Chapter 54 Crocodile Tears

Although there were many kinds of dishes, the quantity was small, and the three of them finished them all.

Zhou Mu touched his slightly bloated, warm stomach and let out a long, satisfied burp—

She covered her mouth in embarrassment.

Before she could even blush, she heard another burp, just as long as hers, burp—

It was Xiaoling. She winked playfully at Zhou Mu, "It's so delicious, I'm already stuffed."

Sister Zhao watched the interaction between the two and let out a burp.

Then the three of them took turns burping, like in a competition, which was very inelegant but very fun.

Zhou Mu's embarrassment vanished instantly.

After playing for a while, Zhou Mu offered to wash the dishes. She always wanted to do something to show her gratitude, even if it was insignificant. Xiao Ling and Sister Zhao understood her intention and didn't try to take the dishes from her.

"Thank you so much, Mumu." Xiaoling looked at Zhou Mu gratefully. "Sister Zhao and I still have to go check on the patients, so please take care of these bowls, Mumu. Thank you for your hard work!"

"It's not hard work at all!"

Zhou Mu thought she would never forget this New Year's Eve... While she was gulping down tap water in the bathroom to fill her stomach, Sister Xiaoling and Sister Zhao invited her to have the most sumptuous and delicious New Year's Eve dinner together, and also protected her young and pitiful self-esteem.

When Zhou Mu returned to the ward, Zhou Yue was awake. She was staring blankly out the window. When she heard the door open, she mechanically turned her neck like a zombie, and her cold gaze fell on Zhou Mu like a knife.

"Where did you go?" Zhou Yue's hoarse voice, like a broken bellows, was somewhat grating.

The unconscious smile in Zhou Mu's eyes disappeared, and she answered softly, "I went to the restroom."

"Really?" Zhou Yue asked back, clearly not believing her, but surprisingly she didn't question her. She simply ordered her, "Go get me some hot water. Do you want me to die of thirst?"

"Okay." Zhou Mu didn't dare to delay, grabbed the cup, and ran out.

Zhou Yue had just undergone surgery and was still very weak. She didn't have the energy to bother Zhou Mu, so she drank some water and went to sleep.

The ward fell silent again. Zhou Mu tucked the blanket around Zhou Yue, pulled over a stool, and leaned over the foot of the bed, closing his eyes.

Feeling Zhou Mu's gentle touch, a tear welled up in Zhou Yue's closed eyes, rolled down her hair, and disappeared.

She woke up just as Zhou Mu left. She saw him drinking cold water in the bathroom, as well as the two kind nurses and the New Year's Eve dinner in the duty room...

After she woke up from surgery, she saw Zhou Mu's worry and concern. Even though she had never been good to Zhou Mu, this unexpected disaster seemed to have erased all her resentment. Zhou Mu truly treated her as his mother and the most important person in his life, taking care of her wholeheartedly.

Zhou Yue also heard Zhou Mu's stomach growling. She didn't know why her heart was aching, but—Zhou Yue, you can't be soft-hearted!

Zhou Mu is Yan Songyu's daughter, the daughter of the woman who stole your husband, who is high and mighty, and who made you look like a rat in the gutter.

Heaven has never been kind to you, so what right do you have to pity others?

*

Zhao Qi told Yan Songyu about everything that had happened in the Zhou family recently as a New Year's greeting. She had forgotten to pay attention to the Zhou family because of Jiang Chengli's matter, so Zhao Qi compiled everything into a video with subtitles, making it vivid and engaging.

When Yan Songyu saw Fei Ge leading people to collect debts and breaking Zhou Chenglong's leg, she remembered that she had asked someone to take care of Zhou Chenglong.

