Chapter 69 The two people are seriously ill.
Holding the phone in his hand felt like holding a hot potato, but because he couldn't give himself away, Qiao Zimu had no choice but to pretend to be calm and say "hello".
"Let Lan Jia answer the phone," the voice on the other end said.
He felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing Meng Cenjun's voice. His mind raced, and he stammered, "Lan Jia went to the bathroom; it's not convenient for her."
"Then let's wait for her to come out."
Qiao Zimu grew anxious, winking and gesturing at Lan Jia, demanding an explanation. Just then, Lan Jia straightened up, having vomited for a while without anything coming out, only feeling nauseous. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before answering the phone, asking, "What's wrong?"
Hearing her weak voice, Meng Cenjun immediately asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Lan Jia tried to cover it up by saying, "I probably ate something bad, it's nothing serious."
He still said with great concern, "Then come back early and see a doctor."
"I'm much better now, really."
After a moment of silence, the person on the other end asked, "Where are you?"
Lan Jia's heart tightened, but she remained calm on the surface. "I'm at the Qiao family's house. Didn't I tell Zuo Tai?"
Meng Cenjun seemed unsuspecting, and after listening, asked, "When will you be back?"
"Oh, I'm not sure. I want to play a little longer."
For once, he didn't say much, just said "okay," and hung up.
Lan Jia finally relaxed and said to Qiao Zimu, "Let's go quickly."
Although he was still confused, he always obeyed her wishes, so he immediately helped her walk forward and hurriedly flagged down a car at the entrance of the alley.
There was still a long way to go back. Lan Jia sat in the back row without saying a word. Qiao Zimu glanced at her several times and inexplicably felt that she was preoccupied. He thought it was because of her brother, who always treated her like a prisoner and couldn't stand seeing him and Lan Jia together. He had come to disturb them time and time again. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Meng Cenjun was really hateful!
The two of them quietly left through the back door and then quietly returned. Lan Jia walked quickly, rushing across the garden and walking ahead. Qiao Zimu followed behind her, feeling annoyed. He complained, "I don't understand why you're so afraid of your brother. You have to hide when you come out with me. What kind of logic is that?"
"Lan Jia, don't you find this annoying at all? I can't stand seeing you put up with this kind of treatment!"
Seeing Lan Jia suddenly stop, he also stopped, looking completely bewildered, and asked, "What's wrong now?"
"Stop talking." She lowered her voice to a whisper.
Qiao Zimu was stunned for a moment, and followed her gaze. He saw a person sitting on the sofa in the guest room, only his back was visible. The maid, Chen Ma, was warmly serving him, holding a teapot and adding tea to the table.
Lan Jia slowly walked over and called out, "Brother."
Meng Cenjun put down her teacup, without questioning her, and instead said gently, "Have you had enough fun? If you've had enough, go back."
She glanced at Qiao Zimu, and sadly said, "I'm leaving."
He nodded and watched the brother and sister leave together.
The Qiao residence was close to their home, just across the street, so the two decided to walk back.
This road is lined with many plane trees, and every April and May, the air is filled with their fluffy seeds. Lan Jia can't stand it, so she either stays indoors or hides in her car, completely shutting herself off. Now it's the height of summer, and the plane trees are lush and green, making it quite pleasant to stroll under them. But as the two of them walk side by side in silence, something just doesn't feel right.
However, before Meng Cenjun could even question her, Lan Jia was the first to lash out.
He took her hand as usual, but for some reason, she broke free with a little effort and kept walking forward.
Meng Cenjun stood still, watching her without turning her head, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.
The two of them walked a distance apart before Lan Jia stopped, as if she were waiting for him.
He caught up with me in a few steps and asked calmly, "What are you doing again?" "It's not good if people see us outside." This street is home to many prominent families, and I know quite a few people in the social circle.
Upon hearing this, his expression softened, and he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Everyone knows we're siblings." Lan Jia irritably rubbed the rolled-up edges of her clothes again and again.
"Does that mean all the agreements we made before are null and void?" His face grew even more serious, fearing that she might waver and change her mind halfway through.
Lan Jia kept her head down and didn't say anything.
Meng Cenjun's heart sank even further. After some consideration, she said, "If you want to make it public, I will arrange everything myself, and no one will say a word."
