to tell me you woke up this morning.”

After a brief silence, Sang Yuwan continued, “Lu Sheng, Ah Mo… she…”

“I know, I know everything…” Lu Sheng quickly interrupted her and recounted what had happened.

“It was her! I knew she wasn’t a good person. I told Ah Mo to be careful of her, but I didn’t expect she’d pull such a big scheme!” Sang Yuwan was furious, her eyes red like a rabbit ready to bite.

“Yeah, but the recording is gone. How can we prove it?” Lu Sheng was worried. Even if they knew the truth, without evidence, others would think it was just speculation or slander.

“If she deleted the recording, she must be afraid of you waking up and exposing her…”

The two of them plotted how to catch the big fish.

“But… what about those letters? The handwriting…” Lu Sheng wondered.

“Check the envelope. Does it note the weather?”

Lu Sheng examined it carefully and joyfully said, “No!”

“Then it wasn’t written by Ah Mo. She had this little habit of noting the weather in her letters.” Sang Yuwan was genuinely happy about this habit of Li Mo that even Lu Chichuan didn’t know about.

Of course, he only focused on the letter’s content, not the envelope.

“That’s great!” Lu Sheng sighed with relief. “I will cooperate fully. I’ll ask Yi Han when that person will come back.”

“Okay.”

Just then, a clear and gentle voice came through, “Sang Yuwan! Your fish is dead!”

The sounds of Sang Yuwan running and cursing came through the phone.

“Are you crazy, Gu Junche? Why did you kill my carp?!”

“It slipped away, and I couldn’t catch it. I thought I’d knock it out, but it died with one hit!” The man’s voice was innocent and clear.

“How hard did you hit it? You’re gonna break it!”

“Not that hard…”

Sang Yuwan punched him several times. “Are you trying to kill it or what?”

“You’ve wanted to eat it for a long time, and you had all the seasonings ready! Did I provoke your fish?”

“It provoked my stomach…” The man’s voice was both innocent and helpless, almost pitiful.

“…” Sang Yuwan was speechless. All she wanted to do at that moment was to smash his head.

“Haha…” Lu Sheng’s laughter startled Sang Yuwan. She hadn’t hung up! She quickly grabbed her phone and glared at him, silently threatening, You’re dead meat!

Gu Junche shrugged helplessly and took the stunned fish into the kitchen.

“Haha… Wanwan, are you in love?” Lu Sheng sensed the smell of romance.

“Of course not! He’s crazy; I don’t like him at all.” Sang Yuwan’s cheeks turned red, but she firmly denied it.

“Stop pretending.” Lu Sheng’s smile faded, and she said gently, “Wanwan, if you really like him and it feels right, don’t hesitate. Ah Mo and I both want you to be happy.”

“I know, Lu Sheng. You’ve talked long enough. You should rest now.”

“Okay.”

After hanging up, Lu Sheng was filled with mixed feelings. Once, Ah Chi and Ah Mo were a couple that everyone envied, but now fate had dealt a cruel hand. She had suffered humiliation and died unjustly, and Ah Chi probably couldn’t go on living…

She remembered the night before the wedding, when Lu Chichuan’s eyes sparkled, his lips curled up, his voice warm and passionate: “Sister, she’s my sunshine. I will take care of her my whole life.”

Thinking of this, her heart ached. “Ah Mo, we owe you…”

Sang Yuwan stood at the kitchen door like a resentful wife, holding the kitchen scraps Gu Junche had just given her.

“What are you doing standing there? Hurry up and throw out the trash.”

“Splash!” The carp was thrown into the oil. Sang Yuwan lost it.

“Gu Junche! You owe me a carp! I fished all afternoon just to catch that one!”

The man laughed silently, not answering, as he placed the carp meat piece by piece into the pan.

“Humph!” Sang Yuwan stormed out, giving him a punch on the shoulder before leaving.

“You’re young, yet you have such a big temper.” Gu Junche shook his head in fondness.

The rest of the scene involved Sang Yuwan praising how delicious the fish was as she devoured most of it by herself.

Gu Junche thought, “You being in my life is truly a blessing.”

Yi Han peeked through the door and saw Lu Chichuan quietly sitting on the hospital bed, lost in thought.

Sigh! If only I had known, I wouldn’t have acted that way in the beginning.

His phone vibrated: it was a message from Lu Sheng.

“Yi Han, can you come to see me?”

Not long after Yi Han left, Lu Chichuan drove back to Nan’an, looking dazed.

Upon opening the door, he was greeted by a bone-chilling cold and sweet memories that felt like sharp knives, making it painful to breathe.

He sat in the room where Li Mo was humiliated, drinking bottle after bottle of alcohol; today was her seventh day after death…

In a daze, he seemed to see her, ashamed, with no light in her eyes, only despair…

“God… just kill me…”

He staggered to his feet, holding the wine, tears streaming down his face, his voice hoarse: “Ah Mo, I was wrong…”

“Please come back…”

How could love leave no trace? The footprints in his heart, the warmth of her hand, the lingering scent of her embrace…

They seemed like they shouldn’t be this way, not just this way, but it had to be this way…

He felt so sad, guilty for not being able to apologize to her, realizing too late what he had lost, and it hurt like a knife to have killed his beloved…

The last glimmer of light was snuffed out by his own hands, leaving him in endless darkness…

Li Mo said, no matter how bad he was, she would love him.

But now, no one stands with me at dusk, no one asks if my porridge is warm…

This season is so pure, with no stories, no you…