With the 40,000 yuan given to him by his mother, Zhou Chenglong settled down in Haishi. He wasn't very capable, but he was self-aware enough to keep looking for manual labor. He was single and didn't have anyone to worry about, so he could actually survive in Haishi. However, this didn't align with Yan Songyu's original intention. She brought the Zhou family here to cause trouble for Zhou Yue, but she didn't expect Zhou Yue to be so daring. The Zhou family members were typical bullies who were afraid of the strong and cowardly, and they were intimidated by Zhou Yue.

After observing that Zhou Chenglong was indeed timid and dared not do anything out of line, Yan Songyu could only arrange for someone to guide him slowly.

Zhou Chenglong went from being an observer to being tempted, and then to trying it out. He won 4,000 yuan on his first game, a 40-fold return!

Once Pandora's box is opened, it can never be closed.

Zhou Chenglong's initial capital of 40,000 yuan turned into 200,000 yuan due to the casino's lenient betting. Zhou Chenglong was so excited that he bet all his money in that one round. As expected, he lost the bet and ended up owing the casino 200,000 yuan. Unable to accept this, Zhou Chenglong went berserk in the casino, was beaten up, thrown out of the casino, and ordered to pay back the money.

After being thrown out, Zhou Chenglong finally calmed down. He collapsed to the ground, a puddle of water flowing from beneath him.

That day, Yan Songyu witnessed all of this from the second floor of the casino. If you ask her if her conscience hurts when she implicates innocent people, what should you do?

No, what kind of good person is Zhou Chenglong?

Yan Songyu watched the scene of Zhou Yue being kicked away on the tablet and smiled happily, "Zhou Yue's injury is an unexpected bonus, a ruptured spleen, tsk~"

Zhou Yue's injury outweighed Yan Songyu's displeasure at seeing the Rolex gold watch, which she had given to Jiang Chengli but he "accidentally lost"—it turned out he had left it with his first love.

Feng Yu flipped to the clip of her hospitalization, "She seems to have been much nicer to Zhou Mu."

"Is this good?" Yan Songyu scoffed. "At most, she did the most basic things a person should do. She didn't even fulfill her duties as a mother. How can this be considered good?"

"So what if she felt sorry for him? So what if she cried?" Yan Songyu threw the tablet on the table. "Has she actually changed anything? Look at Zhou Mu's thin clothes and the few mouthfuls of leftover rice soaked in hot water she eats every day. It's just a crocodile tear."

"She's just a little more vulnerable when she's sick, which is why she felt a touch of warmth because of Zhou Mu's filial piety. Once she recovers, Zhou Mu's life will be the same as before. After all, why would she take good care of her 'enemy's' daughter?"

After Yan Songyu finished speaking confidently, she suddenly changed her tone, "No, it might be even worse."

Feng Yu's interest was piqued. "How so?"

"Zhou Yue is vicious and selfish, but she is not completely heartless and without a conscience. So she is very conflicted. Zhou Mu's filial piety will highlight her ugliness, and she will feel ashamed. Therefore, she will be even more ruthless to Zhou Mu, forcing him to stay away from her or become like her."

Yan Songyu's eyes shone brighter as she spoke, as if she could already see the future. "I can't wait!"

Jiang Chengli stood by the window, looking through the crack at the tightly closed door across the room. His expression was gloomy. That adulterous couple had been inside for a long time!

Suddenly, the cleaning lady pushed her cart into the yard, and Jiang Chengli's attention was completely drawn to her. How could he have forgotten about the cleaning lady?

A hint of relief flashed in Jiang Chengli's eyes, as if his goal was about to be achieved.

So—when the cleaning lady pushed her cart out the door, she bumped into Jiang Chengli, who was returning from outside, and the things on the cart fell all over the ground.

Jiang Chengli apologized very politely and squatted down to help her pick up her things. "I'm very sorry, I have difficulty walking and didn't have time to dodge."

The cleaning lady was so frightened that she waved her hands repeatedly, "It's okay, it's okay, it's my fault for not watching where I was going, I'm glad you're not mad at me."

In the chaos, the cleaning staff didn't notice that two used toothbrushes were missing from the box.