She had always longed to be with him openly and honestly, and had secretly resented him many times, thinking he was too rigid and cautious. She also assumed that all the obstacles were on his side, and that everything would go smoothly once he gave the hint. But now that he had brought it up himself, she felt nothing and couldn't be happy at all.
How could the murderer be Meng Shiyuan? How could it be a member of the Meng family? She had hated that truck driver for ten years, but she never expected that the real enemy was still at large. She had run into him time and time again, said those things, and even sympathized with him. Now that she remembered it all, she felt nauseous!
How could she be so stupid? So foolish? She was completely fooled like that?
And Meng Cenjun! He knew, he knew all along! Yet he still kept her in the dark, treating her like a fool!
Which of her words are still true? Who can she still trust? This world has gone completely mad!
Seeing her staggering towards the center of the street, Meng Cenjun grabbed her arm, asking with lingering fear, "Lan Jia, what's wrong with you?"
"Don't speak!" she suddenly screamed shrilly.
He was stunned by her shout and froze on the spot.
"It's alright, Lan Jia, it's alright... I'll take you home now."
Seeing her like this, he panicked and felt completely lost, but he still managed to pick her up and rush back as fast as he could.
Aunt Ming opened the door and was shocked to see the two of them like this: "What happened?"
Meng Cenjun only told her to call a doctor, and then carried the person upstairs.
"I'm not sick!" Lan Jia clung to his shoulder, insisting that the doctor not come.
He took off her shoes, helped her into bed, and then coaxed her gently, "Listen to Lan Jia, at least let me know you're really safe and sound."
"Do you really think I'm crazy?" She sat up and glared at him.
“If anything happens to you, I’ll go crazy before you do,” he suddenly said in a deep voice, his tone very firm.
Unable to resist him, Lan Jia rolled her eyes and lay back down stiffly like a corpse.
Dr. Xu had become accustomed to being summoned to the Yi residence every few days recently. As long as the salary was high enough, he wouldn't mind getting up in the middle of the night to see patients. He just didn't understand why such a prominent family, such a pampered young lady, was always sick and uncomfortable. He figured it must be related to the people around her.
Sometimes it's not actually a physical illness that causes it; he suspects both of them have serious psychological issues, but they're both hiding them deeply. The young lady is alright; when she can't take it anymore, at least her body will send out SOS signals. The other one, however, is silently and relentlessly progressing towards her illness, and it's anyone's guess when she'll completely break down.
Even though he was perfectly clear-headed, he dared not mention it in front of them. After all, a drunk person never knows he is drunk, and a seriously ill person often does not admit that he is sick. If he said anything more, people would think that he was making something up out of nothing.
Knowing that there was no cure for a mental illness, Dr. Xu still carefully examined Lan Jiazai to put Meng Cenjun at ease. He diagnosed that there was nothing wrong and only told her to take good care of herself.
The room fell silent. The brother and sister sat and lay down, neither of them speaking. In that silence, they recalled their lives from the beginning, both feeling that it was a never-ending farce, with no moment ever letting them off the hook.
People don't go crazy for no reason, and life doesn't turn out like this for no reason; there must be a source.
Once they calmed down, they almost simultaneously thought of another person, the root cause of all their suffering.
Is it only by solving this problem that they can live a peaceful life and stop suffering so much?
Eradicating such evil is not something that can be done overnight, and it would be even more unwise to spend a lot of time on it.
Meng Cenjun brought up that buried idea again and pondered it, but couldn't come to a decision for a long time.
After a long silence, he finally spoke: "How about I ask for leave for you tomorrow? You can rest at home for a day. I'll also cancel the dinner invitation for you."
“No,” Lan Jia insisted. “I have to go to work, and I’m even more determined to go to the banquet.”
Meng Cenjun still disagreed and advised, "Your health is the most important thing, Lan Jia. I don't want you to push yourself too hard in these matters."
Her expression was firm, as if she had made up her mind, and she said, "If I miss this opportunity, I will definitely regret it deeply."
Tomorrow might be an opportunity.
He remained silent, and the two of them had not reached a consensus on the matter. However, he did not want to argue with her anymore and made her angry. There was still a day to consider it, so after sitting for a while, he let her rest.
After Meng Cenjun left, Lan Jia quickly reached for her phone and opened the text message interface.
[What about that matter I mentioned? What have you thought about?]
She thought for a moment and then sent her reply.
Author's note: The climax of the plot is coming soon.
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