Chapter 304 Telling the Truth
On the other side.
Lu You did not go home.
She drove aimlessly around the city, eventually stopping in front of a quiet bar she used to frequent.
At this moment, she needed alcohol to numb her heart, which was riddled with holes by Cheng Zhou's words and tightened by his illness.
She sat in a corner booth, drinking one glass of strong liquor after another, trying to suppress the bitterness in her heart, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Just as she was drunk and sobbing softly on the table, a figure sat down opposite her.
It's Fu Mingyuan.
He seemed to have heard something and came looking for me on purpose.
"Youyou?" Fu Mingyuan frowned slightly as he looked at her disheveled appearance and handed her a tissue. "Why did you drink so much?"
Lu You raised her head, looking at him with hazy, drunken eyes. As if she had found an outlet for her emotions, she tearfully recounted Cheng Zhou's leukemia diagnosis.
Fu Mingyuan listened quietly, but a faint, almost imperceptible dark glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.
After Lu You finished speaking, he suddenly reached out and covered Lu You's slightly trembling hand on the table, his tone carrying a deliberate gentleness and guidance: "Youyou, isn't this an opportunity?"
Lu You looked at him blankly.
Fu Mingyuan tightened his grip on her hand, his voice low and seductive: "Cheng Zhou himself said that he wants you to leave and not worry about him. This means he has accepted his fate and doesn't want to be a burden to you. Since that's the case, why can't you just let go?"
"This is a relief for both you and him. You can completely get rid of all the troubles caused by the Cheng family, and you won't have to bear the shackles of morality anymore. We can..."
"Stop talking!" Lu You suddenly pulled her hand back, as if she had been burned, and her drunkenness sobered up a bit.
She stared at Fu Mingyuan in disbelief, her eyes filled with shock and rejection. "How could you say such a thing? He's sick! He has leukemia! You want me to let go now? What's the difference between that and kicking someone when they're down? That's so selfish and cruel!"
Although Lu You hated Cheng Zhou for saying those outrageous things and felt hopeless about their broken marriage, she never thought of getting rid of him in this way when he was seriously ill.
This crossed her moral line.
Fu Mingyuan's expression darkened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. Just as he was about to say something, Lu You's phone rang. She took it out and saw Cheng Zhou's phone number on the screen.
Her heart skipped a beat. After hesitating for a moment, she answered the phone, her voice still slurred with drunkenness and a sob: "Hello?"
On the other end of the phone, Cheng Zhou's voice sounded even weaker than before.
"Lu You, the lawyer has revised the divorce agreement. The property division will proceed as I previously stated. You can come to the hospital to sign it at a later time, or you can have the lawyer take it to you to sign. It's better for everyone if we get it done sooner."
Another divorce! The first phone call he made after he was diagnosed with leukemia was to urge him to get a divorce.
Lu You yelled into the phone, "Cheng Zhou! You bastard! Is this what you want? Are you only satisfied when you turn me into a selfish woman who abandons everyone when disaster strikes?"
"How could you... how could you be so cruel!"
She cursed, but her tears flowed even more fiercely.
She didn't really want to scold him. She felt sorry for him, scared him, and resented him for not giving her a chance to stay by his side, even just as a friend.
But her pride forced her to express her overwhelming sadness and heartache through this outburst of anger.
On the other end of the phone, Cheng Zhou remained silent for a moment.
He seemed to hear the sob and true emotion behind her shout, and when he spoke again, his tone carried a faint smile.
His smile was tinged with bitterness: "This is for your own good, Lu You. Listen to me and go find Fu Mingyuan. He is indeed more suitable for you than me."
After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Lu You to respond.
The call ended.
Lu You finally let her arms fall limply, slumped onto the table, and burst into tears.
He could tell that Cheng Zhou must have realized she was being disingenuous, but he still pushed her away!
Fu Mingyuan watched from the side, his eyes dark and unreadable, and did not go forward to comfort him.
Lu You cried for an unknown amount of time, then suddenly stood up, grabbed her bag and car keys, and was about to rush out, shouting, "I'm going to find him! I need to get to the bottom of this!"
Fu Mingyuan tried to stop her, but she pushed him away.
She drove drunk, speeding all the way to the hospital, and staggered to Cheng Zhou's ward door.
Shang Wu happened to be carrying a thermos lunchbox, intending to bring Cheng Zhou some light dinner, when she saw Lu You outside the ward, who reeked of alcohol.
Before she could speak, Lu You had already pushed open the ward door.
Cheng Zhou frowned when he saw Lu You return, clearly drunk.
Lu You stood at the door, pointing at him, wanting to get angry again, but when she saw him leaning weakly against the headboard, all the words of accusation stuck in her throat, turning into an even more overwhelming heartbreak.
She ultimately said nothing, only staring at him with red eyes, her chest heaving violently.
Cheng Zhou looked at her calmly, at her expression of wanting to get close yet not daring to, wanting to care yet only able to disguise it with anger. That all-knowing, sorrowful smile reappeared on his pale face.
He said softly, "Let's go, Lu You. Don't come back."
Those few words were like a bucket of ice water, pouring cold water over Lu You from head to toe.
All her courage and impulse vanished completely at that moment.
Lu You gave Cheng Zhou a deep look, her eyes filled with complex emotions that were hard to express.
She scoffed, turned abruptly, rushed out of the ward, leaned against the wall in the corridor, slowly slid down to the floor, buried her face in her knees, and began to sob in suppressed sobs.
Shang Wu felt a pang of sadness and bitterness as she watched this scene.
She walked over, squatted down next to Lu You, and gently patted her back.
Once Lu You's crying subsided a little, Shang Wu looked at her and asked earnestly in a soft voice, "Sister You, look at me. Putting aside the fact that he's sick now, tell me honestly, do you still love him? If... I mean, if Cheng Zhou hadn't gotten sick, and there hadn't been all those messy misunderstandings and arguments between you, would you still be willing to give each other another chance to try to repair the relationship and cherish this marriage?"
This is the most crucial issue.
As long as Lu You gives a positive answer, Shang Wu decides to stop hiding it and tell her the truth immediately.
However, Lu You was tormented by alcohol and huge emotional fluctuations at this moment, and her rationality had long since left her home.
When she heard Shang Wu's hypothesis, she felt it was both absurd and heartbreaking.
She shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face. She repeated incoherently, "There are no ifs. Ah Wu, there are no ifs anymore. He's sick, he said those things, we can't go back, it's just a fantasy…it's impossible…"
She never gave Shang Wu the affirmative answer about love and willingness that he so desperately wanted.
Seeing her breakdown, Shang Wu felt secretly anxious, but there was nothing he could do.
Now is clearly not the right time to tell the truth.
She could only sigh and continue to comfort Lu You: "Alright, alright, Sister You, don't think about it anymore. I'll take you home to rest first. You've had too much to drink."
After settling Lu You in, Shang Wu, carrying a slightly cold lunchbox, walked heavily into Cheng Zhou's ward.
Cheng Zhou watched her come in, glancing behind her to make sure Lu You hadn't followed. The faint light in his eyes faded, returning to its stagnant state.
Looking at Cheng Zhou's unyielding attitude, and thinking of Lu You's breakdown outside the door and the unanswered question, Shang Wu felt lost and uncertain about the future.
Shang Wu took the warmed porridge and side dishes out of the insulated box and placed them on the mobile dining table next to Cheng Zhou's bed.
Cheng Zhou glanced at it but showed no appetite whatsoever, his gaze remaining blank as he stared into a certain place.
Seeing his utterly lifeless appearance, she suddenly thought of Lu You's heartbroken and conflicted expression outside the door.
Shang Wu felt as if a stone was pressing on her heart.
She pulled up a chair and sat down, deciding to make one last effort. She looked at Cheng Zhou, her tone more serious than ever before, and repeated the question she had asked Lu You.
"Cheng Zhou, I'll ask you the same question. Putting aside the illness, if there were no misunderstandings, no arguments, would you still love Lu You? Would you still be willing to try again?"
Cheng Zhou's eyelashes trembled slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and rationality.
He slowly turned his head to look at Shang Wu, a bitter smile curving his lips, his voice as soft as a sigh.
"Awu, what's the point of saying all this now?"
He paused, his eyes filled with the despair of utter surrender: "Whether I love you anymore or not doesn't matter anymore. I'm tired, really tired."
"From urging us to have a baby to misunderstandings, and then to arguments, there are too many problems between us. It's like a tangled mess that we can't untangle or cut."
"This time... let's put an end to it. Whether she gets the disease or not, I've decided to let go, to set her free, and to free myself as well."
Cheng Zhou's tone was frighteningly calm.
This complete abandonment terrified Shang Wu even more than the heated argument.
She originally thought that Cheng Zhou's push away was out of love and not wanting to be a burden, but now it seems that Lu You really hurt him too deeply, to the point that he lost all confidence and expectation in the relationship itself.
Shang Wu frowned.
Things have completely deviated from her expectations.
Cheng Zhou's heart sank much faster than she had imagined.
If the truth isn't revealed soon, it might be too late to undo the damage.
She took a deep breath, preparing to speak and reveal the long-hidden plan: "Cheng Zhou, actually I..."
“Awu,” Cheng Zhou suddenly interrupted her, struggling to sit up straight, his expression becoming unusually serious, “There’s something I want to ask you.”
He gestured for Shang Wu to take a file folder from the bedside table drawer.
Shang Wu took it out as instructed and handed it to him.
Cheng Zhou opened the file bag, which contained a series of equity transfer agreements, an asset list, and a draft will.
"These are most of the assets and shares I have at my disposal."
Cheng Zhou's voice was slightly hoarse, but he tried his best to stay awake.
“I have already had the lawyer notarize and handled most of it. Part of it will be left to my mother and Coco to ensure they have no worries for the rest of their lives, and the rest will be transferred to Youyou’s name.”
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